Split (2)

train · 145k rows

title stringlengths 6 301	keywords listlengths 0 23	messages listlengths 2 2
Comparing and improving chronic illness primary care in Sweden and the USA	[ "Chronic illness", "Evidence-based healthcare", "Health information technology", "Primary healthcare", "Quality", "Service delivery organization" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Our objectives were to identify opportunities for improving primary care for people with chronic illnesses. We did this by comparing Swedish and the US evidence-based practices (EBPs), including electronic health records, which we refer to as digital health technology (DHT). Sweden and the USA were selected because relevant survey data over two time periods were available and because the research sought to explore whether differences in the organizational and regulatory contexts in the two countries might contribute to significant differences in EBP use. Previous research shows that different practices are effective for people with chronic conditions (Ferguson and Weinberger, 1998; Forsetlund et al., 2009; Demakis et al., 2000) and that these are feasible to adopt (Wagner et al., 2001; Bodenheimer et al., 2014), although cost-savings evidence from these interventions is mixed (Ovretveit, 2011, 2012; Ferguson and Weinberger, 1998). There is also evidence that case management, usually by specialist nurses, improves outcomes for patients with congestive heart failure, diabetes and co-morbidities (Ferguson and Weinberger, 1998). Clinical guidelines can improve physician-patient management and may improve clinical outcomes if they are implemented in specific ways with effective education and/or reminder systems (Weingarten et al., 2002). There is also growing evidence that self-management education for patients can result in better outcomes - found in randomized controlled trials involving patients with different chronic conditions (Lorig et al., 2001); diabetes (Renders et al., 2001; Anderson et al., 1995; Norris et al., 2001) and asthma patients (Gibson et al., 2002). Research shows that medical practice can be improved in different ways with performance feedback to physicians (Thomson O'Brien et al., 2000) and that programs integrating interventions may be effective (Ouwens et al., 2005). One study identified that some DHTs used for people with chronic illnesses are effective (Casalino et al., 2003). These digital EBPs include disease registries (patient lists) and practice guideline decision support. In recent years, DHT used in chronic care support has expanded to include remote monitoring, consumer information and applications, and personal health records. None was studied in our research, because effectiveness evidence is limited. There is research from the EU and other regions about subjects covered in our study (e.g. Velasco-Garrido et al., 2003; Lemmens et al., 2009; Ovretveit et al., 2015a, b), but little up-to-date knowledge about DHT use in primary care chronic care management. In Sweden, the only published knowledge about practices followed by physicians is a 2006 survey (Brommels and Ovretveit, 2008). We report a 2013 survey that repeated the 2006 survey and compare this to a US primary care practice survey undertaken at a similar time.\nBackground: Given differences in the financial, regulatory and operating environments in the two countries we studied (Table I), we hypothesized that more staff in Swedish primary healthcare centers (PHCCs) would use health information systems to support their chronic illness work than in the USA because they have longer experience with primary healthcare (PHC) information technology. A second hypothesis was that Swedish PHCC staff use more effective care processes for managing chronic illness because health systems are more integrated, which is different to the US's generally less integrated primary care medical groups. Sweden's dominant PHC model is Vardcentral, which typically houses five primary care doctors and eight nurses. In the USA, there is a greater PHC variety and, until recently, less emphasis on incorporating electronic health records into practices\nMethods: The survey was originally developed in 2000 in the USA to study evidence-based chronic illness management and EMR use in PHC. There were four US surveys: 2000; 2005-2006; 2007-2009 and 2013 (Casalino et al., 2003; Rittenhouse et al., 2008, 2011; Shortell et al., 2009; Wiley et al., 2015). There are two comparable Swedish surveys (2006 and 2012). The 2012 survey is reported here and compared to the 2013 US practice survey (three to seven physicians - similar in size to the Swedish PHCCs). The US survey was developed by drawing on the healthcare quality improvement literature, the US Assessment of Chronic Illness Care dimensions (Bonomi et al., 2002; Wagner et al., 2001) and feedback from the study's national advisory committee. This drew on chronic care research and other sources to identify 16 actions likely to significantly improve chronic illness patient care (Casalino et al., 2003), called EBPs, which included effective DHTs for chronic conditions. Below, we report the main findings from the 2012/2013 two country comparison, which are described in full elsewhere (Ovretveit et al., 2008). The Swedish survey we report replicated most US survey questions and was mailed to all Swedish primary PCC heads. Reminders were sent to non-responders. Like the US survey, we asked the physician or practice leader most knowledgeable about their operations to give information about his/her center's: EBPs DHTs, effective care processes for people with chronic illness and information about quality improvement activities, performance reporting and financial incentives. The questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS to assess how many services reported carrying out recommended EBP.\nAnalysis and assumptions: Inferential statistics were used to assess if EBP in the two countries was statistically significantly different. We used the Pearson kh2-test (SAS, 2011; SAS v9.3) to compare USA and Swedish head's responses to each question. We consider differences greater than 10 percent and highlight large differences over 20 percent. Our justification for reporting only these larger differences is that earlier research indicated that physicians take larger size differences seriously for considering action. We were skeptical that less than 10 percent differences were true rather than a data artifact.\nResults: The full Swedish findings are reported in Ovretveit (2013) and the full US findings are reported in Wiley et al. (2015). Tables II-V give the responses from USA and Swedish respondents for all items. The responses are grouped under the five subject areas (the Appendix). For each area, Tables II-V compare USA and Sweden respondent percentages using EBP and whether the differences are statistically significant.\nResponse rate and biases: Sweden's response rate was 37 percent (n=377; 1,020 centers) compared to a 49 percent response rate in 2005. Later we consider how data may be biased toward EBP over- or under-reporting among primary care physicians (PCPs) and others. Stockholm centers were over-represented (57 percent). Mean physicians per center in the Swedish sample was 4.5 and nurses 8.5. We noted a decrease in responses from government-owned centers (79 percent in 2005 vs 69 percent in 2012) and an increase in private for profit ownership providers (8 percent in 2005 vs 25 percent in 2012). Although this reflects proportionally more Stockholm centers in the sample compared to the 2005 survey, it is likely to reflect a true change in Sweden's private for profit centers, consistent with other sources that report an increase (Rehnberg, 2010; Anell et al., 2012), also expected after a nation-wide reform opening the market to more private centers and giving patients PHCC choice (SCA, 2012). In the US survey (2012/2013), several centers were surveyed. We report findings from the survey for practices with three to seven physicians (n=286) with varying nursing establishments in their services. These centers as a proportion of all US centers is 31.5 percent. The US response rate overall was 50 percent. The differences between responding and non-responding practices on these characteristics were small though it is possible that important unmeasured differences existed between responding and non-responding practices.\nPersonnel and ownership: Table VI shows mean physician and nurse numbers for Swedish centers in the sample. We noted changes in this mean since 2005: fewer doctors (4.5) and 1.5 more nurses, but the sample could be different. The US sample mean was 4.4 physicians, but mean nurses was unknown. Regarding ownership, there was higher private for profit ownership in the USA compared to Sweden. Not expected in Sweden was the dramatic rise in for-profit PHCCs since 2005 (25 percent in 2012). Explanations, including government reforms, are further considered in (Rehnberg, 2010; Anell et al., 2012; Ovretveit 2013).\nEBP involving DHT: The largest Sweden-USA difference in heads' responses are about whether reminders or prompts are presented to physicians at the point of care (38 percent Sweden vs 84 percent USA). Regarding laboratory test result availability from within the EMR, the differences were less marked: 67 percent Swedish heads reported this function vs 97 percent US heads. Fewer Swedish heads reported having warnings for potential drug interactions (70 percent Sweden vs 96 percent US heads reported having this in the EMR). We also note that the US figures are higher for an EMR presenting guideline-based reminders (43 percent USA vs 7 percent Sweden), for diabetic patients. The USA-Sweden differences in all the information items accessible to PCPs were statistically significant, except for having a patient diagnosis and problems list. Table II gives statistical significance for each item.\nEBP for patients with coronary heart failure, asthma, depression and diabetes: Some PHCC heads said that patient lists (suffering one of four chronic diseases) are easily available and used by PCP staff (Table III). For all four chronic diseases, considerably more Sweden heads reported that physicians have easy access to patient lists or registers. This difference in having lists was most marked for patients attending with diabetes (70 percent of Swedish heads said their centers had such lists compare to 14 percent of US heads). But there are also significant differences between the countries in EBP use for patients with asthma (59 percent Sweden vs 23 percent USA); coronary heart failure (56 percent Sweden vs 23 percent USA); and chronic depression (42 percent Sweden vs 17 percent USA). Whether center staff regularly sent reminders to patients for preventative or follow up care, more Swedish heads replied yes; 45 percent reported sending reminders to asthma patients compared to 29 percent in the USA. Regarding reminders for diabetic patients, 77 percent of Swedish heads reported that their centers did this compared to 46 percent USA.\nQuality-specific items: Table IV shows that most Swedish PHCC heads (96 percent) said they offered same day appointments - an increase from the 53 percent in the Swedish 2005 survey. For equivalent size US practices, 36 percent reported offering this possibility to patients, which suggests room for improving a service valued by patients in both countries. We noted that several Swedish heads reported that physicians received feedback about care quality and that most feedback in Sweden was provided by center staff. However, it was only for diabetic patients for which there was a significant Sweden-USA difference: almost half the Swedish heads (49 percent) said that physicians received feedback about care for diabetes patients compared to 35 percent in the USA. Our comparison also revealed more Swedish PHCC physicians and staff were involved in regular meetings to discuss defined patient care. More Swedish heads said this happened than US heads (78 percent Sweden vs 37 percent USA). Quality activities undertaken for PHCC patients with chronic diseases in both countries was relatively low (30 percent Sweden vs 24 percent USA).\nFinancial impact and external performance reporting: Financial incentives and performance reporting is shown in Table V. Most Swedish practice heads report patient satisfaction data to another organization (77 percent Sweden vs 50 percent USA). Swedish heads generally reported more chronic disease management information. Some questions asked in the Sweden survey but not in the USA were about investment in care for four diseases. Sweden heads report their investment having a positive financial impact (ranging from 35 percent for diabetes care to 13 percent for coronary heart failure). Only a few reported negative financial impact (ranging from 4 to 9 percent for the four different chronic conditions).\nDiscussion: Limitations\nImplications for action: Many items about IM\nConclusions and recommendations: More attention world-wide is being paid to primary care service quality and to improving care for patients with chronic illnesses. Improving care can benefit other patients and help efforts to implement a patient centered medical home model (Rosenthal, 2008). While there are limitations to this comparative study, most differences are so large between the two countries in the reported effective practices for patients with chronic illnesses that they suggest that there are opportunities for improvement in both countries. For the USA, Sweden's consistently higher effectiveness in caring for people with diabetes shows what is possible and can be motivating and suggest improvements. A second finding that highlights a possible improvement in the USA is Sweden staff offering same day appointments (60 percent difference: 96 percent Sweden offered this vs 36 percent reported by US PHCC heads). That this presents an opportunity for improvement is strengthened by the 53 percent increase in heads offering same day appointments in Sweden when we compare the responses to the same question in the 2005 Swedish survey. Other differences and their explanations suggest that US center heads and others might consider adopting the following practices, which are significantly more common in Sweden:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify opportunities for improving primary care services for people with chronic illnesses by comparing how Sweden and US services use evidence-based practices (EBPs), including digital health technologies (DHTs).\nDesign/methodology/approach: A national primary healthcare center (PHCC) heads surveys in 2012-2013 carried out in both countries in 2006.\nFindings: There are large variations between the two countries. The largest, regarding effective DHT use in primary care centers, were that few Swedish primary healthcare compared to US heads reported having reminders or prompts at the point of care (38 percent Sweden vs 84 percent USA), despite Sweden's established electronic medical records (EMR). Swedish heads also reported 30 percent fewer centers receiving laboratory results (67 percent Sweden vs 97 percent USA). Regarding following other EBPs, 70 percent of Swedish center heads reported their physicians had easy access to diabetic patient lists compared to 14 percent in the USA. Most Swedish PHCC heads (96 percent) said they offered same day appointment compared to 36 percent in equivalent US practices.\nPractical implications: There are opportunities for improvement based on significant differences in effective practices between the countries, which demonstrates to primary care leaders that their peers elsewhere potentially provide better care for people with chronic illnesses. Some improvements are under primary care center control and can be made quickly. There is evidence that people with chronic illnesses in these two countries are suffering unnecessarily owing to primary care staff failing to provide proven EBP, which would better meet patient needs. Public finance has been invested in DHT, which are not being used to their full potential.\nOriginality/value: The study shows the gaps between current and potential proven effective EBPs for services to patients with chronic conditions. Findings suggest possible explanations for differences and practical improvements by comparing the two countries. Many enhancements are low cost and the proportionate reduction in suffering and costs they bring is high.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Strategic and operational remanufacturing mental models: A study on Chinese automotive consumers buying choice	[ "Remanufacturing", "Cluster analysis", "Consumer preferences", "Conjoint analysis", "Car engine", "Simulation study", "Mental model theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: End-of-life (EOL) treatment of products has been associated ecological and economic benefits (Seitz, 2007; Wang et al., 2014). A wide array of EOL treatment processes (EOLP) is applied in practice and has been extensively researched. Such processes include recycling, repair, reconditioning and remanufacturing, and can be distinguished according to the depth of product deconstruction and the quality of the process outputs (Paterson et al., 2017). These processes have gained in relevance in recent attempts to design products for effective EOL treatment in reverse logistics and to define industrial material flows as a circular economy (Subramanian et al., 2014; Kadambala et al., 2017) in which EOL products and components are kept in the lifecycle. Research has explored challenges such as scheduling production when availability of EOL products is uncertain or the impact of EOL on OEMs' business strategies with a particular emphasis on EOL products cannibalising new product sales.\n2. Conceptual background - remanfacturing and mental models: 2.1 Remanufacturing defined\n3. Remanufacturing mental models: Economic theory suggests that out of two Products A and B, which have the same functional and aesthetic performance and with B having \"a warranty that is equivalent or better\" (BSI, 2009: 3.34) than that of Product A, consumers should be indifferent when the warranty is equivalent or even have a preference and increased willingness to pay for B when B's warranty is better. However, operations and product management theory and practice take for granted that the opposite is the case for remanufactured products, which are assumed to have lower prices in spite of equivalent performance (Zhao and Zhu, 2015; Zhu et al., 2016; Gaur et al., 2015; Cui et al., 2017). We suggest that this can be explained by an underlying OMM and explore a SMM as alternative. The two models are summarised in Table I and will be developed in detail below. The prevalence of the two mental models will later be explored in our empirical study.\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Approach\n5. Results: The estimated utilities from the CA show, as expected, that higher price, shorter warranty and higher fuel consumption are associated with negative utility (Table II). However, consumers often are not a homogenous group and utility functions and preferences tend to vary between consumers. Indeed, pair-wise simulations of market shares based on the utility weights from the CA show that that a model with a re-manufactured engine and no compensation in the other attributes (Simulation 1 in Table III) would still gain 37.9 per cent market share. This suggests that there is a portion of the market that regards the remanufactured engine as something good in itself. The market share of remanufactured engines in Simulation 1 reflects participants who are not just indifferent to the engine type but who actually prefer the remanufactured engine. This supports part (a) of our hypothesis that a consumer segment that applies a SMM exists in the market that has preference for remanufactured over new engines. Simulations 2 and 4 are in line with the OMM showing that consumer preferences for remanufacturing can be increased when offering lower price or reduced fuel consumption as incentives.\n6. Discussion: 6.1 A segmented view on preferences for remanufactured engines\n7. Conclusion: Starting point of our study was the identification of a tension between the economic benefits that remanufacturing processes create as per their definition and the incomplete appreciation of these benefits in remanufacturing research and practice. In exploring this tension, we theorized two competing mental models of remanufacturing: an operational model that emphasises reduced resource input, environmental benefits and lower cost and a strategic one that emphasises the performance benefits of remanufacturing as distinct EOLP that can strategically compete with new products. Data from a conjoint-based study among Chinese consumers supported our SMM. Our findings suggest that approaching remanufacturing with a different mental model allows new perspectives on some core EOLP debates in operations and production management. Cannibalisation loses relevance when the two processes at stake result in the same sales prices. The complexities for following cores throughout their life cycle, while still being complex and costly, appear less as a threat to business when being understood as crucial competence leading to customer ownership in circular economy business models. While our study suggests that even today the majority of consumers may favour remanufactured over new engines when some remanufacturing benefits are shared (reduced price, reduced fuel consumption or longer warranty), we feel that the core benefit in remanufacturing lies in the opportunity to facilitate business models such as sharing economy solutions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Remanufacturing is the only end-of-life (EOL) treatment process that results in as-new functional and aesthetic quality and warranty. However, applying mental model theory, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the conception of remanufacturing as an EOL process activates an operational mental model (OMM) that connects to resource reuse, environmental concern and cost savings and is thus opposed to a strategic mental model (SMM) that associates remanufacturing with quality improvements and potential price increases.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors support the argument by empirically assessing consumers' multi-attribute decision process for cars with remanufactured or new engines among 202 car buyers in China. The authors conduct a conjoint analysis and use the results as input to simulate market shares for various markets on which these cars compete.\nFindings: The results suggest that consumers on average attribute reduced utility to remanufactured engines, thus in line with the OMM. However, the authors identify a segment accounting for about 30 per cent of the market with preference for remanufactured engines. The fact that this segment has reduced environmental concern supports the SMM idea that remanufactured products can be bought for their quality.\nResearch limitations/implications: A single-country (China) single-brand (Volkswagen) study is used to support the conceptualised mental models. While this strengthens the internal validity of the results, future research could improve the external validity by using more representative sampling in a wider array of empirical contexts. Moreover, future work could test the theory more explicitly.\nPractical implications: By selling cars with remanufactured engines to customers with a SMM that values the at least equal performance of remanufactured products, firms can enhance their profit from remanufactured products. In addition, promoting SMM enables sustainable business models for the sharing economy.\nOriginality/value: As a community, the authors need to more effectively reflect on shaping mental models that disconnect remanufacturing from analogies that convey inferior quality and performance associations. Firms can overcome reduced utility perceptions not only by providing discounts, i.e. sharing the economic benefits of remanufacturing, but even more by increasing the warranty, thus sharing remanufacturing's performance benefit and reducing consumers' risk, a mechanism widely acknowledged in product diffusion but neglected in remanufacturing so far.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Supply chain - marketing integration: How do European SMEs go to China via the New Silk Road	[ "Marketing", "SMEs", "Supply chain management", "New Silk Road" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In 2013, China has announced the double trade corridor, reviving the ancient trade route the Silk Road that connected China and the West: Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The \"Belt and Road Initiative\" was officially released in 2015, in which a $900bn infrastructure scheme involving 68 countries was proposed. One of the main aims is to boost global trade (Bruce-Lockhart, 2017). On the other end of the New Silk Road, it presents strategic importance for Europe. Europe has the chance to further leverage its status as one of China's most important trade partners to engage profitably with Chinese and local companies. Europe could also use it to pave the way for new trade opportunities for its many small businesses in the increasingly difficult yet important Chinese market (Loesekrug-Pietri, 2015). In 2015, the Dutch city Rotterdam welcomed its first containers by rail from China. The route shortens the transportation time from around 60 days by sea to about 14 days by land (Lehmacher, 2015). By 2017, there have been more than 6,000 trips between 35 Chinese cities and 34 European cities; there are 57 routes and more than 3,000 annual trips planned and counting (Gu, 2017).\nEuropean SME export: Despite attractive benefits, companies face challenges and barriers in exporting their products. Such barriers could be especially significant for SMEs, which have less resource to deal with activities outside their domestic market. On one hand, there are internal barriers related to the company itself and the product. On the other, there are external barriers related to the industry, market, and macro-environment (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994).\nThe New Silk Road: The New Silk Road initiative encompasses a wide range of topics including policy, infrastructure and facilities, trade, finance and investment, research and development and cultural communication (China Daily, 2015). In this paper, we emphasize the current development and operations under the initiative that particularly impact on SCM and marketing involved in trade, as summarized in Table I.\nThe role of Chinese importers: According to the China Railway Express operators, the majority of trade flows from Europe are in fact sourced by Chinese importers, who often arrange the transportation, manage warehousing, and act as the distributors in Chinese market as well. Chinese importers are at the forefront of commissioning the rail cargo because of their naturally closer relationship with the China Railway Express operators and earlier access to information. They then monitor the transportation process, which has been streamlined by the railway operators and the inland ports, coordinating with the railway operators. Finally, they manage the warehousing and the distribution of the imported products, leveraging on their logistics network, distribution channels, and eCommerce capabilities. Therefore, the importers are critical partners for European SMEs, who provide vital support for both SCM and marketing in export activities.\nContributing to the shaping of New Silk Road: The New Silk Road is a vast and long-term project with many aspects yet to be defined by the Chinese policy-makers. European counterparts and industries and businesses from both sides undoubtedly should also take part in influencing these definitions. In this paper, we specifically look at the trade opportunities for European SMEs to Chinese market. We argue that even if the current infrastructure development under the New Silk Road Development lowers certain logistics barriers for European SMEs' export, yet more has to be done to lower the marketing barriers as well. We proffer that Chinese importers should expand their role from a traditional supply chain partner to an essential marketing partner, through a closer integration with the European manufacturing SMEs. We discussed several future research areas under this proposal. We warmly welcome future research to contribute to the management and policy making in this impactful project.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss China's New Silk Road initiative as an opportunity for European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to export to Chinese market. It offers research propositions on redefining the business process of European SMEs and Chinese importers in light of the initiative.\nDesign/methodology/approach: SMEs' export barriers, particularly in SCM and marketing, are identified through literature review. Then they are discussed in accordance with the measures that New Silk Road proposed.\nFindings: Logistic infrastructure development under the New Silk Road significantly lowers the supply chain barrier. Marketing remains a challenge for European SMEs to export to China. This paper argues that the European SMEs and the Chinese importers should create closer collaboration, expand their relationship beyond SCM, and integrate their marketing efforts for mutual benefits.\nResearch limitations/implications: Several future research areas are proposed in this paper. The authors invite researchers and practitioners to deepen the discussion with empirical evidence.\nPractical implications: The New Silk Road has already become a high stake project for many countries involved. Many measures are yet to be defined and the stakeholders, including industries and businesses, should have an influence on their definition. This paper provides the authors' viewpoints on how businesses should act in this initiative.\nOriginality/value: Despite being an important topic of the world's economy in the recent years, the New Silk Road initiative has rarely been studied in management research, possibly due to lack of evidence. As its development significantly sped up since 2017, it is high time that the research community starts to contribute to the knowledge building in this project. This paper is among the firsts to call for and to propose avenues for future research efforts.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring strategic agency in sustainability-oriented entrepreneur legitimation	[ "Agency", "Intention", "Orientation", "Prior knowledge", "Legitimation", "Sustainability-oriented entrepreneur" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper examines \"prior sustainability knowledge,\" \"sustainability orientation\" and \"sustainability intention\" as three archetypal factors of entrepreneurial agency that together drive entrepreneurial behavior towards sustainable development. The specific focus of this paper is the strategic role that these factors play with regard to the legitimation behavior of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs in the startup phase. Within the entrepreneurship literature, there is a growing focus on the need for entrepreneurs to be future orientated by creating value for the triple bottom line of people, planet, profit (Tilley and Young, 2009). For these entrepreneurs, sustainability issues are thought to be their driving force as well as their continuing raison d'etre (Haigh and Hoffman, 2014). Sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship has been termed and defined in several ways in the literature. The current paper utilizes the definition put forward by O'Neill et al. (2009) which is that sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship is \"a process of venture creation that links the activities of entrepreneurs to the emergence of value-creating enterprises that aim to contribute to the sustainable development of the social-ecological system\" (p. 34). This definition is inclusive of both environmentally and socially-oriented sustainability practices, focusing on the general intent to pursue any sustainability goals through entrepreneurial means more so than discriminating between different types of sustainability goals. Sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship embodies the notion of shared value in business, which is essentially the creation of economic value in a way that also produces value for society by addressing its social or environmental challenges (Porter and Kramer, 2011). If such a model is possible, sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship should be considered as a fundamentally important area of research.\nTheoretical foundations: Organizational fields\nMethod: A qualitative, multiple case study approach was used to explore the legitimation activity of ten sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs based in Ireland. Case study research was conducted over a six-month period between October 2015 and March 2016. This involved semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs as well as documentation and observational research. In the case of socially constructed phenomena such as legitimacy, understanding the process through which phenomena become reality, how this reality is reproduced and maintained and how this can be strategically manipulated requires a fine-grained, contextual qualitative approach as founded in case study research (Yin, 2009). The case study approach is popular amongst scholars studying the complexities of legitimacy for traditional entrepreneurs (see e.g. Williams Middleton, 2013; Zott and Huy, 2007) as well as those examining the complexities of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship (see e.g. O'Neil and Ucbasaran, 2016; Parrish, 2010; Pache and Santos, 2013).\nDiscussion: This paper set out to explore the role and strategic utility of archetypal constructs pertaining to the legitimacy-seeking sustainability-oriented entrepreneur in legitimation. Findings from interviews, observations and documentation revealed that all three constructs manifest in both gaining and maintaining legitimation behavior to differing extents and that there is degree of interdependence amongst them, with intention emerging as most strategically useful. This paper contributes to the emerging field of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship in a number of ways. First, it sheds light on the under-explored area of legitimation in the startup phase for sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs by offering novel insight into the strategic role of prior knowledge, sustainability orientation and sustainability intention in entrepreneurs' legitimation behavior. While extant literature leans towards structural explanations for organizational field behavior, this paper returns focus to the strategic individual entrepreneur and thus supports the views of Fligstein and McAdam (2011, 2012). By focussing on the individual entrepreneur, this paper provides empirical evidence on the important role of individual legitimacy seekers in carrying out institutional work to incite change in the organizational field by strategizing to legitimize themselves and their practices. \"Through processes of social construction, entrepreneurs can develop new meanings that may eventually alter institutional norms, beginning at organizational level\" (Aldrich and Fiol, 1994, p. 649). Moreover, by exploring the strategic utility of these factors, this paper highlights the strategic purpose behind actions, thereby offering a more nuanced explanation of the behavior of entrepreneurs in organizational fields. Research on strategic agency can help progress knowledge on entrepreneurial behavior in the emerging field of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship. The implications for the findings on each construct are elaborated on below.\nConclusion: This paper assists in shedding light on the complexity of legitimation in the case of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs. The main contribution is an insight into the strategic utility of factors that drive entrepreneurial behavior towards sustainable development. Ruebottom (2013) found that social entrepreneurs are not necessarily conscious of the rhetorical strategies they employ to build legitimacy but recommend that this rhetorical strategy should be developed as a core competency. This requires a focus on the strategic, purposeful and conscious behavior of entrepreneurs in pursuit of legitimacy and the factors that play a role in shaping this strategic agentic behavior. In this paper, it was found that sustainability intention appears to best withstand judgments of diverse stakeholders as a strategic resource and learning to successfully overcome the \"paradox\" and demonstrate intention should be considered as an important strategic goal in legitimation for sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs. While the current paper explored how internal factors of agency play a role in legitimation, this legitimation behavior is also a response to external factors, so examining legitimation behavior can also provide insight into what is considered acceptable in the field. Strengthening empirical evidence on both internal and external factors important for legitimacy can help support the growth of entrepreneurial behavior towards sustainable development.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to look at the role played by three archetypal constructs pertaining to the individual sustainability-oriented entrepreneur, namely prior knowledge, sustainability orientation and sustainability intention, in legitimation behavior and explores their strategic utility.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The author studies legitimacy-seeking behavior in the case of ten sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs. A qualitative case study approach is used, capturing evidence of legitimation behavior in the startup phase through interviews, participant observation and documentation analysis.\nFindings: Prior knowledge and sustainability orientation appear to offer little value beyond their role as necessary factors in maintaining legitimacy. Both appear to have limited strategic value for legitimation in comparison to sustainability intention. Intention as a construct embodies the \"paradox\" of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship, and learning to successfully overcome this paradox to strategically utilize intention in legitimation is crucial for these entrepreneurs.\nPractical implications: Knowledge of these factors could assist sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs in strategically utilizing these factors as agency when dealing with diverse stakeholder expectations to achieve their enterprising goals. Strengthening knowledge on factors important for legitimacy is pertinent in supporting this shared value approach to entrepreneurship.\nOriginality/value: Little theoretical or empirical attention has been paid to the complexity of strategic legitimation behavior of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs. This paper provides novel empirical insight into what role these archetypal factors play in legitimation behavior and how they can be strategically utilized.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
School conditions of different forms of teacher collaboration and their effects on instructional development in schools facing challenging circumstances	[ "Teacher collaboration", "Teamwork", "Instructional development", "Professional development", "Working climate", "Principal leadership", "Institutionalized teams" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Based upon an extensive body of literature, collaboration between teachers is considered as a key characteristic of effective schools and as a crucial factor of school development (Terhart and Klieme, 2006). In particular, schools that are improving in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas are often shaped by intensive teacher collaboration and continuous professional development in the context of professional learning communities (PLCs) (Muijs et al., 2004). Teacher collaboration is generally included in systematic models of school quality as a feature of process quality on a school level (Kyriakides et al., 2010).\n2. Theoretical framework: 2.1 Organizational psychological definition of the term \"collaboration\"\n3. State of research: 3.1 Occurrence of teacher collaboration\n4. Research questions and hypotheses: Based on the theoretical framework and the research findings, the following research questions and hypotheses guide our analyses:\n5. Methods: 5.1 Sample\n6. Results: 6.1 Descriptive statistics\n7. Discussion: 7.1 Discussion of key findings\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Teacher collaboration is regarded as a central feature of school quality that promotes students' learning processes, teachers' professional development, and school improvement. Although the phenomenon is complex, studies often use global constructs and measures. To meet the research demands, the purpose of this paper is to take a differentiated perspective on teacher collaboration, its particular school conditions and effects on instructional development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected through a survey of 1,105 teachers at 36 secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Using multivariate analysis of variance and structural equation modeling, the occurrence of three different forms of teacher collaboration and their relations to activities of instructional development, structural and cultural working conditions, represented by appropriate scales and indexes, are analyzed.\nFindings: The results show that teachers use less resource-intensive forms of collaboration more often and practice more demanding forms of collaboration less frequently. More demanding forms of collaboration not only depend on the working climate but also on individual self-efficacy, institutionalized teams, collaborative and instructional principal leadership and in turn promote the development of interdisciplinary curricula and concepts for individual support.\nOriginality/value: This study provides evidence for the importance of distinguishing different forms of teacher collaboration. Furthermore, by relating different collaborative activities of teachers to certain school conditions and instructional development, this study makes a contribution to research by emphasizing the relativity of teacher collaboration regarding its desired outcomes as well as its necessary requirements.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Inaugural issue perspectives on Information and Learning Sciences as an integral scholarly nexus	[ "Information literacy", "E-learning", "Learning analytics", "Digital literacy", "Library leadership", "Constructionism", "Maker spaces", "Digital youth", "Information and Learning Sciences", "Inaugural issue", "Searching as learning", "Culturally responsive computing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Many of today's information and technology systems and environments facilitate inquiry, learning, consciousness-raising and knowledge building. Such platforms include e-learning systems which have learning, education and/or training as explicit goals or objectives. They also include search engines, social media platforms, video-sharing platforms and knowledge sharing environments deployed for work, leisure, inquiry and personal and professional productivity. Learning may be an outright target goal of designers and/or users in such environments, or it may be an implicit by-product of naturalistic technology design and engagement in such contexts, occurring socio-cognitively behind the scenes in both developers' goals and objectives, and in participants' experiences. These socio-technical system convergences in information and communications technologies (ICTs) and information systems, as they relate to learning phenomena, are also occurring in parallel within the scholarly literature.\nFour strands of existing inter-disciplinary scholarship at this intersection: Here we discuss four domains of scholarship that have contributed to this journal's establishment: scholarship in the fields we might summarize as Digital Youth, Constructionism, Mutually Constitutive Ties in Information and Learning Sciences and Searching as Learning. The scholarly productivity in these areas provides evidence of the promise, timeliness and need for continuing support for such work, but as later explained, topics of interest to IS and LS are by no means restricted to these.\nE-learning perspectives as a bridge: The challenges and opportunities of charting these inter-disciplinary boundaries and advancing conceptualizations of learning have been addressed in other works of synthesis situated in information science to-date. For instance, Haythornthwaite and Andrews (2011) discuss this in their valuable research syntheses of the arena of \"e-learning\" research, which they define broadly as a transformative movement in learning, not just the transfer of learning to an online stage. In discussing the broad contexts involving learning phenomena within ICTs and information systems, the authors embrace the ways in which learning flows across physical, geographical, and disciplinary borders. They describe e-learning as perpetual, sustained over a lifetime, and enacted in multiple daily occurrences as we search for information to satisfy our learning needs and contribute content ourselves that promotes our and others' understanding (2011). They state that in e-learning, teachers and learners use technology to create the social space in which learning occurs, which includes psychological space that is sustained in learning across multiple devices and activities; cyberspace; and physical space, for instance using technology to connect learning to locations or objects in cities and museums (2011, p. 2). Some scholars who publish in these domains draw upon the design-based research (DBR) method in developing new e-learning innovations (Hoadley, 2004; Barab and Squire, 2004; Cobb et al., 2003; Wang and Hannafin, 2005).\nConclusion: In this introduction, we have summarized a selection of key developments in four scholarly domains that provide justification and rationale for the new journal launch. ICTs, e-learning innovations and information system platforms continue to develop and evolve in the onward march of progress. We hope and expect that learning phenomena will be increasingly identified as important to their study. In this regard, recently, a United Nations report based on 62 expert policy briefs was drafted by 245 scientists and technologists from 27 countries as a result of the Rio + 20 Conference on sustainable development (United Nations, 2016). The report's chapter 3 proposes that ongoing development of ICT platforms may contribute towards greater \"science, technology and innovation literacy\" (STI literacy) in the populace and among scientists. The report highlights ways in which STI literacy and development of more sustainable infrastructures may contribute to solutions innovations addressing the main UN-identified \"global issues\" worldwide, which include climate change, socio-economic, race and gender inequality, etc. (2016). Modestly, we hope that the works published in this journal may contribute in some small way towards the advancement of such solutions, to the extent that ICT, e-learning and information system innovations require and facilitate human learning across the lifespan.\nJournal scope and mission: In closing, as of January 2019, the journal's scope and mission are stated as follows on the Emerald website. We expect this statement will be continually revised and we welcome suggestions for additions, revisions and adaptations as the technological, theoretical, methodological, and empirical terrain and contexts continue to evolve.\nSummary of contributions in this special inaugural issue: Learning, Connectivity and Networks. In the first article, \"Learning, Connectivity and Networks,\" Caroline Haythornthwaite demonstrates how \"the network\" has served as a lens onto learning contexts from informal online information exchanges, to formal educational platforms, to MOOCs, but also offline communities of practice. Established theories and academic communities reflect the centrality of network analysis, including networked learning, social learning and ubiquitous learning. \"Learning\" and \"networks\" come together in a range of configurations, both process and product, as learning has been framed variously \"as a social network relation, a relationship, a network outcome of relations in the form of learning and knowledge communities, and an outcome of ambient awareness and influence.\" In summary, Haythornthwaite provides a compelling exampling of how the information and learning sciences share common ground in their use of social network analysis, but with different emphases and purposes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Many of today's information and technology systems and environments facilitate inquiry, learning, consciousness-raising and knowledge-building. Such platforms include e-learning systems which have learning, education and/or training as explicit goals or objectives. They also include search engines, social media platforms, video-sharing platforms, and knowledge sharing environments deployed for work, leisure, inquiry, and personal and professional productivity. The new journal, Information and Learning Sciences, aims to advance our understanding of human inquiry, learning and knowledge-building across such information, e-learning, and socio-technical system contexts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This article introduces the journal at its launch under new editorship in January, 2019. The article, authored by the journal co-editors and all associate editors, explores the lineage of scholarly undertakings that have contributed to the journal's new scope and mission, which includes past and ongoing scholarship in the following arenas: Digital Youth, Constructionism, Mutually Constitutive Ties in Information and Learning Sciences, and Searching-as-Learning.\nFindings: The article offers examples of ways in which the two fields stand to enrich each other towards a greater holistic advancement of scholarship. The article also summarizes the inaugural special issue contents from the following contributors: Caroline Haythornthwaite; Krista Glazewski and Cindy Hmelo-Silver; Stephanie Teasley; Gary Marchionini; Caroline R. Pitt; Adam Bell, Rose Strickman and Katie Davis; Denise Agosto; Nicole Cooke; and Victor Lee.\nOriginality/value: The article, this special issue, and the journal in full, are among the first formal and ongoing publication outlets to deliberately draw together and facilitate cross-disciplinary scholarship at this integral nexus. We enthusiastically and warmly invite continued engagement along these lines in the journal's pages, and also welcome related, and wholly contrary points of view, and points of departure that may build upon or debate some of the themes we raise in the introduction and special issue contents.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Global Education - an educational perspective to cope with globalisation?	[ "Education", "Globalization", "Schools", "Global education", "Global learning", "Global challenges", "Global society", "Global citizenship", "Transformative learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since the beginning of education, this field of science has had to cope with the challenges and changes of society. Due the fact that our world is constantly changing, people need new knowledge and skills to manage their daily life. In the context of a changing society towards a globalised world society, the concept of Global Education (GE) is developed. In addition, it is one of the educational answers concerning the challenges of globalisation. The roots of GE can be traced some decades back, but the topic is more present than ever in our faster, placeless, individual, global society, which is becoming ever more complex. Asbrand (2009, p. 19) locates the common understanding of all GE concepts in the global challenges and problems of the twenty-first century. Further, there is a wide range of definitions and concepts on GE. The GE Guidelines developed by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, written by Miguel Carvalho da Silva (2008, p. 8), cites the Maastricht Global Education Declaration (2002), which can be seen as the starting point for activities on a national level. GE is \"education that opens people's eyes and minds to the realities of the globalised world and awakens them to bring about a world of greater justice, equity and human rights for all\". Even more general and open is the definition from Forghani (2004, p. 1), which states that GE is the collective term of all educational concepts in relation to globalisation, as well as the definition from Grobbauer et al. (2012, pp. 01-6), which defines GE as contemporary general education. For this paper, the authors decided on the following summarised own definition:\n2. Globalisation and a global society - the setting of GE: Initially, globalisation was mainly important for economists, but soon it spread to all social fields, a prevalence that is still current today. Nowadays, regardless of other factors, from the global market to global migration, every sphere is reached by globalisation. There are many definitions of earlier societal epochs, e.g. nuclear age, industrial society, risk society, postmodernity or late capitalism, but for the present age, without question, the term of globalisation applies. Whether the cultural standardisation, the end of the nation states, or the widening of space and time, these processes change society and bring new challenges (Osterhammel and Petersson, 2006, pp. 7-10). Moreover, these new challenges are also the key issues of GE and will be structured into an objective, temporal, spatial and social dimension later in this paper.\n3. The challenges of globalisation - the theoretical pattern of GE: Already in the late eighteenth century, Kant was thinking about a global citizenship education (Wallisch-Langlotz, 2000, p. 245). Presently, international confederations, like Oxfam Education, define global citizenship as follows:\n4. Conceptual frameworks of GE: GE did not develop from educational, societal or political discourses, but rather from ideological and interest managed educational work of different NGOs (Paschke, 2011, p. 5). This can be seen as one reason for the development of different conceptual frameworks within GE. Another reason for the development of different frameworks is the per se controversially discussed topic of globalisation. The contradiction of globalisation is the promise of unlimited possibilities and having no opportunities at all (Messerschmidt, 2009, pp. 18-19). Also, Kumpfmuller (2005, pp. 1-2) declares the paradox of globalisation as the ideology of unlimited possibilities and self-fulfilment reached within a free market, with limitless mobility for goods and capital. Theoretically, on a global scale, all individuals have the possibility to obtain happiness and personal freedom because every man and woman is the architect of his or her own fortune. The third reason, having different views on GE, could be interpreted in the process of standardising and globalising educational institutions. The educational system is a part of the globalisation process and globalises itself in quantitative and qualitative modes (Scheunpflug, 2003, p. 162).\n5. Conclusion: Can GE be seen as the educational concept for coping with globalisation? In this paper the global challenges and the theoretical pattern of GE are separated into a system of spatial, objective/issues, temporal, and social dimensions. Likewise, all of these four dimensions have to be seen as connected and from a transformative learning point of view through the action-reflexion-action-reflexion process. GE provides holistic learning strategies based on the challenges of globalisation and a global society. It is difficult to provide a clear and concrete definition of GE since it is also based on elements and concepts of other disciplines and the work of different NGOs. In addition, there are also different definitions of globalisation, a global society or global challenges. The different conceptual frameworks and approaches are based on these different definitions and, moreover, the old question of whether education should be normative and political or with open outcomes. Similarly to global citizenship education, GE represents the view of autonomously acting individuals. These different approaches of GE produce different concepts and influence the practical work of different interest groups. Nevertheless, the methods of GE are designed based on the challenges of globalisation and, as a result, GE can provide perspectives for coping with globalisation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of Global Education (GE) from a \"theory of action plan\" and an \"evolutionary and systems theory\" approach as an educational perspective to cope with globalisation - more specifically, the challenges of globalisation. Moreover, an additional aim is to analyse the linkages of GE according to global society, global citizenship and transformative learning concepts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on a literature review regarding the challenges of globalisation combined with the theoretical pattern of GE separated into the following dimensions: objective/issues, temporal, spatial and social based on Lang-Wojtasik (2012), which will be further complemented with approaches from Selby and Rathenow (2006).\nFindings: GE is an educational perspective to cope with globalisation in consideration of different definitions and approaches of GE. The methods of GE, such as promoting a holistic view on the world, are designed based on the challenges of globalisation and, as a result, GE can provide perspectives for coping with globalisation.\nOriginality/value: The challenges of globalisation are more and more noticeable in daily life. Therefore, it seems meaningful to the authors to resume an educational concept dealing with these challenges.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Has Esprit missed the Hilton moment? Hotel front-line and strategic managers face HR challenge	[ "Strategic management", "Human resource management", "Employee involvement", "Line managers", "Hotels" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: It is a familiar story. A company introduces worthy new procedures to ensure that all employees know their roles and responsibilities, how they will be trained, how they will fit in to a large organization and how they will be rewarded for achieving required standards - and the plan does not work as well in practice as it ought to.\nKey points of divergence: True, those two intentions go hand in hand - achievement equals reward. But when a new human-resource tool is introduced company-wide, and even worldwide, there should be total clarity about what it is. Calling it a club might be one way of transferring \"ownership\" of the project to the entire workforce, but it might just be confusing.Sandra Watson et al. (2007), who questioned managers at 76 UK hotels, say that key points of divergence in the positions of the strategic and first-line managers on their adoption of HR may be rooted in the evidently widespread misunderstanding of Esprit at Hilton, where the focus is on the staff-club dimension at the expense of the intended concept of directing the way employees work.This is an issue that Hilton needs to address to avoid misdirection of managers' efforts in HR. For although more strategic than first-line managers recognized their responsibility for Esprit, it was only a minority whose understanding seemed to conform to the organizational line. Such misunderstanding may act to undermine the business-partnership model of HR that is a central plank of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) approach for HR.The first difference in opinion between the two groups was that a higher proportion of strategic managers than first-line managers reported involvement in HR activities, despite the operational and teamwork emphasis of first-line managers' jobs in particular. The fact that first-line managers' understanding of Esprit was more limited than that of strategic managers' reflects the view that gaining line-manager commitment to HRM necessitates strong organizational values that emphasize HRM.In a similar vein, the personal level of responsibility for team members and responsibility for HR in teams is perceived to be higher among the strategic-manager respondents than first-line respondents.\nA crucial support to line managers in HRM: Only the strategic managers considered that HRD is viewed as important, underlining the need for greater understanding of the Esprit concept. Although there was strong evidence of support for line managers in their HRM and HRD activities generally, there was less evidence that first-line managers felt they have senior-level, organizational support.The strategic managers rated their working relationships with HR specialists in their hotels higher than the first-line managers did, although the overall rating was high. Such a partnership between strategic line managers and HR specialists is a crucial support to line managers in HRM and is a key facilitator in developing a business-partnership approach.Finally, a large majority of first-line managers saw heavy workloads and short-term job pressures as hindrances to involvement in HR roles.The authors say:The principal implication of these divergences in opinion across the two management levels is that there is potential for first-line level managers in Hilton's UK hotels to engage more in the HR activities that underpin the company's service culture. That this level of managers is apparently less involved in these activities than strategic-level managers in the hotels is at best ironic and at worst commercially detrimental, given their main responsibility for the very employees who deliver - or not - the \"Hilton moment\" service exchanges.\nGreater focus needed on philosophical aspects: To realize this potential, the organization could investigate how it is embedding the principles, and HR practices, of Esprit, to engage first-line managers. This will require attention being given to ensure that the philosophical aspects of Esprit are accorded greater focus, and that senior managers are more visible in their support for HR activities.Partnership working between HR unit-level specialists and first-line managers could be clearly articulated. In addition, the values associated with Esprit need to be embedded through a range of supportive mechanisms, including training and senior-management support.A further contribution to industry practice can be found in relation to identification of the difficulty of balancing business-driven involvement with philosophical commitment to HR activities. In relation to educational implications, this work highlights the importance of ensuring that HR is seen as a critical component of all hospitality-management education programs.\nComment: This review is based on \"Line managers' views on adopting human-resource roles: the case of Hilton (UK) hotels\", by Watson et al. (2007). The case study explores the perspectives of different levels of line managers - strategic and first-line - on their role in human-resource management and human-resource development, identifying enablers and barriers to devolving HR to line managers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Explores strategic and first-line managers' perspectives on their role in human-resource management and human-resource development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Uses information collected from 76 hotels, owned by Hilton UK, via self-administered questionnaires to strategic and first-line managers.\nFindings: - Reveals that a higher proportion of strategic managers than first-line managers reported involvement in HR activities, despite the operational and teamwork emphasis of first-line managers' jobs in particular. The personal level of responsibility for team members and responsibility for HR in teams is perceived to be higher among the strategic-manager respondents than first-line respondents. Only the strategic managers considered that HRD is viewed as important. The strategic managers rated their working relationships with HR specialists in their hotels higher than the first-line managers did. A large majority of first-line managers saw heavy workloads and short-term job pressures as hindrances to involvement in HR roles.\nPractical implications: - Contends that there is potential for first-line managers in Hilton's UK hotels to engage more in the HR activities that underpin the company's service culture.\nOriginality/value: - Highlights the importance of ensuring that HR is seen as a critical component of all hospitality-management education programs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Tracing brand constellations in social media: the case of Fashion Week Stockholm	[ "Digitization", "Social media", "Fashion", "Brand constellation", "Fashion week" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Fashion weeks represent one of the highly institutionalised marketing practices that characterises the fashion industry (Entwistle and Rocamora, 2006). Over the decades, fashion weeks have, however, transformed in terms of how they manifest. While traditionally having been exclusive in their expressions, their contemporary forms have become increasingly transparent and open (McQuarrie et al., 2013). One of the reasons for this development is related to the emergence of digitisation and social media. As social media has become widespread and an integrated part of the fashion industry (Pihl, 2013, 2014), fashion weeks have become digitally available for previously excluded actors (McQuarrie et al., 2013), and particularly so for the end consumer (Mohr, 2013).\n2. Conceptual framework: 2.1 Brand constellations in the fashion industry\n3. Method: To analyse the effects of fashion weeks on brand constellations of participating fashion companies in social media, an empirical setting in which users actively discuss and write about fashion brands by utilising social media was needed. One example of such a setting can be found in the setting of the Swedish fashion industry. More specifically, the fashion industry in Sweden is arguably characterised by consumers' generally high interest in current trends and style and one example of how this interest manifests itself relates to the usage of fashion-oriented social media which has become particularly characterising trait compared to other countries (Lee and Ostberg, 2013).\n4. Results: The results are presented in three steps. First, results related to in-group effects on brand constellations forming in social media are presented. Second, results related to out-group effects are reported. In the third and final section, results that compare in-group and out-group effects are presented.\n5. Analysis and discussion: Based on the presented results, the fashion week on average strengthens the in-group orientation of brand constellations among the studied participating fashion brands while simultaneously illustrating relatively varying effects on individual brands. In the following sections, the complexity of brand constellation formation is discussed in further detail.\n6. Conclusions: This paper has sought to explore the effects of fashion weeks on brand constellations of participating fashion companies in social media. Based on this study, participating companies' brand constellations have been shown to increasingly incorporate other participating brands, on average, as a result of their participation in the fashion week. Furthermore, four potential brand constellation outcomes for participating fashion brands have based on the presented results been presented: brand constellation amplification, concentration, division and dilution.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of fashion weeks on brand constellations of participating fashion companies in social media.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study analyses how brand constellations take form for seven Swedish fashion companies before, during and after Fashion Week Stockholm. In total, 3,449 user-generated contents referring to the sampled brands were collected and analysed.\nFindings: On average, brand constellations of participating companies are increasingly incorporating other participating brands as a result of the fashion week. Based on the presented results, four brand constellation outcomes for participating fashion companies are identified: brand constellation amplification, concentration, division and dilution.\nResearch limitations/implications: As this paper is focussed on the Swedish market, additional results from fashion weeks taking place in other cities would be beneficial to verify the four brand constellation outcomes.\nPractical implications: The results question the resilience of professionally curated brand constellations due to the emergence of user-driven constellations that also shape the position of fashion brands. Therefore, this development can potentially have a considerable impact on often carefully orchestrated brand positioning strategies executed by fashion companies.\nSocial implications: Digitally fuelled interdependences of brand constellations by professionals and consumers attest to the dilution of borders between consumers and producers.\nOriginality/value: This paper contributes to the field of fashion marketing and management by identifying four different brand constellation outcomes in social media for participating fashion companies as a result of fashion weeks and how to managerially handle these respective outcomes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluation of the use of a nurse-administered telephone questionnaire for post-operative cataract surgery review	[ "Quality improvement", "Patient safety", "Quality healthcare" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Cataract surgery is the most common day-case procedure with phacoemulsification becoming the preferred method in the developed world. With modern surgical equipment and improved techniques, post-operative complications previously associated with large-incision techniques have been significantly reduced (Minassian et al., 2001). Phacoemulsification procedures have risen, translating into increased resources required for follow-up post-operative care. It is therefore important to determine the most efficient, cost effective, safe and acceptable post-operative review method. Previous studies suggest that the post-operative day one (POD1) review may not be necessary or efficacious. Instead, patients should be examined four to six hours post-operatively or that the examination is omitted (Saeed et al., 2007; Thirumalai and Baranyovitis, 2003; Tinley et al., 2003; Ahmed et al., 2002; Tranos et al., 2003). Guidelines suggest that the POD1 review is no longer widely used with staff replacing a patient visit with a telephone call by a nurse or a call by the patient to a nurse where necessary (The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, 2010). Robust arrangements should be in place to ensure that these patients have easy access to advice and assessment so that post-operative complications can be quickly identified and managed. The question remains whether ophthalmic review on POD1 can be safely omitted in modern day-case, small-incision cataract surgery in urban settings. After routine cataract surgery, the common practice at the National Healthcare Group Eye Institute, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, is to have patients reviewed on post-operative days: one, seven and 30 by an ophthalmologist. The POD1 review, which requires a return visit to the hospital, may create problems for elderly patients who live alone and inconvenience working family members. Safely eliminating the POD1 review would therefore be more convenient for the patients and family members. This study sought to determine whether a post-operative telephone assessment by a qualified ophthalmic nurse was a safe alternative to a POD1outpatient visit. Outcome measures were visual acuity and post-operative complications such as endophthalmitis, intra-ocular pressure (IOP) spikes, wound leaks and severe inflammation/uveitis.\nMethods: This was a prospective, non-randomised cohort study within an interventional Clinical Practice Improvement Programme. In total, 260 patients undergoing uncomplicated phacoemulsification by four consultant cataract surgeons over 13 months were enroled. The following patients were excluded: intra-operative complications such as posterior capsular rupture or vitreous loss; and severe/unstable concomitant ocular comorbidities, which mandated a review the next day. The surgeons recruited the patients at the end of surgery. Although no patient declined to participate, 22 patients were subsequently uncontactable for POD1 telephone review. In all, 238 patients (91.5 per cent) were available for analysis. Sequential bilateral surgeries were performed on 18 patients. All patients were reviewed again within two to 14 days post-operatively. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all patients.\nResults: Questionnaires and 238 patients' medical records were reviewed. Table I summarises patient demographics, which is consistent with the local population. The patients median age was 68 years (range 39-86). More than half were female and most were Chinese.\nDiscussion: Current post-operative follow-up routines are largely based on older cataract-surgery techniques. Following improved surgical techniques, instrumentation and intracameral prophylactic antibiotics, sight threatening post-operative complications are rare (Alwitry et al., 2006). There is therefore a need to revise our post-operative review routines to improve patients' surgical experiences and to maximise economic benefits to health-care providers. In this study, we found that a telephone survey on POD1 by a nurse using a standardised questionnaire detected complications and seemed to be a safe and acceptable alternative to the standard outpatient review for selected patients.\nConclusion: Our study suggests that a nurse-administered telephone survey is a safe and effective alternative to POD1 review for detecting complications after routine phacoemulsification surgery. The first day post-operative hospital visit may be safely omitted for selected patient population and surgical teams, potentially minimising inconveniences to patients and their caregivers, and increasing clinic and staffing availability.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the safety of substituting the first day post-operative review after routine cataract surgery (phacoemulsification) with a telephone survey.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Prospective non-randomised cohort study. A standardised questionnaire of five common ocular symptoms (general condition, vision, eye pain, headache, nausea or vomiting) was administered by a trained nurse on the first post-operative day. The patients were reviewed in clinic two to 14 days later. Patient charts were retrospectively reviewed for complications (endophthalmitis, raised intra-ocular pressure, wound leaks and uveitis) requiring deviation from standard treatment.\nFindings: Over 13 months, 256 eyes of 238 patients underwent uncomplicated phacoemulsification by four consultant surgeons. Only one patient reported poor general condition, blurred vision and eye pain. She was subsequently found to have corneal oedema and raised intra-ocular pressure when recalled for an earlier review. Best corrected visual acuity better than 20/40 was achieved in 80.5 per cent of patients. There were no other post-operative complications noted from medical records review.\nResearch limitations/implications: Non-randomised nature, skewed surgical expertise, lack of a control group and patient experience data. In all, 22 patients (9.2 per cent) were also uncontactable for the telephone interview.\nPractical implications: A nurse-administered telephone survey seemed to be a safe and effective alternative to first day post-operative review after routine phacoemulsification. The survey also enabled the detection of serious post-operative complications. The first day post-operative hospital visit may be safely substituted in a selected patient population with greater patient convenience achieved and liberation of clinic resources.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study which utilises a standardised questionnaire as a form of post-operative review in an Asian population.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Value creation in supply chain relationships: a critique of governance value analysis	[ "Marketing strategy", "Buyer‐seller relationships", "Value chain", "Supply chain management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Firms rarely create value in isolation. Many managers who had previously added value to their companies by nurturing competencies within the firm now add value by developing collaborative partnerships with outside firms (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2000; Kay, 1993). An increasing number of companies perceive, for example, that strategic supplier management provides vital benefits by nurturing creativity among suppliers and gaining benefits from their expertise (Sahay, 2003; Tyndall et al., 1998).Various explanations of value creation in inter-organisational relationships have been proposed (Blankenburg et al., 1999; Borys and Jemison, 1989; Heide and John, 1990); however, there is little knowledge about how value creation in supply-chain relationships should be governed. In this regard, Ghosh and John (1999) proposed a model entitled \"governance value analysis\" (GVA), which was an extension of \"transaction-cost analysis\". The GVA model purported to identify various forms of governance upon which firms should rely to achieve value creation in their supply-chain relationships.The purpose of this commentary is to present a critique of the applicability of GVA to assessment of value creation in contemporary supply chains. Following this introduction, the theory of GVA is described. This is followed by a critique of the assumptions, factors, and range of the theory. Finally, the conclusions of this critique, and the implications for marketing strategy, are presented.\nOutline of governance value analysis: According to the GVA model (Ghosh and John, 1999), a firm should manage its supply chain exchanges by positioning itself in a manner that best matches its resources and exchange attributes. In general, GVA focuses on the same variables (exchange attributes) as those that feature in transaction-cost analysis (Williamson, 1985) - including transaction-specific investments, uncertainty, and performance measurement. Transaction-cost analysis has often been characterised as a cost-minimisation theory, but Ghosh and John (1999) contended that transaction-cost analysis is also a theory of value creation. This becomes apparent when the exchange attributes are treated as endogenous (rather than exogenous) variables, as in GVA.In GVA, which has an explicit focus on value creation, transaction-specific investments are deemed to enlarge the \"pie\" that the exchange partners will eventually divide between them (Jap, 1999). For example, if production processes or deliveries are customised, the parties reduce their costs or increase their revenues. GVA thus focuses on three important issues in value creation:1. when the firm should motivate exchange partners to undertake transaction-specific investments;2. adaptations; and3. identification and motivation of the \"right efforts\" from exchange partners.With regard to the first, Ghosh and John (1999) argued that specific investments are required if component suppliers are to be persuaded to supply appropriate customised components. With regard to the second issue, Ghosh and John (1999) suggested that higher levels of supply-chain adaptation are required of market leaders in undertaking increasingly complex promotional campaigns. Finally, with respect to the third issue, Ghosh and John (1999) argued that firms that position their products with an emphasis on benefits to end-customers must accept greater difficulties in evaluating performance compared with firms that emphasise cost reductions for end-customers.Value creation can be governed by:market governance;hierarchical governance; and/orrelational governance.The first of these, market governance, can discipline any inappropriate behaviour by a threat of termination of the agreement (and consequent loss of future business). This provides actors with considerable incentive to modify arrangements, and to benefit from opportunities that arise with changing circumstances. Market governance is also said to stimulate entrepreneurial creativity and promote risk taking (Ghosh and John, 1999). In contrast, hierarchical governance, which includes market contracts with hierarchical elements (Stinchcombe, 1985), hinders these activities. Such hierarchical governance provides little incentive to actors who are not entitled to value creation when undertaking investments. If problems arise, hierarchical governance relies on \"voice\" (in contrast to the reliance of market governance on \"exit\"). In the case of relational governance, relationship preservation (as opposed to termination) induces contributions from exchange partners. Mutual partner-specific investments and implicit social norms thus encourage value creation (MacNeil, 1980). Ghosh and John (1999) argued that the incentives of relational governance are weaker than incentives under market governance, but stronger than those under hierarchical governance.The ranking of these three forms of governance is thus reversed in the case of value creation as compared with value claiming. This presents a dilemma because, according to Ghosh and John (1999), value claiming and value creation are inseparable processes in that the ex ante value creational choices (regarding the exchange attributes) are collapsed into ex post value claiming considerations. They did not resolve this dilemma; rather, they suggested that firms must analyse their exchange attributes in order to solve the puzzle. For example, whereas market governance provides the strongest incentives for value creation, it provides few governance safeguards. This means that firms are reluctant to undertake transaction-specific investments. In other words, market governance is ideally suited for value creation purposes, but it is the worst alternative when it comes to value claiming.\nA critique of GVA and value creation: Problems with the assumptions of the theory\nConclusions and implications: Ghosh and John (1999) defined \"cooperation\" in terms of an exchange partner's willingness to change and accept uncertainty regarding transactional content. Their governance value analysis (GVA) model is thus essentially concerned with how a supply-chain partner can contribute to realising a focal firm's positioning strategy. In accordance with the principles of transaction-cost analysis, inter-organisational cooperation thus becomes a matter of sequential interdependence (Borys and Jemison, 1989), and governance is reduced to an incentive system. Moreover, because the focus of GVA is solely on transactions, firms are assumed to undertake in-house value-adding activities in successive stages, rather than as joint tasks (Thompson, 1967; Borys and Jemison, 1989). This means that GVA does not apply to other types of cooperation between buyer and seller (such as joint product development) that entail reciprocal interdependence and information exchange (Larson, 1992; Hammervoll, 2005).This critique of GVA therefore suggests that marketers should be careful not to apply GVA to their supply-chain relationships without considering whether the model adequately addresses aspects other than those limited to transactional exchange. For example, it would be a mistake to seek such an \"arms-length\" relationship with a supplier when extensive joint planning is required for successful logistical operations. According to Borys and Jemison (1989), even within a relationship of sequential interdependence, successful value creation requires technical and administrative coordination among members of the supply chain. Under reciprocal interdependence, the firms must acquire even more extensive knowledge about each other, including an understanding of decision-making routines and policies.The question therefore arises as to how GVA copes with supply-chain relationships that entail a variety of forms of value creation. The critique presented here suggests that GVA is best suited to relationships of sequential interdependence - because GVA deals only with pure exchanges and does not address cooperative mechanisms (such as joint efforts, information sharing, joint production, and so on). In coming to this conclusion, the present critique acknowledges the explosion of empirical work on the application of transaction-cost analysis to cooperative relationships and its application in a variety of industrial contexts (including engineering, bio-technology, and information technology). Nevertheless, the emphasis on transactions within the conceptual basis of transaction-cost analysis (and hence GVA) does suggest that the model has limitations in its application to many important forms of value creation in modern supply-chain management.With respect to governance issues, GVA perceives governance as an incentive system whereby one firm behaves according to:the expressed wishes of another (hierarchical governance); ora threat of relationship termination (market governance); ora desire to preserve the relationship (relational governance).Although incentives represent an important dimension of governance, and although explicit enforcement mechanisms beyond the incentive system are not always necessary (Heide, 1994), it seems wise not to ignore other governance dimensions - such as those derived from relationship management and similar conceptions of cooperative governance. For example, Narus and Anderson (1986) have suggested that firms should not rely on market governance alone to govern their distributor relationships, and Sahay (2003) has shown how market governance is detrimental to supply-chain cooperation.It is also apparent from the present critique that GVA lacks a conception of value-creation initiatives beyond those that reduce an actor's bargaining power. Other constructs of value creation that are relevant in this context include:the sharing of proprietary knowledge and complementary strategic resources (Dyer and Singh, 1998);the notion of \"relationship learning\" (Selnes and Sallis, 2003);bilateral learning (Borys and Jemison, 1989; Gulati and Singh, 1998); andsupplier-buyer development (Handfield et al., 2000).These forms of value creation in cooperation with other firms might lead to improved (rather than worsened) bargaining power at the value-claiming stage. Unfortunately, GVA theory does not recognise such value-creation opportunities.In summary, the conception of a market as nothing more than a mechanism of exchange is under challenge (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). It is likely that the market will increasingly assume an interactive form in which value is co-created by buyers and sellers who share innovative competencies. Reciprocal interdependence will occur more frequently and governance dimensions other than incentive systems will need to be considered. In these circumstances, the relevance of GVA as a means of assessing value creation is seriously threatened. However, it should be emphasised that the critique advanced in this paper is not a critique of GVA per se; rather, it is a critique of GVA as a theory of value creation. It is acknowledged that Ghosh and John (1999) did not intend to craft a theory that specifically focused on value creation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present a critique of the use of governance value analysis (GVA) for assessment of value creation in supply chains.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study presents a conceptual analysis of the assumptions, factors, and range of GVA as it applies to assessment of value creation in supply chains.\nFindings: - GVA lacks comprehensiveness in assessing value creation in supply chains in that it ignores: certain important factors that affect value creation in supply-chain relationships; governance issues beyond transaction-specific investments; and cooperative value-creating activities among supply-chain members.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The critique calls into question the applicability of GVA in governing value creation, especially in the context of dynamic contemporary conceptions of supply-chain relationships. It is not recommendable to analytically treat cooperation in supply-chain relationships as transactional exchange.\nOriginality/value: - This is an original and timely critique of the presumption that GVA is an appropriate model for assessment of value creation in supply chains.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Involving customers in innovation: knowledgeability and agency as process variables	[ "Innovation", "Co-creation", "Agency", "Knowledgeability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Recent research on value creation has placed an increased emphasis on building relationships with customers through:\nKnowledgeability and agency: customers as persons, agents and actors: Knowledgeability and agency are vexing questions, for they go to the heart of being human. Ordinary life is possible because actors experience ontological security based on the routinization of actions and the actors' reflexive monitoring of those actions (Fuchs, 2003). But how might ontological uncertainty at the individual level lead to change in social practices? A deeper understanding of the concept of agency and knowledgeability is clearly needed to address such questions.\nMethodology: We explored three case studies. Two were concerned with the delivery of large-scale construction projects in the UK and one was undertaken with senior audit managers and partners within one of the \"Big Four\" global professional accounting firms in a major city located in the north-east of the USA. These are illustrative cases (Siggelkow, 2007). We use these cases to illustrate the way in which building relationships and fostering learning and innovation may differ when dealing with knowledgeable customers.\nFindings: From person to agent\nBoundaries to innovation and learning processes: One potential barrier to learning and innovation processes is where cognitive consistency must occur across boundaries (Brown and Duguid, 2001; Carlile, 2002). Such \"knowledge boundaries\" exist not only between functions but also between organizations. One of the most challenging issues of sharing knowledge at boundaries is the novelty of the situation or task (Carlile, 2004), where novelty is high \"[...] the amount of effort required to adequately share and assess knowledge also increases\" (Carlile, 2004, p. 557). Drawing on the knowledge boundaries in new product development projects, Carlile (2004, pp. 558-559) proposed mechanisms for managing knowledge across three boundaries based on Shannon and Weaver's (1949) levels of communication complexity: semantic, syntactic and pragmatic.\nConclusions: This paper examined two aspects of customer involvement in business-to-business networks that may impact innovation processes, their knowledgeability and their agency. In doing so, we have highlighted a number of important factors influencing this involvement, and explored how the inclusion of the customer in business networks alters current assumptions and practices.\nManagerial implications: Agency allows individuals to assume a social role within the innovation process in a unique way that is personal to them. Thus, it is not simply the intention of the individual to act, but the flow of their actions and interactions that characterises agency. Understanding how these flows both influence, and are influenced by contingent and emergent circumstances then becomes important in informing managerial practice. Sensemaking is not simply an individual action, but is a shared activity between the individual, their reflexivity and their embeddedness in a social system. Thus, in relation to the agency of knowledgeable customers we may ask: How do we define such embeddedness? What aspects of embeddedness are significant and useful at any moment in time or stage of development in a business relationship? What contingent factors influence this embeddedness? These are questions that need further investigation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Recent research places an increased emphasis on the inclusion of the customer in value creation, learning and innovation processes; yet, there remains a gap in the understanding of just how such customer involvement may work. This paper aims to address this gap by examining two aspects of customer involvement - their knowledgeability and their agency. In addition, three boundaries (semantic, syntactic and pragmatic) across which relationship development occurs and which may facilitate and/or inhibit value co-creation, collaborative learning and innovation processes have been explored.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Three case studies have been used. Two were large-scale construction projects in the UK, and one was a global professional accounting firm in the USA.\nFindings: Customers may become frustrated if not allowed to exercise their agency. However, their involvement can create tensions for suppliers who may have to become more tolerant of divergent goals. In respect of knowledgeability, it was found that constraint satisfaction is important in allowing customers to reconcile their personal knowledge schema with the collective schema. However, it was also noted that customer knowledgeability brings with it challenges for suppliers, who must find ways to add value for such customers.\nResearch limitations/implications: A number of further questions relating to the agency and knowledgeability of customers and their inclusion in value co-creation, collaborative learning and innovation processes have been posed. The need for guidance in identifying and minimising the barriers to crossing semantic, syntactic and pragmatic boundaries between customers and suppliers has also been highlighted.\nOriginality/value: This study makes an important contribution to research in the field, in that how the inclusion of the customer in business networks alters current assumptions and practices is investigated.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Six Sigma quality: a structured review and implications for future research	[ "Six Sigma", "Total quality management", "Lean production", "Supply chain management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Six Sigma has evolved from scientific management and continuous improvement theories by combining the finest elements of many former quality initiatives. Originally, Motorola was the first to launch a Six Sigma program in the 1980s. In 1988, Motorola was the first company awarded the Baldrige Award, which led other organizations to show an increased interest in adopting and modifying Six Sigma methodology. Companies such as Allied Signal, IBM, and General Electric adopted Six Sigma as a corporate requirement for strategic and tactical operations to produce high-level results, improve work processes, expand employees' skills and change the culture. Now, Six Sigma is well established in almost every industry and many organizations worldwide have modified Six Sigma methodology and tools to fit their own operations.For the term \"Six Sigma\" there appears to be little consensus on its definition. Proposing an emergent definition of Six Sigma based on a grounded theory approach, Schroeder et al. (2008) concluded that Six Sigma offers a new structure that promotes both control and exploration in improvement efforts. They asserted that academics need to develop a deeper and richer knowledge of Six Sigma so that they do not over hype or quickly dismiss it. Table I shows examples of Six Sigma definitions that reflect different perspectives. From a statistical perspective, Six Sigma is a metric of process measurement symbolized by the Greek letter s that represents the amount of variation with a normal data distribution. Fundamentally, Six Sigma quality level relates to 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO). The focus of Six Sigma is not on counting the defects in processes, but the number of opportunities within a process that could result in defects so that causes of quality problems can be eliminated before they are transformed into defects (Antony, 2006). From a business perspective, Six Sigma could be described as a process that allows companies to drastically focus on continuous and breakthrough improvements in everyday business activities to increase customer satisfaction (Andersson et al., 2006).In this paper, we classify the literature on Six Sigma research and present a comprehensive review of these studies. The review covers 417 journal articles published between 1992 and 2008. The paper is divided into four remaining sections. First, the research methodology used in the study is described. This is followed by the classification framework in the second section. Third, Six Sigma articles are analyzed and the classification results are reported. Fourth, conclusions are presented and the implications of the study are discussed.\nResearch methodology: The research targeted peer-reviewed journal papers having more than two pages, as academics and practitioners alike most often use journals to obtain information and disseminate the highest level of research findings, both in width and breadth research findings. Therefore, editorials, news reports, book reviews, viewpoints, conference papers, masters and doctoral dissertations, textbooks, and unpublished working papers were excluded. The survey focused only on papers with \"Six Sigma\" as a part of their titles. The exceptions are those articles that are explicitly dealing with \"Six Sigma\" but for some reasons the authors decided to use one of Six Sigma methodologies, \"DMAIC\" or DFSS, in the title. Finally, to avoid never ending revision of the article, the end of 2008 was selected as the cut-off date. These criteria should allow a quality and comprehensive set of papers on Six Sigma by different fields. The compiling effort has been carried out over 19 months through extensive database search, internet search, reference checking, etc. However, it is possible that there exist an article that is not surveyed in this paper.Considering the nature of the research on Six Sigma, it would be difficult to group the literature under any specific disciplines. As a result, various online journal databases shown were selected and searched to provide a comprehensive bibliography on Six Sigma literature. The literature contributions were primarily of articles from research databases including Emerald, Science Direct (Elsevier), ProQuest Global, Interscience, Inderscience, ASQ, Springer and IEEE-Xplore. These databases provide online delivery systems with full text access to thousands of high quality articles and journals that cover a wide range of social and applied science titles including business and management disciplines, engineering, healthcare and computer science. The search yielded 417 Six Sigma articles from 147 journals. Each article was carefully reviewed and then the data was organized to produce a classification from several perspectives. Although this research is not exhaustive, it serves as a comprehensive base for an understanding of Six Sigma research.\nClassification framework: The classification framework was based on the literature review, the nature of Six Sigma research, and the work of Nonthaleerak and Hendry (2006) and Brady and Allen (2006). The articles were reviewed, analyzed and classified based on four dimensions as follows:1. Publication year and journal.2. Major theme and subject.3. Research type.4. Application sector: manufacturing vs service.This framework will provide guidelines for pursuing rigorous Six Sigma research by explaining the chronological growth of Six Sigma, challenging themes of Six Sigma research, dominating research types and application areas in Six Sigma and the major sources of Six Sigma information.\nResults and analysis of the classifications: Distribution by year of publication\nConclusions and future research directions: Our conclusions are based on the analysis of 417 Six Sigma articles that were published in 147 journals over a 17-year period from 1992 to 2008. Overall, we have observed that Six Sigma research has attracted the attention of both practitioners and academics. In particular, research activities on Six Sigma have increased significantly after 1999. The trend implies that more than 98 percent of Six Sigma articles were published between 2000 and 2008. Clearly Six Sigma research is difficult to confine to specific discipline since it is scattered across various journals from various domains and fields.The review has observed that Six Sigma research is empirical in nature which reinforces the use of real-world data. Case study was the dominant approach in Six Sigma research and this is may be due to the fact that quality problems in manufacturing and service contexts are usually treated as a case in terms of documentation and analysis. In addition, the lack of implementing Six Sigma tools and methodologies across a wide range of processes or organizations makes the use of survey approach impractical.Although modifications have been made in the Six Sigma framework to extend its application from manufacturing to service context, the increasing gap between the numbers of manufacturing - and service - focused Six Sigma articles since 2005 implies the return of Six Sigma to manufacturing as its initial base.Although this review does not claim to be exhaustive, it does provide reasonable insights into the state of the art in Six Sigma research. One of the most significant findings from our analysis has been the great empirical focus on Six Sigma tools and techniques. There is very little room for clarifying the confusion in the literature as to what constitutes Six Sigma theory and how does it integrate with other improvement strategies. We would argue that theoretical development is critical to the development of Six Sigma studies. Based on the literature review presented in this paper, we identify below a number of research implications and directions for future research as follows:* There is no doubt that Six Sigma research will grow rapidly in future covering various disciplines and domains. Hence, there is a need to construct and clearly present the application of Six Sigma within each domain in a proposed framework or generic model.* It is not surprising that a large portion of the reviewed articles in this study were related to Six Sigma tools, techniques, and methodologies. This reflects the researchers' concern of the core nature of Six Sigma as a more structured quality approach compared to TQM. Detailed analysis of these tools and methodologies within manufacturing and service contexts is required.* We expect more research to be conducted on user experiences reflecting Six Sigma pros and cons in such context.* While researchers try to develop new Six Sigma applications, the capabilities of user infrastructure need to be considered.* More theory based empirical research is needed to enhance the construction of Six Sigma theory.* There is a great potential for practicable application of survey approach in Six Sigma research as a wide range of processes or organizations adopt Six Sigma tools and methodologies.* Since the combined use of analytical and empirical research techniques has the potential to offer greater insights into research, it is desirable to see more papers apply triangulation approach in Six Sigma research through the use of multiple data collection methods.* Researchers are encouraged to map the efforts of Six Sigma research in manufacturing and service organizations to a proposed framework and then provide a through analysis on each framework.* Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to propose a standard Six Sigma curriculum design with multidisciplinary orientation.* Managing Six Sigma risks and crises is a new attractive topic for researchers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to clarify emerging aspects and trends of Six Sigma literature over 17 years, from 1992 to 2008.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The literature on Six Sigma from 417 referred journal articles in business and management disciplines, information systems and computer science, engineering, healthcare, etc. were systematically analyzed based on a scheme that consists of four distinct dimensions: publication year and journal, major themes, research type, and application sector (i.e. manufacturing vs service).\nFindings: - A number of key findings emerged: Six Sigma research is growing rapidly, covering various disciplines and domains with a great focus on Six Sigma tools and techniques; empirical research is dominant with more emphasis on case study approach; and the growing gap between manufacturing- and service-focused articles implies the return of Six Sigma to manufacturing as its initial base. Although a large volume of literature is available on Six Sigma, the topic is still under development and offers potential opportunities for further research and applications.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides both academics and practitioners with a useful framework for pursuing rigorous Six Sigma research through explaining the chronological growth of Six Sigma, challenging themes of Six Sigma research, dominating research types and application areas in Six Sigma, and the major sources of Six Sigma information.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Can business learn from the public sector?	[ "Learning", "Corporate strategy", "Public sector organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: For decades, the public sector has been exhorted to learn from and copy private business practices. CEOs and senior managers in competitive markets, in turn, have discounted and ignored the public sector as a source of learning. Can this philosophy be turned on its head? This is precisely what we argue in this paper.\nNational Library Board[1]: The NLB of Singapore is responsible for the public library network in the island city-state. Whereas public libraries around the world are seen as conservative, hush-hush, and often unwelcoming places, the NLB, in the context of a national strategy of creating a learning nation, has worked hard to move away from this image. The transformation process initiated in 1995 has transformed libraries in Singapore from the conventional model of quiet, boring places with declining usage, staffed by librarians often perceived to be distant, to what has now become a global model of attractive, innovative, welcoming places with a six-fold increase in usage over a ten-year period, in spite of competing offerings by internet sites such as Google Scholar reducing the costs of information search and acquisition.This transformation process has resulted in highly innovative offerings such as \"lifestyle libraries\" equipped with cafes, music, and rich multimedia, rock concerts offered in libraries, libraries located in shopping malls, 100 percent self-service libraries, tailoring library formats on different parts of the island to local demands, use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) in conjunction with smart shelves that \"know\" when a book has been mis-shelved, 24-hour book drops for all libraries, and use of \"Library Ambassadors\" for media and stakeholder management and creation of \"mindshare.\"According to Dr Varaprasad, Chief Executive of the NLB:NLB had to redefine the market space, remake the image of libraries and of librarians and reposition libraries as the third place after home and work. In other words, the Library should be convenient, exciting and a positive experience for people to go to after home and work to spend time. So when NLB looked at \"timeshare\", for example, we looked at how people spent their leisure time. They spent their leisure by going shopping, going to the cinema, surfing the internet, watching TV, playing video games, etc. So we tried to measure the amount of time people spent on these activities and set out to gain both \"timeshare\" and \"mindshare\" against these activities. Our approach was firstly to use our mission statement as a marketing tool and secondly to help our librarians not only in their professional competencies but also to position libraries as marketable. In other words work out what they can do for customers, how they attract customers, how they treat customers and how they use technology, and how we use the media to get over our marketing message.Internally, in terms of human resource practices, the NLB employs such practices as succession planning, executive coaching and leadership development for management, as well as a reward system that has moved away from a historical seniority and entitlement-based approach to a performance-based approach. All customer feedback is monitored and analyzed by quality service managers and transferred to the relevant parts of the organization as a basis for improvement; and also forms an input to the performance management system.Recent and ongoing developments at the NLB include the development of library resources for specialist groups such as retail investors or small- and medium-enterprises, enhancing the searchability and accessibility of the library content, SMS text messaging service where users can ask any question related to the collection and receive an answer within 24 hours, un-manned book dispensers and book drops throughout the island, the Cybrarian service (a booth at the library where users can make a phone call direct to a librarian for assistance) and the Concierge service (a person who, just like a hotel concierge, can arrange things for you or put you in touch with the right people or resources).\nSingapore Airlines[2]: SIA has consistently outperformed its competitors throughout its three-and-a-half decade history, in the context of an unpredictable, intensely competitive industry known for destroying shareholder value. SIA is recognized as one of the world's leading airlines, continuously winning service awards and ranked at or near the top of airline quality rankings. It is positioned as a premium carrier with high levels of innovation and excellent levels of service, having made a strategic choice of giving priority to profitability over size. Its revenues are around a third of giants such as Lufthansa or Air France - KLM, but its market capitalization is second only to Southwest, because of its consistent profitability.SIA's strategy involves an integration of differentiation (externally, as far as customers are concerned), with low cost (in internal operations). A usual metric of airline costs is cents per available seat kilometer (available seats multiplied by distance flown), where flag carriers tend to have costs of US$9 to US$14 cents, and budget carriers US$4.5 to US$7.5 cents (Binggeli and Pompeo, 2002; Doganis, 2006). Singapore Airline's costs per ASK were US$4.5 cents in 2005-2006, up from 4.2 cents in 2004-2005 and 3.9 cents in 2003-2004[3]. By comparison, easyJet had costs of 6.9 cents per ASK in 2003-2004, Rynair 4.8, British Airways 12.5, and Lufthansa 14.6. SIA implements certain organizational practices that allow it to achieve this seemingly self-contradictory strategy.Differentiation is achieved by consistently delivering the brand promise through excellent staff development and attention to detail and seamless execution, a corporate culture where the customer comes first and change is encouraged, an operations strategy of excellent in-flight experience, a young fleet (planes are on average five years old, with an industry average of 12.5), management that are held to account for performance, and an effective innovation system that regularly produces world firsts (such as the Krisworld entertainment system, the \"book the cook\" service, SMS check-in, etc). How can SIA offer world-leading levels of quality at a cost that characterizes budget carriers?The young fleet is significant here, since it is more fuel efficient and cheaper to maintain; labor costs are kept competitive through tapping the regional labor markets; SIA subsidiaries are highly efficient through being listed on the stock market with the performance discipline it entails, and through having the mindset that they cannot rely on SIA for their survival; Changi Airport in Singapore, SIA's hub, is one of the most efficient in the world; SIA's cultural values emphasizing cost consciousness; and innovations that not only improve service but also aim to increase efficiency (such as the internet and SMS check-in).\nLearning from the public sector: The above two organizations, one local and one global, are public sector entities that, even though they face different market conditions and operate in different industries demonstrate similar orientations and approaches to doing business.The first lesson concerns technology; not technological sophistication or leading-edge, but rather technology use. Most organizations use technology to support existing processes, attempting to achieve goals such as cutting cost through automation or improving customer service through better communications. These are worthwhile goals but cannot deliver sustainable advantage because they can be easily imitated. In order to make truly strategic use of technology, an organization must employ it to achieve goals that may ordinarily be considered as incompatible, or to re-invent themselves and their industry. SIA uses technology to both increase efficiency as well as differentiation, having achieved cost levels comparable with budget carriers, while being one of the leading airlines of the world. Examples include the young fleet, web interface that is one of the best in the industry, the book-the-cook service, the biometrics check-in, and others. With regard to re-invention, the NLB has leapfrogged competing offerings and re-defined what the public library industry should be about (using RFID, multi-media offerings, SMS service, self-service libraries, etc).Second, most organizations undertake strategic change only when they are faced with a burning platform; a visible crisis. In contrast, both these organizations have been changing pro-actively, consistently developing attributes such as a high-performance culture and a heightened sense of competition. How do you develop a high-performance culture in an industry that has been continuously battered by unpredictability and public critique (SIA), or when it is not obvious who the direct competition is (as in the case of the NLB)? Despite their public sector ownership, both SIA and NLB have effectively implemented strategic HRM (developing people in accordance to the strategic goals and the competencies needed to develop the strategy), as well as performance related pay; a practice that is usually difficult to implement in the public sector given the strictly defined pay scales and other bureaucratic constraints.Strategic innovation is a key dimension of strategic change. In 1972, when SIA split from the Malaysian Airline System to go it alone, it decided that it did not want to be part of International Air Transport Association because the rules about what could be offered to the customer were too restrictive. SIA decided to be positioned as a service excellent, differentiated airline, in an industry where this was unheard of. The tradition of world firsts continued to this day, with the introduction of the A380 and the development of suites in the air, what SIA calls \"a class beyond first.\" The NLB has redefined both librarians' as well as citizens' views of what libraries should be about; not places where librarians safeguard books and tell everyone to keep quiet, but welcoming places for the public facilitating knowledge exploration in an engaging way and for businesses helping create and share knowledge through \"knowledge communities.\" National libraries of other countries have been visiting Singapore to learn more about NLB's operating model.Finally, both of these organizations have developed a heightened sense of competition, avoiding inertia and groupthink, diseases that are as much inherent in the private as well as in the public sector, even as they have had the state as a majority owner. In the case of SIA, the government had made clear from the very beginning that it would not bail the airline out if it did not succeed financially, and that Singapore did not in fact need a national airline. SIA was thrown in the deep end, and in the absence of a domestic market, it had no choice but to be \"born global\" and find ways to survive in a hostile environment. The NLB has developed a heightened sense of competitive offerings in terms of the concepts of \"timeshare\" and \"mindshare\"; it knew that citizens have choices about how to spend their leisure time, and it wanted to be near the top of the list of these choices; even where no direct competition was apparent. How many private sector organizations continuously and critically examine their environment looking for ways to achieve sustainable differentiation, innovate and redefine their industries?We started by suggesting that the public sector stereotype is one of slow, inward-directed, bureaucratic organizations with relatively low productivity; and that data comparing private and public sector productivity broadly support this perception. We have then shown that some exceptional public sector entities can in fact turn the tables on this thinking. Despite their public sector ownership, SIA and the NLB exhibit fundamental strategy lessons that competitive enterprises ignore at their peril.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to challenge conventional wisdom suggesting that public sector entities should learn from the private sector, and to state some potential lessons for business based on case study research in leading edge public sector entities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The approach is longitudinal case study research using the interview method and a literature search on public sector management.\nFindings: - Business organizations can learn valuable lessons from leading edge public sector entities, such as the need to employ technology to reinvent themselves or to support unconventional strategies rather than just support existing processes; to change proactively rather than wait for a crisis; to strive for strategic innovation rather than simply incremental improvements; and to develop a heightened sense of competition to fight inertia and groupthink.\nResearch limitations/implications: - One limitation is the small number of leading edge public sector entities studied here. Further research can include a larger sample, to explore the validity of the lessons stated here, and to derive additional lessons from leading public sector entities.\nPractical implications: - Business managers should take seriously the potential to learn from leading public sector entities.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides a challenge to conventional wisdom that public sector entities should learn from business, rather than the other way round, by examining two leading edge public sector entities; Singapore Airlines and the National Library Board of Singapore.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Other customer age: exploring customer age-difference related CCI	[ "Age differences", "Older consumers", "Social identity", "Customer-to-customer interaction", "Future research", "Social contact" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: CI 1: An elderly couple books a table at a three-star Michelin restaurant to celebrate their diamond anniversary with their life-time friends. As this small group walks into the restaurant, they are surprised to find it heavily populated by middle-aged diners. The noise, despite just exceeding the normal chatty level, suddenly feels intense. They wonder whether they made the right choice of venue. As they sit down, the younger couple on the table next to them turn to look at them with a subtle squirm - or did they just imagine this? Anyway, they are now convinced they should have gone instead to their usual non-Michelin star restaurant where other customers look attuned.\nAn overview of CCI: Over the past four decades, it has become increasingly recognised that in many consumer services, other customers who are present often exert an influence on a customer's satisfaction. Whilst interactions between customers take many forms, this paper focuses on onsite CCI in physical service settings. The term onsite CCI is used to refer to specific interactions between customers present in the service setting, for example, a customer occupying another customer's seat in the cinema or on a flight. From the mid-1970s, service management theory started to embrace the reality that a customer's perception of a service could be influenced by the behaviour of other customers. Services marketing frameworks incorporating the role of CCI include the servuction system model, the seven P (7P) marketing mix and the drama metaphor (Nicholls, 2005). Since Martin and Pranter's (1989) key article on \"Compatibility Management\" services marketing researchers has paid growing attention to the interactions occurring between and among customers.\nAgeing background: The relevance of exploring CCI in the context of age difference becomes more apparent when certain demographic trends are considered. One of the most significant and challenging trends facing many countries is the rapid ageing of their population structure. As societies shift from a pyramid-type age distribution towards a more column-like age distribution, age-related CCI issues will become more pronounced and relevant.\nResearch on age and CCI: Consumer age can influence how the service production, delivery and consumption process is experienced. An ageing population increases the need for services connected to convenience in life. The differences in the service experience of older consumers can be connected to issues such as human interaction with its various dimensions and the use of SST. For certain service industries, such as tourism, health and retailing, the issue of ageing consumers is particularly relevant.\nFurther research perspectives: CAD-related CCI is a rich area for research in services marketing and management. Fresher perspectives and themes for investigation are presented in two sub-sections below:\nConclusion: In the increasingly established research field of CCI, one emergent perspective explores the influence of customer dissimilarity on CCI. This paper works within this perspective to examine CADs-related CCI. The paper seeks to add value in two main ways:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to explore the relevance of customer age differences (CADs) in the context of customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) within various service domains. It provides a thematic framework for understanding CAD-related CCI and critically identifies new directions for research into CAD-related CCI.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a narrative literature review approach, different perspectives in the literature on age differences and CCI are analysed towards highlighting and emphasising valuable new themes.\nFindings: Three coherent domains: the desire for social contact; fellow customer behaviour; and social identity issues are identified to interconnect a fragmented diversity of literature. Many themes for future research directions in the study of CAD-related CCI are identified.\nResearch limitations/implications: Whilst a wide selection of literature sources are critically reviewed, the fragmented nature of the literature on age differences and CCI prevents the review covering all publications.\nPractical implications: The paper provides service marketing managers and scholars with strategic CCI insights into better serving a diverse age range of customers. These insights will undoubtedly stimulate timely investigation of new avenues to enhance service customer compatibility and satisfaction in increasingly age-diverse societies.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides the first overview of a wide range of strategic considerations aimed at explaining the impact of CADs on CCI in service environments. Essentially, the paper elaborates opportunities and challenges in CAD-related CCI as critical themes for further investigations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Intra-national diversity: Perception of organizational justice and ethical climate in organizations in Serbia	[ "Justice", "Serbia", "Business environment", "Organizational justice", "Business ethics", "Ethical climate", "Ethical behaviour", "Intra-cultural analysis", "Working organisations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The questions of organizational justice and business ethics in organizations in Serbia are increasingly gaining importance, since Serbia is in a transitional period, on its path toward the European Union. There are many objective problems concerning organizational justice and ethical climate in organizations in Serbia. Many companies are going through transitional changes, a number of them are preparing for this changes, while in some organizations these changes will not occur. Such a state that still includes foreign companies or companies that have been established with foreign capital allows great diversity in the understanding, implementation and evaluation of organizational justice in Serbia. Under such circumstances organizational justice, ethical climate and proper management of human resources in Serbian organizations are still far from the level at which it could be described as satisfactory. The implementation of organizational justice in organizations in Serbia is still facing many problems but, at the same time, represents an important field of research. The results obtained from this field of research could be very helpful for business practitioners who are interested in doing business in Serbia.\nMethod: Research goals\nResults: The structure of the relationship between the dimensions of distributive justice and the dimensions of ethical climate is shown in Table II.\nDiscussion: The obtained results show that there is a significant correlation between the dimensions of organizational justice and dimensions of ethical climate. The perception of organizational justice among the employees in Serbia is very evident in work relations, and it is a significant predictor of organizational ethical climate.\nConclusion: On the basis of the results of this study some general conclusions may be pointed out. First, it can be concluded that the employees' perception of organizational justice is a significant and important precondition for achieving a satisfactory level of ethical climate. Moreover, the perception of organizational justice is very dependent on the culture and tradition of the region in which the organization operates. The positive attitude toward organizational justice and ethical climate should be a long-term orientation, and essential for long-term profitability.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of organizational justice on the ethical climate in organizations in Serbia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the study, 3,413 employees participated whose task was to assess the dimensions of organizational justice (procedural, distributive and interactional) as well as the dimensions of ethical climate (egoism, benevolence and principle).\nFindings: The obtained results show that the dimensions of organizational justice are significant predictors of dimensions of ethical climate. The dimension of distributive justice significantly predicts the dimensions of egoism and principle, while the dimensions of procedural and interactional justice significantly predict the dimensions of benevolence and principle. Concerning the structure of the relationship between dimensions of organizational justice and ethical climate, the results also showed that there is intra-national diversity depending on the region of the Republic of Serbia where the organization operates. Ethical climate based on maximization of personal interest is more connected to economically more developed regions with a larger population, while ethical climate based on duties related to norms, laws, rules and policies characterizes less developed regions with a smaller population.\nOriginality/value: In the context of contemporary Serbian business surrounding, the obtained results are discussed regarding the possibilities for improvement of ethical climate, which should be accompanied and supported by the positive impact of organizational justice.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The adoption and diffusion of eLearning in UK universities: A comparative case study using Giddens's Theory of Structuration	[ "United Kingdom", "Universities", "Influence", "Training", "Flexibility" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the past decade the introduction of eLearning technologies has been associated with innovation in higher education (HE), as it brings significant change and has potential to transform practice in many facets of university life. These learning technologies have been described as a \"disruptive\" type of innovation as they can be a catalyst for transforming the strategic direction of HE that reach well beyond the traditional activities associated with the classroom pedagogies. However, the levels of adoption of eLearning vary significantly between universities in the UK, ranging from simple online availability of course content to the extensive use of content management systems. This research is situated in the field of HE and innovation management and examines the adoption and diffusion of learning technologies through a series of case studies. Drawing on Giddens \"theory of structuration\" and the work of Orilowski in the adaptation of this theoretical approach to technology, these exploratory case studies examine the interaction between human agency and structure.For this research eLearning is conceptualised as innovation situated in the interplay between structure and individual and how this leads to adoption and diffusion. An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual (Rogers, 2003, p. 12). In this study eLearning innovation means a new way of designing and developing educational courses dealing with both content and process design issues. Innovation is distinguished from invention the latter referring to the first occurrence of an idea for a new product or process, whereas innovation, for the purpose of this study, is the first attempt to put the idea into practice. Elearning innovation, in the context of this study, occurs when academic staff, use learning technologies to change their teaching and learning practices. We define eLearning innovation, for the purpose of this study, as occuring independent of whether it is successful or not. Adoption is a decision by an individual (academic staff) to make use of the innovation (eLearning). Diffusion refers to the type of communication of the innovation through social processes (Rogers, 2003). The communication of the innovation may be through mass media such as e-mail, social media, RSS or through interpersonal communication including face-to-face communication between two or more individuals.\nTraditional quantitative based studies: Higher educational institutions have witnessed many cycles of technological innovation over the last two decades. Surry and Farquhar (1997) argue that introduction of eLearning technologies (hardware or software components) represents radical innovations in the form, organisation, sequence, and delivery of instruction. While there is acceptance that eLearning needs to be diffused into the educational system and a greater understanding of the best way to introduce innovations is necessary (Marshall, 2004).Previous studies examining the adoption and diffusion of eLearning can be categorised as having a macro- or micro-level approach. Macro-level studies have been concerned with systemic change that transforms the entire institution through organisational and structural change (Yates, 2001). Typically such studies at a macro-level are to develop organisational theories in which technology is a major driver for change. The underlying premise is mainly represented by technological superiority as a precursor for the adoption of innovative products and practices. Macro-level based approaches, through the study of organisational factors; enhance diffusion by maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of an innovation. Thus, macro-level studies have endeavored to identify the unique characteristics of organisations in the process of diffusion of learning technologies (Surry and Farquhar, 1997). Macro-level approaches tend to be limited in failing to appreciate that users do not necessarily adopt technologically superior products (Surry and Farquhar, 1997) and as a consequence research is limited in understanding the complex, ambiguous and networked nature of technologies in social systems (Yang et al., 2003). At a micro-level Salmon (2005) notes that individuals, departments in universities, have their own desires, abilities, histories and preferred artefacts; in other words, they are closely situated. Thus, diffusion of innovation theories research is seen to be limited in exploring the complex, ambiguous and networked nature of technologies as well as their \"embeddedness\" into social systems (Yang et al., 2003).Surry and Farquhar (1997) highlighted the challenges of the adoption of one approach against another. Adoption and diffusion research would benefit from a combining approach that takes into account both institutional and individual factors that lead to the adoption, or otherwise, of eLearning (de Freitas and Oliver, 2005). This leads to the need for research intomacro- and micro-level perspectives and related theories to explain change (or stability) in terms of the interaction between individual actions and structural influences (Rogers, 2003). From a theoretical perspective, authors such as Birch and Burnett (2009) and Eynon (2005) have noted the shift in innovation research from solely macro and micro-level perspectives towards a more interactive view, which emphasizes the interactions and interconnections between individual actions and structural influences.However eLearning research shows that while there is substantive theoretical studies that deals with structural influences and individual action on adoption and diffusion their is a need for an explanatory framework that takes into account both micro and macro perspectives. Giddens's theory of structuration provides an integrate approach to the two perspectives and provides a framework to analyse interactions between structure and agency. These perspectives enable the integration of both macro and micro levels of analysis by recognising the equal contributions of both structural processes and human agential powers (Parker, 2000).\nStructuration theory as a framework for understanding adoption and diffusion: In order to examine and understand the role of the individual (agency) and institution mechanisms (structure) that influence adoption and diffusion of eLearning Giddens theory of structuration was considered to offer considerable analytic advantages. The main aim of structuration theory, according to Giddens, is to reconcile two the long-standing divisions between two differing perspective held by social theorists. On the one hand, he argues, structuralists and functionalists (macro-level studies) have provided explanations of social behaviour in terms of structural forces that limits individual's capability to do things in their own way and on the other hand studies focusing on the individual as the salient factor (hermeneutics, phenomenology) explain the social life by have generally ignored the influence of external entities. Giddens's structuration theory asserts that both perspectives are interlinked, in that, social life is not simply a \"micro\"-level activity and conversely it cannot be studied by purely \"macro\"-level approaches. Giddens refers to this balancing of agency and structure as the duality of structure. Technology does not feature explicitly in Giddens structuration paradigm, however, structuration theory has been employed to study technology-induced organisational change. In order to fulfil the research objectives, Oriliowski's structurational model of technology utilises that as three components:1. Human agents.2. Technology-material artifacts that mediate work tasks of the individuals.3. Institutional properties of organizations (such as structural arrangements, business strategies, culture, control mechanisms, division of labor, expertise, communication patterns).In Giddens's \"duality of structure\" social structure and human interaction are broken down into three columns. Each structure and interaction are then associated with each other recursively via the linking modalities (interpretive scheme, facility, and norm). Giddens identifies three dimensions of structure; signification, domination and legitimation that are interlinked with corresponding dimension of agency; communication, power and sanctions.Signification refers to how individuals produce meanings of the structure through communication and language. Agents draw on interpretative schemes to make sense of actors own actions and actions of others. The structure of domination relates to the use of power through the modality of facility. Facility refers to allocative resources (control over objects or materials) and authoritative resources (command over individuals). In the context of eLearning, institutional management are able to exercise power through allocation of resources (for example, providing administrative and technical support, allocating time to develop eLearning courses, (allocative resources) or through issuing policy requirements, procedures, and guidelines that actors are expected to adhere to (authoritative resources). The justification of action focuses on the individuals ability to maintain \"understanding\" of their activities so they could provide reasons for their conduct if necessary (Giddens, 1984, p. 7). Individual actions are guided by application of normative sanctions, expressed through the cultural norms prevailing in an organisation. These norms impose social obligations to act in certain ways under particular conditions through cultural norms and values.For example acceptance of eLearning by lecturers at a subject discipline (Eynon, 2005) can determine how eLearning is likely to be adopted. Individuals and small groups, such as departments in universities, have their own desires, abilities, histories and preferred artefacts; in other words, they are closely situated (Salmon, 2005). Thus cultural differences between institutions, departments and subject groups have implications for diffusion and adoption of eLearning (Gibbs and Gosper, 2006). Adoption and diffusion research illustrates how we need to be cognizant of the different cultural perspectives and loyalties that exist at different levels of the university organization.In summary this study utilises these principles of structuration theory to reconstruct the concept of eLearning and to present a model for investigating the relationship between technology and organisations that integrates institutional and individual factors. Furthermore, this study aims to broaden the structurational perspective to adoption and diffusion of eLearning by understanding of the recursive interaction between individuals and structure.\nMethodological procedures: Research design\nCase study: the adoption and diffusion of eLearning in UK universities: Communication and significance\nConcluding comments: Giddens's structuration theory provided a sensitising framework for understanding the dialectical nature of adoption of eLearning within five universities in the UK. The tensions between institutional structures, such as strategies, training, access to technology, technical support and time resources, and levels of adoption can captured by dialectic of control in Giddens's Theory of Structuration.The locus of control played a significant part in the adoption of eLearning. Lecturers need to perceive they are able influence the eLearning initiatives within the institutions. They need to be involved in strategic change that is likely to have an influence on their academic roles. Failure to acknowledge this call by lecturers is likely to result in rejection or \"false\" compliance to top down directives. Findings from eLearning studies have shown the individuals are more likely to adopt eLearning if they have control over their academic roles in teaching and learning (Eynon, 2005; Gibbs and Gosper, 2006). Simply communicating strategies, policies or directives from the top through formal channels or via e-mails of intranet are unlikely to be influence lecturers. Senior management need to engage the staff who they rely on to implement their initiatives by appreciating that the drivers for eLearning are significantly different from the institutional pressures (Clegg et al., 2003; Salmon, 2005). Pragmatic and psychological drivers influence if and how lecturers adopt eLearning.Allocative resources, such as training, IT support, time allowance, access to technology, help desks; all these material resources themselves have no structural relevance unless they are instantiated in situations through structural principles (Giddens, 1984, p. 33). Simply making these available using central institutional systems and hoping lecturers will access with them is highly unlikely. This conceptualization of structure is that it is a \"virtual order\" of transformative relations that exists only in its instantiations in practices as memory traces. Thus, been in the case of the apparently material allocative resources which might have a \"real existence\", but which \"become resources only when incorporated within the processes of structuration\" (Giddens, 1984, p.33). Indeed, in proposing structure in the minds of social actors and only given substance through their actions, Giddens adopts a specifically subjectivists position. To talk of corporate training plans, centralised IT support or user manuals inscribed in artifacts is therefore inconsistent with Giddens's views.Structuration theory is concerned with the interplay of agents' actions and social structures in the production, reproduction, transformation and regulation of any social order (Giddens, 1984, p. 17). The structuration of relations in time and space takes place along the dimensions of signification, domination and legitimation, which are inextricably intertwined, and agents draw on these dimensions as an integrated set. Lecturers use meanings of signification that are drawn from their pragmatic and psychological motivations. Whereas, top management interpretative schemes are driven by external factors such as widening participation, competitive factors and need to reduce financial costs. Contrary to extant literature decisions to adopt or reject eLearning were not influenced by communication from top management but from success of near peers and \"local management\". Thus the use of authoritative resources (non-material resources used in exercising power and domination) by senior management had insignificant influence on the decisions to adopt or reject eLearning by the lecturers. The centralised control of allocative resources, such as access to specialised technical support, training, administrative support and development and delivery time for eLearning courses (common in all five case institutions), had little influence on the lecturers. Only in its instantiations do these allocative resources have \"transformative capacity\".The application of Giddens's Theory of Structuration, has demonstrated that the lecturers are essentially knowledgeable about their actions. For Giddens (1984), implicit in the duality of action in which power is a central element, is not only humans doing, but also the possibility of their not doing or doing otherwise. Giddens (1984) argues, in its narrow sense, power is relational and very rarely a unidirectional social process. In duality of action, he further argues, that subordinate agents always have some allocative and authoritative resources that they can drew on to influence the actions and activities of the super ordinates. The analysis of the interview showed that despite the control of allocative and authoritative resources they are unable to control fully the actions of lecturers to adopt eLearning. The lecturers are able to do otherwise, for example, utilising other resources or even refuse to conform to the institutional requirements. At the discursive level, they are able to provide explanations of their actions. They are engaged in reflexive monitoring of their own and other conduct, rather than as \"structural dopes\" and not passive recipients of the impact of structures. The lecturers maintained the capacity to \"do otherwise\" and make a difference in an ongoing course of practices. The lecturers had the ability to intervene or refrain from action thus having influence on adoption processes. Acting at the discursive level of consciousness, lecturers are not powerless; rather, they have several options open to them to bring about a difference to the ongoing course of events.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This exploratory study seeks to identifythe factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of instructional technology at five prominent universities in the UK. The study aims to examine the organisational factors that enable and inhibit organisational adoption and diffusion of innovation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A qualitative exploratory case approach has been adopted to address the research question. In total, 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted at five universities in the UK. The five diverse approaches to adoption and diffusion of instructional technology were examined; top-down, integrated top-down, bottom-up, research-driven and project-driven approach.\nFindings: - For this research eLearning is conceptualised as innovation situated in the interplay between structure and individual and how this leads to adoption and diffusion. The paper argues that senior management need to acknowledge the need to bridge the gap between \"local context\" and top-down strategic change. The findings suggest that there are tensions between \"signification of meaning\", \"power and dominance\" and cultural norms in adoption and diffusion of eLearning.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The implications of the research are significant in understanding the diversity of approaches to the adoption and diffusion of elearning. This provides insight for other universities in successfully managing the application of e-learning.\nOriginality/value: - Giddens's structuration theory provided a sensitising framework for understanding the dialectical nature of adoption of eLearning within five universities in the UK. The tensions between institutional structures, such as strategies, training, access to technology, technical support and time resources, and levels of adoption can be captured by dialectic of control in Giddens's Theory of Structuration.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Creating value in firms at different management levels	[ "Cash flows", "Profit", "Revenue growth", "Strategy", "Uncertainty", "Value" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In this paper, it is posited that there are sources of value for firms at each decision making level. However, it is also proposed that only one source of value, namely, autonomous revenue growth, demands true strategic thinking because it represents an unknown outcome from the strategist's perspective. This is because the inherent uncertainty that warrants all true strategic thinking ultimately relates to cash flow uncertainty.[1] By providing an answer to the question of how value creation depends on decision making, in what follows the aim is to increase the chances of strategic wisdom being demonstrated. As such this paper contrasts with and departs from extant strategy frameworks like Porter's five forces model (Porter, 1989, 2008) by offering directly actionable guidance for the purpose of optimising firm-level outcomes.\n2. Background: understanding value creation: As a general rule, the creation of financial value is central to firms' decision making, subject to different legal, social and environmental responsibilities pursuant of fair prices (Anbarci and Feltovich, 2017; Piron and Fernandez, 1995), sustainable development (Kim et al., 2017; Van Zanten and Van Tulder, 2018) and other objectives. When this is acknowledged along with a recognition that a firm constitutes a complex adaptive system (Bettis and Prahalad, 1995; Fowler, 2003), it can understand why endeavours to statistically relate a firm's practices to performance may be inherently misguided and illusory (Jarzabkowski et al., 2016). This is because the chain of causality between practices and performance is too long and dependent and independent variables are not entirely separable. As a consequence, direct empirical associations of resources with superior financial performance do not preclude \"omission or misspecification of links in the complex causal chain, such as industrial conditions, resource properties, competitive advantage or superior performance\" (Durand and Vaara, 2009, p. 1247). Understanding value creation also means that to simply equate organisational strategy with organisational performance is incorrect as well. Taking such a stance would discount the unintended consequences of strategic decisions, as well as of the role of luck and unpredictability in value creation (Mantere, 2013).\n3. Creating value at different management levels: a novel framework: 3.1 Six value management levels\n4. Summary and conclusions: Strategic decision making needs to go beyond the gathering of information and having a vague notion of value creation. Demonstrating wisdom requires - as a minimum - thorough knowledge of how value creation works, how it is measured and what sources of value exist. This article explores this by showing how decision making may take place at any of six different management levels. More sources of value become available at higher levels, but only one source of value demands true strategic thinking. This source of value is autonomous revenue growth and it can be tapped into at any decision making level. As such, demonstrating strategic wisdom is possible for anyone within a firm and ultimately, it resolves down to the thinking and decision making that increases the chances of generating higher, earlier and more future incoming cash flows. In practical terms, this requires careful documentation and operationalisation of the roles and responsibilities of personnel within firms so that cash flows are appropriately understood and leveraged. Bespoke management systems are key in this respect (Perrott, 2011).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Value is created for firms' owners when profits outweigh investments over a given time period. This paper aims to distinguish where, within firms, strategic thinking is required for the purposes of creating value.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A novel framework is developed, which explains how six sources of value can be identified and logically related to six practical value management levels.\nFindings: Importantly, only one source of value, namely, autonomous revenue growth, demands true strategic thinking because it represents an unknown outcome from the strategist's perspective. This source of value can be tapped into at any decision-making level.\nOriginality/value: This paper clarifies and emphasises that demonstrating strategic wisdom is possible for anyone within a firm and ultimately, it resolves down to the thinking and decision making that increases the chances of generating higher, earlier and more frequent future incoming cash flows.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Foreign participation and internationalization intensity of African enterprises	[ "Africa", "FDI", "Export", "Internationalization", "Enterprises", "Foreign participation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Foreign exchange incomes play a significant role in financing the development efforts of many developing countries. In Africa, most countries are encouraging enterprises to diversify their export base beyond the traditional export of natural resource as a way of attracting foreign exchange income (Asiedu, 2006; GPRS, 2003; Hinson and Sorensen, 2006; Kuada and Sorensen, 2000). A considerable number of studies have examined the antecedents of internationalization of businesses. These antecedents include foreign market knowledge (Autio et al., 2000; Sharma and Blomstermo, 2003), financial resources (Spence, 2003), age of enterprise, human capital, management commitment and entrepreneurial orientation (Javalgi and Todd, 2011), financial performance (Fernandez-Ortiz and Lombardo, 2009), institutional factors (Bianchi and Arnold, 2004), embeddedness in social and economic networks (Tang, 2011; Zhou et al., 2007) and strategy and opportunism (Dawson, 2001). Despite this potential, the question of how foreign participation in African enterprises influences their internationalization intensity remains relatively nascent (Filatotchev et al., 2008) and the extent to which its effectiveness is conditioned by a firm size, performance and informal sector competition is less understood. We work to rectify these research gaps in the literature. Research indicates that foreign participation in local enterprises could take the form of portfolio or foreign direct investment (FDI). Portfolio investment is concerned with return on capital within a firm without necessarily having direct control of the governance mechanisms of the capital invested, while FDI relates to having at least some degree of control to achieve prudent use of investments as well as appropriation of the full benefits of certain skills and assets (Dunning, 1980; Robson and Katsikeas, 2005). In this study, we do not make a distinction between the two forms of foreign investment in a local enterprise due to data constraints. Internationalization intensity, however, refers to the percentage of a local enterprise's sales that are represented by direct exports out of the home market (Agnihotri and Bhattacharya, 2015; Sahaym et al., 2012).\n2. Theory, research model and hypothesis development: Internationalization broadly refers to the cross-border activities of an enterprise (Hymer, 1960). This is usually to enable the firm to take advantage of resource asymmetries across these national borders. The process requires the adaptation of enterprise activities (Calof and Beamish, 1995), an explication of the enterprise's boundaries and the creation of international partnerships (Buckley and Casson, 2009). Three main theories/models have been employed in explaining internationalization of enterprises. These are the Uppsala/stages model (Johanson and Vahlne, 1990), ownership-location-internalization (OLI) model (Dunning, 1980) and the network model (Johanson et al., 1988). The stages model suggests that the commitment of resources to the international market is a function of the level of foreign market knowledge that an enterprise has. In line with our own research question in this study, foreign market participation in an enterprise should lead to intensive internationalization due to the foreign market knowledge acquisition from foreign owners. The network model suggests that enterprises are able to gain access to the international resources necessary for the internationalization process by interacting with other market participants in foreign markets. The OLI model argues that an enterprise internationalizes in order to gain ownership and locational advantages in international markets based on its ability to coordinate all its activities.\n3. Methods: 3.1 Data\n4. Results: 4.1 Descriptive results\n5. Discussion of findings: In this study, we sought to establish the relationship between foreign participation in an enterprise and the intensity of internationalization of that enterprise. We also explore the heterogeneity in the above effect based on enterprise size, international certification, financial performance, financial skills and competition, although not all these effects are hypothesized. We limit our discussion in this section to the hypothesized relationships in Section 2 of this paper. We discuss the hypothesized relationships and their implications for enterprise internationalization policy as well as suggest contributions to the international marketing literature and directions for future research.\n6. Conclusion: In this study, we have sought to show that foreign participation in an enterprise has a positive effect on its internationalizing intensity in Africa. While we do observe this positive effect, we also see that there is a lot of heterogeneity that accompanies it. Large enterprises are still able to experience this effect; however, enterprises that face local competition and are financially stable experience negative effects due to these moderating effects. We also conclude that financial performance and local market competition dampen the relationship between foreign participation and internationalizing intensity in enterprises. Practically, enterprises should recognize the positive effect foreign participation in the enterprise can have on internationalizing, and look beyond the investments into enterprises foreign owners offer and take advantage of their foreign market knowledge and legitimacy. Discrimination in local markets should be considered as a push factor to internationalize.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between foreign participation in enterprises in Africa, their internationalization intensity and the associated moderating conditions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study utilized data from the World Bank enterprise surveys in 46 African countries across seven years. The hypothesized relationships are estimated using the Heckman two-stage pooled cross-sectional model to correct for selection bias.\nFindings: The findings show that foreign participation in enterprises has a positive effect on internationalization intensity in Africa. While we observe this positive effect, we also found that there is a lot of heterogeneity that accompanies this effect based on enterprise size, financial performance and local market competition.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study contributes to the internationalization literature by showing that foreign participation in local enterprises can have a positive effect on the internationalization propensities of these enterprises. It also shows that the main effect is heterogeneous as it is moderated by other enterprise and environmental factors.\nPractical implications: Enterprises should recognize the positive effect that foreign participation in them can have on internationalization intensity. Managers of African enterprises need to look beyond the investments into enterprises that foreign owners offer and take advantage of their foreign market knowledge and legitimacy. Discrimination in local markets could be considered as a push factor to internationalize.\nOriginality/value: While the study is not the first to explore the relationship between foreign ownership and internationalizing behavior, it is one of the earliest to show that the relationship is heterogeneous, and it provides some key moderators.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The mediating role of information technology in the decision-making context	[ "Decision making", "Information technology", "Collective intelligence", "Knowledge management", "Innovation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Organizations' environment is highly dynamic, increasingly complex and undergoing perpetual change. The acceleration of technological progress leads to the omnipresence of information and a multiplicity of information sources. In a constantly changing context, actions or decisions become more complex. Moreover, many decision makers today generally have to work with mountains of heterogeneous data and are not able to make correct and rapid decisions (Kennerley and Mason, 2008).These activities require a quality of knowledge that provides the basis for a strategic and effective decision. Furthermore, the mobilization and interconnection of the individual reflections creating a group's intelligence have a positive relation with the decision-making process. Additionally, the creation and exploitation of ideas, products and resources with the aim of achieving higher levels of organizational effectiveness enable decision-making activities. The information technology (IT) play a role of mediation in order to exploit the superior value created.This paper contributes to the management literature by providing a theoretical frame. We postulate that if an organization is able to mobilize collective intelligence, knowledge management (KM) and innovation it can create a context \"favorable\" for making a strategic decision. We analyze the proposed capabilities in order to establish the dynamic relationship that exists between them and to show how they are distinct but related and involve dynamic interactions. These interactions create superior value and positively affect the effectiveness of the decision making.We will start by presenting the theoretical background. Then we will suggest a conceptual model emphasizing the connection between the capabilities and the mediating role played by IT. A discussion of the research and managerial implications will be presented. Finally, we will suggest the limitations and the research perspective.\n2. Literature review: The key question that we use to organize our reflection is \"How can an organization mobilize the three organizational capabilities to create superior value to ensure strategic decision-making?\" In order to answer that question, we think at least that the different concepts have to be clarified in order to present the theoretical background.2.1 Organizational capabilities\n3. Conceptual model of research: In the conceptual model we tried to accentuate the interconnection between the organizational capabilities and the individual and collective impact on decision making. We construct a model which helps us to demonstrate our research propositions. The P1a-P1c concern one organizational capability and the existing correlation with decision making. P2a-P2c analyze two organizational capabilities and decision making. P3 takes into account the interdependence between all the capabilities and the linkage with decision making:P1a. Collective intelligence will have a positive correlation with strategic decision making.P1b. KM will have a positive correlation with strategic decision making.P1c. Innovation will have a positive correlation with strategic decision making.P2a. Collective intelligence will influence knowledge management, creating superior decision-making value.P2b. KM will influence innovation, creating superior decision-making value.P2c. Collective intelligence will influence innovation, creating superior decision-making value.P3. Interaction and interdependence between collective intelligence, KM and innovation will be positively related to decision-making strategies.3.1 Organizational capabilities and decision making\n4. Mediating role of IT: 4.1 IT and organizational capabilities\n5. Implications and research limitations: The proposed model can be used as a basis for future research methods. The findings carry theoretical implications for the decision-making literature, as they extend the scope of the research on management from examining a set of complementary management practices. Managers may recognize the capabilities as enabling valuable organizational capabilities.Our research points out that the richness and superior value that are generated by the capabilities' dynamic affect various measures of firm reactivity. This can be an indicator to measure the success of decision-making activities.This study offers direct implications to practitioners engaged in decision management. The understanding of the correlation between them allows organizations to recognize better how to manage their employees effectively and to extend their strategy space with the aim of identifying new managerial practices.Managers should also plan a training program for their employees to increase their awareness of the importance of the indicators used for enhancing the strategic decision-making process. This can provide the organization with useful information about how to build a strategic decision-making process.Future research could examine and investigate these areas in more detail. Additionally, it will be useful to investigate the literature including other capabilities, such as organizational and business performance.This conceptual paper must influence future empirical analysis in order to validate our proposal on the ground. Experimentation and simulation are needed to confirm our proposal in order to identify the exploitable control levers and brakes in detail. In fact, we can identify for such capability several items that can be valued in order to determine the best management practices. This option can be useful to analyze in depth the proposition by testing the model and clarify how to measure the variables.\n6. Conclusion: The conceptual model links various organizational capabilities with strategic notions in organizations' management: decision making. Our approach is considered to be a \"hybrid,\" because it is made up of different theoretical approaches. Indeed, strategic decision making stands on three pillars that are complementary and interact continuously: collective intelligence (the quality of the intellectual cooperation and collaboration of individuals creating a group's intelligence), KM (the quality of the knowledge and system) and innovation (the creation of new ideas, products and resource exploitation).We find in the literature review that the capabilities have a positive association with effective decision making and superior value creation. We attach also a particular attention to the mediating role of IT in term of optimization.The model we propose will influence future research and managerial practices. Decision makers can exploit the capabilities in order to increase the effectiveness of decision making in a global market's context.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to contribute to the management literature by providing a theoretical frame. The authors analyze the dynamic relationship and interactions that exist between three organizational capabilities (collective intelligence, knowledge management and innovation) and the correlation with decision-making effectiveness. The aim is identifying the interaction between the different dimensions and the mediating role of information technology.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors' research question is to determine how organization can combine these capabilities to create superior value and to understand the role played by information technology. Their conceptual model is founded on the interconnection between different dynamic propositions.\nFindings: - The authors find in the review of the literature that the different capabilities are interdependent and have a positive association with effective decision making and superior value creation.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The authors' theoretical model could incorporate other organizational capabilities, such as organizational performance. Additionally, ground experimentation and simulation are needed to confirm their proposal.\nPractical implications: - The findings carry theoretical implications for the decision-making literature as they extend the scope of the research on information technology management. Moreover, this research allows managers to recognize better how to manage their employees effectively and to extend their strategy space with the aim of identifying new managerial practices.\nOriginality/value: - The conceptual model links various organizational capabilities with strategic notions in the management of organizations. The goal of this theoretical article is to understand how three organizational capabilities affect firms' decision making and how information technology can optimize the process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Relationship marketing: looking backwards towards the future	[ "CRM", "Co-creation", "Relationship marketing", "Stakeholder", "Customer management", "Ecosystem" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: \"The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see\". -Sir Winston Churchill\nIntroduction: When an important concept has been the subject of study by scholars for a substantial period, it is timely to undertake an assessment of its contribution. Relationship marketing has now grown up. It is over three decades since a conference publication at an American Marketing Association services marketing conference (Berry, 1983) and an influential paper in the Harvard Business Review (Levitt, 1983) started to capture the imagination of scholars and practitioners. It is now appropriate to reflect on both the past history and future prospects for relationship marketing. We offer a personal reflection on relationship marketing, a field that has had a strong influence on our work and that of numerous scholars.\nGrowth and maturing of the field: From the second half of the 1990s, work on relationship marketing started to grow substantially. As the relationship marketing literature continues to develop, Sheth (1996) argued that the domain of relationship marketing should be limited to include only those collaborative marketing activities that are focused on serving the needs of the customer. In contrast to this view, many other scholars argued that relationship marketing should encompass a much wider range of stakeholders (Christopher et al., 1991; Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Gummesson, 1999). Since then, this broader perspective of relationship marketing has progressively gained ground.\nZooming out towards the future of relationship marketing: While there are a number of contenders, we highlight three research priorities that we consider to be especially important to relationship marketing's future progress:\nConcluding remarks: We are firmly optimistic about the future of relationship marketing. Although the field of relationship marketing has been a topic of academic research for over two decades, the field appears even more relevant in the highly complex and multifaceted relationships that exist currently. Interest in relationship marketing continues to grow strongly as evidenced by a continuing stream of scholarly work. We agree with Sheth (2015, p. 6) who argues that there is now a substantial opportunity \"to synthesize the diverging practices and perspectives into a comprehensive theory of relationship marketing\". In addressing the synthesis of the diverging practices and perspectives in relationship marketing, \"zooming out\" represents a first step in considering the scope and future of relationship marketing. This step should be followed by a process of \"zooming in\" (Moss Kanter, 2011), which involves a more detailed focus on identification and classification of specifics of the relationship marketing phenomena. We look forward to this much-needed synthesis and to the next 25 years of relationship marketing research with great excitement!\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to review the growth and development of the field of relationship marketing and, through a consideration of this body of work, identifies key research priorities for the future of relationship marketing. The paper also delineates the frequently confused associated concepts of customer relationship management and customer management and considers how they fit within the broader concept of relationship marketing.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper undertakes a review of the relationship marketing literature, supplemented by the authors' on-going interactive research with managers.\nFindings: The paper reviews alternative approaches to relationship marketing, reflects on the development of the field of relationship marketing and identifies three critical priorities for future research in relationship marketing.\nPractical implications: The research priorities that are identified in this paper represent important priorities for scholars, managers, regulators and policy makers.\nOriginality/value: Although there is now a substantial body of research on relationship, marketing, much of this work focuses on the customer-firm dyad, with a smaller body of work focusing on a broader range of stakeholders. This paper argues for the broadening of the role of relationship marketing to consider ecosystems; the need for firms to shift from a value-in-exchange to a value-in-use perspective when addressing customer relationships; and the critical need to address \"dark side\" behaviour and dysfunctional processes in relationship marketing.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reversing the lens: The role of followership dimensions in shaping transformational leadership behaviour; mediating role of trust in leadership	[ "Pakistan", "Transformational leadership", "Followership", "Trust in leadership" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Followership is an emerging field of study that explains the behavioural (Kelley, 2008), relational (Meindl, 1995), cognitive (Sy, 2010) and constructionist (DeRue and Ashford, 2010) perspectives of followers. It highlights the followers' side in the leadership equation. According to Shamir (2007), excluding followers from the leadership equation indicates that we are not analyzing leadership but a social phenomenon like collaboration and teamwork. Besides the increasing interest in leadership literature, the perspectives have also been shifted. Generally, in the last 50 years, leadership research and followers' motivation and attitudes as the outcomes of leaders' behaviour in a leader-centric approach have caught more attention (Bass and Stogdill, 1990; Bass et al., 2003; Judge and Piccolo, 2004; Lowe et al., 1996). However, very few research studies have been conducted on investigating leaders' outcomes as a result of followers' behaviour.\nLiterature review: Role-based perspective of followership\nTheoretical framework and hypotheses development: In this study, the theoretical framework is based on the SET. SET gives a foundation in comprehending the role that managers and organizations play in creating positive work attitudes and the feeling of employee obligation. SET is relevant to an unspecified favourable action or exchange \"initiated by an organization's treatment of its employees, with the expectation that such treatment will be eventually reciprocated (Blau, 1964; Gould-Williams and Davies, 2005). SET is based on two main concepts, i.e. self-interest and reciprocal interdependence. Self-interest drives people to act or behave on the basis of perceived and predicted rewards and cost linked with an exchange of resources, although this might not mean that individuals seek to maximize their benefits (rewards) at the cost of others. SET is based on co-operation, fairness, trust and justice (Stafford et al., 2014).\nMethod: According to Antonakis et al. (2004, p. 55) and supported by Creswell and Creswell (2013), theory can be tested appropriately only with quantitative methods and analyzing relationships among variables are central to answering quantitative research questions or hypotheses. The purpose of this study is to investigate how followership dimensions shape transformational leadership behaviour based on the SET. Therefore, quantitative methodology is applied to test the proposed relationship of followership dimensions, transformational leadership constructs and TL.\nDiscussion: The study has been conducted with the purpose to ascertain the role of followership dimensions in transformational leadership behaviour. The results show that followership dimensions AE and ICT positively affect transformational leadership behaviour. This affirms Shamir (2007) \"reversing the lens\" perspective of followership which means that followership plays an active role in leadership behaviour. Furthermore, it is found that among other transformational leadership constructs II is highly affected by both AE and ICT. It shows that transformational leaders' charismatic qualities are not the mere traits of leaders but these are also related to followers' response to their leaders. Mokhber et al. (2015) argued that leaders with a high level of II are more open to risk-taking and emphasized the followers' role to be committed to supporting the goals, mission and vision of the leader. The findings support Meindl (1995), who claimed that charisma might not originate from a leader but comes into view with the interactions of followers who ponder the leader as charismatic. Recently, Sy et al. (2018) developed \"The Elicit-Channel (EC)\" model of charismatic leadership and articulated that the charismatic relationship is a circular process in which followers' emotions play an integral role to elicit behaviour. Furthermore, Ehrhart (2015) emphasized that followers' self-concept (i.e. self-esteem and self-construal) predicts their conceptualization of an ideal charismatic leader. Therefore, transformational leaders with higher II rely more on followers' role and responses.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of followership dimensions in the transformational leadership process by reversing the lens from the traditional leader-centric perspective to emerging followership perspective and examine the role of trust as a mediating variable in the proposed relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using quantitative method data were collected through a questionnaire from 506 respondents of the telecom sector in Pakistan. The proposed hypotheses were tested using SPSS V.23 and PROCESS V.3.1.\nFindings: The results indicate that followership dimensions (active engagement and independent critical thinking) positively affect all the four constructs of transformational leadership (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration). Furthermore, trust in leadership partially mediates the direct relationship between followership dimensions and transformational leadership constructs.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study is conducted in a developing country context which limits its generalizability in other cultural backgrounds. Hence, further investigation could test the role of followership using different samples and methods.\nPractical implications: Organizations need to pay more attention to followers' development to produce better followership outcomes that will ultimately help establish strong relationships with transformational leaders and sustained positive outcomes.\nOriginality/value: This study empirically tests Shamir's (2007) \"reversing the lens\" perspective and extends a distinct theoretical contribution to the social exchange theory that neither followers are passive participants, nor always on the receiving end of the relationship but they actively participate to establish a strong relationship with their leaders.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A three factor model of followership: part 3 - research on followership, a three factor followership framework and practical implications	[ "Team roles", "Leadership", "Training and development", "Followership", "Work roles" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the first part of this paper, we pointed out that while there is a body of theory and research on followership, it is less extensive and less well known than that on leadership. We went on to describe a three factor model of leadership and suggest that it could be applied to and was consistent with other work on followership.\nThe role of the leader and the role of the follower: The term \"role\" is used widely across the social sciences, as described by Coser and Rosenberg (1969). However, at its heart is the idea of a social position that an individual occupies, with associated power, status and expectations. Leader and follower roles are particular positions that people occupy, positions bringing with them different level of power and status, and different demands and expectations. We examine leader roles and follower roles more fully below.\nBehaviours most frequently used by followers: Once we had developed leader-follower scales, we could look at the degree of correlation, and its statistical significance, between various sets of behaviours and these scales. We could then identify behaviours used more often by those in leader roles and by those in follower roles, along with behaviours used more-or-less equally by individuals, irrespective of their roles.\nBehaviours most highly valued by others when used by followers: Leader-follower scales can be used to divide populations into occupants of \"follower\" and \"leader\" roles. It is then possible to look at the relationships between behaviours used and 360 degree assessments in the two sub-groups, identifying behaviours most and least valued in each position.\nA three factor model of effective follower behaviours: The findings described above indicate the particular behaviours that followers use more often and the behaviours most likely to be valued when used by followers. They can be framed in terms of the three factor model, based on evidence presented in the second part of this paper.\nConclusions on the implications of the three factor model of followership: The three factor model of followership is rooted in relevant theory and supported by empirical research. It provides a followership framework relevant to individuals in leader and follower roles, as well as human resource professionals, including training and development specialists.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The first part of this paper pointed out that theory and research on followership is less extensive and less well known than that on leadership. It then described a three factor model of leadership and suggested it could be applied to and was consistent with other work on followership. The second part of the paper presented empirical evidence supporting the three factor model of leadership and justifying its extension and application to the full range of team roles, including follower and co-worker roles, as well as leader roles. This part of the paper looks specifically at follower roles and followership. Research findings are used to develop and describe a three factor model of follower behaviour. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A mixed group of managers, mainly from the UK public sector, completed a variety of self-assessment questionnaires, had 360 degree assessments completed on them, and provided information on their work role and situation. Research looked at the degree of correlation between variables and its statistical significance. This was used to assess the internal reliability and external validity of three factor measures of leader behaviours and team role behaviours. Information on contextual variables was used to measure leader and follower situations and develop leader-follower scales that were used to identify behaviours used by followers. In total, 360 degree assessments were also used to identify behaviours that are most and least valued when used by followers.\nFindings: The findings presented in the second part of this paper provided empirical support for the three factor model of leadership and its extension to the full range of team roles. The findings presented in this part of the paper identify behaviours used by individuals in follower roles and behaviours valued when used by individuals in such roles. By combining these two sets of findings, it was possible to produce a three factor model of effective follower behaviour, with each metacategory consisting of five behaviour sets and each set made up of four specific behaviours.\nResearch limitations/implications: Effective organisations need effective followers and effective leaders. Moreover, the skills of the effective leader develop out of and build on those of the effective follower. Effective leaders and followers use essentially the same skills but use them in different situations, playing different roles. The research was carried out on a diverse sample of managers, drawn mainly from the UK public sector. However, it would be useful to extend the research to other populations.\nPractical implications: The findings provide evidence-based descriptions of effective follower behaviours. These have practical implications for leaders and for followers, as well those involved in their training and development. They establish the content of developmental activities for effective followers and indicate how the training and development of followers underpins that of leaders.\nSocial implications: The findings challenge the widely held pre-occupation with leadership and the associated view that it is qualitatively different from and superior to leadership. In so doing, the three factor model of followership offers a challenge to the cult of leadership.\nOriginality/value: This is the first published research to present empirical evidence supporting the three factor model of followership. In the research process, scales were developed to assess leader and follower roles and used to identify behaviours used by followers. They were also used in further research identifying behaviours most and least valued when used by followers. The instruments and the associated research were original.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Market orientation and its antecedents in the Polish local governments	[ "Market orientation", "Local government", "Poland" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There are numerous positive effects of market orientation (MO) adoption by public sector organizations. The most important include improvement of public administration performance and public services quality (Cervera et al., 2001; Poister and Streib, 2005), increased organizational commitment of managers (Caruana et al., 1997) and better communication with the citizens (Schedler, 2006).The Polish territorial administration has been undergoing reforms since 1991. They are aimed, among others, at improving the quality of management at the local level (Zalewski, 2007), and a market-oriented approach to operations is one of the ways to achieve this aim.This study is aimed at determining the present level of MO and some of its antecedents in the Polish local government. The results are based on empirical research undertaken among senior officials from a representative sample of the Polish local authorities.In section 1. the definitions of MO in the public sector and its antecedents are considered. Second, the study hypotheses and conceptual framework are presented. This is followed by identifying measures and research tools in section 3. The study results concerning the local governments' MO and some factors which have been proven to influence it are included in section 4. Finally, implications are drawn and suggestions for ongoing research are offered.\n1. Background and definitions: MO concept in the public sector\n2. Conceptual framework and hypotheses: According to a study by Szromnik (2007), the Polish cities and towns are customer-oriented. Practical experience shows that they have for a long time engaged in promotional activities towards tourists and investors; they have also consulted their policies with the citizens (Glinska et al., 2009). At the same time no studies have covered the issue of MO on a representative sample of the Polish rural authorities, municipalities with a mixed town-rural character or districts. Therefore it seems important to learn if their current management practices are on a similar level as in the urban units, what specific marketing information management practices are most popular, and what drivers of their implementation are significant.The middle (district) level of local government in Poland started to function in 1999, as a result of the local government reform (Dziennik Ustaw, 2001a). It is a new set of institutions which have no long time tradition of functioning and developed organizational culture. On the contrary, the lowest (municipality) level has been only re-established in a modernized shape in 1990, after over 40 years of centralized political system when its role was limited (Dziennik Ustaw, 2001b). It is nowadays the level of local government with longest tradition, largest amount of tasks and most numerous revenue titles (Dziennik Ustaw, 2003). The local government management paradigm has been changing since 1990, when it started to regard the local community as clients whose needs are important in shaping the offering of the administration (Gajdzik, 1998). At present the larger municipalities (cities, towns) are most affluent due to income from PIT and property taxes (Rzeczpospolita dodatek specjalny, 2010). Historically, they were always centers of local development, due to location of industry, trading crossroads, scientific facilities and other institutions. Thus, the adoption of modern management techniques and market economy rules is more likely to be widespread in the urbanized local government units than in the rural ones. Therefore the following hypothesis is proposed:H1. In Poland the authorities of town and city governments display a higher level of MO than do authorities of other LGU.Among the MO dimensions, intelligence response is connected with such activities as responding to changes in clients' service needs, collecting and answering complaints, taking a quick corrective action if the service quality is not satisfactory (Kohli et al., 1993). Procedures enabling intelligence response, such as social consultation procedure and the obligation to collect citizens complaints (Dziennik Ustaw, 1960) have been compulsory in the Polish public sphere for a few decades. On the other hand, formalized intelligence gathering and dissemination activities seem to be uncommon among the public sector organizations in Poland. According to statistical data (PTBRiO, 2009), marketing research commissioned by public sector constituted only 5 percent of the value of this market in Poland in 2008. Therefore the following hypothesis will be tested:H2. The intelligence response level in the Polish LGU is higher than the levels of intelligence generation and dissemination.Taking into account the earlier discussion concerning MO antecedents, it seems to be worthwhile to check which of the various factors contribute to the increase of MO level in the Polish public sphere. Considering the results of a qualitative study by Kowalik (2009), based on extended opinions of territorial government experts in Poland, the most important MO antecedents are organizational factors (e.g. size, use of IT), external factors (e.g. dynamism of environment, competition) and personal skills of managers.As for the organizational size, the studies conducted so far have shown no unambiguous results about its influence on the MO level. According to Jaworski and Kohli (1993) departmentalization is not significantly and positively correlated to any of the three dimensions of MO. In some other cases (Cervera et al., 2001; Balabanis et al., 1997) the number of departments in public or non-profit organizations inhibited the circulation of information between them and thus had a negative influence on MO level. Still, the opposite was found by Seymour et al. (2006), who found that among Welsh and English charities employing more workers, the level of MO was higher. Zrobek (2003) suggests that in the smaller Polish municipalities the lack of proper circulation of information is one of the development barriers. Therefore the following hypothesis is proposed:H3. The size of a local government organization has a positive effect on its MO level.It has been shown in several studies that top management traits are consistent predictors of MO (Jaworski and Kohli, 1993; Bathgate et al., 2006; Dwairi et al., 2007; Flavian and Lozano, 2006). The reason is that professional, charismatic leaders who put emphasis on MO and are not afraid to introduce innovations, stimulate the development of MO. Therefore it is worth to test the following hypothesis with respect to the Polish local government units:H4. The managers' professionalism has a positive effect on the MO level of a LGU.In relation to H4, it is also worth noting that sometimes the managers' professional background from the previous economic system, can be a barrier of marketing concept introduction (Akimova, 2000; Velev and Marinov, 2004). Therefore one of the professionalism indicators tested in the study will be the total time spent working in public administration.Despite the fact that the local authorities activity has a non-profit character, the amount of budgetary income is associated with management effectiveness. High income level also gives the possibility to organize efficient information flow in an office and to gather information from diverse sources. Some studies (Akimova, 2000; Qu and Ennew, 2005) confirmed that in transition economies lack of resources constrains the development of MO in companies. In the Polish territorial government especially the so called \"own revenues\" i.e. the ones gathered mainly from locally raised taxes and fees are not earmarked for any kind of obligatory spending (Gilowska et al., 1997; Swianiewicz, 2009), and can be used to finance development. Therefore such hypothesis will be analyzed with regard to Polish LGU:H5. The income of a LGU has a positive effect on its MO level.All studied hypotheses outlined above are depicted in Figure 2.\n3. Methodology: The research instrument development and data collection\n4. Results: MO level in the local governments\n5. Discussion and conclusions: The study presents an application of the MARKOR scale to the Polish public sector.The scale reliability and consistency of the subscales was tested. It has been consulted with local government experts and confronted with examples from literature, to obtain content validity, so it can be deemed useful in next studies.Furthermore, the study contributes to a better understanding of the marketing concept implementation in the local government context by analyzing the degree of adoption of MO and by examining its link with some possible antecedents. The results concerning the MO level show that the overall scores are rather moderate (mean overall MO score equals 72.2 percent of maximum). According to the division into low, medium and high MO groups suggested in literature (Nwankwo, 1995; Bathgate et al., 2006) over two-thirds of the studied Polish local government units represent a medium MO level, and a little over one-fifth of the sample have truly adopted MO, in a manner generally known in the West.In a similar study of the local administration in Australia (Caruana et al., 1997) conducted with use of MARKOR, the average MO level was lower than in this study (68.43 percent of maximum) and this difference is due mainly to the lower level of intelligence dissemination in the Australian units. Unfortunately no studies using MARKOR scale were so far conducted in the Polish local administration. However some comparisons regarding the MO components will be made on the basis of available research.According to the present study, the level of MO is diversified with respect to LGU types. It is significantly lower in smaller municipalities (rural and town/rural type) and districts, as opposed to town municipalities and cities. The difference refers especially to intelligence generation but also, to a smaller extent, to intelligence dissemination. These results are confirmed by other studies (e.g. Szromnik, 2007; Borodako, 2006), which showed a high level of MO in the Polish towns/cities, and a high level of promotional activity of districts (connected with intelligence dissemination). In their study Szromnik and Borodako (2004) reported satisfactory results regarding gathering and analyzing information about the Polish cities' customers' needs. Over 80 percent of cities confirmed that they took into account their clients' needs when making decisions, a similar number confirmed that there were procedures ensuring constant contact between administration and their clients. On the other hand, Zrobek (2003) reported that the Polish rural municipalities do not gather enough relevant marketing information.The scores for intelligence response relating to the whole sample are significantly higher compared with intelligence dissemination and intelligence generation scores. These results are not surprising, because of the legal regulations existing in Poland, which stimulate exchange of opinions within the local community. Also the study of Gajdzik (2001) of the municipalities in the region of Silesia reported that the rural municipalities organize meetings for exchanging information with the local community several times a year. However, another result of her study was that primary research methods used were mainly customer satisfaction surveys and the rest of market information was gathered mostly from secondary sources.Similar results were obtained by Caruana et al. (1997) in the Australian local governments, where also the intelligence response scores were the best among MARKOR components (mean IR was 81.4 percent of the maximum while IG - 67.2 percent and ID - 53.4 percent; compared to IR - 76 percent, ID - 73.6 percent, IG - 66.7 percent in Poland). In a study of public universities (Caruana et al., 1998) also the IR scores were highest among MO dimensions (5.6 on a seven-point scale), followed by IG (5) and ID (4.9) scores.The above findings show that the local administration units have good contact with the local community, but they should improve internal sharing of knowledge and generating marketing research. According to Walsh (1994) the public sector marketing in Western countries has developed from the use of promotion techniques for specific purposes, to marketing as part of the general process of public service management, for example in determining the nature of needs of the community and how they should be met. Looking at the Polish situation, it should be stressed that without improvement in MO practices these roles of public marketing cannot be fulfilled.The results regarding antecedents of MO suggest that it is positively related to the organization size. The number of departments had an effect on intelligence dissemination dimension (b=0.113). The number of workers had an effect on intelligence generation dimension (b=0.238). This result is contrary to some studies (Cervera et al., 2001; Balabanis et al., 1997; Matsuna and Mentzer, 2002), which indicated that the number of departments inhibits the circulation of information between them. The reason for this discrepancy may be some specific characteristics of the bureaucratic culture in Poland, where larger offices may also be more advanced in introducing modern management trends. This finding also suggests that employing more workers and setting up more departments makes it easier to define needs of diverse customer groups, and monitoring the macro-environment in the Polish local government.Also, the professional training of managers had an effect on intelligence generation (b=0.125) and on the intelligence dissemination dimension (b=0.148). The result confirms the assumption that training leads to the improvement of skills in marketing information generation, which was found to be the weakest MO dimension in the Polish LGU.What is surprising is that two other variables measuring managers' professionalism proved not to be significantly influencing the overall level of MO. They were: education level and experience of work in the public administration. In the Polish sample almost half of the respondents had over ten years of work experience in public administration, so they must have been employed before the major reforms took place. It means that the continuity of senior managers from the previous system is not an explicit barrier to the development of MO as in Savitt (2001). However, it may be congruent with findings of Bathgate et al. (2006), who admit that a key feature of many transition organizations (and the reason why they often encounter problems in fostering a MO) is that systems may change but culture remains the same. Also in Poland the \"new\" management systems may not necessarily lead to a change in deep-rooted belief systems, of the senior managers.Finally, a support for a link between income level and MO was found only in the middle-sized town/rural municipalities. Significant correlation was found between own revenues per capita and MO (IG and IR dimensions). In municipalities of this type own revenues constitute over 51 percent of the total revenues, which is contrary to rural municipalities or poviats where this proportion is about 30 percent (Ministry of Finance, 2009). Presumably higher own revenues of town/rural authorities enable them to arrange more ways of collecting market information and responding to changes in client needs in a quick way. The influence of financing on the development of marketing concept in the rural municipalities was also discussed by Zrobek (2003, 2007), who pointed out that the insufficient funding at this level of administration in Poland is one of the main barriers to the competitiveness development.Managerial implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Over the past few years there have been several attempts to reform the structure and functioning of the Polish local government units (LGU). Therefore, it is worth analyzing the application of the marketing concept in this context. More specifically the purpose of this paper is to determine the present level of market orientation (MO) of the Polish LGU, and indicate some factors stimulating the MO development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A survey with use of CATI technique was conducted among 450 local government officials in Poland. Based on the gathered data a set of hypotheses related to MO level and its antecedents was examined by multiple regression analysis and analysis of variance procedures.\nFindings: - The overall MO level of the Polish LGU is moderate, 21 percent of the units can be considered as truly market-oriented according to Western standards. The MO scores are diversified with respect to LGU types. Especially, they are significantly lower in smaller municipalities and districts as opposed to town municipalities and cities. Also, the scores for intelligence response are significantly higher than those concerning intelligence generation and intelligence dissemination. The results regarding antecedents of MO suggest that its IG and ID dimensions are positively related to the organization size, professional training of managers, and revenues in the medium-sized units.\nPractical implications: - The survey results are valuable to local government managers, indicating areas where measures should be taken to increase the MO.\nOriginality/value: - The paper represents a first application of the well-known MARKOR scale to the Polish public sector.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Operations flow effectiveness: a systems approach to measuring flow performance	[ "Performance measurement", "Operations strategy", "Flow", "High-value manufacturing", "Case study" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Modern operations management (OM) discourse, in an era of make to order, smaller batch sizes, and a greater emphasis on waste elimination (Womack and Jones, 1996), has returned to the central question of what is flow and how should it be measured. The traditional dominance of mass production measures - myopically focused on labor productivity and maximum utilization of the production process - has attracted criticism in most volume and repetitive order settings. For the modern business, measuring and managing for pure process efficiency is unlikely to nurture the \"externally supportive\" position so cherished by Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) nor does such \"traditional efficiency\" (essentially labor productivity) align well with a modern concern for \"servitization,\" personalized production, mass customization and the new technological advances presented by Industrie 4.0, 3D Printing and new technology-based \"S\" curves (Rogers, 2010).\nOperations management and measurement: A systematic literature review was undertaken using key word searches and citation databases including EBSCO, Google Scholar, Emerald Insight and Science Direct archives to identify studies of OM performance measures. The keywords used for searches included OM and measurements, supply chain management and measurements, material flow measurement and other synonyms aligned with the subject of flow measurement. The results showed a lack of systematic studies and conceptual studies and a bias of papers toward lean systems reviews, environmental/green and sustainability performance measures, studies of risk measurement or humanitarian logistics performance measures, modeling of specific cases, sector specific measures and benchmarking studies. These studies were reviewed and, whilst useful, most failed to conceptualize material flow. After systematic reduction, only 33 papers, published since year 2001, were considered of use to this study and deemed to meet the qualities of process measures of flow with properties that support flow measurement of firm-level process performance.\nLiterature review: The review of the extant literature commences with the positioning of OM measures for strategic elevation and the relevance of OM to a modern business. It will highlight the importance of \"material flow\" and its central relationship with improved cash flow (economic sustainability), and then expose the measurement gap in the modern approach of \"swift and even flow\" (SEF).\nPerformance management and measurement systems: There is no universally agreed constitution of an effective performance management system (Pinheiro de Lima et al., 2013), yet Franco-Santos et al. (2007) found 17 different definitions for the term. Definitional disagreement has created confusion which limits the generalizability of traditional research (Marr and Schiuma, 2003). Neely et al. (2005) usefully argue that a performance measurement system (PMS) is \"the set of metrics used to quantify both the efficiency and effectiveness of actions\" (p. 1229), they also argue for a portfolio of measures to be used for modern complex and contextually embedded businesses (Srimai et al., 2011). PMS structure superordinate company goals into measures for control purposes and the measurement of flow. Traditional labor productivity and crude measures of cost efficiency oppose modern priorities for profitable customer satisfaction with minimal delay, maximum personalization at the lowest possible level of waste.\nResearch design: The authors adopt a realist approach in grounding this context-rich study of performance measurement (MacCarthy et al., 2013). The approach allows for theory building and to identify \"outliers\" whose OM systems defy the norm (Voss et al., 2002; Sousa and Voss, 2008). The HVM sector is under-researched and the poor definition of the subject and this context made the study inappropriate for a positivistic methodology (Stuart et al., 2002). Flynn et al. (1990), Eisenhardt (1991) and Yin (2013) all support the appropriateness of such a methodology as presented in Figure 2.\nThe UK high-value manufacturing sector: The UK HVM sector is critical to national prosperity. UK economic manufacturing output, as measured by GVA, has endured a steady decline for many decades from more than 30 percent in the early 1970s to 10 percent in 2014. Although the relative importance of the sector has reduced it has reached a plateau Figure 3, countries such as Italy, Brazil, South Korea and France, have surpassed the UK's position despite the UK remaining strong in key industries (including aerospace where it ranks second only to the USA and is the host country to the Head Quarters of two of the top six pharmaceutical companies see (Advanced Institute of Management Research, 2008). It also boasts one of the most productive automotive plants in Europe operated by Nissan in Sunderland. These national assets in sectors including aerospace, automotive, pharmaceuticals and food were identified by the UK Government's technology strategy board (TSB) - now known as Innovate UK - as critical to the UK's future viability and strategy for 2025 (Technology Strategy Board, 2012b).\nDefining HVM: The Technology Strategy Board (2012a) defined \"high-value manufacturing\" as \"the application of leading-edge technical knowledge and expertise to the creation of products, production processes, and associated services which have strong potential to bring sustainable growth and high economic value to the UK. Activities by high-value manufacturers may stretch from R&D at one end to recycling at the other\" (p. 6). However, according to the Advanced Institute of Management Research (2008) high-value manufacturers are defined as \"[...] firms that do not compete primarily on cost. Instead they deliver value for one or more of their stakeholder groups by contracting for capability, delivering product/service innovation, establishing process excellence, achieving high brand recognition and/or contributing to a sustainable society\" (p. 5). In other words, manufacturing organizations must go beyond the traditional views of production and historic models of high performance to exploit value from modern complicated supply networks (Technology Strategy Board, 2008).\nData analysis and findings: To holistically measure materials flow, the OEE measure (collected over a period of 28 weeks) was extended by including the measurement of quality and delivery reliability of system inputs/outputs to enable the measurement of material flow through the whole system Figure 5. The quality and delivery performance of suppliers was based on the average performance of product specific materials for 28 weeks. Customer quality and delivery performance focused on the typical product which utilized the most resources. Quality was measured as a percentage (defects per hundred) and delivery was calibrated to +/-2 hours of when the product was expected for delivery. The authors considered this measure to be more robust and holistic that those adopted by previous studies.\nDiscussion: The concept of swift and even material flow is intriguing but lacks a measure of flow performance that is holistic and can be used to learn which aspects of OM design and support structures improve the value adding of production time, and more importantly, flow between the organization and customers/suppliers. Most organizations have ignored Neely's (2005) call for pluralist measures and legacy measures from the mass production era (cost not value focused) remain to generate dysfunctional behavior and stresses. The OFE measure was found to provide meaningful measurement of supplier performance (on time and in quality) with internal flows through processing lines and the onward quality and delivery performance to customers - a process that mimics cash flow and viability of the OMS. Stocks within and between organizations exist to balance flow or compensate for variations in forecasts, etc. (reflecting a risk appetite for a business). The new flow measure based on measuring at a higher level (\"Flexibility level\") of the \"sandcone\" model (Ferdows and De Meyer, 1990) is uncompromising as the perfect 100 percent score is truly optimal for a business and its existing social and technical features. The measure also identifies the weakest design elements (supply, processing or distribution) and features that need to be improved to move closer to optimal levels of flow (greater availability, cycle time speeds, process quality, etc.) so that learning, mastery and commercial gain results. Moreover, the OFE measures the typical disturbance effects commonly found in manufacturing organizations and combats the weaknesses of the SEF approach (Table XIII).\nConclusions: The purpose of this research paper was to develop and test a flow performance measurement and to extend the concept of \"SEF,\" under current dynamic conditions, using the UK HVM sector to theory build from ten longitudinal case studies. The research validates the measurement approach and identifies six design elements that are necessary for the achievement of high performance. The new manufacturing era demands greater flexibility of non-standardized products and has evolved from the standardized and limited product ranges associated with more traditional lean systems. The HVM sector was found to operate at high levels of flow using the new measure and that this form of time management could be applied to all cases. The new era of manufacturing places greater emphasis on the management of time as a proxy measure for cash flow. Traditional measures will come under greater criticism as new models, such as Industrie 4.0, place greater stresses on manufacturers for a quality and tailored product fulfillment process. There remain many issues to overcome with modern manufacturing models including skills needed, ability of the supply chain to support personalized production and the redistribution of the manufacturing facility itself. The poor state of current knowledge concerning the measurement of flow for \"cutting edge\" business models of \"make on demand\" or \"make to order\" operations requires a new measure of flow to align operations with the business PMS. A reversion to old and \"tried and tested\" measures, such a labor productivity, will prove both frustrating and will create dysfunctional behaviors. Under new operations models, labor is likely to have comparatively higher technical skills and the OMS will reflect capacity and time utilization when it is needed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Effective operations management systems (OMS) measurement remains a critical issue for theorists and practising managers (Neely, 2005; Bititci et al., 2012). Traditional labor efficiency measures sufficed when all that was made could be sold or when mass production systems filled warehouses with stock and the OMS had little relationship with \"the consumer.\" Modern manufacturing systems require a different form of flow optimization (beyond labor efficiency) measurement (Schmenner, 2015). The essential unit of measure for all OMS designs is the optimal use of time for process value adding and the flow of materials into and from the conversion process. Timely flow, therefore, satisfies the needs of multiple organizational stakeholders including cash flow (accounting), consumer reaction times (marketing) and the general steady state flow of materials (sales and supply chain). The purpose of this paper is to present the results of testing a new performance measure of operations flow effectiveness (OFE) with ten purposively selected cases.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper is theory building using ten, purposively selected, longitudinal case studies drawn from the UK high-value manufacturing (HVM) sector using a pluralist methodology of interviews, observation and secondary data.\nFindings: The OFE measure provides a holistic view of material flow through the input-process-output cycles of a firm. The measure highlights OMS design weaknesses and flow inhibitors that reduce cash flow using a time-based approach to measuring OMS performance. The study validates the OFE measure and has identified six key design elements that enable high flow performance.\nOriginality/value: The paper tests a new process-focused flow performance measure. The measure supports a holistic approach to the manufacturing enterprise and allows different OMS designs to be evaluated so that organizational learning may be enacted to support performance improvement.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Knowledge work productivity in distributed teams	[ "Knowledge management", "Productivity rate", "Team working", "Remote workers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Challenge of knowledge work productivity in distributed teams: According to Drucker (1991, p. 69), the greatest challenge of companies is how to raise the productivity of knowledge work. Knowledge work (KW) is defined here as the creation, distribution or application of knowledge by highly skilled (and autonomous) workers using tools and theoretical concepts to produce complex, intangible and tangible results (Antikainen and Lonnqvist, 2005; Davenport et al., 2002; Harrison et al., 2004; Jones and Chung, 2006; Pepitone, 2002; Pyoria et al., 2005; Scott, 2005). Several authors have discussed knowledge work productivity (KWP), and the difficulties of improving and measuring productivity (Davenport et al., 2002; Drucker, 1991, 1999; Ramirez and Nembhard, 2004; Antikainen and Lonnqvist, 2005). However, there is no single acknowledged way to measure or improve KWP.The product of a knowledge worker is typically intangible: knowledge is the addition of meaning, context and relationships to data or information. There is increasing evidence of large differences in knowledge workers' productivity. The reasons for variability can be found in three main factors. First, the KW tasks performed vary from routine to creative. Second, the enabling and disabling contextual factors at work influence the possibilities to realize the work tasks at hand. These contextual elements are organizational and social factors such as culture, strategy, structure, leadership and support from fellow workers, reward and benefit structures, the physical environment of knowledge workers (e.g. Chan et al., 2007) such as office or home where work takes place, and also the virtual environment, i.e. available communication and collaboration technologies. And, third, the quality of individual human resources like skills and competences. Only few studies discuss elements that affect the performance and productivity of knowledge workers collaborating in global contexts. Identifying these elements, is also supposed to be important for improvement, stimulating and influencing the knowledge work. In this paper the authors focus primarily on the prerequisites of productivity of knowledge workers in distributed teams of global technology companies. Many knowledge workers work often from afar and in multiple workplaces in addition to the main office (e.g. at a customer site, at home, hotels, travelling) (Davenport, 2005) and this makes their working contexts dynamically changing and complex. Distributed teams are defined as groups of geographically dispersed employees with a common goal carrying out interdependent tasks using mostly technology for communication and collaboration (e.g. Bell and Kozlowski, 2002; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999; Majchrzak et al., 2000). These teams are more and more globally distributed.By integrating literature on KW and productivity in distributed teams from multiple disciplines (e.g. management studies and work and organizational psychology) the paper answers three main questions:1. What is knowledge work? There is still not a shared and concise definition and classification of KW (see Kelloway and Barling, 2000; Pyoria, 2005).2. What is knowledge work productivity (KWP)? How to measure and improve KWP is unclear and many different approaches co-exist.3. What are the main enabling and hindering elements for KWP?This paper is structured as follows. Based on current literature, the paper first conceptualizes KW and its classifications (question 1). Second, the authors describe the challenge of analyzing and measuring the productivity of KW (question 2). Then, the paper continues to integrate literature on crucial elements affecting KWP in distributed teams (question 3), and the article is finalized with a conclusion.\n2. Knowledge work: Many authors perceive knowledge work (KW) as an important aspect of our current society (Drucker, 1991; Pyoria, 2005), but no clear and shared definition of KW has been developed (Kelloway and Barling, 2000; Pyoria, 2005). Different disciplines have discussed KW, e.g. intellectual capital and economics, management information systems, i.e. identification and evaluation of technological approaches to KM, management and learning literature (Kelloway and Barling, 2000) as well as sociology (Pyoria et al., 2005; Pyoria, 2006;). In these disciplines a number of themes are shared about KW, such as a high level of education and skills and the use of information technology as an integral part of work process have become common to both empirical and theoretical literature (Pyoria, 2005, 2006).Knowledge workers are defined primarily by the nature of their work, which is relatively unstructured and organizationally contingent, and which reflects the changing demands of organizations more than occupationally defined norms and practices (Scarbrough, 1999). Authors perceive KW as non-routine, complex and situation-specific (Antikainen and Lonnqvist, 2005; Davenport et al., 1996; Quinn, 2005; Scott, 2005) and opportunistic, non-linear and improvisational (Heerwagen et al., 2004). Knowledge workers often deal with new technologies and their work is autonomous and unpredictable (Pyoria et al., 2005).2.1. Classifications of knowledge work\n3. Productivity of knowledge work: In the following section studies on KW productivity measurements are reviewed. Many researchers mention the importance of measuring the productivity of KW (Drucker, 1991, 1999). However, the development of measurements has seemed difficult and no common measurements have been accepted. KW is intangible and hard to measure with traditional productivity measurements. KW seldom has one single correct result or correct way of doing it, and it is difficult to quantify (Quinn, 2005). Outcomes of KW are often not comparable, take a long time to develop and value is only manifested when used by customers. Some authors discuss the fact that knowledge worker productivity (KWP) is difficult to quantify (Antikainen and Lonnqvist, 2005), while others focus more on quantitative measurements, such as efficiency, operating efficiency, standard time, professional time utilization, outcome as a measure, outcome input ratio and cross functional analysis. Nevertheless, there are no universally accepted methods to measure KWP or even generally accepted categories (Ramirez and Nembhard, 2004).Productivity measures are usually based on the ratio of some input and some output, for example, the relationship of time used in developmental efforts to shortened product design time. Productivity is related to two other concepts: \"efficiency\" and \"effectiveness\" (see for example, Pritchard and Watson, 1992). Efficiency is a volume measure that is for example the number of produced mobile phones by a team in an hour. Effectiveness measures are ratios of output relative to goal or expectation, e.g. the ratio of satisfied service needs versus identified service needs.However, for KW there is not necessarily a direct relation between input and output as there are often several intervening variables. The problem is that KW is difficult to observe or measure because of its complexity and intangibility (Drucker, 1991). It becomes more difficult to measure productivity of knowledge workers whose tasks are not fixed, not routine, have no production standard times and whose tasks can be performed differently among various workers (Ramirez and Nembhard, 2004). Furthermore from a review of productivity measurements for KW, Ramirez and Nembhard (2004) found that only few measurements account for quality, while most methods use quantity in assessing KWP. Literature however states that the quality and continuous improvement of the output of knowledge work are very important to KWP (Drucker, 1999). But measuring the outcome quality is a difficult task since it is dependent on what is defined as quality by the organization.3.1 Team perspective of KWP\n4. Elements affecting knowledge work productivity in distributed teams: Current literature on KWP mainly focuses on measuring quantitative costs and effects on the individual level of a knowledge worker. However, besides quantity, timeliness and costs there are many more aspects that influence the productivity of knowledge workers in distributed teams. In order to find these elements the authors look into work on team effectiveness, distributed team research and workplace productivity literature. Several reviews discuss team effectiveness (e.g. Cohen and Bailey, 1997; Gladstein, 1984; Guzzo and Dickson, 1996, Kozlowski and Ilgen, 2006). Team effectiveness is defined as:* performance (quantity or quality);* member attitudes (commitment, satisfaction); and* behavioural outcomes (absenteeism, turnover) (Cohen and Bailey, 1997; Costa et al., 2001).Most literature on team effectiveness discusses collocated teams and few study distributed teams.In a number of reviews on distributed teams, performance and effectiveness are touched on (Martins et al., 2004; Maznevski and Chudoba, 2000; Powell et al., 2004). Maznevski and Chudoba (2000) concluded that effective global virtual team interaction comprises a series of communication incidents, each configured by aspects of the team's structural and process elements. Martins et al. (2004) concluded that task type, time spent working in a group, and the team's social context moderate distributed team performance. According to Powell et al. (2004) research results concerning distributed team performance are mixed. On the one hand, researchers have consistently found that virtual interaction increases the amount of time required to accomplish tasks, e.g. slower use of technology. On the other hand, there are reports of better work in distributed teams, making more effective decisions, generating unique ideas and solutions.Based on our literature review on distributed teams, team effectiveness and KW, the authors derived five categories that are suggested to have an influence on the outcome of KW in distributed teams. These categories will be discussed in more detail below (Figure 1):* task content, i.e. the complexity and interdependency of tasks (Gladstein, 1984; Drucker, 1999) as well as the modes in which a task is performed with other team members or alone are of importance for the outcome of KW;* team structure and composition;* team processes that are related to communication, coordination and planning of tasks, and building trust;* the workplace where work is conducted; and* the organizational context in which KW is performed.4.1 Work tasks\n5. Conclusion: The productivity of knowledge workers in distributed teams of global companies is hardly studied in current literature. Research has, however, been performed on productivity in teams, on productivity of knowledge workers (mainly individual level), distributed teams and on knowledge work. In this article the authors combine the findings from these studies and integrate elements that affect the outcomes of distributed knowledge workers in terms of productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in an integrative model (Figure 1). This model integrates the crucial elements of KWP in distributed teams:* time spent by knowledge workers in different work modes and on different task;* team structure and composition;* team processes;* physical, virtual and social workspaces; and* organizational context.KWP has been discussed in literature (see, e.g. Drucker, 1991, 1999) and several authors have mentioned the importance to study KWP in more detail. With help of this review the authors try to shed light on work that has been performed in the field of KWP and integrate recent literature from different disciplines and research areas. By defining elements that enable or hinder KWP, it is possible to find suitable measurements to knowledge work and to influence certain elements in order to support productivity and quality of knowledge work. By understanding the elements that affect KWP, companies can stimulate or decrease specific elements in order to support productivity of their distributed knowledge workers.However, unclear is to what extent these elements influence KWP. Therefore, for future research the authors will empirically study a number of global distributed teams (in Europe, USA and Asia) of global technology companies.Generalizability and limitations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Knowledge work (KW) is a well-researched topic. However, KW is difficult to measure and little consensus has been reached on elements that affect knowledge work productivity on a team level. The current theories neglect teams working in distributed geographical areas. The purpose of the paper is to integrate recent literature on knowledge work productivity (KWP) in distributed teams and give an overview of the elements affecting it.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper presents an overview of research performed in the field of knowledge work productivity. The authors integrate theories of different fields of management theory (knowledge management, intellectual capital and learning), and work and organizational psychology. This paper answers three questions: What is knowledge work? What is knowledge work productivity? Which elements hinder or enable knowledge work productivity in distributed teams of global technology companies?\nFindings: - The authors define the crucial elements that either hinder or enable KWP: team tasks, team structure and processes, the physical, virtual and social workspaces as well as organizational context. The paper presents an integrative model of KWP in distributed teams of global technology companies.\nPractical implications: - Distributed teams are common in global companies. By understanding the elements that affect KWP, companies can stimulate or decrease specific elements in order to improve productivity of their distributed knowledge workers.\nOriginality/value: - This paper integrates theories from different disciplines in order to create an understanding about knowledge work and its productivity for further research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Japanese surgical resource utilization in 2016	[ "Resource efficiency", "Data envelopment analysis" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The present study is an extension of our continuous effort to evaluate the Japanese surgical reimbursement system. We previously reported two studies that evaluated the reimbursement system in terms of resource utilization using data envelopment analysis (DEA) (Nakata, Watanabe, Otake, Nakamura, Oiso and Sawa, 2015; Nakata, Yoshimura, Watanabe, Otake, Oiso and Sawa, 2015). By comparing the efficiency scores calculated from DEA, we evaluated the equity of the reimbursement scale in terms of resource utilization. We demonstrated that the Japanese surgical reimbursement system failed to reflect resource utilization and is unequal among surgical specialties in 2013 and in 2014 (Nakata, Watanabe, Otake, Nakamura, Oiso and Sawa, 2015; Nakata, Yoshimura, Watanabe, Otake, Oiso and Sawa, 2015). This observation was based on the previous fee schedules before the revision in April 2016.\nMethods: The Teikyo University Institutional Review Board approved our study. We intentionally used similar methods of data collection, analysis framework and statistical analysis, so that we can compare the results with those of our previous studies (Nakata, Watanabe, Otake, Nakamura, Oiso and Sawa, 2015; Nakata, Yoshimura, Watanabe, Otake, Oiso and Sawa, 2015).\nResults: We analyzed 2,558 surgical procedures performed by 109 surgeons during the study period.\nDiscussion: We demonstrated that the surgeons' efficiency scores in the operating rooms remain significantly different among their surgical specialties even after the revision of fee schedule in April 2016. This means that the Japanese surgical reimbursement scales remain unequal among surgical specialties in terms of resource utilization despite the revision of surgical fee schedule; surgeries that utilize a large amount of resources have not been reimbursed highly accordingly since 2013. Although the present findings were similar to those of our previous two studies, it is important to evaluate the fee schedule continuously in order to secure the sustainability of the universal health coverage.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine from the viewpoint of resource utilization the Japanese surgical payment system which was revised in April 2016.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors collected data from surgical records in the Teikyo University electronic medical record system from April 1 till September 30, 2016. The authors defined the decision-making unit as a surgeon with the highest academic rank in the surgery. Inputs were defined as the number of medical doctors who assisted surgery, and the time of operation from skin incision to closure. An output was defined as the surgical fee. The authors calculated each surgeon's efficiency score using output-oriented Charnes-Cooper-Rhodes model of data envelopment analysis. The authors compared the efficiency scores of each surgical specialty using the Kruskal-Wallis and the Steel method.\nFindings: The authors analyzed 2,558 surgical procedures performed by 109 surgeons. The difference in efficiency scores was significant (p = 0.000). The efficiency score of neurosurgery was significantly greater than obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, orthopedics, emergency surgery, urology, otolaryngology and plastic surgery (p<0.05).\nOriginality/value: The authors demonstrated that the surgeons' efficiency was significantly different among their specialties. This suggests that the Japanese surgical reimbursement scales fail to reflect resource utilization despite the revision in 2016.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring diverse process and team alternatives through virtual process simulation	[ "Simulation", "Process management", "Product development", "Modelling" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Business processes are no longer executed in a localized or isolated context due to a myriad of factors, including increased globalization, improvements in information technology, and computer-mediated communication capabilities. Organizations are incorporating a variety of new business strategies in an effort to increase productivity and profitability in the information age, increasingly turning to outsourced or co-sourced alternatives in an effort to be successful. Likewise, more and more work is done via teams (Brannick and Prince, 1997). Execution of a given business process in a diverse global environment becomes increasingly complex. As the trend continues toward increasing globalization and virtual work, the complexity will continue to increase and the means to successfully model and evaluate business processes will be paramount.Geographic and personnel diversity impacts business processes in ways that are often unexpected or overlooked. However, these issues have the potential to significantly impact the success of a process. Success in this context can be defined by such things as cost, time, quality, etc. A diverse, global business process can manifest itself either as an asset or a liability. Organizations turn to outsourced personnel in an effort to reduce costs. However, the potential negative impacts of the outsourcing often get minimized. Organizations must forecast the impact of these globalization issues when making business process design decisions.Virtual process simulation is a predictive modeling technique that seeks to examine and compare all of the possible deployment options for a given process (Daley, 2007). The goal of this modeling process is to understand and investigate all of the possible alternatives of a given business process. Management can then examine all of the alternatives and select the deployment option that is predicted to yield the best results based on program objectives.Virtual process simulation is based on the use of graph models that represent the processes, tasks, organizations, and actors involved in the process. The organization selects the objectives and metrics that are of interest for a given process. For example, an organization may be interested in such metrics as cost, time, or quality. Based on these objectives, specific metrics are assigned to each step or task in the process. A secondary calculus is applied to score each of the possible process alternatives. The possible deployment options can then be compared and analyzed.The processes can be influenced by the geographically dispersed nature of today's globalized business environment. The influences from geographic diversity must be incorporated into the metrics in order to improve the predictive ability of the models.The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for developing these virtual process simulation models that can be used to improve team management within the context of process management. This methodology presents an approach for virtual process modeling in an effort to examine and predict the optimal deployment option for a given process in a diverse environment.\nLiterature review and background: The following sections present some of the related research and concepts that are relevant to this process modeling approach. This background includes discussion of teams, organizations, and global geographic issues.Team definition\nVirtual process simulation method: Virtual process simulation enables management and project teams a method to model and evaluate competing variations of a process workflow. The modeling process requires the capture and organization of various components and related attributes of the workflow including the actors involved in the workflow and characteristics associated with the actors and their relationships. The modeling process allows management the ability to select the specific workflow that best suits the organization depending on the specific objectives and relevant global geographic issues.Virtual process simulation utilizes the following steps:1. Develop graph models at each ontological level for the organization and process.2. Create a library of autonomous agents.3. Enumerate deployment options and identify potential teams.4. Define process objectives and global geographic issues.5. Define specific metrics and apply calculus to deployment options.6. Score deployment options and teams.7. Optimize the process.Each of these steps will be discussed in turn in the following sections.1 Develop graph models at each ontological level for the organization and process\nIllustrative example: An example from the aerospace industry illustrates the process simulation approach, including the impact of global, diverse team issues on a given process and its results. This example involves a US-based aerospace firm that executed a global process to achieve cost efficiencies.1 Background\nConclusion: Virtual process simulation is a predictive modeling technique. The goal of this modeling technique is to explore possible process deployment options prior to actual deployment. This approach is based on the development of graphs to model the process, organizations, and actors that may be involved in a given process. All of the possible process deployment options are enumerated into deployment option graphs. These graph models enable the assignment and quantification of metrics that are of interest for a given process and its objectives. These metrics can be calculated for each deployment option and the best alternative can then be selected. This paper presents the steps required to create virtual process simulation models.Using virtual process simulation, organizations can enumerate all possible team compositions and examine team dynamics a priori. These team dynamics represent a significant component of planning and managing complex business processes. Virtual process simulation models provide a concrete link between team and process managements. Furthermore, the model allows for examination of the impact of global geographic issues on team dynamics and the process. This method was valid in examination of the illustrative example.Additional work is needed to further examine and refine the quantification and analysis of global and team dynamics within the virtual process simulation approach. The ability of this approach to successfully model a given process depends on the validity of the data generating the models. As organizations move toward transnational, distributed, and outsourced business processes, these issues become even more salient. Improved modeling techniques will allow these organizations to be more successful in planning, predicting, and deploying these processes.Attempting to represent and quantify such complex and abstract issues in a model form presents numerous difficulties and limitations. However, failure to model these issues leads to inaccurate models with low-predictive capability. As illustrated in the case, these failures can lead to ineffective deployments, inefficient use of resources, and unmet process objectives. More work is needed to develop other illustrative examples and to perform statistically significant validation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present a virtual process simulation technique for modeling process alternatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper proposes modeling method and applies it to an illustrative example.\nFindings: - The method is effective in modeling the illustrative example and provides a method for studying team composition and dynamics a priori.\nPractical implications: - The paper presents an approach to model process alternatives in order to select the best deployment option. The modeling process incorporates measures and metrics relating to global geographic and team issues. Incorporation of these issues affords the process designer the ability to predict more accurately the most successful deployment option.\nOriginality/value: - The research contributes to the study of process modeling by examining the potentially neglected or ignored issues relating to geographic and team diversity.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Converging crime rates among European countries? A note	[ "Convergence", "Crime", "Europe" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Closely related to theories of social change and modernization, convergence theory postulates that as countries grow, they gradually move toward a condition of similarity, i.e. they converge in various spheres. They develop similar traits and characteristics including societal organization, labor force structure, social and cultural norms, organizational and institutional structures, governance characteristics and quality etc. (Bennett, 1991; Barro, 2015; Islam, 2003; Anagnostou et al., 2016; Ezcurra and Rios, 2013). Spurred by the seminal contributions of Solow (1956) and Swan (1956), followed by the studies of Barro (1991) and Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1992) and more recently Barro (2015), convergence has emerged as a popular theme of empirical investigation. Originally, it focused on the question of whether in the long-run the growth process brings about inter-country or inter-regional convergence with respect to various characteristics such as per-capita income, labor productivity, labor force structure. Subsequently, this type of analysis quickly expanded its research interest into many spheres and policies where convergence could be taking place. Both convergence theory and modernization theory examine the link between development and societal change and the observed tendency for broadly similar conditions or attributes to emerge among otherwise distinct and dissimilar countries.\nSample and data: a comparative presentation: Data availability constraints dictated the sample and the time period for which the crime rate convergence question is examined. Ultimately, the choice was a compromise between N and T. As already noted above, a total of 16 European countries are included in the sample and the time period spans from 1972 to 2012. The countries are: Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and the UK. As a first broad general observation based on the sample's average crime rate it exhibits a dual trend during the period in question (Figure 1). It follows a steady upward trend up to the early 2000s and then reverses into a steady downward one.\nConcluding remarks: Using a sample of 16 European countries, this paper set out to examine the presence of a convergence process in terms of crime rates. It did so using s and b-convergence methodologies and a battery of unit root tests. The empirical findings from the methodologies employed were uniform, offering robust evidence that shows a process of convergence in terms of crime rates. Nevertheless, this convergence process seems to be a gradual and slow one as revealed both by the value of the b-convergence coefficient as well as by the graphical representation of the CV. A number of cautious and tentative explanations for these findings were proposed. Convergence theory postulates that as societies grow, they begin to exhibit similar traits and characteristics. The findings reported, herein, broadly accord with this thesis when it comes to criminality levels in the sample of the European countries used here. Clearly, the findings should be treated with caution and further empirical scrutiny is needed in order on the one hand to confirm the convergence results and on the other, to probe deeper into the factors that could be driving this convergence process. One reason for which caution should be exercised with the findings reported, herein, is the fact that the data used is reported and recorded crime. As noted, actual crime levels may differ between countries, especially when it comes to petit-crime. It is possible, that in some countries, a significant number of committed crimes will go unreported due to low(er) trust in the crime fighting institutions and their ability to thwart or solve petit-crime and in the justice system that punishes criminal offenders. Conditional b-convergence estimations that allow for institutional trust may be an interesting research avenue to explore. The use of other control variables such as cultural and religion traits, income levels could also prove to be a worthwhile addition when further exploring the crime convergence hypothesis in the case of European countries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Social change and modernization theories postulate that as countries grow they gradually move toward a condition of similarity in various spheres exhibiting similar economic and social traits. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a process of convergence in terms of criminality levels is present in the case of European countries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research question at hand is tackled through conventional s and ss-convergence methodologies and a battery of unit root tests in the case of 16 European countries over the period 1972-2012.\nFindings: The findings reported, herein, are quite uniform irrespective of the empirical methodology employed to investigate the issue at hand. The result points to a process of convergence in terms of crime rates. However, this convergence process, although present and statistically traceable, is a rather gradual one as this is depicted both by the value of the b-coefficient as well as by the trend of the coefficient of variation.\nOriginality/value: Most of the studies in this strand of the literature focus on investigating the association between economic conditions such as unemployment and crime or on the effectiveness of crime thwarting policies. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper that addresses the issue of convergence in terms of crime rates in the case of European countries.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The music of leadership	[ "Leadership", "Music", "Communications", "Diversity", "Business", "Human relations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In an attempt to rethink business after the worst recession for many decades, it is vital to rethink leadership and the sorts of HR strategies that will help companies thrive and survive in ways that are genuinely sustainable. This article explores three musical genres and their connections and contrasts with leadership. It oscillates wildly between music and business ideas, as mixing metaphors about music, business leadership and strategy to produce a different set of insights for HR directors. It offers a review of leadership postures, as seen through three diverse forms of music - orchestras, jazz bands and rock.\nIn the beginning there were orchestras ...: For the last 200 years people have led companies as though they were orchestras. Obsessed by the need for order and control in the way work should be organised, they created structures into which people were fitted. Paint it Black or Simply Red as Henry Ford would have said (but not Mellow Yellow or a Whiter Shade of Pale ...). This meant that one person (the conductor/leader) held the composer's operating instructions (the score). The performer's/staff's main role was to follow the score accurately and without deviation (improvisation). This analogy has been attractive through the industrial revolution for the following reasons:* It gave leaders a feeling of absolute control and certainty about the future. This enabled them to make plans about the future based on the past.* It gave followers certainty about their role and required performance levels. Fixed job descriptions and performance management methods provide a rhythm and routine to daily life. Over time, such systems become \"unconscious structures\" or \"scores\" that create conformity and level performance to acceptable rather than extraordinary levels.* It gave shareholders a sense of direction and trust in the business strategy. Relatively few people want to buy shares in a company where the CEO stands up at the AGM and quotes the lines of a Glam Rock classic: \"Does anyone know the way?\".The orchestra analogy is essentially about conformity in terms of \"getting it right\" and collaboration around a set of instructions, in other words \"doing what you are told\". Group identity is more important than individual stardom in an orchestra. The main questions an orchestra must ask itself are: \"Did we get it right?\" and \"Did we give a good rendition of the composer's idea?\".The orchestra analogy is useful at work when:* the business environment and product/service mix is simple and stable; and* staff expectations of work and its meaning are consistent.But, how many enterprises fit this profile in the twenty-first century? It also assumes that the conductor (the CEO) has the right sheet music, is supremely good at conducting, and that the orchestra members are very good at following a pre-planned score. The orchestra analogy is increasingly out of step with the way that innovative businesses get things done, because the CEO usually does not and cannot know everything required for establishing a top-down strategy. At best they only have some of the sheet music, or, even worse, might be using an outdated score. They may also be better at playing than conducting.\n... and then there was jazz: John Kao noted the connections between jazz and leadership in his book Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity (Kao, 1997). He points out that creativity is fuelled by contradictions: between discipline and freedom; convention and experiment; old and new; familiar and strange; expert and naive; power and desire. He points out that leaders should not try to resolve contradictions but work with them. This is very valuable advice indeed.However, Kao's vision is mostly about genius level creativity - he uses Charlie Parker amongst his examples of successful freeform jazz musicians who operate at the \"edge of chaos\". You have to be a brilliant player to be able to do this, and this points to one difficulty with the jazz analogy at work; that much business creativity is quite ordinary and does not always require or value genius level contributions - have you ever tried to get experts to work together in a university? So, what is the middle ground?\nLet there be rock: Both the orchestra and the jazz analogies offer us complementary insights into leadership. The rock music analogy is essentially about breaking away from the score and doing your own thing but within the context of the overall structure, as endless improvisation and creativity are wasteful in terms of successful innovation. Unlike an orchestra, the individual is as important as the team in a rock band, although there are some star soloists. The main questions a successful rock band must ask itself are: \"Did we stand out from the crowd?\" and \"How was the performance?\" These are rather similar to the questions that twenty-first century companies must ask: \"What difference do we make?\" and \"What do our customers think of us?\".The rock music analogy is looser than the orchestra analogy, but not so chaotic as to need the genius-level contributors required in the jazz analogy. It occupies the middle ground (see Figure 1), which is where most twenty-first century businesses are, both tight and loose, both the team and the individuals matter, leaders at all levels, the customer is involved and engaged ... .In practice of course, these divisions are blurred - there are orchestras that improvise and some jazz is very structured. Nonetheless, the broad facets of the analogy offer us important lessons on how to lead and manage twenty-first century businesses.An exemplar of these qualities in action is the artist known as Prince. Prince uses significant elements of structure as well as improvisation based on concepts of jazz to achieve a seamless performance. Although his performances look completely rehearsed, many are loosely coupled \"jams\". To achieve this level of performance, Prince leads the band using a series of codes that signal musical changes which the whole band understands. For example, when he says \"on the one, bass\", the whole band stops playing except the bass player on the first beat of the next bar. This allows the band to change direction at extremely short notice within the piece and yet, to the casual observer it looks completely rehearsed. Leaders need to be adept at developing and utilising shared symbols, signs and codes to help organisations remain adaptive whilst staying focused.\nConclusions: Table I shows some are some implications for leaders drawing on parallel lessons from the world of music and business school.As a new generation of leaders emerges from the tipping point of the financial meltdown and recession, they will need to have new ideas about leading and managing people. This will require both structure and improvisation, both control and creativity and leadership that recognises and rewards both individual and group achievement. The HR Director's role will be to design best fit strategies that help leaders to achieve exceptional performances under conditions of inherent uncertainty and rapid change.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - In an attempt to rethink business after the worst recession for many decades, it is vital to rethink leadership and the sorts of HR strategies that will help companies thrive and survive in ways that are genuinely sustainable. This paper aims to explore three musical genres and their connections and contrasts with leadership.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Through literature reviews informed by qualitative and action research, the paper reviews three musical paradigms and connects them with leadership practices.\nFindings: - In an ever-complex world, leadership needs to convey complex concepts simply and concisely. It also needs to value diverse talents in ways that go beyond the usual definitions of diversity.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Qualitative/action research inevitably needs to be backed up by more formal research into the topic. This paper offers an agenda for action and further qualitative/quantitative research.\nPractical implications: - Great leaders also have personal mastery, whilst also being able to tune in to the world around them. These are skills that can be learned/enhanced through experiential learning in the main.\nSocial implications: - Great leaders make complexity compellingly clear. They do this through providing sufficient structure to enable people to be their best. Music is the analogy of choice for making complex communications clear and there is much more to understand in this area.\nOriginality/value: - Much effort has been expended on examining the parallels between business leadership and sports. Relatively little effort has been spent on music, which offers unique insights into the questions of diversity and teamwork in the context of high performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Discovering high-level BPMN process models from event data	[ "BPMN", "Process mining", "Process discovery", "Process modelling perspectives" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Process-Aware Information Systems (PAISs) are increasingly used by organizations to support their businesses. All these systems record the execution of process instances in the so-called event logs. These logs, thus, capture information about activities performed. Each event records the execution of an activity instance by a given resource at a certain point in time along with the output produced. Analyzing event logs, understanding and improving processes based on facts are the primary objectives of process mining (van der Aalst, 2016).\n2. Related work: There is a large body of work on process discovery. van der Aalst (2016) discusses a large repertoire of process discovery techniques that mainly focus on discovering the control-flow, i.e. the sequences of executions of process activities. In addition, there are several research works to discover the other process perspectives or some subprocess hierarchies (e.g. de Leoni and van der Aalst, 2013; Conforti et al., 2014, 2016; Bazhenova et al., 2016; De Smedt et al., 2017; Kalenkova et al., 2017). However, these works are often limited to a single perspective, such as the data or the resource perspective. Although some approaches to the discovery and conformance checking of multi-perspective process models were proposed earlier (Rozinat, 2010; Rozinat and van der Aalst, 2006; Mannhardt et al., 2016; Mannhardt, 2018), this work leverages the expressive possibilities of the BPMN language. In De Weerdt et al. (2014), an approach for discovering BPMN models represented by control and resource perspectives is suggested, but it is limited to these perspectives only. Furthermore, it is based on a specific process discovery algorithm, while we present a flexible discovering methodology where diverse discovery techniques can be integrated in a flexible manner. The aim is to discover a single process model with hierarchies integrating the data-flow, resource and control-flow perspectives.\n3. Event logs, petri nets and BPMN modeling constructs: This section defines main concepts, including event logs and process modeling formalisms, which will be referred to later in this paper.\n4. A Framework for discovering integrated BPMN models: This section presents a framework for discovering multi-perspective hierarchical BPMN models. First, techniques for mining various modeling perspectives are discussed, and then a novel integrated discovery approach is introduced.\n5. Case studies: In this section, we evaluate the integrated discovery approach developed as a plugin within the MultiPerspectiveMiner package for ProM (Process mining) framework (van Dongen et al., 2005) - an open-source extensible platform, widely used for the analysis of event logs. First, we show that our discovery approach can assist in extracting in-depth knowledge from real-life event logs and represent them in terms of convenient BPMN models. Then behavioral and structural characteristics of BPMN models discovered from the real-life event logs are obtained. Finally, using these structural characteristics the discovered BPMN models are compared to the manually created BPMN models from the Signavio model collection.\n6. Conclusion: This paper reported on a methodology to discover BPMN models that integrate several perspectives and support the \"divide-et-impera\" paradigm, where the model is hierarchically broken down into several subprocesses.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that process mining techniques can help to discover process models from event logs, using conventional high-level process modeling languages, such as Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), leveraging their representational bias.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The integrated discovery approach presented in this work is aimed to mine: control, data and resource perspectives within one process diagram, and, if possible, construct a hierarchy of subprocesses improving the model readability. The proposed approach is defined as a sequence of steps, performed to discover a model, containing various perspectives and presenting a holistic view of a process. This approach was implemented within an open-source process mining framework called ProM and proved its applicability for the analysis of real-life event logs.\nFindings: This paper shows that the proposed integrated approach can be applied to real-life event logs of information systems from different domains. The multi-perspective process diagrams obtained within the approach are of good quality and better than models discovered using a technique that does not consider hierarchy. Moreover, due to the decomposition methods applied, the proposed approach can deal with large event logs, which cannot be handled by methods that do not use decomposition.\nOriginality/value: The paper consolidates various process mining techniques, which were never integrated before and presents a novel approach for the discovery of multi-perspective hierarchical BPMN models. This approach bridges the gap between well-known process mining techniques and a wide range of BPMN-complaint tools.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Technological, Organisational, and Environmental drivers for enterprise systems upgrade	[ "Enterprise systems", "Qualitative survey", "ES upgrade", "Systems upgrade", "Upgrade drivers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Enterprise systems (ES) upgrade is a continuous process in which organisations can take advantage of features and functionality that result in performance improvement, reduction in maintenance effort, and increase in capability to re-examine and automate business processes (Leyh and Muschick, 2013). However, few organisations opt to upgrade their systems in a timely manner. Dempsey et al. (2013) suggest that such decision could be associated with the organisation's need to understand the benefits and evaluate the reliability and stability of the new version. This hesitation implies that organisations utilise outdated systems and risk losing continued technical support and may lead to increased operational overheads and performance bottlenecks. On the contrary, Ng and Wang (2014) suggest that upgrading is a complex undertaking with a tendency of disrupting operations and running over budget. The complexity is not eased by the fact that upgrades are recurring throughout the system's lifespan, at least once every two years (Zhao, 2007), which normally result in huge investment costs (Dempsey et al., 2013).\n2. ES upgrade overview: ES has been interchangeably referred to as ERP; however, Davenport et al. (2004) suggest that ES and ERP are different. In fact, it can be argued that ES constitute a variety of systems including ERP, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and so forth to provide a complete overhaul of the transactions processing systems landscape (Markus and Tanis, 2000; Shang and Seddon, 2002). Ward et al. (2005) substantiate this explanation and describe ES as a comprehensive, configurable, and integrated suite of systems and information resources, which support organisational-wide operational and management processes. Thus, in this paper, we adopt the definition offered by Ward et al. (2005) and suggest that the suite of systems within an ES enable integration, collaboration, interaction, and support the organisation's processing needs.\n3. Methodology: The use of surveys has been widely accepted in IS research (Pinsonneault and Kraemer, 1993; Oates, 2006); however, it is normally associated with quantitative research (Creswell, 2009). Contrary to this belief, Fink (2003) and Jansen (2010) argue that survey is a viable approach when conducting qualitative research and explain that the purpose is to study the diversity and depth within the research questions. Thus, from a methodological perspective, qualitative survey allows the cross-examination of multiple respondents. Hence, this research follows a qualitative survey design. There are several reasons for adopting qualitative survey. First, to address the research questions, there was a need to attain realistic information from respondents who were involved in ES upgrade projects. According to Oates (2006), using a survey approach allows the researcher to engage and collect the same kind of data from a cross-sectional sample of the respondents. In turn, the researcher gathered upgrade experiences from multiple respondents to establish common and diverse views on the factors influencing upgrade decisions. Second, there was a necessity to associate information obtained from previous studies, in order to establish if the upgrade drivers are applicable across different systems. Hence, the use of qualitative survey facilitated exploring ES upgrades dimensions in order to offer insights into complex issues based on gathering realistic information from respondents. Such rich descriptive insights that explain the factors influencing ES upgrades are subjective to the people involved in the process; hence, it requires an approach that can derive meaning and relationships to gather a detailed understanding (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011). Figure 2 outlines the different data collection techniques and the data analysis approach adopted in this study.\n4. Findings and discussion: The web-based questionnaire survey was conducted from May to September 2013; its responses were analysed prior to the semi-structured interviews. Although the web-based questionnaire offered detailed insights and a high-level view of the upgrade processes, there were limitations in terms of the depth of the explanation provided. For example, six respondents suggested their organisations were undertaking a technical upgrade only, and another five suggested their organisation undertook functional upgrade only. The insights obtained from the analysis of the web-based questionnaires indicated that most of the drivers obtained from previous studies focusing on ERP or another sub-set of ES were applicable in influencing the upgrade of the whole ES landscape. Additionally, the data facilitated refining the initial thought process on the potential association between these drivers and upgrade strategies. However, most of the responses required an in-depth explanation for each instance a different upgrade strategy was selected, because of several drivers, but in each case, no explanation was provided. Thus, it was difficult to draw any significant conclusion on the association between the upgrade drivers and upgrade strategy selection, even though the data indicated some level of association. Therefore, in order to attain a detailed explanation, some of the patterns from the questionnaire analysis were used to inform the design of the semi-structured interview, which was conducted from December 2013 to March 2014; this allowed to obtain an in-depth understanding along with establishing any associations between the upgrade drivers and upgrade strategy.\n5. Conclusions: This paper has given an account and categorised the reasons for upgrading ES. From a theoretical position, this research supplements and extends previous studies on ES upgrades by demonstrating the applicability of earlier factors influencing upgrade decisions. From an organisational perspective, this study provides a detailed account of upgrade experiences from 23 organisations, providing insights and a broad understanding of the interplay between the different drivers and their role in selecting an upgrade strategy. In addition, this research suggests there is a relationship between the upgrade strategy and upgrade drivers, which offers a logical strategy that can be followed when contemplating upgrade decisions to decide which upgrade strategy to select. As such, organisations could learn from the experiences of these 23 organisations, and devise an upgrade approach that minimises disruptions and risks, and allocates resources appropriately, along with reducing the complexity associated with upgrade projects.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Enterprise systems (ES) upgrade is a complex phenomenon, yet it is possible to reduce the complexity through understanding of the upgrade drivers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the various upgrade drivers, in order to provide a detailed understanding of the factors driving upgrade decisions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research is grounded in a qualitative survey design. It utilises a web-based survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to collect data from 41 respondents representing 23 large organisations. The data were qualitatively analysed and coded to identify the various drivers and their influence on ES upgrade decisions.\nFindings: The findings suggest that the upgrade decisions are dependent on establishing the need to upgrade, which is influenced by various drivers and stakeholders interests. In addition, the findings suggest that organisations would only opt to upgrade when benefits are aligned with the upgrade and when the decision makes business sense.\nResearch limitations/implications: In this paper, the authors propose that there is a relationship between the upgrade drivers and the upgrade strategy. However, qualitative studies can only formulate logical generalisations. Hence, future research could explore these associations through a quantitative study in order to provide probabilistic generalisation that offers either similar or conflicting arguments applicable to ES upgrade phenomenon.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides an alternative classification of upgrade drivers, and conceptualises an association between upgrade drivers and the upgrade strategy, which in turn facilitates minimising disruptions and upgrade risks.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Leveraging culture and leadership in crisis management	[ "Leadership", "Leadership styles" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Contemporary organizations operate in an age of extreme uncertainties. Natural calamities, for example, Hurricane Harvey in Texas, the USA, Earthquake of Chiapas, Mexico in 2017, wildfires of California in 2018, European migrant crisis of 2013, chemical war in present times at Syria, etc., are just a few of many unpredictable conditions that have not only had fundamentally impacted organizations but also made them more vulnerable than ever. Burke (2008, p. 2) noted that:\nNeed for research: Compared to other academic disciplines such as management and psychology, crisis and crisis management studies is still lesser explored in the field of HRD. Hutchins and Wang (2008) called for research on crisis management from the HRD perspective. The special issue, \"Crisis Management in Organizations: The role of Human Resource Development\" they edited in 2008 (volume 10, number 3), represent the first systematic research effort made by HRD scholars in linking HRD and crisis management. As a field, HRD has been involved in developing and improving individuals, groups and organizations by engaging in strategic changes (Hutchins and Wang, 2008); to manage a crisis is in essence to manage change (Wang, 2008). McCarthy and Sheehan (2014) provide a similar recommendation by drawing attention towards HRD's lack of research and practice in the area of a global crisis that is so rampant in today's society. Therefore, it is essential to study both from a theoretical and practical standpoint, how HRD can support organizations before, during and after crisis strikes and what strategic measures can be taken to minimize the negative impacts of any type of crisis event. Furthermore, we call for attention to variables which may influence effective crisis management. In this research, we focus on two critical elements of crisis - culture (from an organizational point of view) and leadership styles (from a stakeholder point of view). Gaining a solid understanding of these variables, crisis management efforts can be integrated with HRD initiatives that will support leadership development and creation of a proactive, crisis prepared organizational culture.\nPurpose of the research: The overarching goal of this research is to explore the relationship between crisis management, organizational culture and leadership in the crisis management life cycle. To achieve this goal, distinction between types of crisis (internal and external) and crisis phases (pre and post) have been done. This article intends to integrate two studies; the first one is by Bowers et al. (2017), who proposed the Crisis Response Leadership Model (CRLM) and the second one is by Wooten and James (2008) on the different leadership competencies required at each stage of a crisis response. By integrating the two studies, following three research questions guide the inquiry of this article:\nOrganizational culture: an overview: Organizational culture has been defined in multiple ways and explored through different models. Schein (1984) proposed a model about the levels of culture that runs deeper than the visible artifacts and values to undetectable assumptions. These deep rooted assumptions eventually end up in defining how an organization reacts to disruptions in the internal or external environment. As defined by Schein (1984, p. 3), organizational culture is \"the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered, or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration\" and helps organizational members to perceive, feel and react. These basic assumptions are directly manifested in the workplace in the form of language, symbols, ideologies, dialogues, actions and goals (Mileti et al., 2002) and define the organization as a collective entity as organizational culture is \"created, maintained, and transformed by people\" (Madu, 2012, p. 2). In this sense, organizational culture can be transformed into something new, through individual experiences in its internal and external environment.\nCrisis management: the life cycle: Crisis by nature is an unprecedented event which does not give us much time to prepare in advance. The effects of most crises can be detrimental, if not handled properly. There are different types of crisis both occurring from internal and external factors. Some examples of internal crisis are; \"moral or ethical failures, an unanticipated change in leadership, poor oversight, product failures\" (Bowers et al., 2017). There could be some external crisis events too; \"environmental disasters due to acts of nature, pandemic threats, targeted public acts, stock market crashes\" (Bowers et al., 2017).\nLeadership: The relationship between an organization and its leaders have been researched extensively. An effective leader is able to support the organization through different internal and external disruptions. There are different leadership styles that can be adopted, encouraged and leveraged by a supportive organizational culture as indicated by the Dimitrov (2015) in humane organization. On the flip side, a leader is also contributes to the organizational culture through their personal style, traits, vision and performance and dictate how an organization responds in a given situation (Bowers et al., 2017). In leadership research, different styles of leadership have been proposed. This is not a comprehensive list of leadership styles, but some of the most popular ones are discussed in this section. A cognitive leader is perceptive who thinks strategically and uses his or her knowledge and expertise to solve a problem (Bowers et al., 2017). A Laissez-faire leader is hands-off leader who provides full freedom to their subordinates and interfere less in the daily actions (Khan et al., 2015). A transformational leader is a detail-oriented who seeks out consensus from everyone and is able to provide the big picture (Bowers et al., 2017). A directive leader is in charge, makes decisions and communicates clearly (Bowers et al., 2017). A democratic leader allows participation during the decision-making phase and shares the responsibility among everyone (Khan et al., 2015). A transactional leader takes all details into account and make sure the job gets done as per the set rules and regulations (Bowers et al., 2017). Servant leadership is a more contemporary concept in leadership literature. A servant leader has the desire to serve and help others and focuses more on developing people (Keith, 2011).\nImplications: Practical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship of organizational culture, leadership and crisis management through exploration of these three constructs with respect to crisis management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this paper, a conceptual framework has been proposed that is based on the literature findings of organizational culture, leadership and crisis management. Two types of cultural elements are used; internal versus external focus and low versus high flexibility. Organizational crisis management process is explained through the five-stage life cycle, including signal detection, prevention, damage containment, recovery and learning. Four types of leadership are included; directive, transactional, cognitive and transformational that are critical during crisis management. Five research propositions have been proposed for each stage of crisis management.\nFindings: Five research propositions have been proposed based on the stages of crisis management.\nResearch limitations/implications: The conceptual framework needs to be tested for validity. More research is needed on how changing demographics and technology affect these constructs. Organizations need to develop through reflective practices that focus on leadership competencies and crisis-prone culture to tackle any crisis event.\nPractical implications: Organizations need to develop leadership competencies and crisis-prone culture. Organizations needs to be reflective on their practices.\nOriginality/value: The proposed conceptual framework is an expanded version of the crisis response leadership matrix (CRLM) model of Bowers et al. (2017). In this paper, an unique concept is presented by aligning leadership, culture and crisis management with respect to each stage of crisis management and types of crisis.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The importance of information and communication design for manual skills instruction with augmented reality	[ "Communication technologies", "Design", "Skills", "Instructions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) have potential to improve the performance of manufacturing (Jiang and Fukuda, 2007; Ketikidis et al., 2006; Srinivasan and Jayaraman, 1999; Zerenler, 2007). However, it has long been recognized that applications of ICTs can be unsuccessful (Maskell, 1993; Melnyk and Narasimhan, 1992; Prouty, 2000; Monnoyer, 2003). Accordingly, guidelines for ICTs applications have been proposed. Such guidelines can be specific to manufacturing (Ake et al., 2004) or relevant to ICT applications in any sector (OECD, 2003). Typically, guidelines include recommendations such as: alignment of ICT applications with strategy, involvement of the full range of stakeholders, and careful planning and monitoring (Dedrick et al., 2003; Ross and Weill, 2002).A less widely recognized recommendation from outside of manufacturing is that the formulation and communication of information with ICTs should be designed. Information design seeks to improve the effectiveness of information for specific audiences/recipients (Jacobson, 1999). Communication design is concerned with the selection of media most suitable for carrying particular information to specific audiences/recipients (Barry and Fulmer, 2004). It has been argued that the design of information and its communication can bring about improvements in the performance of individuals (Schwartz and Hartman, 2006) and organizations (Devlin and Rosenberg, 1996). The design of information and its communication may be relevant to instruction of manual skills with ICTs such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).Shortages of manual skills are reported by manufacturers throughout the world (Katz, 2008). Currently, manual skills are often communicated through one-to-one interaction between a person with manual skills (e.g. an instructor) and a person lacking manual skills (e.g. a trainee). As there is shortage of people with manual skills, so there is a shortage of people who are available to provide instruction in manual skills. Moreover, one human instructor can only be in one place at one time; and only a few trainees can be at that place to receive instruction at one time. By contrast, advances in ICT may make it possible to reduce dependency on human instructors by enabling individual trainees to receive personal instruction in situ where ever they are.The research reported in this paper explored relevance of information and communication design to the use of ICTs for instruction of manual skills. The research included literature review, interviews, and five quasi-experiment studies. The research included field work in the following countries: Finland, Italy, Japan, and South Korea. The research was carried out throughout 2007 and 2008. The remainder of this paper is organized into five major sections. In the next section, future need for manual skills is considered. In the third and fourth sections, information and communication design is described in more detail. In the fifth section, the relevance of information and communication design to instruction of manual skills with ICTs is examined. In the final section, the conclusions of the research are outlined, together with directions for future research.\nFuture need for manufacturing skills: Manual skills can be classified in terms of fine and/or gross psychomotor functioning (Gilchrist and Gruber, 1984). Manual skills involve psychomotor functioning in the manipulation of handheld tools and the positioning of components. Fine motor functioning involves neuromuscular coordinations that are usually precision orientated and involve hand-eye coordination. Gross motor functioning involves use of the large muscles of the body; often with the whole body being in movement.Manual skills can also be classified in terms of how much initiative people are able to draw upon when undertaking tasks in different situations. In particular, people can be routine experts or they can be adaptive experts (Lin et al., 2007). Adaptive experts are able to discern the specific, and often subtle, features that differentiate one situation from another. Further, they have the ability to modify or invent skills according to the requirements of that situation. Moreover, adaptive experts avoid the unproductive application of previously useful prior learning in new situations. This can be very important because the nature of the situation determines the nature of the successful pattern of movement for a particular motor skill (Gentile, 1977). In other words, adaptive experts are able to draw upon initiative to deal with a wide variety of different situations. However, there are many situations where adaptive expertise is not needed, and routine expertise is sufficient. For example, typing is a skill with extremely stable manual skill requirements. Accordingly, the instruction of such manual skills should aim to make sure that people develop good initial habits, so they can become increasingly efficient without ever having to undo their prior learning (Schwartz et al., 2009).Investigation of requirements for manual skills included visits to 17 companies in the following countries: Finland (one), Italy (three), Japan (six), and South Korea (seven). The companies were selected because labour costs are relatively high in the countries in which they operate, and they face intense international competition. Accordingly, these companies have progressed through on-ongoing commitment to implementing technological advances. It was considered that such companies were less likely to persist with manual skills than companies which operate in countries with lower labour costs and which do not face intense international competition. The outputs of the companies' activities can be ordered in terms of physical size as follows: ships, cars, fork lift trucks, factory automation equipment, machine tools, hoists, moulds for automotive and consumer electronics components, automotive components, home electronics, desktop manufacturing equipment, actuators and values, and mobile telephones. Company production managers were asked: what manual skills, if any, will your company need in the future? All of the companies visited envisaged that they would continue to need manual skills in their operations. However, not all of the companies had requirements for both fine and gross motor skills; or for adaptive expertise as well as routine expertise.Car makers (Italy, Japan, and South Korea) foresaw a reduction in the pool of potential operatives available for recruitment. Accordingly, they seek to reduce the physical demands of assembly tasks that will continue to be carried out by human operatives. For example, by developing improved intelligent assist devices for use by human operatives in the positioning of windscreens. Accordingly, it is possible that gross psychomotor skills will not be required in the future. However, the initiative of adaptive expertise is likely to continue to be important to car makers that need their operatives to evaluate outputs and plan means of improvement during kaizen (Imai, 1986).With regard to the assembly of mobile phones (South Korea), a production manager stated that automation becomes a bottleneck when the variety of mobile phone models in production increases. Accordingly, the company had reverted back to the use of human operatives and jigs in its assembly operations because the number of different products it assembled per day had increased. Companies making home electronics, desktop manufacturing equipment, actuators, and values, were all found to be making extensive use of human-manual skills (Japan). Fine motor skills are particularly important in these companies.These findings are consistent with literature that draws attention to the importance of workforce and skills (Bennour and Crestani, 2007; Fraser et al., 2007; Gaimon, 2008). These findings are also consistent with past cases of companies and industries that found it necessary to cut back on automation and re-introduce human operatives in order to develop quality, improve productivity, and increase profitability (Agrawal et al., 2001; Davenport and Prusak, 2000; The Economist, 1995).In the next two sections, information and communication design issues, which have potential to inform applications of ICTs for manual skill instruction, are described. These issues were revealed through interviews with experts in semantics (ten), translation (ten), information and communication design (ten), and use of ICTs for instruction (ten). The informant style of unstructured interview was used (Powney and Watts, 1987). The interviewer did not seek to control the interviews. Rather, interviewees freely expressed their thoughts and took the interviews in the direction that they chose. This type of unstructured interview can be contrasted to the respondent style of unstructured interview where the interviewer seeks to follow a more defined agenda (Powney and Watts, 1987). Notes were hand written by the interviewer. Unstructured interviews were followed up with literature reviews. The literature reviews followed topics which interviewees stated to be important in their opinions.\nInformation and communication design - underlying issues: Information design\nInformation and communication design - application issues: Analysis, demonstration, and feedback\nAssessment of relevance: Assessing the relevance of information and communication design to instruction of manual skills with ICTs was facilitated by five sequential studies. All of the studies involved two groups of participants. In all of the studies, one group of the two groups used AR instructions. AR can enhance users' perceptions of the real world by showing additional information such as graphics and/or text. This additional information can be viewed in situ, at the same time as the real world, via a variety of media including computer monitor, laptop screen, mobile telephone screen, and head mounted display. It has been argued that AR is one of the technologies most likely to alter industries (Jonietz, 2007). Further, it has been claimed that AR has the potential to enable instruction without human instructors (Boud et al., 1999; Pathomaree and Charoenseang, 2005). In all of the studies, the other of the two groups used instructions comprising VR graphics. Both types of instructions provide information about how to assemble the same wooden puzzle comprising the same six wooden pieces (Figure 1(a)) and square wooden box (Figure 1(b)). The AR instructions are shown in Figure 1(c), and the VR instructions are shown in Figure 1(d).Assembly involves putting each wooden piece in its correct position and sequence in a square wooden box with an open top. In all of the studies, each participant selected and positioned the physical wooden pieces when following the AR or VR instructions. Each participant worked individually and took part in only one study. Details of the studies are summarized in Table II.Each group comprised an equal number of female and male participants. The participants were not a random sample. Rather, a purposive sample of professional people whose work involves the use of advanced ICTs was obtained. In the first three studies, the AR instructions were viewed via a 19-inch computer monitor, while the VR instructions were printed out and viewed via six separate pieces of paper which were held in a lever arch file. In the final two studies, both AR instructions and VR instructions were viewed via a 14-inch laptop screen. The studies were not fully defined at the outset. Rather, studies evolved based on observations of the preceeding studies. Observations enabled deeper analyses of the assembly task, and of the information and communication design for the application of the ICTs. These analyses prompted revision of instructions for each following study. Further information about each of the studies is provided in next five sub-sections.Study 1\nConclusions: Literature and field study indicate that manual skills will continue to be essential to the manufacture of a wide range of physical goods, including: ships, cars, fork lift trucks, factory automation equipment, machine tools, hoists, home electronics, actuators, and values. The tentative conclusion of the research reported in this paper is that the design of information and its communication is relevant to instruction of manual skills with ICTs. Not all of the underlying issues and application issues were relevant to the studies that were carried out during the research. However, those that were relevant; presentational issues, ergonomic characteristics, technical capabilities, and analysis; did influence results.A further tentative conclusion is that information and communication design is particularly important for skill instruction using AR. This is because, for example, AR information can have the unintended consequence of reducing clarity by overlaying key information in the real world. Further, AR information can be communicated at point-of-use in real-time, and hence offers the seemingly attractive prospect of on-demand manual skill instruction which transcends traditional requirements for training. However, such an approach could eventually lead to workforces which lack adaptive expertise. Overall, it could be argued that AR may not prove to be a superior ICT for the instruction of manual skills - unless particular attention is paid to information and communication design. Interestingly, the importance of information and communication design has not been considered in previous AR studies by others. However, examination of other studies may reveal that the investment made in AR far exceeded the investment in the alternative against which AR was assessed. Moreover, this imbalance led to the alternative having extremely limited potential to communicate information. In one study of skill transfer in assembly task, for example, some groups followed AR instructions, while other groups watched manual assembly by another person. Hence, the non-AR groups did not practice selection and positioning of pieces. Further, the pieces assembled were small and, therefore, partial covered by the hands of the person who demonstrated the assembly to the non-AR groups. By contrast, in this research an equal investment was made in the AR instructions and the VR graphics against which they were compared. Thus, the research highlights that balanced comparisons are essential to answering a long-standing question about the bold claims which are sometimes made for new ICTs. That question is: what is spurious and what is real (Hempell, 2002).One philosophy for guiding more balanced future research into the potential consequences of investments in ICT is critical realism (Mingers, 2004). This philosophy of science has been developed as an alternative to positivism and interpretivism. The purpose of critical realism is to improve understanding of causal mechanisms and contexts that are needed in order to achieve outcomes from actions (Carlsson, 2003). Mechanisms for the instruction of manual skills are demonstration, practice and feedback. The contexts are training centers and on-the-job. Future research can explore the potential of different ICTs to reduce the dependency of mechanisms on human instructors. Research can encompass the details of information and communication design, such as when the edges of graphics should, and should not, be emphasized in black line. Moreover, research can encompass the overall scope of information and communication design. For example, the communication of information describing contrasting cases is not necessary if the development of adaptive expertise is not required. Most importantly, research should be balanced by exploring potential disbenefits, as well as potential benefits. This need for balanced research is relevant to all ICT applications, not only those with potential to enable instruction of manual skills.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - There are guidelines for information and communication technology (ICT) applications which are already established in manufacturing. These guidelines include recommendations such as: alignment of ICT applications with strategy, involvement of the full range of stakeholders, and careful planning and monitoring. A recommendation from outside of manufacturing is that information and communication design should be carried out in conjunction with ICT applications. The purpose of the research reported in this paper is to investigate the relevance of information and communication design to applications of advanced ICTs used in the instruction of manual skills.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Literature review, interviews, and five quasi-experimental studies are used.\nFindings: - The design of information and its communication is relevant to the instruction of manual skills with ICTs and, in particular, important for instruction with augmented reality (AR).\nResearch limitations/implications: - There are only 92 participants in the five quasi-experimental studies.\nPractical implications: - This paper provides an overview of information and communication design issues. Examples are provided of how these issues manifest themselves in the application of advanced ICTs, such as virtual reality and AR, which can be used in the instruction of manual skills.\nOriginality/value: - The originality of the research reported in this paper is that it goes beyond further investigation of established guidelines for ICT applications. The value of this paper is that it draws attention to the potential of information and communication design to improve ICTs implementations. It also draws attention to the need for balanced comparisons in the assessment of all ICTs prior to their implementation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Venture creation and award-winning technology through co-produced incubation	[ "Learning", "Co-production", "Norway", "Entrepreneurship", "Corporate incubator" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: During the last two decades, theories and practices of business incubation have increasingly been shaped by the knowledge economy concept. Although sometimes still contributing to firm founding and development via physical resources, the National Business Incubator Association in the USA, now generally warns its members against the long-term effects of offering subsidized rents[1]. Today business incubators are expected to add value through specialized business knowledge and learning activities aimed directly at leveraging new firms' strategic knowledge (Becker and Gassmann, 2006; Karatas-Ozkan et al., 2005; Wiggins and Gibson, 2003). Joel Wiggins the then director of the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) explained that the incubator in Austin started with subsidized rents. ATI then gradually increased rents until charging slightly above-market rents. ATI still had to reject companies because ATI was known for providing significant added value to its companies[2].\nThe business incubation transformation: from physical to intangible assets: Incubation services have progressed from being primarily a way to of supplying physical resources (Karatas-Ozkan et al., 2005), to being a way to organize learning and co-production of competitiveness-enhancing knowledge (Rice, 2002). And, to providing value added services, support and leadership, with acess to social capital in the form of networks and relationships (Soetanto and Jack, 2011; Wiggins and Gibson, 2003). Karatas-Ozkan et al. (2005) argue that \"This focus has been sharpened in the current age of the knowledge-based economy, where knowledge, which is co-created and shared by people in organizations, is acknowledged as the driver of economic growth\" (p. 42). Wiggins and Gibson (2003) agree, and list five tasks that incubators must accomplish in order to be successful:\nTheoretical framework: The co-production concept, as used by Parks et al. (1981), refers to partners jointly contributing in a system of public service production (e.g. community anticrime, solid waste collection or education services). In service production systems, \"The person being served (the client or consumer) is inevitably a part of the production process, if there is to be any production whatsoever\" (Parks et al., 1981, p. 1001).\nMethod: Qualitative and longitudinal methods are appropriate to study how business relationships develop, but incubator studies have made scant use of these methods. Research into, and evaluations of, incubators often concentrate on the incubators' knowledge capacities; their industrial ties, and the educational backgrounds of their staff and management, their modes of knowledge, or on clients' reports of their value added contributions. These perspectives ignore the transfer process and thereby overlook both the entrepreneurs' and the incubator staff's roles as learning partners. The co-production perspective states that knowledge and learning are products of collective and coordinated efforts. These aspects are often lost in quantitative studies in which quantifiable entities such as industry specialization, formal education or professional experience, and types of services measure the value added to small companies by business incubators. While these quantitative approaches might be valid within a positivistic research paradigm in which entities and their causal relationships are essential, it reflects a simplistic understanding of entrepreneurship as a social and cognitive process (Rae, 2000). It is therefore important to have not only static typologies, and incubator performance metrics, but also incubation narratives that are sensitive to the dynamic nature of human cooperation. A narrative tells a story wherein a sequence of interlinked events occurs and provides a temporal dimension to the activities studied; a sense of decision making and problem-solving within the mix of past, present and future events (Bartel and Garud, 2009; Hatch and Tsoukas, 2001). In our study, we gathered qualitative information about a specific incubation process, and the perspectives of both the incubator management and the entrepreneurs are included.\nThe corporate incubator KI: The corporate incubator KI, is owned by seven companies and institutions mainly based in Kongsberg, Norway. KI's business model is to help new technology enterprises develop their business through business expertise, technological skills and industrial expertise possessed by KI and its owner companies. \"We work mainly in industries where we have contacts. That is one of our admissions criteria really - that the resources represented by our owners can be important inputs to the projects,\" the incubator manager says. KI's owners - Kongsberg Group, FMC Technologies, Volvo Aero, Kongsberg Automotive, Dresser Rand, Devotek, Teknologisk Institutt - have committed to let KI use their employees free of charge when needed by the incubated firms.\nThe case narrative told in seven events: Borrowing from critical incident technique (Chell, 2004; Flanagan, 1954), we have chosen to present our case in seven key events. Events are \"the natural units of the social process\" (Van de Ven, 2007, p. 155), and follow in a natural progression. An event can be said to be critical if it has an important impact (positively or negatively) on the unfolding of subsequent events (Flanagan, 1954). The seven critical events in our study are organized chronologically by starting point. However, entrepreneurial life being what it is, often non-linear and messy, these events overlap somewhat both in time - due to varying time-spans of events - and in content as events interlock and partially overlap one another. Nevertheless, our main organizing principle is chronology, as the order of events mattered to the actors in our case narrative.\nImplications and conclusion: Implications for research on co-production of incubation services\nConclusion: This study fills a void in our understanding of the processual nature of corporate incubator's value added through co-production with incubator companies. As incubators' roles extend beyond providing facilities to include adding value to small businesses' strategic development, incubator managers' ability to add value to incubator companies will increasingly hinge upon effective co-production. Theory and research should offer understanding of the dynamic nature of co-production processes, because it offers a realistic perspective on value addition through business incubation. The theory of co-production is compatible within an entrepreneurial learning perspective. The emergent paradigm in the field of entrepreneurial learning is based on active inquiry and critical reflection on problems in practical contexts as opposed to formal instruction. Business incubators are increasingly relying on co-production efforts by incubator managers and entrepreneurs. With this trend continuing, entrepreneurs could expect more \"tailored,\" but also less predictable, ad hoc, knowledge-transfer processes in which they must participate and allow incubator managers to influence company decisions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Corporate incubation is a type of business incubation designed to assist small firms to develop using know-how available in large companies. The purpose of this paper is to explicate how incubation services can be co-produced and describe the contributions and conditions influencing learning and firm development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study used a longitudinal single-case method to analyze a small firm's development process during four years of incubation. The authors recorded and analyzed interviews with the incubator manager and the entrepreneur, and with incubator staff and external stakeholders.\nFindings: The incubator provided knowledge- and network-based services. These services emphasized the need for the entrepreneurs to be both proactive and receptive to counseling. Although the incubator and the entrepreneurs made progress in developing the company, a dispute over ownership shares threatened to break down the incubation process.\nResearch limitations/implications: Taking evidence from a longitudinal case study, this paper exemplifies and emphasizes that incubation can be a process of interdependent service production in which entrepreneurs are active contributors. Future research should explore how managers and entrepreneurs handle the ambiguities of valuation of incubator contributions.\nPractical implications: For managers it is important to take seriously the key task of communicating the value of the incubator's contribution to the companies they recruit. For entrepreneurs it is important to find ways to estimate potential for value added from the incubator.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides a processual understanding of the dynamics of incubator co-production, not found in extant literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Performance, scalability and reliability issues in web applications	[ "Reliability management", "Electronic commerce", "Computer networks", "Performance testing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Testing is always a necessary component in system design to ensure systems operability, performance and availability. In 1980s, the proliferation of client-server environments ensured relative stability in performance terms and the very nature of such architecture meant that such systems were limited to a predefined internal user population, one that could be trained in systems policies and procedures. However, in the early 1990s, the advent of the internet changed all this, exposing mission-critical systems architecture to external networks. Further, the interdependence of such systems meant that a failure in an isolated area could impact the whole network and cause failures anywhere (Aries et al., 2002). In addition, as user load on a web site increases, the computation and communication costs can result in significant delays, leading to poor scalability (Bakalova et al., 2004).While existing client-server architectures gave quantifiable user populations, the web is definitely an unknown terrain in terms of user population. Added to this, the packet-based nature of web traffic puts new demands on system performance and availability. Web technology also brings with it the need to deal with browser-based clients and heavy-duty usage. Where client-server gave relative reliability, the intangible nature of the internet means that what works today may not work tomorrow. This is challenged further by increasingly complex back-end systems, harnessing various technologies and operating environments for deploying mission-critical information. Industry estimates predicts that e-commerce revenues globally are over $1 trillion by 2005 (eMarketer.com). If the full potential of e-business is to be realized, it is essential that appropriate testing procedures be at the forefront of any information systems strategy. Schneider (2002) provides some discussion on the various IT infrastructure elements required for e-commerce. The key to making applications suitable for a high performance level is testing applications' functionality during the development phase (Ameen, 1989; Franz and Shih, 1994; Huq, 2000). In this respect, testing has to be thought of as an integral part of the development process (Nixon, 2000). Hence, appropriate testing procedures for IT infrastructures are important for increased productivity, desirable end-user experience, a positive business image and an optimized technology investment (Datta et al., 2004; Pavur et al., 1999).Performance and reliability problems can cripple a web site at a moment's notice if the load on a site suddenly increases (Lii et al., 2004; Hooshang et al., 1995; Shaw et al., 2002). Along with the right tools and techniques, a practical performance testing process is needed to be successful in system testing the web site before - and after - it goes live (Empirix, 2004a, b, c; Lars, 2004; Morgan, 2003). The primary purpose of this paper is to discuss various types of testing methods for performance, reliability and scalability of multi-tier web applications.This paper examines the intangible knowledge base in the performance, scalability and reliability (PSR) testing field and documents the planning and execution methodology that can be adopted for testing multi-tier web applications. A glossary at the beginning includes the definition and discussion of terms related to PSR testing. The background section discusses the need for PSR testing. The PSR planning strategy is then presented followed by the execution of PSR testing and finally, summary and suggestions for future research.\nBackground: The growth and adoption of the internet has led to an exponential growth in web-based multi-tier applications used by businesses to provide dynamic content to users (Johnson and Reimer, 2004). As the number of users grows, the load on the systems to perform the communication and computational services also grows. If such systems are not well tested to support the increasing loads, users can see a considerable decrease in response time. For example, Keynote Systems Inc., an internet reporting firm, notes that in December of 2004 FedEX site's average response time during the week of 15th December was about 6 seconds while UPS's site response time about 15 seconds during the same week (Keynote Systems, 2004). Although, the number of visitors at that time is not known, the slow response time might have some impact on the choice of web site from the user's perspective.There are several academic research studies that focus on the importance of IS performance evaluation (Leem and Kim, 2004), web services (Casati et al., 2003), web site design (Yang and Tang, 2003), management and usability and its impact on user's perception (Frank, 2004; Wen et al., 2003). However, there is little academic research that collectively focuses on web sites reliability, scalability and performance issues. Table I shows the findings on poor web performance, gathered from consultants and engineers, by Empirix (2004c).They suggest that performance problems in multi-tiered web-based systems are due to very little or the lack of appropriate performance testing. They also discuss the importance of PSR testing for web-based applications. In this paper, we present a PSR testing strategy for multi-tiered web-based applications (Figure 1). The next section discusses the planning phase of the PSR strategy followed by the execution strategy.To ensure readability and maintain the flow a separate glossary section is added at the beginning of the paper that defines the terms and definition.\nPlanning the PSR testing: The objective of any performance testing process is to simulate a production environment. This entails the following issues:1. Production scenarios. The testing environment ideally should be as close to the actual environment where the software would be used. This allows the generation of important metrics, which estimate the performance limits of the software.2. Production-type loading conditions. The end-users do not equally utilize all functions of software. The manner in which the software and its various modules would be used determines the overall efficiency and ensures if the product is capable of meeting the requirements. The test plan should take that into consideration while determining the appropriate testing load to be used for various usage levels, etc. (Singleton, 2002; Wen, 2001).Hence, the steps involved in this planning phase of PSR testing and verification are:* identifying business workflow;* identifying and creating necessary data;* identifying system configuration(s) for testing/verification; and* identifying machine requirements (type of machine, characteristics).Identifying business workflow\nPSR testing execution: Adopting a strategy to encompass all the types of testing is not only a cumbersome activity but is also complex as it is hard to restrict the testing process to short release cycles (Rothman, 2002). Blumenstyk and Decker (2001) discuss some test procedure as well as the downfall of not having appropriate test procedure for web applications. We present the following testing processes that may be adopted to cover the broad area of performance benchmarking:1. Concurrency testing:* under nominal end-user load utilizing a maximum of 50 percent of machine CPU power; and* individual workflow tests.2. Reliability testing:* under real-time production-like environment covering key product workflow;* test encompassing all end-user workflow; and* to cover reliability testing and load testing.3. Performance, scalability and capacity analysis:* measure product performance under different loading conditions;* measure product performance on a system by scaling machine resources - processors on a machine, number of machines; and* to cover volume and stress testing in addition to performance and scalability testing.Concurrency testing\nScaling machine resources: In a two-tier system configuration (Figure 3), a unit of a production system encompasses all processes that are core to the run-time production system. Two such basic units are needed to support basic fault-tolerance in a production environment. To extend the configuration for a scalability analysis, the number of servers in the second tier can be increased to four or five to gather sufficient details to determine the scalability factor for the metrics of interest - response times and number of concurrent users.Following the same assumptions as a two-tier set-up, in a three-tier configuration (Figure 4), scalability factor has to be estimated at second and third tiers. Starting with a single server on second tier, number of servers has to be increased in the third tier and relevant metrics has to be gathered. Next, another unit of server is added on the second tier and the number of servers in the third tier are increased to estimate scalability.Scalability of this set up is still measured by the same factors mentioned earlier, viz. response times, and number of concurrent users. The process is little complicated since a unit of production system cannot be isolated due to the split-tier model.A similar procedure outlined for a three-tier set up can be adopted for multi-tier models (Figure 4). This configuration would involve an additional cycle of testing in two dimensions - vertically and horizontally. Unless there is a compelling reason to have such a topology it is advisable to design less complicated configurations for implementations. Following notes would support this argument:1. lesser maintenance overhead for system administrators;2. greater machine resource utilization in a smaller set up;3. capacity/scalability analysis/planning is more controlled and accurate;4. analysis process is less complicated since capacity or scalability factor need not be determined at additional tiers; and5. lesser network complications, delays, expenses and simpler set up.Though the procedure below is elaborate and involves many cycles of same type of testing, this methodology provides valuable information and helps understand the system's behavior under different types of loading:1. Starting with five users measure the end-user latency for the given combination of business workflow and note the details.2. Double the number of users and repeat tests for 4 or 5 data points (5, 10, 20, 40, 80, etc.) or until the acceptable latency limit is exceeded, whichever happens later.3. Add another unit of the production system and double the number of simulated users (10, 20, 40, 80, 160, etc.). Again, this exercise can stop once the latency limit is reached or continued up to twice the latency to determine max capacity.4. Continue the above process by scaling to four units and tabulate the results.5. For a multi-tiered set up, capacity of intermediate tier(s) can be estimated by the load on the processors on the machines positioned at the tier(s). Typically, capacity of the intermediate tiers are restricted to an average of 80 percent utilization of machines' processor(s), to allow for peak loading conditions.6. During this process, performance bottlenecks can be monitored by evaluating the list of transactions in the business workflow and their respective average latency for a test cycle, viz. ten user tests running for three hours.7. Though the average latency of the scenario may fall below the threshold, transactions that indicate exceptions to the condition should be analyzed for potential design issues.8. Once the test results are tabulated, following analysis would help judge the scalability of the configuration under study:* response time scalability per unit;* latency vs number of users per unit;* throughput scalability per unit;* RPS vs number of users per unit;* capacity scalability - throughput;* RPS vs load per unit (across different number of units - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5);* capacity scalability - latency; and* number of users for capacity threshold (and 2x) vs number of units.All the above details present valuable information that can be analyzed to improve the performance and productivity of the application.\nStudy implications and directions for further research: The primary objective of the web-based management of information technology is the design and maintenance of an effective information technology infrastructure capable of delivering required information and services to its various internal and external customers. This requirement has significant bearing in today's highly competitive global marketplace driven by internet technologies that blur geographic boundaries. The timely delivery of information and resources is a critical component of a corporation's online services and has significant effect on its competitiveness in the global digital economy. The ability to deliver online information, and to process online transactions and user requests for information and services in a timely fashion without technical difficulty is directly affected by the information technology infrastructure that supports the e-commerce operations. This mandates appropriate testing procedures to ensure that web-based applications are functioning well to meet user demands. This paper provides a comprehensive strategy and the suggested steps for managers and technical personnel to ensure that the multi-tier web-based applications are effective, scalable and reliable.In addition to the above-mentioned benefits to practitioners, this paper has relevance to academics as well. As indicated earlier, there is little academic study that collectively focuses on web sites reliability, scalability and performance issues. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive discussion of the planning and execution strategies that can be adopted for testing of multi-tier web-based applications. The PSR issues related to multi-tier web-based applications are also presented. An avenue for further research for academics would be to survey firms to investigate in depth the actual practices of firms' PSR testing methods. A study that looks into the factors that limit PSR testing by firms and lessons learnt through PSR testing processes would benefit firms that face challenges in this area.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The primary purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive strategy for performance, reliability and scalability (PSR) testing of multi-tier web applications.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The strategy for PSR testing is presented primarily through examination of the intangible knowledge base in the PSR testing field. The paper also draws on relevant recent work conducted in the area of software performance evaluation.\nFindings: - The study revealed that appropriate testing procedures are critical for the success of web-based multi-tier applications. However, there was little academic work that collectively focused on PSR testing issues. This paper provides step-by-step testing procedures to ensure that web-based applications are functioning well to meet user demands.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Given the rapid changes in technology and business environments, more applied research will be needed in the area of PSR testing to ensure the successful functioning of web-based applications. For future studies, structured interviews or case-study methods could be employed to present the views of online companies.\nOriginality/value: - This paper provides a comprehensive strategy and the suggested steps for managers and technical personnel to ensure that the multi-tier, web-based applications are effective, scalable and reliable.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Better healthcare setting for better healthcare service quality: An empirical analysis of Indian consumers' perspective	[ "India", "Health care", "Analytical hierarchy process (AHP)" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Services are obtained by engaging in an interactive process with the service provider and may be introduced as a service, product and mixture of both service and product (Buyukozkan et al., 2011). Healthcare service is defined by Kenagy et al. (1999) as \"the myriad characteristics that shape the experience of care for patients and their loved ones other than the technical quality of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures\". Healthcare services are of high credence, and they are transformative in nature, which is characterised by a high degree of uncertainty and risk (Fisk et al., 2007; Hau et al. 2016). According to Dalrymple and Drew (2000), \"quality is conceptually complex and represents a synthesis of lessons, methods, and acquired knowledge from a range of disciplines\". Quality is a multidimensional phenomenon in which high quality of service is considered to meet customer preferences and expectations (Garvin, 1984). The evaluation of patients' perception about healthcare service quality has attracted considerable attention in recent years as an important element of healthcare evaluation (Iversen et al., 2012). The main concern in healthcare service quality is to identify the criteria for measurement. The rapid growth in the private healthcare sector has increased the consumer's dilemma in choosing the right service providers. This is due to the private healthcare service providers boasting of being the best in the industry with unique services. This problem should be addressed to overcome the healthcare selection barrier for customers. Further, managers in the service sector should focus to improve overall system effectiveness in order to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty (Raposo et al., 2009). Improvements in service culture and service quality may lead to reduced costs, increased profitability and market share (Garvin, 1984; Sureshchandar et al., 2001), as well as competitive advantage (Shenawy et al., 2007).The purpose of this paper is to assess and compare different private healthcare settings based on perceived service quality in Indian context using analytical hierarchy process (AHP).\n2. Measures of perceived service quality in healthcare: Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) defined service quality as \"the difference between perceived service level and customer expectations\". The dimensions used in this study for evaluating healthcare service quality are determined as reliability, physical environment, empathy, efficiency, timeliness, transparency, affordability, communication, appropriateness and consistency. These dimensions are described hereafter.\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Study design and data collection\n4. Results: Each respondent's weight and scores are computed using Microsoft EXCEL. Applying the AHP analysis to hospital selection involved four steps, referred to as \"Analytic Hierarchy Process for Hospital Selection\". These steps are as follows: step-1, obtaining customers' judgements in the pairwise comparison matrices; step-2, checking consistency; step-3, calculating the weights of every respondent; and, step-4, calculating the mean of overall weights for decision making.\n5. Conclusions and managerial implication: Based on this empirical research, it is observed that, in general, patients consider 10 factors to be important while opting for the private hospitals. This study exploits significant implications for the hospital administrators, healthcare providers, and marketers. In a fiercely competitive, complex and dynamic health care environment, it is extremely critical for them to discern the factors that are critical to a patient while making choice of hospital. A comprehensive understanding of how patients make their choice of hospitals can help the service providers to develop an appropriate marketing strategy in order to attract more customers. It can also help the hospital administrators to find innovative ways to offer value-added services at an affordable cost. Healthcare service providers are required to regularly monitor healthcare service quality and pledge endless quality improvement programmes accordingly in order to maintain premium level of customer satisfaction. Healthcare service quality can be improved by supportive leadership, accurate planning, effective administration of resources, employee education, research and training. Healthcare managers are advised to implement these service quality dimensions and decision-making tools to get result-based quality management metrics. Customers are desperately searching for high-quality healthcare service providers. If service providers have better understanding about the quality dimensions, then it will improve hospital service quality, enhance patient care, and expand processes in order to reduce the frequency and severity of service blunders. The healthcare organisations may focus to overcome the resource limitations by designing and implementing a justifiable healthcare system. Further, reduced costs, latest healthcare technologies, and increased efficiency in the private healthcare organisations may contribute towards a holistic system for a better healthcare delivery.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess and compare different private healthcare settings based on perceived service quality in Indian context using analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The Indian private healthcare sector has been controlled by three categories of healthcare settings, namely, nursing clinics (NCs), non-corporate hospitals (NCHs) and corporate hospitals (CHs).\nDesign/methodology/approach: AHP was used to rank order of healthcare setting regarding the service quality dimensions and relative standings of every service provider with respect to its competitors. The authors collected random data from nine private hospitals situated in eastern and southern India. The authors proposed a feasible appraising approach based on AHP to decide the sustainability priority of dimensions like reliability, physical environment, empathy, efficiency, timeliness, transparency, affordability, communication, appropriateness and consistency in the Indian private healthcare industry.\nFindings: The result demonstrates that Indian NCHs are performing better on customers' perceived service quality, followed by CHs and NCs. The comparative performance of healthcare settings is an attempt to establish a performance ranking.\nOriginality/value: This research assesses dimensions of the service quality that need urgent attention. The results may provide insight to healthcare managers as to how they can improve their service quality in order to match customer expectation and to improve business performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Do expectations and decisions respond to monetary policy?	[ "Laboratory experiment", "Experimental macroeconomics", "Monetary policy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Modern general equilibrium frameworks widely used by policy makers and academics work under the assumption that agents' expectations respond to shocks, and expectations are a driving factor in decision making. This paper explores whether this is, indeed, the case in the context of a laboratory Keynesian-inspired production economy.\n2. Methodological contributions: Our experimental design deviates from the existing experimental general equilibrium literature in a number of ways. First, we incorporate posted price markets rather than continuous double auctions (CDAs) as a mechanism to trade output. The convention has been to employ CDAs to represent highly competitive markets with rapid price adjustment (Smith, 1962). The lack of nominal rigidities in the experimental economies may be a driving factor in the observed neutrality of money. Indeed, the New Keynesian literature has identified price and/or wage rigidities as an essential element in generating real effects from monetary policy. Under a CDA where both firms and consumer-workers are aware of an increase in money supply or credit, price adjustment will be very rapid. Firms may interpret increased money balances as a signal of the households' ability to pay more and consumer' willingness to pay for each unit is non-decreasing in money balances. Moreover, significant price adjustment occurs within a single period as firms can update their prices instantaneously in response to their competitors' asks. Without a sufficient nominal friction, it is natural that prices would increase without any change in output demanded. Posted price markets restrict firms to submit prices once for a single period, impeding competitive pressures. We couple this with Calvo (1983) pricing to generate sufficient nominal rigidity to facilitate a response to monetary policy. Noussair et al. (2014, 2015) also employ a posted price market to generate persistence in output prices but do not study its effects in the context of a monetary policy shock.\n3. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework follows the benchmark New Keynesian model described in Walsh (2010). The economy consists of households, firms, and a monetary authority. The objective of households is to maximize their expected present discounted value of utility from consumption and leisure. Each period, households decide how many units of consumption bundles to purchase and how many hours to work. The objective of firms is to maximize their real profits by producing and selling a particular variety within the consumption bundle. Firms interact in an imperfectly competitive market and can only update their prices randomly. Firms face a constant probability of being able to update their price each period, allowing for a dispersion of prices outside of the steady state. Pricing decisions of all firms affect consumer demands for each variety, and, subsequently firms' demand for their sole input, labor. Labor markets are competitive in that all agents take nominal wages as given. Borrowing and saving is conducted through one-period bonds that pay a nominal rate of return. This rate of return is set by the central bank, whose objective is to stabilize inflation to zero. The only economic disturbance that occurs in this economy is an expansionary monetary shock conducted through the nominal interest rate. The shock follows an AR(1) process.\n4. Experimental environment: The laboratory economy consists of two simultaneous markets, labor and output, and two types of participants, firms and households. In each economy there are four households who trade their endowed labor hours for laboratory currency (henceforth \"money\") to four firms. Using identical technologies, firms transform all labor hours hired into a final output which they sell back to the consumers in exchange for money. Consumers immediately consume the output they have purchased.\n5. Experimental implementation: The experiments were conducted at the University of California Santa Cruz. The subject pool consisted of undergraduate student recruited from a wide variety of disciplines using the Online Recruitment System for Economic Experiments (Greiner, 2004). No subject participated in more than one treatment. Sessions lasted for approximately 2-2.5 hours and consisted of 20 minutes of instructions, a short comprehension quiz, and three rounds of practice with the software. All this was done to familiarize subjects with the experimental environment and their payoff structure.\n6. Results: We analyze our data by first studying whether subjects' expectations respond to changes in their environment as well as to the shocks that occur. We then estimate the extent to which agents' condition on their forecasts when making decisions. Finally, we highlight some intriguing behavior worth exploring in future experiments.\n7. Discussion: The goal of this study was to understand whether changes in nominal interest rates influence expectations and decision making in line with the predictions of a representative agent New Keynesian framework. We construct a simple experimental economy with price setting, monopolistically competitive firms, consumer-worker households, and an inflation-targeting central bank that face exogenous expansionary monetary policy shocks. Many aspects of the New Keynesian model are supported by our experimental data. In terms of price-setting ability, firms that interact with automated optimizing households do learn to respond to expansionary monetary policy and the subsequent expected rise in real wages by increasing their prices. The majority of participants, in all treatments, form optimistic expectations in response to lower interest rates, indicating an understanding of the stabilizing effects of monetary policy. Mean expectations in the HH and HF treatments are also largely accurate. Expectations are, however, highly naive in that they expect previous real wages to persist into the future.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the ability of monetary policy to generate real effects in laboratory general equilibrium production economies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To understand why monetary policy is not consistently effective at stabilizing economic activity, the author vary the types of agents interacting in the economy and consider treatments where subjects are playing the role of households (firms) in an economy where automated firms (households) are programmed to behave rationally.\nFindings: While the majority of participants' expectations respond to monetary policy in the direction intended, subjects do form expectations adaptively, relying heavily on past variables and forecasts in forming two-steps-ahead forecasts. Moreover, in the presence of counterparts that are boundedly rational, forecast accuracy worsens significantly. When interacting with automated households, updating firms' prices respond modestly to monetary policy and significantly to anticipated marginal costs and future prices. The greatest deviations in behavior from theoretical predictions arise from human households (HH). Households persistent oversupply of labor and under-consumption is attributed to precautionary saving and debt aversion. The results provide evidence that the effects of monetary policy on decision making hinge on the distribution of indebtedness of households.\nOriginality/value: The author present causal evidence of the effects of potential bounded rationality on agents' consumption and labor decisions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Do consumers want mobile commerce? A closer look at M-shopping and technology adoption in Malaysia	[ "Malaysia", "Innovation", "Mobile commerce", "M-shopping", "Technology adoption", "Mobile shopping" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Mobility has become the new way to drive innovation (Hou et al., 2016). Today, we see extensive developments of new services, such as mobile commerce, mobile social networking and digital content with the advancement of smartphones and tablets, and growing broadband network supplication (Phonthanukitithaworn et al., 2016). Rapid technology migration to mobile has redefined consumers' experiences with various aspects of daily life, creating new business opportunities across markets (Chao et al., 2013). To seize the advantages of the new digital ecosystem, retail industries have attempted to capitalise on mobile channels to serve and connect with customers better. In congruence, various mobile channels have been introduced in markets such as mobile banking, mobile payments and mobile shopping (Liesse, 2007). Statistics suggest that the world is experiencing rapid growth in the mobile industry, with 3.6 billion mobile subscribers at end of 2014 (GSMA Intelligence, 2015). Moreover, half of the world's population already has mobile subscriptions, and the global penetration rate is expected to reach 60 per cent by 2020. Notably, the Asia Pacific region had an increase in mobile penetration, which was more significant in comparison to developed countries such as the USA and those in Europe that have already reached a mature stage (GSMA Intelligence, 2015). In Malaysia, the World Bank reports that the country recorded its highest penetration rate of 140 per cent, surpassing the penetration rate for the USA (Teller, 2014); in other words, every Malaysian citizen owns more than one mobile phone, on average.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Mobile shopping\n3. Hypotheses and research model development: 3.1 Trust\n4. Methodology: Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses, and validity and reliability of the measures, using Smart PLS 3.0. PLS-SEM is a variance-based, linear model that does not require data normality, and allows simultaneous exploration of both measurement and structural models (Hair et al., 2014; Teo et al., 2015). The method was selected because it allows simultaneous analysis of all relationship in the research model by combining multiple regression and factor analysis, and allows both observed and latent variables (LV) to be analysed concurrently to assess overall statistical fit (Mathieu and Taylor, 2006; Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). Extant research suggests that PLS-SEM is appropriate for theory testing during early stages of development, and is suitable for handling complex models with large data sets (Fornell and Bookstein, 1982). Since M-shopping is a new extension of IT, and multiple variables were integrated into a model, PLS-SEM is a suitable analytical tool to examine the relationships and significance of each variable. We first explore measurement of an outer model, relating measurement variables to LV, followed by analysis of an inner (structural) model, relating LVs to each other (Chatelin et al., 2002; Henseler and Fassott, 2010; Tenenhaus et al., 2005).\n5. Discussion: TAM and TPB were employed in this study to determine driving factors of M-shopping intentions in Malaysia. Along with PEOU, PU, and attitudes drawn from TAM, SN and PBC extracted from TPB, and additional constructs such as trust and PI, were added to the model to increase predictive power. Results suggest that all variables, excepting SN, predict M-shopping adoption intentions. Findings also show that PEOU and PU explain consumers' attitudes towards M-shopping. Consumers' attitudes towards M-shopping adoption is higher if a system is not complex and easy to use; if consumers can easily pull out their mobile devices from their pockets to browse or shop by using just one finger, without a complicated process, they tend to use M-shopping channels. PEOU was found to have a strong, positive relationship with PU. When mobile technology is user-friendly and free from mental effort, it creates positive perceptions that the system is useful, developing stronger intentions for consumers to adopt this alternative. This finding accords with many extant studies of IT; when consumers perceive that a system is easy to use, it helps them achieve their goals more easily, and hence increases adoption tendencies (Carlos Roca et al., 2009; Wong et al., 2014). Consumers intend to use M-shopping if they believe that using this alternative is useful, helping them increase gains during shopping by minimising shopping time, and receiving personalisation and preferred product information. Its characteristic of being personal and interactive, and offering the capability of communicating directly with retailers, is another advantage of M-shopping's usefulness. The flexibility for consumers to access M-shopping at any time and in any location is an added advantage to the usefulness of the system, driving consumers' intentions to adopt it. Findings accord with extant studies of M-shopping adoption in the USA, where both utilitarian and hedonic PU have positive relationships with consumers' attitudes towards adoption (Yang, 2010). They are also consistent with findings from Lu and Su in a study of factors that influence purchasing intentions on M-shopping websites, where PU affected consumers' purchasing intentions. Thus, perceptions of M-shopping as being a useful shopping channel play a role in determining adoption behaviours. Our results also show significant mediating role of ATT to PEOU and PU in the research model. Thus, attitude accounts for some, but not all, of the relationship between PEOU and PU, and consumer's intention towards mobile M-shopping adoption.\n6. Managerial implications: Results from this study provide valuable information on user behaviours regarding M-shopping adoption in Malaysia. M-shopping service providers can design and develop more sophisticated and effective M-shopping services based on the findings to deliver value to consumers and attract adoption. Since PEOU and PU had significant effect on consumers' attitudes, M-shopping providers and marketers should emphasise user-friendly features on their shopping apps and ensure that all services and features on an M-shopping site or app are sufficiently easy to use through usability pretesting. A useful M-shopping website would help shoppers search for items quickly, providing them with full, detailed information about items and allowing them to accomplish efficient purchase transactions. It is important for M-shopping designers to examine the functionality and usability of mobile sites from customers' perspectives, and provide M-shopping services that are easy to access and navigate.\n7. Limitations, future research and conclusion: Although its results suggest implications for managers, this study can be further improved by overcoming several limitations. M-shopping behaviours were not included in the model, and thus future research should examine causal relationships between intentions and use. Criteria for consumer classification should be elaborated, and other moderating factors such as age, gender and experiences should be investigated in future studies. We also recommend examining consumers' adoption intentions with additional constructs that the literature suggests such as compatibility, accessibility and convenience. The focus of BI studies should not be limited to individual characteristics, but should broaden to technology, system, and experience flow perspectives. Research should focus on shoppers' perceptions of M-shopping regarding continuous purchasing intentions, and preferred types of product acquisitions through M-shopping. Despite these limitations, we argue that this paper enhances understanding of M-shopping, and guides provision of future M-shopping services. Results are useful to practitioners when introducing new dimensions of business in retail using marketing strategies to increase future M-shopping use.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Mobile shopping is expected to emerge as a new way of shopping as the Asia Pacific region moves towards the digital era. It is important to understand factors that influence consumers' intentions to adopt this new shopping channel, especially in developing countries such as Malaysia where it has the fastest growing mobile penetration rate in the world. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and includes additional variables such as personal innovativeness (PI) and trust.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Empirical data from 453 consumers were tested against a proposed model using partial least squares structural equation modelling.\nFindings: Findings suggest that most of the constructs in the model (i.e. trust, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes, PI and perceived behavioural control) influence a shopper's intentions towards adopting mobile shopping. For example, consumers' attitudes towards M-shopping adoption is higher if a system is not complex and easy to use; if consumers can easily pull out their mobile devices from their pockets to browse or shop by using just one finger, without a complicated process, they tend to use M-shopping channels. In addition, when mobile technology is user-friendly and free from mental effort, it creates positive perceptions that the system is useful, developing stronger intentions for consumers to adopt this alternative.\nOriginality/value: Since M-shopping is a personalised activity that involves money transactions, consumers are more cautious with adoption intentions, and do not follow social norms blindly. Thus, the empirical evidence from Malaysian consumers contributes to literature with insights into their specific m-shopping behaviour in this emerging market. In addition, from a theoretical perspective, the research model in this study integrates both TAM and TPB to provide a holistic view of consumers' M-shopping adoption intentions in an emerging market, incorporating user-centric factors (i.e. trust and PI). An important finding which differs from other studies is that the relationship between subjective norms and behavioural intention to use M-shopping was not significant, which is contrary to the findings of previous studies. Moreover, attitude was found to mediate the effect of PEOU and PU on consumer's intention towards mobile shopping adoption. The validated instrument would serve as a useful guideline for researchers during development and refinement of studies on M-shopping.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Drivers and relationship benefits of customer willingness to engage in CSR initiatives	[ "Customer engagement in CSR", "Customer engagement in not for profit organisations", "Customer relationship benefits" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Having been identified as a research priority by the Marketing Science Institute for 2014-2016, customer engagement (CE) has received considerable attention in marketing literature over recent years (Pansari and Kumar, 2017). This proliferation of academic attention has resulted in a relatively wide focus of research on CE, as well as varying theoretical perspectives (Harmeling et al., 2017). The intention of this paper is not to provide a detailed summary of the varied customer engagement perspectives developed, as this has been done by others (e.g. Harmeling et al., 2017). Rather the purpose of this study is to investigate specific drivers which foster a willingness to engage among service customers' in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and the benefits that result from this type of CE.It is time to consider customer engagement in CSR, as the co-creation of shared value is postulated to be one of the most powerful forces driving business growth in the future (Porter and Kramer, 2019). It is not surprising that customer engagement in CSR is gaining prominence, considering it is said to strengthen customers' connection with the service organisation, build retention and generate positive word of mouth (Mattila et al., 2016). Whilst the broader impact of customer engagement on society is acknowledged in the service research literature (e.g. Jaakkola and Alexander, 2014; Van Doorn et al., 2010), conceptual models of the drivers and relationship benefits of CE in CSR have not been developed.Investigating customers' willingness to engage in CSR initiatives (WE-CSR) is a new approach as there have been few attempts to develop scales or options around specific actions. Derived from cause-related literature (Antil, 1984; Antil and Bennett, 1979; Folse et al., 2010; Grau and Folse, 2007), as well as strategies used by international aid agencies, the measure reflects both general potential for cause involvement, as well as specific actions customers may be willing to take to support a CSR initiative, such as fundraising or volunteering. The WE-CSR construct is further explained in Section 4.3.Empirical evidence is emerging that supports the notion that CE in CSR enhances customer loyalty and that customers' preferences for a CSR initiative is a key determinant of their level of engagement in CSR activities (Jarvis et al., 2017; O'Brien et al., 2015). To fully understand the most effective way to leverage service customers' engagement in CSR initiatives a broader range of drivers and outcomes need to be investigated. The conceptual framework of CE developed by Vivek et al. (2012) highlights customer participation as an important antecedent of CE behaviours. This study empirically tests how customer participation in the service (defined as attending seminars, events and meetings regularly (Handley, 2010)), their helping orientation towards other customers (which reflects a desire to support people with the disease via the organisation (Handley, 2010)), and preferences for social issues simultaneously influence customer willingness to engage in the CSR initiatives undertaken by a service organisation.Furthermore, to develop a deeper understanding of how customer engagement in CSR benefits service organisations, this study also tests the impact of customer willingness to engage in CSR on customers' affective commitment in addition to their loyalty to the service organisation. In this study, affective commitment is defined as a positive emotional attachment (Allen and Meyer, 1990), and reflects how favourably the customer feels about the organisation (Gruen et al., 2000). Loyalty is based on the work of Zeithaml et al. (1996) reflecting positive behavioural intentions, such as word of mouth, being first choice among providers or an expressed intention to continue to support the organisation.This study makes an important contribution by providing empirical support for the positive impact that WE-CSR has on both loyalty and commitment to the firm. It also offers practical insight on the importance of CSR initiative preference for fostering CE in CSR, relative to customer participation or helping orientation.Recognising that CE can be highly contextual, this study also answers the call by Akaka and Vargo (2015) and McColl-Kennedy et al. (2015) to expand the focus of CE research into social and public services. The context selected for this study is a large not-for-profit chronic illness health care organisation. The significance of this context to service industry research is readily apparent, considering the growing incidence of chronic conditions is a global health issue and is a burden on not only the health system (the four most costly disease groups are chronic) but also communities as well as individuals (Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council, 2017). The on-going engagement of health care customers with the organisation and people with the health care condition is central to managing the chronic illness condition and therefore customer engagement and their loyalty is paramount. Beyond the chronic illness sector, this study is particularly relevant to not-for-profit services which require substantial customer participation in the service, as well as customer engagement to help other customers, such as many health care, sporting, recreation and leisure, entertainment and educational services.This paper is organised as follows. First, a literature review is provided to contextualise CSR from a customer engagement and societal marketing perspective. Next the model and hypotheses investigated in this study are presented. The research methods are then described to clarify how the different types of CSR initiatives for choice modelling were developed and to determine customer preference scores. The PLS approach used to test the hypotheses is then described. The fifth section presents and discusses the results. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings and provides suggestions for future research.\n2. Literature review: The literature review starts by conceptualising CSR activities and highlighting the significance of CSR to not-for-profit service organisations. The subsequent section builds on the cause related marketing and customer engagement literature to develop a broader understanding of how and why customers are engaged in CSR activities. 2.1 CSR and the not-for-profit service sector\n3. Model and hypothesis development: This section presents the key literature that informed the conceptual model and hypotheses developed for this study, as depicted in Figure 1. 3.1 The impact of CSR initiative preference\n4. Research approach and methodology: Given the research questions addressed within this study, both the collection of the data and subsequent analysis required a unique approach. The questionnaire needed to reflect the four areas of focus within the study (that is, preference for CSR initiative, willingness to be engaged, antecedents, and outcomes of customer willingness to engage in CSR). A quantitative approach was used to collect the data. A questionnaire was designed using established scales for most of the constructs, as well as the items used to measure the CSR initiative preference construct, as well as the WE-CSR construct, that were both developed specifically for this study. This section first describes how the choice of CSR initiatives were generated for the not-for-profit organisation and how the customer preferences scores for CSR initiatives were determined via choice modelling. Then a description of the measures used to operationalise the remaining constructs (customer willingness to engage in the CSR initiative; and the antecedent variables and outcome variables) are presented. Finally, the questionnaire design, the techniques used to test the hypotheses (via partial least squares (PLS)) and the sample of this study are addressed. 4.1 Development of the list of CSR initiatives\n5. Results and Discussion: 5.1 CSR initiative preference scores\n6. Implications of results, limitations and future directions: The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications for customer engagement in services. Jaakkola and Alexander (2014) acknowledge in their work that CE can, and should, include a wide variety of contributions from customers, and often these go well beyond the service encounter and are seeking to benefit a variety of stakeholders. Our study extends customer engagement to the CSR context and clearly shows this type of engagement benefits the firm. Furthermore, Hollebeek et al. (2019) points out that CE can be highly context-specific. This study adds new knowledge around drivers and outcomes specific to customer engagement in CSR.This study also makes a contribution by exploring three unique drivers of customer engagement: (1) helping orientation of customers towards others, (2) customer participation in services and (3) customer preferences for CSR initiatives. This study clearly demonstrates CSR initiative preference has the greatest influence on customer willingness to engage on the CSR issue. Furthermore, customer helping orientation towards others had the second biggest impact on customer willingness to engage in CSR initiatives. This is a significant finding given the attention that customer participation has received to date within the CE literature (Cui and Wu, 2016; Leckie et al., 2016) in comparison to customer helping orientation towards other customers and customer preferences for different types of engagement.The investigation into the relationship between customers' CSR initiative preference and CE is in its infancy. Building on research undertaken by Bijmolt et al. (2010), Bowden (2009) and Van Doorn et al. (2010), and more recent studies by O'Brien et al. (2015) and Jarvis et al. (2017), the present study extends the significant influence of CSR initiative preference on CE to the not-for-profit context.More specifically, this study supports the original proposition (based on the work conducted by Payne et al. (2008); Porter (2019); Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004); Ramaswamy (2009)) that engaging customers in CSR initiatives has the potential to co-create meaningful value for an organisation. Customers present an important resource that organisations should use when they are planning and implementing CSR strategies as customer engagement in CSR also helps to maintain close relationships with their customers. This is important because the loyalty results indicate customers' willingness to engage in a CSR initiative does not only increase customers' intention to continue to support the not-for-profit organisation but also their intention to spread positive word of mouth which in turn may help to attract new customers. 6.1 Managerial implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of CSR initiative preference, customer helping orientation and customer participation on willingness to engage in CSR and to demonstrate the influence this engagement has on their commitment and loyalty to the organisation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study entailed an online survey of customers from a large not-for-profit organisation (n = 210). Choice modelling is used to test a structural equation model of drivers and outcomes of willingness to engage in CSR.\nFindings: Results demonstrate the CSR initiative preferred by customers has a stronger impact on their willingness to engage with the CSR initiative (volunteering their time, effort, money) than either customers' helping orientation or customer participation. Furthermore, willingness to engage in CSR influences customer commitment and loyalty to support and recommend the organisation.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results clearly demonstrate the significant impact that customers' preferences for and willingness to engage in CSR initiatives have on customers' relationship with not-for-profit organisations.\nSocial implications: The results highlight the importance of taking into account customer preferences for CSR issues to encourage customers to engage in CSR initiatives designed to benefit society.\nOriginality/value: Traditionally CSR literature has focused on how commercial firms' engagement in CSR creates value for the firm and society. The marketing literature has focused on how customer engagement in brand communities benefits the firm. This study extends the research by exploring customers' willingness to engage in CSR with not-for-profit organisations. It uses Choice modelling to demonstrate the impact of customer preferences for local and aligned CSR initiatives on customer willingness to engage.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The relationship among board of director characteristics, corporate social performance and corporate financial performance	[ "Boards of Directors", "Corporate social responsibility", "Financial performance", "Canada" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Researchers have studied various characteristics of the Board of Directors and their impact on the corporate social performance of the firm. Corporate social performance (CSP), reports on a firm's social and environmental performance from a variety of perspectives, including such things as community involvement, employee relations, product safety, philanthropy and the impact of the firm on the environment. This is information that is important to numerous stakeholder groups, beyond just investors and creditors, in assessing the overall performance of the firm and its relationship to society and the world in which it operates.Prior studies demonstrate a strong link between board independence and CSP (Ibrahim and Angelidis, 1995; Johnson and Greening, 1999; Wang and Dewhirst, 1992). Independent directors tend to be more socially aware and responsive to the needs of multiple stakeholders. However, the impact that Board of Director ownership of shares has on the social performance of the firm is unclear. There is a positive association between investor ownership (when proxied by long-term institutional investors) and CSP (Cox et al., 2004; Johnson and Greening, 1999; Graves and Waddock, 1994; Neubaum and Zahra, 2006), although the link between managerial ownership and CSP is less clear (Frye et al., 2006; Johnson and Greening, 1999). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between qualitative measures of a firm's Board of Directors and its CSP.Agency theory (Jensen and Meckling, 1976) argues that there should be a direct link between the strength of a firm's governance structures and the firm's corporate financial performance. Corporate financial performance (CFP) reports the firm's economic performance in terms of net income for the period and the financial position of the firm as at a point in time. This is information that is useful to investors and creditors in making financial decisions. A key aspect of corporate governance is the Board of Directors (Zahra and Pierce, 1989), and academics find a strong association between strong independent boards and CFP (Beasley, 1996; Bujaki and McConomy, 2002; Core et al., 1999; Kosnik, 1987). Hillman and Dalziel (2003) argue that corporate governance is strengthened when members of the Board are independent and compensated with equity. When boards are independent they are less likely to be controlled by management. Compensating directors with equity should align the interest of the board with those of the common shareholder, resulting in the Board adopting a shareholder orientation. Board independence and a shareholder orientation should be closely linked with CFP.Academics who have studied the relationship between CSP and CFP have found mixed results. Roman et al. (1999) reviewed 51 empirical studies contained in 46 academic articles. They found 32 studies that suggest a positive relationship between CSP and CFP, five that had a negative relationship, and fourteen that indicated no relationship or the results were inconclusive. It is not readily apparent why this should be so. It may be because the CSP-CFP model includes poor measures of each construct (Griffin and Mahon, 1997; Graves and Waddock, 1994) or the model could be misspecified (McWilliams and Siegel, 2000).This paper addresses some of these concerns and contributes to the literature in three ways. First, we examine the impact the Board of Directors has on a firm's financial performance as well as its social performance. Previous studies have often ignored the role of the Board in the CSP-CFP relationship. Second, we use qualitative rather than quantitative measures to capture the quality of the firm's Board of Directors. Finally, we control for the firm's level of debt, since leverage may influence both financial and social performance.Using agency theory, we develop a model in which CSP is a function of the degree of independence of the Board and its level of shareholder orientation, while controlling for risk and financial performance. The next section of this paper examines CSP from the perspective of agency theory. The third section develops three testable hypotheses concerning the relationship between corporate governance and firm risk on CSP. The fourth section describes the methodology and the fifth section examines the empirical results. The paper concludes with some general observations and some suggestions for future research.1.1 Agency theory and corporate social performance\n2. Hypotheses: 2.1 Shareholder orientation\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Model\n4. Empirical analyses: 4.1 Correlations and regressions\n5. Conclusion: Two issues are examined in this paper. The first is the relationship between Board of Director characteristics and corporate social performance. Grounded in agency theory we posit that there should be a positive relationship between board independence and social performance, but no relationship between a board with a shareholder orientation and social performance. We find support for these relationships using a sample of firms that have qualitative rankings for both their Boards of Directors and their social performance. We speculate that these relationships hold because CSP is a broad notion that is not restricted to simply satisfying the interests of one stakeholder group, shareholders. Firms that engage in CSP have a more holistic view, acknowledging responsibilities to numerous stakeholder groups.The second issue concerns the relationship between firm risk and corporate social performance. Some prior research finds that this relationship is positive suggesting that a high-risk firm is more likely to engage in socially responsible activities as a means of signaling to bondholders that the firm is of a high quality, thereby reducing its inherent risk. On the other hand, some researchers find a negative relationship between firm risk and corporate social performance; low-risk firms, manifested by low debt, are economically better able to afford to act in a socially responsible manner. For this sample of firms, we find a positive relationship between firm risk, as proxied by the leverage ratio, and social performance. We speculate that high-risk firms in this sample use socially responsible activities to signal to external parties that management is of a high quality thereby reducing the risk associated with issuing debt instruments.A strength (and weakness) of this study is that we have used qualitative rather than quantitative measures. Our research focuses on quality issues: the degree of independence of the Board and the Board's level of shareholder orientation. Using qualitative rather than quantitative measures is consistent with the empirical research into the relationship between the quality of the Board and the quality of the firm's earnings (Niu, 2006), as well as quality of a firm's financial statement disclosures with its cost of capital (Healy et al., 1999; Welker, 1995). We strongly recommend that other researchers eschew using the usual suspects and instead develop finer measures to capture the quality of a firm's corporate governance structures.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between qualitative measures of a firm's Board of Directors and its corporate social performance (CSP).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - CSP is a function of qualitative measures of a firm's Board of Directors, as well as firm risk and financial performance. A longitudinal sample of 104 Canadian firms is used.\nFindings: - Board independence is positively related to social performance but shareholder orientation is not. In addition, a positive relationship between social performance with both financial performance and debt is found.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Although the sample is small and restricted to Canadian firms, the results are quite robust. Future studies should consider using qualitative measures on a larger international sample of firms.\nOriginality/value: - This paper uses qualitative measures - the degree of independence of the Board and the Board's level of shareholder orientation - to examine the interrelationship between a firm's Board of Directors and its CSP.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Lean meeting buyer's expectations, enhanced supplier productivity and compliance capabilities in garment industry	[ "Buyer–supplier relationships", "Occupational health and safety", "Sustainability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Shorter fashion life cycles and decreasing garment prices are two characteristics of the modern garment industry (Bruce et al., 2004; Jeacle, 2015). As the fashion cycle is becoming shorter under competitive market conditions, buyers in the global garment supply chain are forced to secure product delivery within a short lead time, yet still with strong price competitiveness. This development ultimately affects the garment supplier firms in developing countries when they respond to buyers' expectations for developing production capabilities (Bruce and Daly, 2006). Moreover, large garment brands need to maintain their brand reputation by ensuring compliance with a code of conduct in the supplier firms (Oka, 2010). In this situation, buyers seeking the lowest price, shortest lead time, and highest level of compliance with those standards can put both productivity and compliance performance at risk (Niinimaki and Hassi, 2011). Therefore, the question is what possibilities exist to meet buyer expectations in relation to enhancing productivity and occupational health and safety (OHS) compliance capability.Limited research, so far, has been carried out on exploring how suppliers can meet these challenges. Some studies indicate that enhancing production capabilities through lean implementation can be a possible strategy in the garment industry to meet productivity challenges (Vijayakumar and Robinson, 2016; Wickramasinghe and Wickramasinghe, 2017). However, research suggests that although lean can improve productivity and shorten lead times, lean implementation may jeopardize OHS conditions (Jackson and Mullarkey, 2000; Lingam et al., 2015; Hamja et al., 2018). It is, therefore, an open question of whether lean implementation in supplier factories can meet the buyers' expectations of both productivity and OHS compliance. To answer our research question regarding the possibility of simultaneously improving productivity and compliance, we designed buyer-supported lean intervention initiatives with an integrated OHS focus in four supplier factories related to the buyer in the context of the Bangladeshi garment industry.Bangladesh is the second-largest garment exporting country in the world and has a long tradition of working with leading garment brands (Gereffi and Frederick, 2010; Khan et al., 2018). However, the industry in Bangladesh has faced increased competitive pressure, both globally and domestically, due to the reasons mentioned earlier (Khan et al., 2018; Maalouf et al., 2019). Therefore, Bangladeshi garment manufacturers have begun to adopt new manufacturing systems, such as lean, in order to increase productivity (Hamja et al., 2019). Therefore, Bangladesh is a relevant location for studying the garment industry and the possibility of implementing lean to meet buyers' expectations of both productivity and OHS compliance. Implementing these components can form the basis of a more sustainable buyer-supplier relationship. To answer our research question, we designed buyer-supported lean intervention initiatives with an integrated OHS focus in four supplier factories related to the buyer in the context of the Bangladeshi garment industry.This study contributes to the operations management and buyer-supplier relationships literature by showing that suppliers have a good possibility of meeting buyers' demands by introducing lean with integrated OHS. However, lean implementation is not straightforward, as suppliers often lack competencies in the application of lean and face limited top-management commitment, as well as resistance from lower-level supervisors and workers who fear the loss of jobs due to increased efficiency. Therefore, in order to succeed, buyers need to support their suppliers in developing their capabilities. The benefit for buyers in doing so is that careful lean implementation will contribute to the reduction of production costs and lead times, while at the same time improving OHS conditions.We start the paper with a discussion of the literature related to the current trends in the fashion and garment industry, the influence of lean on OHS, the buyer-supplier relational dynamics in the fashion/garment industry, and the supplier commitment to sustain lean. We continue with a presentation of the design of the intervention and the subsequent data collection in section 3. Then we present an analysis of the results in section 4, and a final discussion, with the conclusion presented last.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Recent trends in the fashion and garment industry\n3. Research design: This intervention study is part of a larger DANIDA research project studying lean, productivity, and OHS (see the acknowledgments). The project is designed to investigate the possibilities of implementing lean with the aim of improving both productivity and OHS. We followed a qualitative approach using a multiple embedded case study method (Yin, 2014). We used both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques to investigate the impact of lean tools on productivity and OHS performance and why and how lean can transform and being sustainable in supplier factories to meet buyers' expectations of lower prices, shorter lead times, and higher OHS standards. 3.1 Intervention design\n4. Results: 4.1 Outcome of the intervention initiatives\n5. Discussion: This study shows that a lean intervention with a shared focus on both productivity and OHS leads to improvements in both issues. All four suppliers achieved improvements during the relatively short time of intervention, although the improvements are in some cases relatively low and do not constitute a large jump in productivity or OHS. However, this result is based on changes to a single pilot line in factories with limited or no prior knowledge of lean. Therefore, the intervention initiative is a small first step in lean transformation and may bring confidence to supplier management to extend the same initiatives to the whole factory.There can be several reasons a larger jump in productivity and greater OHS improvements can be constrained. One reason is the suppliers' limited experience and qualifications in lean and in introducing organizational changes in general. The difficulties in coordinating between departments and the uncertainty among first-line managers and workers were the other reasons. Another reason was the insufficient direct involvement from the top management in the intervention initiatives. The DB realized this and tried to emphasize the need for substantial involvement from top management by requiring the owners to participate in meetings at the buyer's office, but as the results show, only three suppliers achieved moderate top management support. Hence, the study shows a variation in the percentage of productivity and OHS improvement across the suppliers due to the variation in lean orientation, top management involvement, and commitment across the cases. The results of the intervention were achieved by involving the buyer. Therefore, it is questionable whether there would have been the same levels of factory managements' commitment and cooperation in implementing the initiatives had the buyer not been involved or been only minimally involved.The aforementioned problems with limited top management commitment, generally low competence in lean changes, and role uncertainty may explain the limited achievements by some suppliers and also the apparent constraints for the further expansion of lean in the suppliers. These results are in the same line of previous research findings (Lodgaard et al., 2016; Netland, 2016; Nordin et al., 2012; Turesky and Connell, 2010; Worley and Doolen, 2006). For suppliers to fully benefit from the lean application and to secure both productivity and OHS improvements, they must take a series of initiatives:Increase top management knowledge about lean in order to achieve stronger interest and thereby commitment to changes.In-depth training of core staff in middle management and specialists in lean and OHS tools and their application.Basic training of supervisors and workers on the lean approach and how these approaches are related to OHS.Implement organizational changes that clarify roles and secure cross-functional collaboration, such as through incentive systems that promote collaboration.The previous literature supports similar initiatives on lean (Abolhassani et al., 2016; Lodgaard et al., 2016; Netland, 2016; Jadhav et al., 2014; Turesky and Connell, 2010).Considered from a buyer's perspective, this study shows that not only suppliers but also buyers can benefit if suppliers are able to develop their capabilities. As suppliers are producing products for the buyers, the higher productivity and better compliance capabilities of suppliers indicate higher value creation for those buyers. Thus, the buyer in this study was highly involved in the project by recruiting the firms and putting pressure on the owners and top managers to commit to the lean implementation process. Nevertheless, the suppliers in this study had difficulties in extensive lean implementation even with strong assistance from the researchers. There is, therefore, a need for buyers to be involved in a lean transformation to achieve the potential benefits fully.Our results indicate that buyers need to work on two levels. First, they should support the development of a supplier's top management's motivations and understanding because top management must understand the perspectives and benefits of lean and its connection to OHS improvements and also be motivated to implement it. Second, buyers need to provide the necessary support for the actual lean implementation, which most likely involves two elements, namely training and following up with advice and support. Without such buyer support, it is likely that even though the suppliers have trained staff, they will run into problems, and if these problems are not addressed, they will eventually terminate the implementation.\n6. Conclusions: Research on the potential to utilize lean to improve productivity and OHS for the benefit of both suppliers and buyers has so far been limited. In this study, we demonstrate that lean implementation with a focus on integrating OHS has a positive impact on both productivity and OHS. Therefore, lean can be a valuable tool to improve suppliers' production and compliance (OHS) capabilities, thereby meeting buyer's expectations. The findings contribute to the understanding of how buyer-supplier relationships could be improved in the garment industry. Both buyers and suppliers could benefit from implementing lean, and there is potential for developing stronger buyer-supplier relationships with less opportunistic behavior, which would assure the future sustainability of their business relationship. This research prescribes solutions for suppliers who are concerned about their survival and growth, as well as for buyers who are thinking about other outsourcing options due to Bangladeshi garment suppliers' limited capabilities.However, lean implementation is not a simple task. It is difficult for top management to commit sufficiently to lean transformation, while lower-level management generally lacks both qualifications and incentives. It is, therefore, pertinent that buyers become involved in the process by supporting the development of their suppliers' production capacity. There are several possibilities for such support. The basis is an extended relationship and the key elements are support not only through incentives and audits but also directly through lean capability in the supplier production facilities.This study considers only a single pilot sewing line on the shop floor of four supplier factories. Thus, the findings represent only a part of the whole scene in each of the supplier companies and in the industry as a whole. Moreover, it was difficult to isolate and control the line fully as workers in the line are somewhat affected by workers in other lines on the same shop floor. Therefore, it would be important to use longitudinal studies covering the entire lean transformation process to demonstrate what is needed to achieve its full benefits. This study only considers a single buyer from the Nordic region, whereas every supplier works for several buyers. It would, therefore, be relevant to examine the relationship modes between a supplier and its different buyers. Taking into consideration how the variations in these relationships affect their lean implementation initiatives in supplier factories would also be beneficial. It would also be relevant to study national differences and compare Bangladesh to other garment exporting countries where suppliers may have different conditions and interact differently with their buyers. It could furthermore be relevant to study the possibilities for further development of lean implementation in the garment industry into the more advanced approaches such as lean six sigma (Sunder et al., 2018; Antony et al., 2017; Corbett, 2011).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Investigate the potential of using \"lean\" in garment supplier factories to enhance productivity and compliance capability, so as to fulfill a buyer's expectation of lower price, shorter lead time, and higher occupational health and safety (OHS) standards.\nDesign/methodology/approach: By means of an intervention, lean tools integrated with OHS elements were introduced in four Bangladeshi key garment suppliers of a Danish buyer. By employing a qualitative approach, both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to collect data on productivity, OHS, and buyer-supplier efforts.\nFindings: This study demonstrates that lean tools, integrated with OHS elements, can be used to improve the productivity and compliance capabilities of supplier firms, which meet a buyers' changing demands for lower prices, shorter lead times, and higher compliance standards. This study suggests that the improvement of productivity and OHS in supplier firms through lean implementation could be a better choice for buyers than switching to new suppliers with uncertainties in productivity and delivery, as well as OHS compliance problems.\nPractical implications: The findings of this study suggest that garment suppliers can benefit from implementing lean, thereby improving their capacity to meet buyers' expectations. Therefore, both suppliers and buyers have a mutual interest in the application of lean in suppliers' production facilities.\nOriginality/value: By considering both buyer and supplier perspectives, this research is a unique attempt to investigate the possibilities of lean implementation at the shop-floor level to meet the market challenges in the context of a developing country.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Apt information literacy? A case of interdisciplinary scholarly communication	[ "Research", "Scholarly communication", "Information literacy", "Interdisciplinarity", "Genre theories", "Practice theories" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Scholarly communication is dominantly studied as situated in single disciplines. However, \"interdisciplinarity\" has received increased attention within higher education and research over the last decade (Adkins, 2009; Thune et al., 2012), indicating that interdisciplinary scholarly communication is a growing phenomenon. Studies on scholarly communication have been grounded in various methods and theoretical viewpoints. Besides quantitative analyses of scholarly publications and citations provided by bibliometrics (e.g. Cronin and Sugimoto, 2014) a category of more qualitatively oriented social constructionist studies of scholarly communication exists. Two prominent groups of theories applied in such studies are \"practice theories\" (e.g. Latour and Woolgar, 1986; Pilerot and Limberg, 2011; Pilerot, 2013; Sundin, 2011) and \"genre theories\" (e.g. Bazerman, 1985; Kjellberg, 2009). Furthermore, due to the former's influence on the latter, genres are not solely theorized as form and content, but also with reference to communicative purpose and functionality in social contexts. Genres of scholarly communication are studied as socially situated genres (Kjellberg, 2009). Concurrently the research literature on information literacy has been increasingly and equally preoccupied with explaining information literacy as a socially contextualized phenomenon. Predominantly this literature has highlighted theoretical frameworks that depict social context with an emphasis on rather stable norms, conventions and socially shared understandings or assumptions. As opposed to this, the present paper reasons that a more apt conceptualization of information literacy in situations of interdisciplinary scholarly communication must take into account that involved actors may lack shared stable conventions and assumptions. The present paper focuses on the underdeveloped potential of such accounts in current conceptualizations of information literacy.\nInterdisciplinary scholarly communication: Illustrative example\n\"Genres in social practices\": The introduction of practice theories to information studies implies that information-related activities such as seeking, searching, sharing, creating, organizing, using and communicating information are treated as socially, culturally and historically situated in relation to other human activities that make up various social settings (e.g. Lloyd, 2010a). Focus is on doings in socio-material contexts. Cox (2012) discusses the adoption of practice theories in information studies. The field of information behaviour research has gradually moved from a preoccupation with individualized \"rational users actively pursuing a pre-given cognitive need\" (p. 185) in their dealings with information to a research programme addressing information and information-related activities as situated within all kinds of practices. Cox, therefore, argues that instead of simply replacing \"information behaviour\" with \"information practice\" the guiding concept for understanding the social context of information-related activities should be \"information in social practice\" (p. 186, italics added).\nA practice-theoretical conceptualization: Annemaree Lloyd's work on information literacy has been valued as a successful introduction of practice theory to the literature on information literacy and information behaviour (Cox, 2012, p. 185; Schreiber, 2014). Lloyd invites us to understand information literacy as a complex socio-cultural practice. She outlines a research programme that implies further research into the social enactment of information literacy in particular social settings. In her work on information literacy among emergency workers, she applies concepts taken from socio-cultural perspectives on human activity, Wenger's conceptualization of communities of practice as applied within studies on workplace learning, and Schatzki's site ontology (Lloyd, 2010a). Lloyd has pointed out that the practice theories developed by these two authors feeds different analytical strategies (Moring and Lloyd, 2013). Whereas the first draws our attention to competent participation within communities of practice, the latter focuses on how practices emerge through actors' sayings and doings. As she herself draws on both, her conceptualization of information literacy provides an interesting case of analysis. By looking at Lloyd's conceptualization I will first demonstrate how the accentuation of particular practice-theoretical accounts of social context may underpin how information literacy features as intrinsic to the stabilizing forces of communities and their boundaries. Then I will scrutinize how practice-theoretical concepts that are present in her work may be opened up to help understand changes in practices across community boundaries. Throughout the discussions I place Wenger's \"communities of practice\" in the first instance, and Schatzki's conceptualization of the \"site of the social\" in the second, fully aware that this to some extent represents a caricature of their rich theoretical contributions, and their influence on Lloyd's writings.\nInformation literacy as genre knowledge: The concept of \"genre knowledge\" was introduced by Berkenkotter and Hucking (1995). To them genre knowledge \"embraces both form and content, including the sense of which content is appropriate to a particular purpose in a particular situation at a particular point in time\" (Berkenkotter and Hucking, 1995, p. 13). Andersen (2006) elaborates the concept further in his discussion of genre knowledge as information literacy. In his article \"The public sphere and discursive activities: information literacy as sociopolitical skills\", Andersen (2006) aims to provide a genre-theoretical analysis of what information literate actors would need to know to seek information in systems of organized knowledge. Documents stored in systems are produced by someone for somebody. They are invested with particular purposes and interests. Knowledge about sources, as well as our activities of seeking them out and applying them to our own work, is therefore \"preconditioned by an understanding of how knowledge is socially organized in society\" (Andersen, 2006, p. 216). Information literacy must be understood accordingly. His main line of reasoning is as follows.\nClosing discussion: Theories of information literacy typically are composite theories. Depending on our analytical objectives, it is crucial to pay attention to how we accentuate the concepts we borrow from supporting theories, in this case practice theories and rhetorical genre theory. My aim in this paper has been to identify concepts that are apt for understanding information literacy in settings of interdisciplinary scholarly communication. These are settings where actors' shared understandings may crack in situations of strong communication. In practice-theoretical terms, I argue, we here need to account for interdisciplinary scholarly communication in ways that do not theorize context as identical to entities such as social groups or particular communities. This view is in line with McKenzie (2015) who points out that \"genre, information, and context are not themselves fixed entities\" (p. 86). Interdisciplinary information literacy encompasses the role of social actors in reworking social context, or the structural contours of their social life (Feldman and Orlikowski, 2011, p. 1241), engaging in practices that cross-social groups or communities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the aptness of \"information literacy\", conceptualized as a socially contextualized phenomenon, for analyses of interdisciplinary scholarly communication.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper presents a conceptual analysis. Two influential representatives of the social turn in the information literacy literature are taken as starting points: Annemaree Lloyd's conceptualization of \"information literacy practice\", and Jack Andersen's conceptualization of information literacy as \"genre knowledge\". Their positioning of information literacy as a socially contextualized phenomenon - by use of practice theories and rhetorical genre theory, respectively, - is analysed against an illustrative example of interdisciplinary scholarly communication.\nFindings: Conceptualizations by Lloyd and Andersen explain information literacy as socially contextualized in terms of stable norms and understandings shared in social communities. Their concepts have the potential of explaining changes and innovations in social practices including scholarly communication. If we combine genre-theoretical and practice-theoretical concepts - and accentuate the open-endedness of social practices and of genres - we can enhance the understanding of information literacy in settings of interdisciplinary scholarly communication where the actors involved lack shared conventions and assumptions.\nOriginality/value: The paper suggests that the fluid features of social contexts should be accounted for in the information literacy literature. By combining genre-theoretical and practice-theoretical concepts in a novel way it offers such an account. It provides a useful framework for understanding the phenomenon of information literacy in interdisciplinary scholarly communication.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Assessment of factors affecting maintenance management of hospital buildings in Jordan	[ "Maintenance", "Hospitals", "Exploratory factor analysis", "Factors affecting maintenance", "Jordan", "Maintenance management performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The healthcare sector is usually considered an important sector in any country. Hospital buildings are functional, complex, costly, and challenging buildings to manage. Their major goal is to provide medical services to patients, who are worried about their health and safety. A main reason of poor hospital buildings state is lack of maintenance (Mirdeeliana, 2012). It is said that the qualitative aspect of the building is usually due to the matter of maintenance (Adenuga, 2012). Buildings cannot remain new during their whole life, especially recently completed buildings that still require maintenance (Ali et al., 2013). Maintenance of any hospital is a complex subject and it is one of the most essential aspects to serve its purpose efficiently, to protect the effective status of the hospital, and to improve its performance. The performance of hospitals requires setting maintenance considerations at early phases of design (Shohet et al., 2003). Idrus et al. (2009) claimed that maintenance cannot be responsible if things go wrong; to a certain extent maintenance management is blamed. Good maintenance management is important for the hospital's cost control and it minimizes the repair time and cost. Thus, the lack of superior maintenance causes low levels of maintenance management, which impacts the quality of their services, as well as, the safety of patients and staff.\nLiterature review: Maintenance performance measurements\nMethodology: Research population and sample\nResults: Operational state of the hospitals\nDiscussion: Factors pertaining to the statutory requirements\nFindings: Factors affecting maintenance management performance\nRecommendations: It is necessary to engage maintenance experts in the design phase by giving their recommendations regarding the selection of materials and systems. The management of the maintenance department is required to set long-term arrangements for maintenance and make sure of the presence of an efficient inventory system. Applying preventive maintenance to avoid any failures, which would result in better functional services and help saving costs. Besides, hospitals are required to budget the necessary funds for different types of maintenance. Maintenance managers of hospitals are required to guarantee that the identified factors are kept under check, as this would help in developing maintenance programs, planning to maintenance, and reducing maintenance work and cost. Finally, community can contribute in taking actions toward the awareness about the essence of maintenance and the risks associated with neglecting it.\nConclusion: Maintenance of hospital buildings is a real problem and a major issue to spot the light on, since hospitals are operating for 24 hours. This research was conducted to identify and assess factors affecting maintenance management performance of hospital buildings in Amman, Jordan. Based on the analysis and results obtained, the following conclusions were extracted.\nSuggestions for future research: It is suggested to carry out more research in this area to narrow the gap in the literature review. It may beneficial to conduct the research on other governorates' hospitals in Jordan to get more interpretable results. A new framework was proposed and its validity was assured in Amman, Jordan, the application of this framework can be used in quantitative research, however, its reliability and validity can be guaranteed more only as this framework passes more and more tests. Besides, it would be valuable if a comparative study between public and private hospitals is conducted to present the difference between the factors affecting maintenance management in both sectors.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the factors affecting maintenance management performance of hospital buildings in Amman, Jordan. Besides, the operational state was evaluated and the practices of maintenance management were assessed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In total, 70 items were identified through a rigorous literature review, grouped into seven categories, and a framework was developed. Besides, practices of maintenance management were assessed and the operational state was evaluated. The data were collected through distributing questionnaires to maintenance department staff in all public and private hospitals in Amman, Jordan. In total, 219 questionnaires were obtained and the data were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. As well, descriptive, correlation, and inferential analysis were performed.\nFindings: The analysis proved that 14 items representing four factors had significant effect on maintenance management performance and a new framework was established. Additionally, the results showed that Amman's hospitals were found to be in an average condition and maintenance management practices were assessed to be efficient.\nOriginality/value: There is a gap in the literature in terms of researching the factors affecting the maintenance management of the Jordanian hospitals which has been a subject of extensive interest to many. A framework of the factors affecting maintenance has been proposed for the country of Jordan which the authors hope that would be developed further in future studies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding social enterprises in the United Kingdom: the case of South Yorkshire	[ "Economic sustainability", "Institutions", "Social enterprise characteristics", "South Yorkshire", "Welfare intervention" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The concept of social enterprise is increasingly being acknowledged as an effective intervention to address a variety of social problems (Smith et al., 2013; Mason et al., 2006). Social enterprises are found in many forms and seek to address some form of socio-economic deprivation through enterprise, in contrast to other non-profit organisations whose emphasis is primarily on profit maximisation and capital gain (Parenson, 2011). As a concept and practice, social enterprise is politically contested and subject to different interpretations (Kerlin, 2010; Teasdale, 2012; Young and Lecy, 2014). Scholars agree, however, that a social enterprise is a business engaged in some form of trading to produce a surplus or profit so as to reinforce its social ethos (Cornelius and Wallace, 2013; Eversole et al., 2013). In spite of its recent emergence in academic literature, social enterprise is generally underdeveloped and lacks the critical mass needed to fully understand it (Haugh, 2005; Urban, 2008). Drawing from components of historical institutionalism (HI), this paper seeks to address this gap in knowledge by providing insight into the development and evolution of social enterprises in South Yorkshire, UK, a region which still faces an exceptionally difficult set of economic challenges because of the demise of its industrial base (Bache and Chapman, 2008). The structure of the paper is as follows: Section 2 focuses on the selected theoretical framework and a review of extant literature on the development and evolution of social enterprise. Section 3 discusses methodology and data collections. Section 4 outlines key findings. Section 5 discusses the findings and offers concluding remarks.\n2. Theoretical approach: historical institutionalism and social enterprise: 2.1 Historical institutionalism\n3. Methodology and data collection: Because of the extent of the geographical area to be covered, the preferred methodological approach in this study is a mixed method approach involving the complementary use of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods (Denscombe, 2003; Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2005). The quantitative component of the research involved a postal survey of 102 self-defined social enterprises in South Yorkshire. A total of 218 postal questionnaires were sent in June 2012, and 102 were returned by the end of August 2012. This represented a response rate of approximately 48 per cent. This method allowed the researchers to identify numbers and patterns of organisations that described themselves as social enterprises across the region. Although an informal survey of social enterprises was carried out by the Sheffield Community Enterprise Development Unit in 2003, there was no official database available across the region. The researchers used their knowledge and contacts in key social enterprise support organisations across the region to obtain contact information. This involved the scrutiny of available sub-regional unpublished databases as well as information gleaned from archival data and other published information on the region. This exploratory quantitative research was complemented by an in-depth qualitative analysis of two selected cases. Information was obtained through the use of face-to-face interviews of key informants to explore the conclusions from the data collected through the questionnaire survey (Jack et al., 2008; Saunders et al., 2009). A semi-structured interview guide was used to extract relevant data from the selected interviewees. These were the relevant founders, directors and staff of the social enterprises as highlighted below in Table I. Eight interviews were conducted in total, lasting approximately one and a half hours each. The interviews were carried out, recorded and transcribed by the authors. The social enterprises were purposely selected and given fictitious names to anonymise them. One had company limited by guarantee (CLG) legal structure (The Adviser) and the other (The Consultant) had company limited by shares (CLS) legal structure. Type of legal structure and thematic activity were the key factors used to select relevant cases for this study, enabling their outcomes to be compared and contrasted.\n4. Key findings: The descriptive statistics from this work were complemented by qualitative data gleaned from key informant interviews. This allowed analysis of the development and identification of key emerging characteristics of social enterprises in South Yorkshire as discussed below.\n5. Discussion and concluding remarks: In this paper, the HI approach has made it possible to understand and analyse the evolutionary processes by which social enterprise has developed in the UK. The results of this study show us that the history of social enterprise in South Yorkshire predates the influx of European financial investment into the region and is directly and intricately linked to interventions designed to ameliorate deep-seated deprivation across the region. Given that South Yorkshire was once a key economic hub of the UK economy, it is evident that the socio-economic conditions resulting from the collapse of the region's economic base provided the impetus for the establishment of social enterprises. These enterprises perform a crucial social function that complements the state's social welfare programmes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to analyse the development of social enterprises in the UK, in the context of the increased need for creative solutions to ameliorate deprivation and deliver effective public services.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The investigation draws on a mixed method approach from a postal survey of 102 social enterprises complemented by detailed analysis of two selected cases and key informant interviews.\nFindings: The results of the study show that there is a paradigm shift in the practice and conceptualisation of social enterprises in South Yorkshire, as they are increasingly taking a more corporate approach to achieve their outcomes.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study is limited to social enterprises in South Yorkshire, UK. Further comparative analysis in other regions and social contexts is required to explore if these results are widely applicable.\nPractical implications: This study is of potential benefit to researchers and those involved in formulating policies for the development and support of social enterprise.\nOriginality/value: The study contributes to the extant literature by investigation of the development of social enterprise in competitive markets, which is an area that requires further academic scrutiny. The South Yorkshire region presents an interesting case that extends our understanding of the operations of social enterprises in the UK, given the high levels of deprivation because of the steady decline of its industrial base (Bache and Chapman, 2008).\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The joint-liability mechanism: controlling opportunism through peer monitoring among Chinese supplier groups	[ "Buyer–seller relationship", "Channel management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Controlling supplier opportunism is a core challenge for a manufacturer working with multiple supplier groups. Opportunism can easily undermine product quality (Noordewier et al., 1990), brand reputation (Czinkota et al., 2014) and even customer relationship management (Kumar et al., 2011). Such a challenge can be further complicated if the manufacturers operate in China, because most Chinese suppliers are connected through social networks (e.g. trade and personal associations) in which group dynamics exert insurmountable influences over business practices, including opportunistic ones (Gu et al., 2008; Sheng et al., 2011). Roseira et al. (2010) point out that suppliers in such networks often engage in frequent and close interactions, creating an abundance of opportunities for peer monitoring. Thus, some manufacturers in China try to suppress supplier groups' opportunism by implementing joint liability, which has been successfully pioneered in lending groups by the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and adopted in other developing countries (Hermes and Lensink, 2007). Joint liability is defined as a control mechanism in which a multi-member group is jointly responsible in case of opportunistic behaviors performed by any single member within the group (Pasupuleti, 2010).\n2. Theory and hypotheses: 2.1 Theoretical foundations\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Results: H1, predicting a positive relationship between joint liability and peer monitoring, is empirically supported by a positive and significant correlation, r = 0.512, p < 0.01 (Table I). The second set of hypotheses predicts the relationship to be moderated negatively by reciprocity (H2a), positively by legitimate authority (H2b) and negatively by shared norms (H2c). Results of the three regression analyses (Table II, Model 2) in which peer monitoring is estimated from joint liability and each moderator offer evidence for the moderated effects, supporting H2a, H2b and H2c. The three regressions explain large percentages of data variance, with adjusted R2Reciprocity = 0.727 (Table II, Model 2), adjusted R2Legitimate Authority = 0.727 (Table II) and adjusted R2Shared norms = 0.740 (Table II), along with significant F-statistics, suggesting good model fits in all three cases. The significant interaction terms between joint liability (JL) and each moderator, that is, reciprocity (R), bJLxR = -0.922 (Table II, Model 2), legitimate authority (LA), bJLxLA = 0.778 (Table II) and shared norms (SN), bJLxSN = -1.288 (Table II), imply that the three normative requirements significantly moderate the positive relationships between joint liability and peer monitoring, though in different fashions, as discussed next.\n5. Discussion: So, how does joint liability work in the manufacturer - suppliers context to control opportunism? We proposed that joint liability could encourage peer monitoring and reduce opportunism and found supporting empirical evidence from 82 tea supplier groups in China. H1 predicts a positive relationship between joint liability and peer monitoring and is confirmed. H2a-H2c focus on the moderating effects of the normative requirements (i.e. reciprocity, legitimate authority and shared norms). Findings confirm that supplier groups bound by a higher degree of joint liability report significantly more peer monitoring, as levels of reciprocity (H2a) and shared norms (H2c) decrease and the leader's legitimate authority increases (H2b). H3a-H3c examine the moderated-mediated relationships between joint liability and opportunism mediated through peer monitoring while moderated by the three normative requirements. Our data verify that supplier groups bound by a higher degree of joint liability report significantly less opportunism by engaging in more peer monitoring when the groups show lower reciprocity (H3a) and fewer shared norms (H3c) and when group leaders have more legitimate authority (H3b). The empirical evidence basically spells out the necessary boundary conditions for the manufacturer on how to incorporate joint liability to discourage opportunism among supplier groups. Peer monitoring plays a significant (mediating) role in the control mechanism, which can be further facilitated by suitable normative group culture as discussed. This research provides a detailed account of why and how joint liability works as a control mechanism against opportunism and extends current knowledge in several ways.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Grounded in agency and clan theories, this study aims to examine how, when and why joint liability works as a control mechanism to reduce opportunism among tea supplier groups in China.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey data from 82 supplier groups (three respondents per group) were collected.\nFindings: Joint liability is related positively to peer monitoring (as mediator) and negatively to opportunism, whereas the mediated relationship is moderated positively by group leaders' perceived legitimate authority and negatively by reciprocity and shared norms.\nSocial implications: Opportunism is operationalized as the use of illegal pesticides, the violation of manufacturer-supplier contractual agreements and joint liability, as suppliers' liability of having the whole group's seasonal production is rejected by the manufacturer if a single act of opportunism is detected in the group.\nOriginality/value: Our study demonstrates how and under what conditions the joint-liability mechanism is linked with the reduction of multi-suppliers' opportunism. We pave the way for future applications of the control mechanism to fields related to inter-organizational governance. Most importantly, we apply Ouchi's clan theory (1979, 1980) to conceptualize manufacturer-supplier and supplier-supplier relationships in China and provide first-hand evidence to validate its applicability and generalizability to the context. The study also offers insights on network influences in inter-organizational relationships (Gu et al., 2010; Wathne and Heide, 2004) and confirms the important roles of network factors in inter-organizational relationships. In particular, peer monitoring operates as a mediator and normative factors operate as facilitators (moderators) for the joint liability to work as a mechanism to control opportunism in this relationship context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Investigating the effects of product innovation and ingredient branding strategies on brand equity of food products	[ "Brand equity", "Brand management", "Marketing strategy", "Food products", "Produce innovation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Brands play a pivotal role in determining the customers' food choice behavior (Kathuria and Gill, 2013). Causal observation, as well as research reveals that food products are increasingly becoming branded. For instance, Kaufman et al. (2000) in their study report an increase in the proportion of branded food products in the total US food product sales in the period 1987-1997. Moreover, numerous food brands have entered the list of world's 100 top brands (Cooper, 2013). Previous research studies suggest that customers prefer to buy products which have high brand equity compared to those with low brand equity. When a brand enjoys high equity it triggers desirable and favorable associations, and customers feel confident about quality of the product. It enhances trust in the product and facilitates the firm to establish profitable relationships with the customers. Moreover, high brand equity allows a firm to gain sustainable competitive advantage that provides customers compelling a reason to pay premium for buying the particular brand (Keller and Lehmann, 2006). Consecutively, food marketers have put significant financial and intellectual investments in enhancing the brand equity of the food products (Fernandez-Barcala and Gonzalez-Diaz, 2006).\n2. Overview of the branding strategies: 2.1. IPI\n3. Hypothesis development: 3.1. IPI and brand equity\n4. Research design: This study aims to examine the role of customer involvement and parent brand strength in the customer evaluation of IPI and IB strategies. Several pretests were carried out to select the specific stimuli for the main study.\n5. Discussion and implications: As branding is critical for food marketers in developing competitive advantage and promoting future financial growth, an understanding of the key determinants of the various branding strategies in enhancing brand equity has been high on the agenda of academicians and practitioners over the past decade. As a consequence, the aim of the present study was to examine the role of brand attribute strategies such as IPI and IB in enhancing host brand equity. Further, the role of customer involvement and parent brand strength in affecting the host brand equity following the IPI and IB strategy was assessed. The empirical results are supportive of the hypotheses proposed. We found that both IPI and IB strategies lead to improvement of the host brand equity. Additionally, when customer involvement was low, IB strategy results in greater increase in host brand equity than IPI strategy. Whereas, IPI strategy was observed with high levels of host brand equity when parent brand strength was high compared to IB strategy. The findings presented here have important managerial implications in the domain of branding in food products.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Ingredient branding (IB) strategy and incremental product innovation (IPI) strategy are frequently used complementary strategies in food product marketing to build brand equity. The purpose of this paper is to assist managers in choosing between both the strategies based upon two governing criteria namely the involvement level of the product category and the level of parent brand equity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study utilized an experimental design approach. A 2 (product involvement: high vs low)x2 (parent brand equity: high vs low)x2 (attribute strategy: IB vs IPI) balanced, completely randomized factorial design was set up to test the hypotheses.\nFindings: Findings suggest that IB strategy should be preferred when the product category is perceived as low involvement or when parent brand equity of the brand is low. The IPI strategy should be preferred when the parent brand equity is high. Either of strategies may be favored in case of high involvement products.\nPractical implications: The study provides guidance to product managers in choosing between IB and IPI in devising food product development and marketing strategies.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first of its kind which attempts to compare and contrast between tangible and intangible augmentation strategies to build brand equity.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Romanian managers and human resource management	[ "Human resource management", "Managers", "Training", "Management consultancy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nChanges and challenges in post-communist Romania: Until recently, the field of human resource management (HRM) has not formally existed in Romania. Similarly, there have been no different words for leadership and management. The traditional Romanian version for the mentioned concepts is fairly ambiguous - conducere. In spite of the unfamiliarity with the imported terms, Romanian students and managers infer that these concepts are different. In a 1995 research, Gavrilovici (1995, p. 122-3) found that 94.3 percent respondents from a sample of 107 (undergraduate) students, and 93.7 percent managers (N=16) that. Although leadership and management largely overlap, not all managers are leaders and not all leaders are managers.Do the terms leadership and management have the same meaning? In the literature, one can find authors for whom there is no difference between leader and manager, leadership and management. Groholt (1992, p. 81), Director of the Norwegian Center for Leadership Development announces that \"in Norway we do not make any difference between the leadership and management - and I do not like this differentiation.\" However, many authors separate between the managers, who hold a formal, powerful position, and leaders, whose specificity consists of social influence, persuasion, in a common experience of accomplishing a common goal (Palus and Drath, 1992, p. 109; Gardner, 1990, pp. 1, 3; Rost, 1991). Other authors see other differences.The 1990s brought numerous changes in the Romanian society. Nevertheless, they are not so profound and efficient as many Romanians would like. One of the changes is related to the way organizations are managed. Concepts like management, leadership and HRM have become more often heard amongst the academics and practitioners. The latest theories on leadership and management are acknowledged, discussed and disseminated. Unfortunately, although the contemporary issues in leadership discuss the problems of team leadership, of leading through empowerment, and of the possible differences in the ways males and females lead, they are perceived by most Romanian managers as being not so important in Romania. The economic problems they face seem to be more important for them than the style of leadership they practice.The fact that a person holds the formal position of a manager represents no assurance that they will be able to lead effectively. And this is a very important issue in the Romanian context. Many of them became managers or received their education in the communist years, a period of time and a culture where the notions of private property and functional economy were not discussed. They were not educated to face the problems that appear in a free economy. In most cases the manager is also the owner of the company.Because the top managers are responsible for all the general strategies the company adopts, they also influence the HRM strategy of the organization. In the rational views of management behavior, the employees were mostly regarded as representing means of production. The managers treated them as an undifferentiated work force. The important aspects of professional improvement were those of increasing the efficiency and the productivity of the employees, while ignoring the development of individual abilities and the employees' level of commitment to the organization.\nCharacteristics of general and human resource management in Romania: Farhad Analoui, Professor of International Management of Human Resources at Bradford University, Great Britain, gives some declarations Capital magazine (February 2004). He indicates that in Romania the management system is a traditional one, based on the old system of centralized management. This management style does not favor the development of HR. He also thinks that Romanian organizations find themselves in competition to catch up with western European companies. Farhad Analoui indicates that an integrated policy of HR does not exist in most Romanian companies.Our empirical experience suggests that Romanian managers do not encourage a modern and appropriate HRM in their companies. The consultants of D&D Research Agency conducted a research regarding the management style in different types of Romanian organizations (Capital, 2001, June). They reached interesting conclusions. The Romanian state companies are characterized by the ability to tolerate uncertainty, and by orientation toward the superiors in order to get their rewards. The private Romanian companies have a management style, which can be characterized by consideration toward the employees. The multinational and international companies from Romania have the most complex pattern of management style, which is characterized by the power to influence others, by the accuracy of predictions, and by integration. The management style of Romanian research and educational institutes is defined by consideration toward the members of the organization and by tolerating freedom.Interact business communications conducted a study in 2002-2003 with regard to the state of training practices in Romanian enterprises and the training needs of employees (Capital, 2004, February). The results suggest that the managers prefer the courses organized especially for their employees because they are adapted to the needs of the organization. An important finding of the mentioned research is that the most often required courses are those in management and those on improving communication.\nAn inquiry about HRM amongst Romanian managers: Goals and objectives\nResults: General interest for HRM\nConclusions: HRM does not seem to be one of the priorities of the managers included in the present study. Most of them have never solicited HRM consulting and do not intend to do so in the near future, nor have they hired an HRM specialist. Overall, there is more of a preference for paying an external HRM services than for hiring a company's own specialist. The academic preferred background of the HRM specialist includes economic studies.The most often required consulting services are those related to personnel selection, personnel evaluation and the analysis of the organizational climate. As for the training of their employees, the managers think that improving job specific technical skills is most important, followed by interpersonal relations, marketing, leadership and promoting the firm image.Taking into account that managers do not really change their leadership behavior and the attitudes toward managing their human resources, the managers at least from the North East part of Romania are pretty resistant to change. One proof is given by the persistence of the managers in their belief that the vitality of the firm depends on productivity, so they insist on developing the job specific technical skills.If we compare the data from the 1999 sample with those obtained from the 2003 sample, we see the 2003 managers declare that they have solicited training services more often. While the requirement for improving management lies at the end of the solicited services, they do not perceive the existence of major problems related to management issues, nor do not want to prepare for potential competitors.The size of the organization and its type of activity bring about some differences. It seems that for large organizations the issue of HRM is more important. They hire more professionals in this field of activity, have solicited consultancy and training services more often and they have a stronger intention to pay for such services in the near future.Smaller firms seldom ask for this kind of services, but when they do, they prefer external consultancy. The companies that have activities centered on production or service delivery are more concerned with the problem of HRM: they hired more specialists, have solicited more often consultancy services and intend to keep that practice in the near future.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of human resource management (HRM) in Romania.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper describes the latest changes and their reflections in research by analysing data collected from an inquiry amongst 558 company managers. The attitudes and facts in HRM are identified, taking into account the characteristics of the firm. Additionally, the HR problems encountered by the managers, the training and consultancy needs and experience of the firms, and the academic background of the experts, are identified. Finally, some trends in HRM politics are revealed.\nFindings: - The outcomes sustain the conclusion that modern HRM in Romania registered an encouraging start after the communist period, but it is still facing important challenges.\nOriginality/value: - The paper offers a sketchy picture of the HRM situation in Romania.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Teams and lead creators in cultural and creative industries: evidence from the Italian haute cuisine	[ "Cultural and creative industries", "Haute cuisine", "Lead creators", "Team composition" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The end of mass production and the rise of cultural consumption (Hesmondhalgh, 2007; EU Commission, 2011) set cultural and creative industries in the position of becoming a relevant driver for the economic growth and job creation within national and regional systems (Jeffcutt and Pratt, 2002; O'Connor, 2007; Potts, 2009; Pratt and Jeffcutt, 2009). However, the impact of cultural and creative industries on modern societies can be maintained through continuous innovations in products and services (Mezias and Mezias, 2000; Jeffcutt and Pratt, 2002; Lampel et al., 2006; Peretti and Negro, 2007). In addition, the innovation development is particularly challenging for the firms which operate in cultural and creative industries (Messeni Petruzzelli and Savino, 2015) where the generation of novelties is usually considered the norm (Boden, 1990; Sternberg, 1999; Florida, 2002). Indeed, the rapid obsolescence of products as well as a significant seasonal variation (Hirsch, 1972) cause a continued pressure to experiment unusual ways to combine new, different, and existing ideas (Hargadon and Benchky, 2006; Messeni Petruzzelli and Savino, 2015). Accordingly, a growing stream of literature started to analyse the main elements characterizing the creation and development of innovation into cultural and creative industries (Glynn, 1996; Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2011). Thereby, a number of scholars focused on cultural and creative industries which have received little attention from innovation management literature albeit their economic importance (Glynn, 1996; Chaston and Sadler-Smith, 2012; Lampel and Germain, 2016).\nTheoretical background: Innovation within cultural and creative industries\nMethodology: The need to fill the literature gap on the composition of a team supporting lead creators, and the early stages of research on this issue lead us to conduct an inductive study (Eisenhardt, 1989; Easton, 1995; Roethlisberger, 1977). The case study was considered a well-suited research strategy to achieve the previously specified research purpose. In fact, the single case study offers \"depth and comprehensiveness\" (Easton, 1995, p. 475) to understand the complex organizational choices (Benbasat et al., 1987; Brusoni et al., 2001) underlying the team composition that could be useful for lead creators in cultural and creative industries. Furthermore, this method gives us the possibility to capture practitioners' knowledge and developing theories from it (Benbasat et al., 1987).\nFindings: The analysis of \"Dal Pescatore\" has confirmed the presence, as well as the centrality for the restaurant's innovation process, of a lead creator sustained by a team. In fact, Giovanni and Nadia Santini are the \"skeleton\" of the kitchen [Staff of italyluxuryblog.com, in italyluxuryblog.com, 2015 in A(b)]. Nadia managed the transformation from a tavern to a luxury restaurant, whereas Giovanni has showed his ability to maintain the highest quality level through his personal style [Bolasco, in L'Uomo Vogue, 2015 in A(c)]. The guide role covered by Nadia and Giovanni is further emphasized by Antonio Santini, the owner of \"Dal Pescatore\", who said that \"the persons in charge of kitchen are my wife and my son\" (Antonio Santini, personal interview). Nevertheless, the success of \"Dal Pescatore\" is also strongly dependent on the work of team members [Giovagnini, in iodonna.it, 2013 in A(d)]. Accordingly, the main working principle of this restaurant is the mutual recognition and respect for the competencies of each team member [Staff of gazzettadimantova.it, in gazzettadimantova.it, 2013 in A(e)]. This guideline is achieved in a double manner. The first previews a career ladder for the most talented members [Staff of gazzettadimantova.it, in gazzettadimantova.it, 2013 in A(e)]. Otherwise, the menu of the restaurant can propose a dish developed on new techniques or on new ideas originated from the various team members (Antonio Santini, personal interview). This demonstrates how the head chef needs a team that sustain the innovative effort to maintain the competitive advantage (Giovanni Santini, personal interview). In the next two sections, we analysed in details the composition of this team.\nDiscussion and conclusions: This study advances our comprehension on the main factors enabling the innovation development within firms in cultural and creative industries. In particular, our research investigates how to compose a team supporting innovation activities of a lead creator. Accordingly, the research is based on an inductive methodology and carried on the case of \"Dal Pescatore\". This is the Italian restaurant keeping the highest award previewed by Michelin Guide from the longer period. The main figures of the restaurant are the head chefs (Nadia and Giovanni Santini), who are continually sustained by a specific team.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Into cultural and creative industries, the innovation is increasingly realized by a lead creator which is supported by a specific team. Hence, this paper aims to understand the composition of this particular team.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors conducted an in-depth case study of \"Dal Pescatore\". This is the Italian restaurant keeping the highest award previewed by Michelin Guide from the longer period. The main figures of the restaurant are the head chefs (Nadia and Giovanni Santini) who are continually supported by a dedicated team\nFindings: The analysis underlines the necessity to create a team which combines aged people linked to firms' tradition with a low percentage of young foreign apprentices. If the old-timer member assures a deep understanding of the firm's knowledge base, the young foreign apprentice can show an high learning attitude through which he/she more easily shares their different knowledge.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study discussed organizational efforts to foster innovation capacities of the main individuals into a firm. However, the present research suffers from some limitations which limits the generalizability of the results beyond the company studied: a single case study on a small and family firm with consolidated organizational routines. In addition, this research does not solutions about the mechanisms of interaction among these different team members.\nOriginality/value: Recent studies observed how a number of cultural and creative firms innovate through a particular team that develops the ideas of a lead creator. Nevertheless, despite the increasing importance of these teams, their composition remains unclear.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Supply chain planning for water distribution in Central Asia	[ "Supply chain management", "Central Asia", "Water supply engineering", "Distribution management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The L-Service Company is supplying drinking water for the last eight years in Kazakhstan market and is a leading producer of mineral drinking water. It purifies water with modern multistage computerized equipment. The water certification and approval process is administered by the republican sanitary services and the Kazakhstan President's Administration Medical Center. The water is only distributed in market after quality verifications. These agencies monitor the International Quality Standards and works in collaboration with Kazakh Food Academy. Figure 1 shows the 13 stages of water purifications and distribution (Dina, 2006). After the independence of the Central Asian countries from the former USSR block, the businesses in the region are mostly privatized. It is not surprising to notice that the previously state-owned companies are inefficient in customer service and operational efficiency. Market economy and increased completion from local as well overseas competitors warrants the local companies to look at their business more critically to improve performances. Customers are increasingly demanding good services and no longer satisfied with the soviet system marketing plan that is negligent in customer focus.Clients for L-Service Company include both government and private sector. The major clients of the company are: Parliament of Republic of Kazakhstan, KUAT Corporation, Basis - A Corporation, Allianz Bank, Centercredit Bank, Elit Stroi Corporation, FitNation Fitness Club, TehnoPolus Corporation besides there are a number of government clients all over Almaty and the number of clients goes beyond 1,500. The L-Service Company has 12 competitors. The main competitors are: Tassay, Calipso, Tibetskaya, Euro Water, Kaz Water. Price per bottle with 18.9 liters mineral water varies from 330 ($2.7) to 1,280 tenge ($10.3) according to March 2007 market price and USD exchange rate.The L-Service Company is spread all over Kazakhstan with 16 major distribution centers (DCs) in different cities of the Republic of Kazakhstan to supply bottled mineral water. The company extracts water from hydro geological underground water well in Almaty. The water purification process undergoes nine levels of refinement, starting from simple coal filter and finishing with molecular membrane filter as shown in Figure 1.Clients ordering more than ten bottles of water at a time gets 10 percent discount, and the company offers water dispenser with technical warranty to all its clients. The water is delivered to a client, upon request, in any part of city within eight hours. To order water, a customer places a call or completes a request form from the web site. Depending on the order status; the delivery is processed based on first come first serve criteria. For large corporate; fixed day or fixed time delivery options are available such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12.00 or every day at nine hours. The L-Service Company operates trucks with capacity four tons to deliver water in city (Dina, 2006).Kazakhstani companies are lately practicing customer-oriented services to improve the quality of product delivery, customer care and customer complains. Before independence from USSR, the businesses in the region were state run and were mostly inefficient in services, however technologically better. The distribution of the bottled water business is developing in the former USSR blocks known as Commonwealth of Independent States region and requires more customer focused attention.Supply chain is a discipline that addresses customer needs and operational efficiency of a business from process viewpoint. In this study, a process view of mineral water production and distribution is addressed to improve the operational efficiency of the water distribution in a Central Asian city that is densely populated. The city faces logics nightmare during pick hours due to heavy traffic on the road. Figure 1 is the processed-based supply chain operation reference model for L-Service Company producing and distributing mineral water mostly to corporate customers. The figure incorporates management process such as plan, source, and make, the three stages out of five processes as documented in SCOR (2001) supply chain operations reference manual. SCOR is a cross-industry standard for the supply-chain management. The model prescribes a set of processes outline and their breakdown into more detailed set of element. The SCOR model (Supply-Chain Council, Inc., 2000; Lockamy and McCormack, 2004) expresses the business activities connected with all phases of fulfilling a customer's demand. Using process building blocks also known as process categories, a supply chains is defined. Each of the process categories consists of process elements. SCOR model distinguishes between planning, execution, and process level categories. Planning process balances aggregate demand across a consistent planning horizon. Planning process generally occur at regular intervals. Execution processes such as scheduling and sequencing, transforming materials, services, and moving product are triggered by planned or actual demand that changes the state of products. Embedded processes prepare, maintain and manage information or relationships upon which planning and execution processes depend.On the first level of detail processes within the supply chain domain are classified as source, make, deliver, return and plan. The process activity plan is a meta-process defining the detail level of activity across the supply chain and provides a list of configurable process guidelines for instance forecast the demand patter seasonally and produce and stock according to the capacity constraint, when modeling the water production and distribution in a supply chain (Stewart, 1997). Source is the acquisition of resources necessary to produce mineral water including vendor management, vendor identifications to ensure cost effective supplies that are necessary for the production of mineral water. Make in SCOR refers to production process of bottled mineral water including necessary production operations management principles, while plan refers to the processes that are necessary to accomplish the targeted objectives. In SCOR model four levels are identified. In Level 1, comprehensive definitions of the SCOR model is identified. The core process components and categories are defined in Level 2. The information is gathered in Level 3 for planning purpose to set the target goals. Level 3 processes specify task inputs and outputs with process interdependencies. Finally, in Level 4, the improvement strategy is drawn with implementation plans. The SCOR model contains process elements necessary to develop a supply chain model satisfying customer needs. To suggest the supply chain model for water production and delivery to the customer, Figure 1 shows the business process applicable for the water production and distribution supply chain system. The process elements of the SCOR model contain the measures necessary to assess the performance of the supply chain in five performance attributes such as: reliability, responsiveness, flexibility, cost, and asset. The reliability refers to the performance characteristics related to promised service delivery with accuracy. For example, did the ordered water reach the destination in time? Responsiveness suggests prompt service to the customer and ability of the service provider to help the customer at any stage. Similarly the flexibility and cost are the attributed of a supply chain to meet the customer's convenience both in delivery time requirements and cost due to nonstandard volume ordered. The asset management measure helps to find management plan to reduce the stock level of the bottled water stored in distribution centre to improve overall perforce of the supply chain system.Using SCOR model as an analytical tool, this study addresses the water distribution plan in process level as logistics support (Lummus et al., 2001) such that the process efficiency in a supply chain is improved. Incidentally, logistics is an integral part of SCM in water production and distribution. In the following sections, the characteristics of the problem are introduced. Briefly, the data collection and research methods are outlined. An algorithm to solve the delivery routing problem is elaborated. The paper shows the examples in designing routing scheme and derives conclusions from this study.\n2 Problem definition: As seen in Figure 2, the location map of the water plant and the DCs are far from the business and residential areas of Almaty city. The company operates an additional distribution centre in city centre but with inadequate capacity to supply all the customers. The survey of the study identify that the majority of the customers are located at least 7 kilometers away from the city distribution centre. Earlier the L-Service Company ignored the operational difficulties. But growing number of customers, increased competitions, delay in transportation time due to large number of vehicles on the roads and traffic jams, affecting the existing time schedule of delivery. In order to become competitive, responsive and improve on customer dissatisfaction, the company feels it is necessary to improve its supply and logistics operational activities. Logistic strategies are key factor that influence supply chain effectiveness since optimization of logistics network results in costs reduction as well as quick response (Rahman, 2004) leading to higher customer satisfaction (Caputo et al., 2003).2.1 Data collection method\n3 Route construction: Next consider the distribution plan for the L-Service Company for its corporate clients. The information in Tables III-VI comprises number of bottles per month, location of offices in the city and delivery schedule. Using iterative procedure for facility location, the distribution centre is positioned (Chopra and Meindl, 2007).For routing purpose, the office locations are zoned as shown in Table VII. These zoned locations are the delivery and pick up points. In Table VIII, the physical delivery addresses, time of dispatch and pick up schedule are shown.Based on the data, two delivery groups are defined depending on the days of delivery namely: the first group as K1, B1, B2, Z2 and the second group as K2, K3, K4, B3, Z1, Z3, Z4, and Z5. Since these deliveries are on regular basis, the company uses one truck for all deliveries scheduled in same day. For the blue zone, the Friday delivery is discouraged due to inadequate preference from the clients and the delivery is clubbed with the most frequently requested day of delivery. Such policy improves operational efficiency, by restricting number of days of delivery schedule. Further a route sequence is developed as VRP. Below is the solution for the second group for deliveries, which are planned on Tuesday and Thursday. Tarantilis and Kiranoudis (2002) presents a decision support system to coordinate and disseminate tasks related information for solving the route-sequencing problem using a metaheuristic method. Its architecture involves an integrated framework of geographical information system and a relational database management system. In this study, the WINQSB software (Chang and Desai, 2003) with proper data structure solves the delivery-sequencing problem using an algorithm developed in Ahmed (2006). In a different and related study, Taylor et al. (2001) present a truck zone multi-dispatching operational configuration using simulation method.The next step, in this study, is to optimize the routes for deliveries from new DC. The customer location is encoded by a linear grid overlay with a suitable map-scaling factor. Based on routing minimization methods described in Ahmed (2006) the customers are sequenced with respect to the DC. In Figure 7(a), the routing measures are shown for the zone configuration, while Figure 7(b) and 7(c) shows the route sequence that is best for delivery and pickup sequence.Similarly, the next group deliveries can be planned as: Group 1: K1= > B2= > Z2= > B1, while for Group 2 the sequence is K2= > B3= > Z3= > K3= > Z1= > Z5= > K4= > Z4.Figure 8 shows the schematic truck route sequence for Blue zone, while Figure 9 shows the actual sequence in a map for a driver to follow and the arrows show the direction of a truck during a typical morning delivery. Data in Table VIII helps in designing the spatial distribution plan such that a driver knows the truck delivery sequence. This spatial delivery and pick up sequence is developed by a method described in Ahmed (2006).Table IX shows the savings that is realized due to the proper zoning and route sequencing compared to the present delivery plan with total 18 trucks or machines in operations. The savings is shown in Kazak currency known as Tinge for red, blue and green zones only. The issue is to arrange deliveries to the corporate customers and design modified delivery route and schedule. An example of the number of trips, trucks, route lengths and price of fuel is shown in Table IX for red, green and yellow zones. The route length is about 7,750 meters for blue zone. The saving that can be realized is computed next. The distance from central distribution centre to blue zone distribution centre is 24,800 meters. The fuel consumption for a standard Isuzu truck for each 100,000 meters is 18 liters. The average liter of diesel consumption provides roughly 5,600 meters run. The price of one liter of diesel is 60 tenge. Hence, by locating the distribution centre to blue zone saves about (24,800/5,60060) 265.2 tenge in blue zone. Considering three trips per day for 30 days and six trucks in use, the savings is about (265.2 tenge3 trips per day30 days6 trucks) 143,485.72 tenge (about $1,000) per month for blue zone.\n4 Conclusions: Efficient supply chain design is contingent on several considerations as highlighted in SCOR model and the detail level of analysis of related business factors that are coupled with supply chain performances (Wu et al., 2004). The study improves on water distribution logistic planning in Central Asia. Routing plan in a city is constructed and shown examples using software for water distribution to corporate clients from conveniently located water DCs in city. A scheme that finds routing plan is shown. Standard logistics software easily solves the routing plan with modified data structure that can integrate customer locations and DCs. Method to solve s single routing plan is transformed into a multiple routing plan with the modified data structure. An algorithm is discussed how to formulate the problem. Response time is improved by clustering the city into zones and each zone is assigned a distribution plan. For distributional convenience a spatial routing plan is shown with the city road map and location of customers. The solution suggested herein is applicable to perishable, fragile as well as non-perishable products. Incase of fragile and perishable food product distributions in supply chain require opening additional distribution in the city to improve the response time and customer demand for freshness. The methodology shown is simple and easy to adopt for supply chain business.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The role of business logistics for a water distribution company in Central Asia has become a major concern. As the marketing environment is getting more and more competitive, the company is forced to focus on the efficiency of its supply chain management operations both by improving customer service, increasing its profitability and productivity. The purpose of this paper is to report upon the designing of a responsive supply chain for water distribution in Central Asia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A logistic plan to satisfy customer requirement for water distribution in a Central Asian city subject to satisfactory service levels both in the number of distribution centers (DCs) and truck delivery schedule is outlined in this paper. The logistics plan includes repositioning the DCs in relation to the customer location for efficient distribution. The problem is formulated as truck delivery schedule using a new algorithm where single distribution centre is converted into a multiple warehouse location problem. The problem is solved using WINQSB software. Further, the current DCs are appraised with the software and suggested possible new locations for convenience.\nFindings: - The application part of this case study consists of identifying water DCs in city limits. By developing improved distribution and logistics management, the study aims at economical operations, convenient zonal distributions, and responsive SCM characteristics. To this end, a spatial distribution plan and route sequencing solution is developed for water distribution.\nOriginality/value: - The paper shows how to improve logistic network that results in cost savings, convenient zonal distributions, and responsive SCM operations. To this end, a spatial distribution plan and route sequencing is developed for water distribution.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Facilitating age diversity in organizations - part II: managing perceptions and interactions	[ "Age", "Stereotypes", "Demographic change", "Age diversity", "Aging workforce" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The ongoing demographic changes in most industrialized countries provide new challenges for the management of organizations. In particular, the percentage of workers older than 50 years has significantly increased during the last years, with direct consequences for the frequency and size of age diversity in working teams and organizations (e.g. Baltes et al., 2011; Hedge et al., 2006; Wegge et al., 2008). Today, business companies, but also public administrations, law enforcement units, hospital management, etc., are seeking advice how to manage age diversity at work. As with diversity in general, both potential benefits and challenges exist (e.g. Horwitz and Horwitz, 2007; Joshi and Roh, 2009). On the one hand, high diversity in teams or other organizational units might increase creativity, innovation, and problem solving due to multiple perspectives and backgrounds of the different workers. On the other hand, high diversity often come with higher needs for communication, coordination, and conflict management due to differences in role expectations, working styles, and general values. Therefore, in order to benefit from diversity, the accurate management of mutual perceptions and interactions is crucial.\nAcknowledgements: This manuscript was handled by Dianna L. Stone as Action Editor. Writing this review was supported by a research grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to the first author (HE 2745/11-3).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Due to demographic changes in most industrialized countries, the average age of working people is continuously increasing, and the workforce is becoming more age-diverse. This review, together with the earlier JMP Special Issue \"Facilitating age diversity in organizations - part I: challenging popular misbeliefs\", aims to summarize new empirical research on age diversity in organizations, and on potential ways to support beneficial effects of age diversity in teams and organizations. The second part of the Special Issue focusses on managing mutual perceptions and interactions between different age groups.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A literature review is provided summarizing and discussing relevant empirical research on managing mutual perceptions and interactions between different age groups at work.\nFindings: The summarized research revealed a number of challenges to benefit from age diversity in organizations, such as in-group favoritism, age norms about appropriate behavior of older workers, intentional and unintentional age discrimination, differences in communication styles, and difference in attitudes towards age diversity. At the same time, managerial strategies to address these challenges are developed.\nOriginality/value: Together with the first part of this Special Issue, this is one of the first reviews on ways to address the increasing age diversity in work organizations based on sound empirical research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Towards professional-model regulation of directors' conduct	[ "Directors duties", "Fitness to practice", "Professional conduct", "Corporate governance", "Directors" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The spectacular success of the limited company as a device for meeting the twin objectives, critical to a market economy of meeting demand and creating wealth lies at least in part in the moderation, and in reality often the virtual separation, of the relationship between capital investment and risk. Is the present legislative regime in danger of loosing public confidence because it has enabled the moderation, and in reality often the virtual separation, of the relationship between the power of those who run businesses and responsibility for their actions? If so, does the answer lie less in criminalisation of wrongdoing than in imposing, and enforcing, on directors duties regarded as axiomatic amongst members of professions.At the time of writing the problem arises in the most commonly discussed form in the contribution strategic directorial shortcomings contributed to the financial crisis. It has less spectacular manifestations in the problems which have arises from the misselling of PPI. It has longer running and less newsworthy, but no less important resonances in the way corporate social responsibility management issues including ensuring good health, safety and environmental practices are implemented by a responsive, and responsible, board.In this article, I propose to examine the way the criminal justice system interacts with individual company officers in a common regulatory sphere and, looking to wider issues consider whether such an approach meets the proper ends of regulation more effectively than would the adoption of a regime predicated on the enforcement, outside the court system of professional duties.\nThe role of the state: It is a rational starting point that actors will tend to behave in a way which will benefit themselves unless other considerations modify that drive. The role of the state must thus be to legislate to modify that drive so as to ensure that the self-interest of the actor is not merely enlightened but objectively enlightened, in the sense that it is informed by a set of values accepted as desirable by decision makers properly informed by economic and social criteria. It is plainly self-defeating if the outcome is to prevent the actor from engaging effectively in commercial activity.It appears to some unedifying to hear legislators complain about the behaviour of bankers as if the bankers failure was something they could have done nothing to prevent. Still less, as some critics say, which they tacitly encouraged. The argument turns rather on whether it was a failure to foresee and better manage financial innovation, not least the creation of derivative securities, not least collateralized debt obligations which were alleged to produce safe investments by diversifying away the inherent risk in the underlying security. It illustrates one of the problems which informs the debate about regulating businesses. If even at this distance in time there is, even with hindsight, no universal consensus as to whether the growth of derivatives was at the heart of the financial collapse. How much harder is it without the benefit of the retrospectroscope to say whether an innovative product, particularly in the financial sector will turn out to be for good or ill.While the state is entitled to hope that actors in business should be informed by enlightened self-interest it does not lie easily or well in the mouth of the legislator to complain that they were entitled to expect the actors to behave in that way. The fault I would argue lies primarily and the responsibility squarely with those who failed to make, or to ensure the enforcement of, adequate rules.The rules in place\nThe regulation of duties on companies: Turning to the way duties fall in the context of the corporate form, and pausing to acknowledge that there are still individuals who own and run businesses but the big ones and many of the small ones are run by companies. Acknowledging too that much of what follows applies principally to public companies, but again they are the usual vehicle for large and successful businesses (Pace the position of private equity.).Companies have duties imposed upon them. In law companies are people. This legal fiction is a necessary and central part of the nature of corporate identity. The notion of the corporation has been identified, most engagingly by Micklethwaite and Wooldridge (2005) as a revolutionary idea. It is, on some views, the most important invention of the last half millennium:Companies have proved enormously powerful, not just because they improve productivity, but also because they possess most of the legal rights of a human being, without the attendant disadvantages of biology: they are not condemned to die of old age and they can create progeny pretty much at will. This privilege of immortality, not to mention the protection the artificial corporate form, has afforded various venal people down the ages and has often infuriated the rest of society - particularly governments. Hence, there has been a lengthy series of somewhat bad-tempered laws trying to tamper with the concession - from the Statute of Mortmain, which Edward I issued in 1279 to \"stem the flow of assets being transferred beyond his feudal rate to the invert dead hand\" of corporate bodies \"particularly monasteries\", to the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, through which Congress tried to make bosses more accountable for the sins of \"their\" companies.This construct of legal personality presents no real difficulty in a company being liable for its wrongdoings subject perhaps to two problems. One is that the courts have wrestled for many years with analogies comparing the artificial person which is a company with a real physical being. Such analogies have not always been helpful and can obscure a proper analysis of the legal device which is corporate personality. The other, which is not unrelated to the first, is that punishing a company can present difficulties. A large fine, even a very large fine, on a company does not necessarily impact upon the company itself. Reputational damage aside, the punishment of the company may simply punish the customer who pays a higher price to meet the fine or the employees who suffer reduced benefits in order to offset the expense. There have been some imaginative attempts to address this lacuna in sentencing including the notion of equity fines - the notion of compelling the issue of shares so diluting the shareholding and the value of those shares and in that sense making the shareholders pay[4].The notion that it should be the owners of a company who pay the price, is reflected in the much cited dictum of Mr Justice Scott Baker, as he then was, in R v. F Howe and Son (Engineers) Ltd[5] until recently the leading case on sentencing in health and safety cases:A fine needs to be large enough to bring that message home where the defendant is a company not only to those who manage it but also to its shareholders.That superficially attractive argument is predicated on the assumption that the ordinary shareholders of a company have any more control over its activities than the voters in a member state have over the activities of the European Union. Although, as discussed below there is some evidence in the concept of the \"shareholder spring\" of 2012 that cynicism about the classical model of corporate governance may be unjustified.\nThe regulation of duties on officers of a company: The way that the legal system in England and Wales has endeavoured to visit liability on individuals for the faults of corporations has been interesting. Directors, officers, senior managers of companies who are complicit in criminal wrongdoing could be liable at common law as secondary parties. To various extents they aid, abet, counsel or procure the wrongdoing. That is not, however, the road down which our jurisprudence has gone; rather culpability on the part of individuals has been addressed by statute.Companies have duties imposed upon them. For the purpose of this analysis the duties in Health and Safety regulation are used, not least because the model is common to a number of regulatory arenas.An exemplar of the classic model is this: the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 imposes backbone duties in Sections 2 and 3.Section 2 imposes a duty in respect of employees:(1) It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.Other sub-sections illustrate, but do not exhaustively define, the scope of that duty.Section 3 imposes a duty in respect of non-employees:It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.Under the Health and Safety at, etc. Work Act, as under most regulatory statutes personal liability is usually capable of being an offence on the part of an individual in certain circumstances.There are three categories.Section 7 under the heading \"General duties of employees at work\" provides:It shall be the duty of every employee while at work -(a) to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and, of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work; [...].This duty, as the plain words indicate, applies to any employee at any level in the organisation (Though note that directors are not usually employees.).Section 36, under the heading \"Offences due to fault of other person\" provides:(1) Where the commission by any person of an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilty of the offence, and a person may be charged with and convicted of the offence by virtue of this subsection whether or not proceedings are taken against the first-mentioned person.\nAlternatives to prosecuting directors: How then to address the perceived reluctance to prosecute individuals directors, partly informed by a perceived risk that a criminal conviction (with all its dire consequences for an individual) may flow not from the gravity of the breach of duty but from the gravity of the outcome?Some would observe that the problem lies at least in part with the very nature of the legal nature of corporate structure. Deakin (2010/2011) writing recently in the New York Law School Law Review said:[...] the legal model of the board, which has evolved over many decades and has roots in primordial common law concepts of property and trusteeship, does not entirely map on to the idea of directors as the agents of shareholders, which has informed corporate governance standards since the 1980s.If it is indeed right that there is a reluctance to prosecute individual officers of companies and there is a reluctance to prosecute companies themselves when there has been no adverse outcome it is legitimate to ask whether there may be a more productive way to come at the duties imposed on the officers of companies.More particularly, if there is a reluctance to prosecute individuals when a company is guilty of a breach of duty in relation to a health and safety offence where there is (usually) an identifiable victim and a well established set of principles how much less likely is it that prosecutions will arise if there has been reckless financial activity damaging to the wider economic environment, or corrosive of public confidence and trust in an industry which requires such characteristics at its core to work properly and fairly in the wider public interest. Straightforward, out and out dishonesty is plainly prosecutable but that particular behaviour is not the one which lies at the heart of the problem.The regulation by other means\nPutting in place a professional model regulation regime for directors: There are perhaps three problems which lie within a sensible analysis of the regulation of corporate behaviour on a professional conduct model.First what are the duties? To what standard ought the officer of the company aspire?Second, in the event of misfeasance who is going to investigate, formulate and prosecute (in the non-criminal sense) the charges?Third, before whom are the allegation to be tried?All those questions are central to a final conclusion and not for answer here, but lying antecedent to them all is this: is it desirable to adopt a professional conduct model rather than the use of the courts (What is discussed herein is principally the criminal process because that is the relevant parallel. The issues in relation to use of civil proceedings against directors are different but, in terms of achieving proper regulation equally ineffective, not least because the company usually stands behind the officers and is itself the proper defendant).Enforcing the obligations\nFinally: There must be a way to require professional status of directors, with all the privileges attendant upon that status to be paid for by enforceable obligations of the sort all other people claiming professional status have to abide by.For this process to work, it would appear the legislature would have to compel directors to belong abode by a code of professional conduct and determine, or require the determination of, a mechanism for investigation and a body for adjudication.While it is hard to see how anything short of legislative intervention would work although the growing adoption of good governance obligations as part of business commitment to corporate and social responsibility may offer some cause for optimism.If professional model regulation of directors can be achieved then it is my submission that would not be counter entrepreneurial not least because it could enable the removal of other restrictions. Moreover, it would provide a much more subtle remedy - significantly more likely to be used and far more versatile than criminal prosecution - and it would go some significant way to restoring faith in the governance of companies and indeed in the market economy and does so in a way which adds responsibility to the power wielded by directors of large corporations.The principle advantage for wider society is that individual officers of companies will be more inclined to protect their own position by behaving in a way which avoids attracting personal responsibility before their professional body. A real, and enforceable, enlightened self-interest.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The criminal courts are a singularly inappropriate tool to regulate the behaviour of directors, other than in a very limited set of circumstances. Shareholders are an inconsistent mechanism for regulating the board of companies. The aim of this paper is to look at the paradigms relating to criminal liability on directors acting in that capacity and argues that lessons could be learned from the way professional bodies regulate their members through a \"fitness to practice\" regime.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This is a conceptual paper.\nFindings: - One attraction of professional model regulation is that the outcomes are more versatile than in criminal proceedings where a conviction and punishment is the alternative to an acquittal. In professional disciplinary proceedings the outcome may include censure, the imposition of conditions upon the right to practice, suspension for a defined period of time and ultimately removing the right to practice. In choosing the outcome the decision maker has an obligation to take a proportionate view and would be entitled not to throw out the entrepreneurial baby with the breach of duty bathwater if that would loose to the company, and the public, skills which could be saved by lesser steps than erasure, including imposing conditions on the registrants activities.\nOriginality/value: - Professional model proceedings may be more likely to be used than criminal prosecution and would go some significant way to restoring faith in the governance of companies in a way which adds responsibility to the power wielded by directors of large corporations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Integration of marketing domain and R&D domain in NPD design process	[ "Product development", "Marketing", "Conjoint analysis", "Taguchi methods", "Integration", "Research and development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There are two kinds of approaches, named as process and domain view, in new product development (NPD). The process view looks at the activities of domains simultaneously in development process, while the domain view investigates the activities of domains independently (Chakravarty, 2001). With the recent trend of the process view, the barrier between domains and departments has been broken down in NPD (Song et al., 1997). In accordance with the trend, it becomes necessary for product developers to mutually understand all domains related to NPD in an enterprise. Thus, the interface system which can reduce the conflict of gain and loss in the two domains is becoming an increasingly important research area.Specifically, in NPD, the marketing-R&D interface coordination becomes important because the perspectives of R&D and marketing should substantially overlap each other as companies move further along the route towards the market orientation (Millman, 1982). Therefore, numerous studies have explored this marketing-R&D interface and its role in the NPD process to help better understand the researchable issues relating to integrating mechanisms for the marketing and R&D (Griffin and Hauser, 1996). The meaning of integration is making applications work together in the different domain by passing information through some forms of the interface systems (Gulledge, 2006), and the interface system is similar to the agent technology, which can facilitate a collaborative product design and make the different domain contribute to each other stages (Cheng et al., 2006; Huang et al., 2006).Although there are many studies and propositions about the conceptual framework to integrate the marketing and R&D, research on the substantial integration of the NPD methodology itself is still in its early stage. So far, the conjoint analysis in marketing or the Taguchi method in R&D has been studied in each domain independently. Furthermore, previous research on the integrated NPD methodology has focused on the QFD, which is known to be techniques frequently used to link the two domains in NPD (Chakravarty, 2001; Cristiano et al., 2000), and these studies have dealt with the QFD integrated into conjoint analysis or the QFD integrated into Taguchi method (Park et al., 2005; Katz, 2004; Pullman et al., 2002; Terninko, 1997, 1992; Chu, 1996; Gustafsson, 1993). Therfore, there have been only few studies trying to compare the conjoint analysis and Taguchi method directly and to present an optimized linkage system in interface between the two domains. Considering the foregoing background, the main purpose of this study is to compare the results of the conjoint and Taguchi methods, and to propose an intelligent integration of two methods which can solve the trade-offs in the marketing and R&D domain in NPD.\nLiterature review: Interface between marketing domain and R&D domain\nResearch design: Figure 1 shows the research design framework of this paper. There are two steps in the interface design between the two domains in the proposed process.The first interface is to determine important design features by using HOQ. The HOQ was formed based on the belief that products should be designed to reflect customers' desires and tastes. Therefore, marketers, design engineers and manufacturing staffs should closely work together from the time when a product idea or concept is decided (Hauser and Clausing, 1988), and the most important design features are determined for NPD. In this step, the marketing domain applies result of the multivariate statistical analysis from customer survey to the HOQ, and the R&D domain applies domain knowledge of expert in the R&D to the HOQ.The second interface is to compare results of the conjoint analysis in the marketing and the Taguchi method in R&D by using determined important design features. Moreover, the assumption that results of two methods are different is verified in the illustration section. Then this study presents the sequential integrated parameter design process which solves the trade-offs in those two methods.Conjoint analysis\nIntegrated design process: In the parameter design step of a new product, the purpose of the conjoint method is to maximize customer satisfaction, and that of the Taguchi method is to minimize the quality variability caused by noise factors. As two different methods with different purposes are used in the two domains, the results of optimal level condition from each method can be different. Therefore, if the product designer uses either of the two methods, there is bound to be trade-offs between the utility of the conjoint and the SN ratio of the Taguchi method.When the conjoint method is selected, the difference in the quality increases due to the low SN ratio. In addition, the variability of the customer satisfaction increases according to customer characteristics and the circumstance of using. On the other hand, when the Taguchi is selected, the level of the customer satisfaction on the product parameter decreases due to low utility, which can lead to the lower demand of product. However, any newly designed product should be robust to variations, both in product performances and consumer preferences (Luo et al., 2005). Thus, it is necessary that the integrated design process satisfies both purposes by using an intelligent integration.Consequently, this study proposes an integrated design process which can solve the trade-offs between marketing domain and R&D domain. The whole process is shown in Figure 2. The integrated design process consists of four steps. Each step is explained in detail in the next section.Step 1. HOQ integrated with multivariate statistical analysis\nIllustration: automotive interior design: To illustrate how well the integrated design method is applied, the automotive interior design is shown as an example. From the industry-academic project of Korean domestic automobile company in which the first author participated, we could obtain the source of the data by conducting an experiment about automotive interior design. The parts of the collected data with the consent are used to propose the integrated design process for the illustration in this research. The objective of the automotive interior design in this illustration is to determine the optimal level condition of interior design variables in order to maximize openness in a driver's seat. The approach to openness of automobile is closely connected with Kansei engineering (Nagamachi, 2002) which was developed as a new user-oriented approach for NPD. As the mechanical performance of passenger vehicles reaches satisfactory levels, this approach is significant because customers are concerned with the ergonomic and aesthetic aspects of the interior design (You et al., 2006).Data\nDiscussion: The integrated design process proposed in the study can find out a point of compromise between the purposes of the conjoint analysis and that of Taguchi method. In addition, by using two methods sequentially, this process ensures that all the advantages of the two methods are utilized and there is no information loss by two methods.The discussion issues can be summarized as follows. This process first focuses on the main effect which is important in each domain by using the same orthogonal array table for the Taguchi and conjoint analysis. Then, the process selects more important domain by measuring the variance of parameters with normalizing method as the interface system. In depth discussion, when we determine the detail optimal level of the R&D domain within the rough optimal level of the marketing domain, customer would feel overriding satisfaction in product and would not be sensible of the large variation in the product quality. Likewise, when we determine the detail optimal level of the marketing domain, they feel vice versa. For example, in Table XIV, we fix the rough level of conjoint to Level 1 and study the main effect of only Level 1. Additionally, in detail level of the Taguchi, we select a level flexibly by studying both of Levels 1 and 2. Consequently, this process can connect marketing and R&D domain intelligently by using hierarchical planning with the orthogonal array and the normalizing method.In a holistic or systematic view, this paper provides a modified guideline of six sigma approach which is representative method in process and product innovation of advanced company (Raisinghani et al., 2005). In the case of NPD, in order to satisfy customer needs, we should minimize the variation of quality and consider time to market by integrating the marketing and R&D process effectively. Also, we should concentrate more on efficient optimization of holistic process in value chain than the optimization of each stage in process. Thus, the proposed process in the study can be applied to another domain in value chain by providing a better intelligent integration methodology which phases down variation. For example, if another domain, such as inbound logistics in value chain, needs an optimizing methodology like the conjoint analysis in marketing, we can apply the integrated process which could phases down variation by using the orthogonal design and the normalizing method of interface system.In supply chain management as an advanced element of value chain which is the integration of suppliers, distributors, and customer logistical requirements into one cohesive process (Lin et al., 2005), a system of continuous improvement on user satisfaction can be added to this process in order to give feedback of customer evaluation to next product development process (Lee et al., 2006). Moreover, marketing domain should consider the product configuration analysis of customer and should reflect the result for determining important design features (Helo, 2006).The integrated design process can be applied and expanded universally according to the strategy of enterprise. The NPD as a strategic view point is such a core process playing a major role in achieving success for global competition (Humphreys et al., 2005) that a product quality can be effectively employed as a base for realizing competitive strategy and has been a source of competitive advantages in the last decade (Prajogo, 2007). The brief guideline is as follows. When the strategy of enterprise is to secure more market share of a new product, the conjoint analysis should be used preemptively and the level of parameter should be scale-down to increase the acceptance of the new product. As a result, the higher the degree of customer satisfaction, the higher the return on investment the company will achieve (Ho et al., 2005). On the other hand, when strategy of enterprise is to maintain current market share of the new product, the Taguchi method should be used first and the level of parameter in the method should be scale-down to increase robustness of new product. Consequently, this integrated process will give enterprises the competitive advantages.\nConclusion: The contributions of this study can be summarized as follows. First, this study examined the different views between the marketing domain relying on the conjoint analysis and the R&D domain using the Taguchi method. Second, this study proposed the important variables selection method which integrates a multivariate statistical method into HOQ. Third, this study verified the difference in the results of the two methods, and showed the strengths and weaknesses of each by comparing them with utility and SN ratio. Fourth, this study proposed the new product parameter design process with interface system, which is an integrated design process that has strengths of both the conjoint analysis and Taguchi method. Fifth, this study proposed the guideline to be used by enterprises for applying the integrated design process.There are, however, some limitations, requiring further studies to be conducted as follows. First, product performance developed by the integrated design process needs to be verified through a customer experiment. Second, the trade-offs between complexity and effectiveness of integrated process need to be considered. Third, there need to be more illustrations on NPD to verify the proposed process.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To solve the trade-offs between marketing and R&D domains and to minimize information loss in new product development (NPD), this study proposes an integrated design process as a new solution to the interface system between the two domains.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - House of Quality integrated with multivariate statistical analysis is used for determining important design features. These design features are used as parameters for conjoint analysis and Taguchi method, and then the results of analyses are compared. Sequential application of conjoint analysis and Taguchi method, depending on the differences in utilities and signal to noise ratios, is applied for the integrated design process. An automotive interior design is illustrated for the validation of the integrated design process.\nFindings: - The integrated design process determines a point of compromise between the optimums of conjoint analysis and Taguchi method. Sequential application of two methods ensures full utilization of both methods and no loss of information.\nResearch limitations/implications: - More illustrations on NPD are needed to verify the proposed process.\nPractical implications: - The design process suggested in this study can be used for process innovation in six sigma approach and be integrated with value chain intelligently. This study proposes the strategic guideline of the integrated design process for enterprises.\nOriginality/value: - The integrated design process suggests the solution for the trade-offs between marketing domain that pursues the utility of product and R&D domain that emphasizes robustness of product quality. This integrated design process will give enterprises competitive advantages in NPD.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Enabling role of an intranet to augment e-coaching	[ "Coaching", "Intranets", "Learning organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Many learning organisations have a central intranet for enterprise-wide information, collaborative applications and communication. The key process in an intranet is the content management process (Phifer, 2008). There should be easy-to-use processes for creating content on an intranet to facilitate the sharing and communication of tacit knowledge by employees. Enterprise content management process refers to the methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver content and documents related to organisational processes. Coaching is \"a process that enables learning and development to occur\" (Parsloe, 1999). Electronic coaching (e-coaching) is coaching delivered via an electronic medium such as an intranet. E-coaching focuses on the same goals as regular face-to-face coaching. E-coaching is embedded in the virtual world of technology. Botz (2009) suggests that e-coaching delivered to employee desktops in an organisation is an excellent supplement to face-to-face coaching sessions.The question arises as to whether the enabling role of an intranet can augment e-coaching in an organisation. This question is explored in this article. The objective of this article is thus to explore whether virtual coaching in an organisation may be facilitated and enabled by intranet technology for the creative dialogue of e-coaching. As Clutterbuck and Hussain (2009) note: \"[r]ather than the technology being simply an add-on to an established process, technology and coaching [...] have synthesised into something new and exciting\".This article is organised as follows: an outline of e-coaching is presented. Thereafter the enabling role of information technology is given. Intranet technology and intranets are then discussed. Some e-coaching implications for organisations are then suggested. Thereafter, concluding remarks are given.\n2. Electronic coaching (e-coaching): The field of coaching is broad, and goals may be of a personal or professional nature. For the purposes of this article, goals of a professional nature are considered - i.e. in an organisational setting. The coach's goal will be to facilitate an employee's growth and potential by assisting him in identifying needs, developing goals, building strategies to meet these goals and providing support and encouragement in order to ensure that these goals may be met (Dwyer, 2004). It should be noted that coaching is not mentoring and a distinction should be made between these fields. Clutterbuck (2009) suggests that a \"more accurate distinction between coaching and mentoring generally is that coaching usually relates to some aspect of performance, while mentoring relates to career and wider issues of personal identity and socialisation\". Dwyer (2004) suggests that coaches can set up a web-based resource centre to facilitate a coaching process. Intranets are based on the web-based technology of the internet. E-coaching thus utilises technology to connect people (such as employees in an organisation). Whether e-coaching can be enabled by the specific technology of an intranet is the subject of this article.What is e-coaching and how is it defined in the literature? Clutterbuck and Hussain (2009) indicate that problems arise with defining e-coaching:[W]e searched a range of websites offering e-coaching services. Typical was the statement: \"E-coaching is a way of providing executive coaching services with remote communication\". Another site saw e-coaching as online therapy. The general theme was \"doing what I've always done, but online\".These researchers suggest a simple definition for e-coaching as a \"developmental partnership, in which all or most of learning dialogue takes place using email, either as the sole medium, or supplemented by other media\". Since in this article it is argued that the Intranet has an enabling role to augment e-coaching in a learning organisation, it is contended that e-coaching should be seen as a developmental partnership, in which much of learning dialogue can take place using e-mail and augmented by the enabling role of an intranet.\n3. Enabling role of technology: Technology in an organisation should be an enabler seamlessly integrating knowledge-sharing with every aspect of working life. Information technology (IT) is much more than desktops and networks: the technology represents the entire way an organisation enables its activities and should therefore be used to facilitate and encourage the sharing of enterprise-wide information and content management processes. IT offers many potential value-creating opportunities in the coaching domain in organisations. An example of such an opportunity is using email to support e-coaching. Information systems (IS) designed to support an organisation also need to complement and enhance the coaching culture in an organisation. For example, in the past it was common to design IS focused on codified knowledge (i.e. explicit organisational knowledge). However, IS designed to facilitate virtual coaching may provide an opportunity for extending the scope of IT-based knowledge provision to \"redefine\" the existing culture in a learning organisation and spawn an e-coaching culture in such an organisation.The advent of web-based technologies such as intranets have contributed significantly to the technological capabilities of IS. From an IS perspective, web-based technologies, in particular intranets, offer formidable advantages over traditional technologies which tend only to support well-defined tasks (Damsgaard and Scheepers, 1999). According to Wickramasinghe et al. (2005), since its introduction intranet technology has been applied in four distinct waves:1. information publishing;2. information collaboration;3. transaction oriented applications; and4. formal collaborative applications.It is contended that each of these four waves has relevance for e-coaching and the following examples are suggest:1. information publishing - an employee receives e-reminders, e-suggestions and ongoing feedback;2. information collaboration - editing the flow of information that an employee requires and eliminating (filtering) that which is not required;3. transaction-oriented applications - receiving e-tools that are specifically designed to Intranet technology and which fits an employee's need; and4. formal collaborative applications - with e-coaching, an employee receives the opportunity to learn what he needs to learn, when he needs it and from whom he requires it.An intranet is an informational tool that empowers organisations to manage in new ways (Hattingh, 2000). Coaching - and specifically e-coaching - will need to be managed in new ways in an organisation. An intranet promises to enable learning and development to occur and thereby improve organisational performance. Forrester Research (cited in Hattingh, 2000) indicates that intranets have grown to mirror the morass of the business and departments they support. Intranets may reflect codified knowledge in the form of organisational change initiatives in order to help employees accept and adapt to changes in a manner consistent with their personal goals and values. Intranets may thus be seen to have an online persuasion. However, many intranets suffer from unmanaged content and ad hoc site development is generated as the information in organisations increases (Hattingh, 2000). Unless closely controlled, the intranet may also transfer false knowledge, misinformation and propaganda (Skok and Kalmanovitch, 2005). From an e-coaching perspective, this is noteworthy since such transfer can create distrust between a coach and an individual employee. This may then reduce morale and motivation as an employee may not feel valued and connected with organisational changes that are published on the intranet.\n4. Intranet technology and intranets: An intranet (or internal web) is a network architecture designed to serve the internal information needs of an organisation using web (internet) concepts and tools (see Cortese, 1996). The literature suggests some debate on the role of an intranet. White (2004) sees the \"role of an intranet, and other technologies, as supporting knowledge exchange\". For example, knowledge exchange between a coach and an employee is important for developing personal competencies. Truch (cited in Skok and Kalmanovitch, 2005) demonstrates how an intranet's role varies according to the corresponding user epistemology. One user epistemology of an Intranet is an autopoietic view. In an autopoietic view, the epistemology places increasing emphasis on an intranet as a communication tool to facilitate the direct conversion of both contingently and inherently tacit knowledge via internalisation and externalisation processes and indirectly via socialisation, encourages knowledge-sharing through the provision of data that enables individuals to identify relevant employees for making contact (Skok and Kalmanovitch, 2005).For the purposes of this article, an autopoietic view of an intranet is taken, since emphasis should be placed on it for augmenting communication between a coach and an individual employee (in an organisation). Furthermore with \"abundant\" tacit knowledge usually available on an intranet, an employee is able to take greater responsibility for his own personal development in an organisation without having to place reliance on a coach to provide him with all or some of his career development needs. By utilising the information contained in content management processes on an intranet, a coach may utilise this enabling technology to facilitate employees achieving their aspirations and fulfilling their needs.Intranets create a common communications and information sharing system. Brelade and Harman (2003) suggest Intranets can be used on a \"push\" basis, where information is presented to employees, and on a \"pull\" basis whereby employees seek out and retrieve information for themselves:* \"Push\" technology is used when it is important that certain material is presented to employees at their desktops. Goldsmith (2001) suggests that a \"great opportunity is using push technology to help leaders develop\".* \"Pull\" technology allows employees to decide when to pull down information from the intranet that they wish to view.Explicit knowledge retrieved by an employee using either \"push\" or \"pull\" technology may then be combined, edited or processed (by an employee) to form more complex and systematic explicit knowledge via a combination process. Explicit knowledge and information contained in content management processes in an intranet are therefore important in the e-coaching process, since information presented and sought out offers a vehicle for analysis, reflection and action to enable an employee to achieve success in one or more areas of his work life.\n5. E-coaching implications for organisations: While coaching involves face-to-face sessions, e-coaching utilises technology wherein the sessions are communicated electronically instead of by face-to-face or telephone. The coach and the employee collaborate electronically on the desired goal, discover options (e.g. using a synthesis of \"pull\" and \"push\" technologies), outline appropriate action steps and undertake accountability using available intranet technology. In order that e-coaching may be seen as a development partnership, the following six implications for organisations are suggested:* coaches will need to learn the capabilities of Intranet technology for facilitating e-coaching;* coaches will need to adapt and change their ways and develop new best practice methods of dialogue for e-coaching;* employees will need to use the intranet technology to record and share progress and ideas (i.e. the intranet technology will have an enabling characteristic);* from an IT/IS perspective there will be a need to revisit existing content management processes on an intranet;* by extending the scope of IT-based knowledge in an intranet, an existing organisational culture may be \"redefined\" and spawn an e-coaching organisational culture; and* collaboration and e-coaching will facilitate the creation of a learning organisation.It should be noted that the above pointers are not inclusive but may provide an avenue for research in the evolving e-coaching domain. A research entry point may be the development and validation of a theoretical framework for e-coaching.E-coaching delivered to employee desktops is an ideal supplement to face-to-face coaching sessions. Since e-coaching can be more time efficient than regular coaching, goals can often be achieved more quickly and in fewer sessions. As a result hereof, e-coaching may be more cost-efficient than regular coaching and this will have financial savings implications for an organisation. Using intranet technology and an intranet, e-coaching can thus be applied to a broad mix of employees - a coach can interact with employees as required and also retain coach-individual employee relationships. However, one should be cautioned that e-coaching will not be a panacea for all coaching should an employee's goals differ from an organisation's goals.\n6. Concluding remarks: E-coaching is coaching delivered via an electronic medium such as an intranet. E-coaching focuses on the same goals as regular face-to-face coaching. Rather than the intranet technology and intranet being simply an add-on to established processes in an organisation, technology and coaching are synthesised into something new and exciting in the e-coaching domain. E-coaching serves to redefine an existing coaching culture in an organisation.Virtual coaching may be facilitated and enabled by Intranet technologies for the creative dialogue of e-coaching in an organisation. E-coaching should be seen as a developmental partnership in which much learning can take place using e-mail but will be augmented by the enabling role of an intranet.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper has the aim of exploring whether virtual coaching in an organisation may be facilitated and enabled by intranet technology for the creative dialogue of e-coaching.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A review of the e-coaching, the enabling role of technology, and intranet technology and intranets literature is undertaken. It is then argued that by adopting an autopoietic view of an intranet, virtual coaching may be facilitated and enabled by intranet technologies for the creative dialogue of e-coaching in an organisation.\nFindings: - Rather than intranet technology and intranets being simply an add-on to established processes in an organisation, technology and coaching are synthesised into something new and exciting in the e-coaching domain.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The six implications for organisations suggested in the paper are not inclusive, but may provide an avenue for research in the evolving e-coaching domain. A research entry point may be the development and validation of a theoretical framework for e-coaching.\nPractical implications: - In order that e-coaching may be seen as a development partnership, six implications for organisations are suggested.\nOriginality/value: - E-coaching can be seen as a developmental partnership in which much learning can take place using e-mail but will be augmented by the enabling role of an intranet.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The use of social networking and learning management systems in English language teaching in higher education	[ "Social networking", "Collaborative learning", "Language learning", "Learning management systems" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The application and integration of networked technology in higher education is gaining in popularity. Through the use of the internet and the World Wide Web new learning opportunities arise. Teaching and learning styles are evolving, and the tools to accommodate these new practices are changing. Similarly, computer-mediated social networks have become part of the life of university students. Computer-mediated communication in the form of asynchronous communication (e.g. e-mail, blogs, wikis, discussion boards) and synchronous communication (e.g. instant messenger) has transformed learning. Their emphasis is on collaboration and communication. Web-based tools, such as blogs, wikis and online forums are supplementary to the educational technology used to facilitate a shared learning environment. These tools form the basis of the current evolution of the internet and are based on the premise that individuals derive their competence through the connections they make (Siemens, 2004).\nMaterials and methods: This study followed students enrolled in the Department of Applied Foreign Languages in Management and Commerce, in the Technological Institute of Epirus, Greece in an online English Language laboratory course that spanned two semesters. Two surveys were administered to the students, one following exposure to Moodle as a LMS (LMS Survey), and one following the use of FB as a supplementary tool (FB Survey). Comparisons were drawn between students' course preferences for, and attitudes toward an English as a foreign language online course delivered online through a LMS, and the same course delivered with the addition of FB as an online tool to support communication and interaction among the members of the learning community. The study was guided by the following research objectives:\nResults: The LMS survey was completed by 48 students, with a mean age of 22.8+-1.98 years and a gender mix that consisted of 35 percent male and 65 percent female. The FB survey was completed by 51 students with a mean age of 22.5+-2.18 years old (37 percent male; 63 percent female).\nDiscussion and implications: The present research demonstrates the student's preference for informal course discussions to occur through a SNS (FB) rather than the LMS (Moodle). The use of the LMS platform provided a controlled formal educational environment where students were required to complete their assignments, whereas FB was a less rigid, informal learning environment allowing student self-regulating interactions. Many applications of SNSs like FB, Edmondo and others have been used in informal approaches to learning by both learners and educators in higher education. Familiarization with technologies for social networking has added to their popularity and prevalence. The current generation of university students tends to regard them as part of their way of life rather than as a new set of tools (Salaway and Caruso, 2007; Shier, 2005).\nFuture trends: This research can be taken into consideration in future research concerning comparisons of the use of FB with other social media (e.g. Wikis and blogs), web-based learning environments in other countries, and with other subject matter. While data from only one group of ESP learners in higher education was analyzed in the present study, future research is encouraged to analyze data from more EFL groups in order to present a more complete picture of the use of FB or other SNSs in language classes. Even though FB seems to provide valuable benefits and opportunities for learners and educators in the field of foreign language education, more research is needed to further establish the effectiveness of SNS tools in foreign language classrooms.\nConclusion: The results of this exploratory study provided insight into how SNS fit with the use of other Web 2.0 tools such as LMS for language learning. Results demonstrate the usefulness of FB as an adjunctive instructional tool which can facilitate the development of students' language skills, reinforced their cognitive skills and supported an active learning environment. The addition of FB as an educational tool strengthened the EFL learner's motivation and engagement. Learners recounted their satisfaction with learning through interaction and sharing with peers on FB. The findings demonstrate that students were comfortable with the online learning environment and felt motivated by the well-structured online tasks presented through FB.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The use of web-enhanced teaching of the English as a foreign language in higher education in Greece is addressed in this case study which examines the student's perceptions of online instruction using Moodle as a learning management system (LMS), with and without the use of Facebook (FB) as an adjunctive learning platform. The merging of this collaborative and interactive social platform with a LMS is explored, examining the attitudes of higher education foreign language learners toward Moodle as a LMS, and FB as an adjunctive informal learning environment. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Results are drawn from a pre-FB questionnaire after a term using Moodle only, and a post-FB questionnaire following a term using Moodle and FB.\nFindings: Results suggest that the use of web-based tools and social media changed the way students viewed the role of internet technology in the development of their English language learning. Most students (76 percent) agreed that the addition of FB to the course helped build a sense of community within a learning environment, while 69 percent suggested it enhanced the learning process.\nOriginality/value: Results suggest FB may reinforce communication skills and engagement in the learning process and may support participation and collaborative learning in the formal learning environment provided by Moodle.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Trade union merger strategies: good or bad?	[ "Trade unions", "Books" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Trade unions have in the last 25 years found external challenges of globalisation, increased international competition, technological change and the de-centralisation of collective bargaining. Amongst the consequences of such changes have been a marked decline in union density across most industrialised societies. Various strategies have been adopted by trade unions, including mergers, in the hope of improving union behaviour. There have been few studies of an empirical nature which have evaluated the effectiveness of such a strategy, including an examination of the post-merger performance of trade unions. With respect to the UK this gap has now been filled by Roger Undy's Trade Union Merger Strategies: Purpose, Process and Performance (Undy, 2008), published by Oxford University Press in 2008. This will become a classic industrial relations text alongside H.A. Turner's, Trade Union Growth, Structure and Policy published by Allan and Urwin in 1962 (Turner, 1962), which sought to explain trade union mergers through the economic concept of the elasticity of derived demand, and J. Waddington's The Policies of Bargaining, published by Mansell (Waddington, 1995), which attempts to relate union marriage to the trade cycle and other macro economic variables.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this editorial is to review the significance of Roger Undy's book, Trade Union Merger Strategies: Purpose, Process and Performance, Oxford University Press, 2008.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The editorial outlines and evaluates the arguments put forward by Dr Undy to explain why trade union mergers take place. It also evaluates the book's analysis of the politics of trade union mergers.\nFindings: - As trade union membership has declined mergers have been prominent features in strategies of union revival. Yet, there is little empirical research into the effects of mergers on the unions actually merging or on their impact on the wider union movement. Dr Undy concludes that mergers do not provide a solution to the problem of falling membership and that transfers of engagements are often more successful than amalgamations.\nOriginality/value: - The editorial offers insights into the process, performance and effects of trade union mergers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Clinical governance in the Irish health system - a review of progress	[ "Clinical governance", "Clinical directorates", "Irish health system", "Quality and safety" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The concept of clinical governance was first mooted in a UK government white paper published in 1997, followed a year later by what has become the seminal paper by Scally and Donaldson, explaining what this new idea could mean for the NHS. In its broadest sense clinical governance refers to systems whose purpose is to improve accountability for quality and safety in healthcare \"creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish\" (Scally and Donaldson, 1998).\nHistorical influences: Some of the earliest reforms in the clinical governance of hospitals in Ireland were strongly influenced by the Resource Management Initiative (RMI) in the NHS. In the UK in 1986, the Department of Health and Social Security conducted a national experiment in six acute hospitals that aimed to improve services to patients by enabling clinicians and other managers to make better informed judgements about the utilisation of resources. RMI had two components: first, a management structure that gave clinicians responsibility for budgets and integrated them into the hospital decision-making process; and second, the development of an information system for monitoring the cost effectiveness of services. An NHS review, Working for Patients (Department of Health (UK), 1989) reinforced the Resource Management approach through its emphasis on the importance of doctors being involved in management, sub-hospital groupings, medical audit and the availability of cost and activity information. In late 1998, the Department of Health in Ireland followed the UK's lead by launching its' Clinicians in Management Initiative (CIM). The initiative was at the time described as \"giving key professionals in Irish hospitals a greater say in the management, planning and development of health services. It is about creating effective working partnerships between clinical, managerial and administrative colleagues to aim for better quality of care for the patient. It is ultimately about giving healthcare professionals the power and permission to change things for the good of their own organisations and their patients\" (OHM, 1999, p. 2).\nClinical directorates - the first wave: The Clinicians in Management Initiative (CIM) was initially introduced in five pilot sites in 1998, being increased to 17 the following year and then further increased to 31 (O'Shea, 2009). Over the following years the Office for Health Management (OHM) provided support to the initiative through workshops, seminars and a CIM development programme to the people involved. The initiative was subsequently expanded to include more hospitals. In general, hospitals opted for a structure based on smaller \"business units\" (such as directorates, divisions or units of management), usually around surgical, medical and diagnostic/therapeutic groupings. The larger hospitals/multi-specialty hospitals created greater numbers of units of management (up to 11 in the largest hospital) than the smaller/single specialty hospitals. In early 2000 the OHM, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Children, commissioned an evaluation of the initiative in order to identify examples of good practice and to enable future support to be targeted as accurately as possible. The main findings of this review, which included all 31 hospitals, are summarised in Table I. There were differences of opinion on the purpose and value of the initiative, with some consultants voicing scepticism. In addition the inadequate resourcing of the development seemed to frustrate attempts by those who understood its purpose to make any meaningful progress.\nMore reform - catalyst or inhibitor: In 2001, the Department of Health and Children published a new strategy, Quality and Fairness: A Health System for You outlining a ten-year programme of investment and reform for the Irish health system. Although this built on the 1994 strategy, the broad consultation that took place in its' formulation and its' detailed and comprehensive nature put it on a much stronger footing to shape the improvement of health service delivery. It contained four overarching national goals:\nQuality concerns - a key driver: The Bristol Inquiry (2001) and the Francis (2013) report on the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust hospital have heightened awareness of the need for action in monitoring and improving the quality of health services. In Ireland a number of adverse events, e.g. medical malpractice, cancer misdiagnoses, GP referrals for diagnostics lying unanswered, etc. prompted the establishment of a Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance in 2007. It produced a report in 2008 Building a Culture of Patient Safety. The report identified a number of serious patient safety-related issues in the current system including weak governance structures, poor communication processes, failure to develop or implement clinical audits, poor working relationships between clinicians and management, lack of senior clinical leadership within organisations and nationally, lack of clarity on reporting relationships, failure to participate in continuous professional development, lack of a structured incident reporting system and failure to learn from adverse events (O'Shea, 2009). The framework set out in this report placed a strong emphasis on clinical governance and accountability it prompted an understanding that \" business-as-usual\" was no longer an option for the delivery of safe, effective healthcare.\nCreating a safety culture: The culture of an individual health organisation shapes the clinical governance that is enacted (Braine, 2006; Grainger et al., 2002; Konteh et al., 2008). One of the key recommendations in the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance report Building a Culture of Patient Safety (Department of Health and Children, 2008) is the development and encouragement of a culture of open disclosure. However, in a study of 192 healthcare workers across a range of disciplines, more than half of the respondents stated that their organisation did not have open disclosure policies, procedures or guidelines in place (Duffy, 2012). In a study of nurses in eight acute hospitals in Ireland, the two most common reasons for not reporting incidents were \"fear of retribution\" and \"would not want to cause trouble\" (Moore and McAuliffe, 2012, p. 341). Duffy's (2012) study of healthcare professionals in Ireland found that almost one-quarter identified fear of litigation as a key barrier to open disclosure following an adverse event. In an Irish Medical Council survey of doctors, the primary reasons given for decisions not to report concerns about a colleague were \"nothing would happen as a result\" (44 per cent); \"fear of retribution\" (25 per cent); and \"thought someone else was dealing with the problem\" (19 per cent) (Medical Council, 2014, p. 34).\nClinical directorates - second wave: Although there were some notable and enduring benefits from the first wave of clinical directorates, these existed in only a handful of hospitals and even here the structures were creating challenges for integrating care and there was little evidence of improved care from the patient's perspective. In many hospitals the directorates had ceased functioning or simply fizzled out.\nClinical governance lessons: A report by the Quality and Safety Clinical Governance Development Initiative published in March 2014, discusses a number of themes emerging from their work. These include: the need to continually sustain and refine the vision; the need for clarity around clinical governance because of the complexity of the concept and the complexity of the system; that culture change should be recognised as a long-term change and it needs to be delivered in \"bite-size chunks of development\" (HSE QPSD, 2014, p. 19); the importance of incorporating the patient and family voice at every level; the need to actively engage and value staff's contribution to quality improvement; and the need for ICT supports.\nDiscussion: Reflecting on the pace and nature of progress in clinical governance in Ireland over the past 20 years, some key influences emerge that are worth highlighting.\nProgressing the clinical governance agenda - key considerations: Primary care\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain the path that the Irish health system has taken towards achieving good clinical governance, exploring the historical influences on its' development, some of the major initiatives that have been implemented and the obstacles that have been encountered.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper draws on the author's experience researching and teaching in health systems and healthcare management.\nFindings: The paper offers some explanations for why earlier attempts failed to change the system as well as why recent attempts have met with more success. Greater efforts need to be made to progress clinical governance in the primary care services. In addition it is argued that there is a need to institute systems that enable learning form errors, to involve the public and patient groups and to invest in research that enables answers to the how and why questions that are so often neglected in the reform process.\nOriginality/value: The paper discusses clinical governance in the Irish Health system and identifies some of the challenges yet to be addressed, many of which are common to clinical governance efforts in other jurisdictions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Structure of intellectual capital - an international comparison	[ "Structure", "Intellectual capital", "Intellectual capital accounting", "Superculture" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The vast majority of today's global wealth is based on the intangible factors including firms' intellectual capital (IC) (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Ferreira and Hamilton, 2010; Hamilton, 2006; Petty and Guthrie, 2000). Therefore, IC is currently a subject of vivid discussion in the realms of academia, business practice, and government. Researchers have widely suggested that, in the current knowledge economy, firm performance accrues primarily from intangible assets, known as the IC of the firm (e.g. Bontis, 1998; Cabello-Medina et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2004; Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Hsu and Sabherwal, 2012; Inkinen, 2015; Sveiby, 1997; Youndt et al., 2004). The concept of IC covers the intangible resources and capabilities that a company needs to function, compete, and create value (Brooking, 1996; Drucker, 1993; Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Grant, 1996; Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998; Stewart, 1997; Sveiby, 1997).\n2. IC: literature review and new dimensions: ICA research can be divided into two key approaches: the financial statement approach and the organizational approach (Guthrie et al., 2012). Whereas the first is interested in the conditions and solutions for external accounting and disclosure measures of intangibles, the latter focusses on organizing and managing intangibles. This paper adopts the second, organizational approach to IC, since it allows for the conceptual and empirical assessment of the detailed and potentially culturally specific fabric of firm-level IC.\n3. Cross-country differences in IC structure: institutional approach: In addition to the novel categorization of IC, this study suggests that IC is a phenomenon that is impacted by the institutional context of activity, i.e. the structures and mechanisms of social order and cooperation (Scott, 1995). Regulatory, political, and economic institutions set the rules for organizations that operate within a country, shape how governments and individual members can establish or alter the formal institutions, and define monetary and fiscal policies (Holmes et al., 2013). In addition to these formal institutions, each country has also informal institutions, which are the systems, shared meanings, and collective understandings that formulate the socially constructed reality and reflect on a country's culture (North, 1990; Peng et al., 2008; Scott, 1995). Further, even though formal institutions are explicit and quite stable by nature, they persist only if the country's people collectively see them as meaningful and effective (Tolbert and Zucker, 1996). Therefore, formal institutions are the embodiments of the country's people and culture (Inglehart and Baker, 2000).\n4. Methods: 4.1 Sample and data collection\n5. Results: 5.1 The structure of IC\n6. Discussion and implications: IC and ICA researchers have long traditions of measuring the value of firm-specific intangible assets across the world, with an (often implicit) assumption that the phenomenon is universally similar. However, the variations of institutional settings across countries affect how people and organizations think and behave. Consequently, perceptions of IC can be strongly impacted by context-specific institutional features. To provide more evidence on the research gap in culture and context specificity of IC, this paper examined whether the structure of IC is universal across its different dimensions, or whether it varies in firms that represent different countries and cultural backgrounds. Empirical data for this study were collected from firms in five countries with unified translated versions of a structured survey, and the national IC structures were analysed via statistical methods. The data were collected from directors and managers who were dealing with practical management of IC; thus, this study captured novel understanding of which IC dimensions conceptually exist in the five surveyed countries by building on these expert views on IC issues.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Academics and practitioners around the world have shown interest in what constitutes the relevant intellectual capital (IC) in firms. However, studies have largely neglected to examine whether IC has identical or different structural elements in various parts of the world. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that country-specific institutional structures may impact the perception of IC, and empirically analyse whether differences exist between five countries drawing on the institutional theory.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study tests for the differences in the underlying categorizations of IC in a sample consisting of 708 firms across five countries. Confirmatory factor analysis and comparison of different possible IC models are conducted to empirically examine the IC structure.\nFindings: The results demonstrate that IC has predominantly the same underlying elements across the examined countries. However, trust capital in Finland and renewal capital in Serbia are structurally different compared to other countries.\nResearch limitations/implications: Institutional theory and multinational corporate superculture can explain the similarity in the IC structures across countries. Specifically, globalized markets carry institutionalized rules, norms, and expectations for the participating firms; under the influence of this superculture, the firms begin to assimilate. Conversely, the differences suggest that some country- and culture-specific differences remain even during the transition to global markets.\nOriginality/value: This study is among the first to question the assumption that IC has identical structural elements across the world, and merges theories of IC and institutions to explain the possible origins of these differences.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Improving job fit for mission workers by including expatriate and local job experts in job specification	[ "Fit theory", "Mission organizations", "Millennium Development Goals", "Development policy", "Poverty reduction", "International aid", "Expatriates", "Expertise" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Poverty reduction is the primary objective in the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (Annan, 2000). The goals are supported by a range of interlocking necessary conditions for enabling human capabilities and thus sustainable change (United Nations, 2006). The goals encompass international aid (Accra Agenda for Action, 2008). Goal-setting occurs in schools, communities, the environment, and workplaces (Locke and Latham, 2002). Aid workplaces and organizations especially are expected to enact the millennium goals (Easterly, 2006). They are asked to apply development policy principles to everyday work behaviour, and thence to social and community services (Carr and Bandawe, 2010). One key policy principle is Alignment (Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, 2005). Alignment means aid is focused on local expectations and priorities, rather than international ones (OECD, 2007; United Nations, 2008). Indeed the Millennium Goals were introduced precisely in order to make aid and development more participative i.e. inclusive of local stakeholders, as subject matter experts (Porter et al., 1991; Annan, 2000).One of the challenges in poverty reduction is that ideas like alignment remain relatively abstract and untested at the level of everyday development practice (Sachs, 2005). Organisational dynamics in particular have been overlooked, and especially the perspectives of local senior managers who are key local subject-matter-experts (Easterly, 2006; United Nations General Assembly, 2010). One rather obvious concrete manifestation of alignment with local managers' perspectives would be the extent to which a job candidate fits their views on the core required competencies for an aid-related job, as well as the views of expatriate managers as job experts. Logically, if local job experts differ from expatriates in their assessment of what competencies are needed for a development-related role, then there is potential at least for greater inclusion of their local perspective to enhance fit, and thereby ultimately improve aid workers' performance (Carr et al., 2010).This paper explores that relevant possibility empirically. To do so, we apply the theory of vocational \"fit\" (Bretz and Judge, 1994). Fit theory predicts that improving person-job fit can improve psychological antecedents of work performance, like for example job satisfaction (Latham, 2006). According to Latham, job satisfaction at an individual level will often aggregate up, into significant effects at a more macro level, for instance across an entire organization (Latham, 2006), and thereby perhaps sector. An example would be widespread job dissatisfaction within civil services in many lower-income countries, which is widely viewed as a dampener on economic development at the macro-level, and an impediment to poverty reduction (Ferrinho and Van Lergberghe, 2002). In this way, the construct of fit may be a useful way of operationally defining and initially testing broad principles, like alignment, into concrete workplace applications that will ultimately contribute to broader objectives, like the Millennium Development Goals (Carr and Bandawe, 2010).We explore whether the fit between person and job predicts standard and/or emergent indicators of job performance, like job satisfaction and more recently, work engagement (Latham, 2006). We are focused on a particular type of aid organisation widespread today - missions - and their workers and managers - both expatriate and local. As well as having religious objectives, mission organizations aim to strengthen health, education and agricultural services in under-resourced economies, often by training local counterparts. Mission workers are selected to perform tasks like teaching and medical projects, for which they require appropriate skills to pass on. Poverty reduction is often defined in term of building these \"capabilities\" locally (Sen, 1999), and as \"capacity development\" (Manning, 2006).A model for our study is presented in Figure 1. Measures of job fit are based on Job specifications, or \"KSAOs\" (knowledge, skills, abilities, others). These can be expressed as performance-related competencies (Schippmann et al., 2000), for example in leadership, decision-making, and cooperativeness. These resemble what Sen (1999) in development calls \"capabilities\". Policy principles like alignment logically imply that competency is part-subjective; with varying perspectives from different subject-matter experts, e.g. host national versus expatriate stakeholders (Mol et al., 2005). We thus expect to find differences of emphasis in what competencies are counted as important, depending on whose perspective is sampled:* Host nation colleagues;* Missionaries; or* Expatriate agency leaders (Figure 1).Our competency model is based in Bartram and Brown (2005). Through an iterative process of job performance literature reviews, factor analysis, and meta-analysis across nine countries, Bartram and colleagues derived a 20-construct \"Universal Competency Framework.\" (Bartram, 2005) According to Bartram, competencies like analyzing/interpreting, supporting/cooperating, and adapting/coping are predicted by personality and predict overall job performance (Bartram, 2005). \"Universal\" models of course sometimes overlook context-specific competencies, and have biases of their own (Markus et al., 2005). Hence we included mission-specific competencies, focused on religious values: \"living a Christ-like life;\" and \"Following God\" (total=22 items).In Figure 1, Person-Job Fit means that the competencies of the person match those required in the job, to varying degrees. \"Demands-Abilities fit\" is how well the worker's self-rated competencies match those in the job specification, supplied by the Host Nation Colleagues versus expatriate Missionaries and Agency Leaders (Figure 1, under Job Specifications). Supplies-Values fit means how well the work fits the values of the worker, as indicated by how important each worker rates each competency, compared to the panels' same job specification. Perceived fit, in Figure 1, is a self-contained measure. It refers to how well each worker rates their own performance, against their own perception of competencies required for the job. \"Self-discrepancy,\" between ideal and actual self, potentially undermines motivation (Higgins, 1987) and thereby, potentially, job performance (Maynard et al., 2006).These conceptualisations of fit vary in objectivity-subjectivity, from wholly subjective (self-discrepancy) to the quasi objectivity of demand-abilities fit (does other- and/or self-report match the job specification supplied by a job expert panel). Each has strengths and weaknesses. Subjective fit tends to predict individual motivation and performance relatively well (Kristof, 1996). Yet it takes less account of organizational goals, which include poverty reduction. The best judge of what meets such goals, the principle of alignment suggests, are local stakeholders not mission workers themselves. This mix of pros and cons, like the policy principles themselves, suggests that optimum fit, and outcome, occurs when all types of fit occur at once. Figure 1 therefore includes all three.In an ideal world, we would include highly objective forms of fit, i.e. panel ratings matched with actual performance ratings, on both competency and job performance. However such data is seldom accessible or available in expatriate assignments (Werner, 2002), including mission work (Lindquist, 1983; Hall and Sweatman, 2002). One or two studies have linked personality traits to performance ratings (Kealey, 1989). Generally speaking, most attention in research has focused on early return of expatriates, from commercial assignments (Hudson and Inkson, 2007). This is despite research showing that early return is not always at issue (Forster, 1997). Early return rates may be low in high-commitment roles (Werker and Ahmed, 2008). Low rates have been found in an extensive study of N=40,000 expatriates working in missionary roles across 600 agencies in 22 countries (Hay et al., 2007).To sum up, this study tests for diverse forms of fit with proxies for on-job competencies (SHL-20 (Bartram, 2006)) and work performance. Criterion concepts are job satisfaction, work engagement, and satisfaction with life. Job satisfaction has been linked to diverse measures of fit in for-profit work, and to job performance. Work engagement entails self-efficacy, energy and passion (Schaufeli et al., 2006). Job involvement is linked to both fit and performance (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2003). We included \"satisfaction with life\" because, more than other jobs (Jansen and Kristof-Brown, 2006) mission work focuses on wider living (Barnett et al., 2005).Figure 1 predicts each type of fit in mission work may be associated with each type of outcome, job satisfaction, work engagement, and satisfaction with life. Based on current development policy, Figure 1 predicts that fit with each source of baseline measure - local and expatriate - will matter. Because neither prediction has been tested in this context, our approach is exploratory rather than confirmatory. We hypothesize that job satisfaction, work engagement and satisfaction with life will be positively predicted by:H1. Demands-abilities fit.H2. Supplies-values fit.H3. Perceived fit.\nStudy I - Local versus expatriate perspectives on core competencies: This study focused on measuring any differences in priority between local stakeholders and expatriate agencies; on competencies required in a particular but widespread \"job family\" that entails religious and poverty reduction goals: Mission work. This contains a range of perspectives from different stakeholders on what \"missionary\" work require, namely:* Host nation colleagues of mission workers.* Mission workers themselves.* Employing agencies that select and send the individuals.Method\nStudy II - Do measures of fit predict indicators of job motivation/performance?: Having found that different perspectives yielded non-identical competency specifications, Study II explores whether individual expatriate workers' fit links to any performance indicators - from Figure 1, job satisfaction, work engagement, and life satisfaction.Method\nGeneral discussion: A survey of self-selected countries and 37 per cent of aid agencies worldwide found that only 17 per cent of countries met criteria for local ownership of projects (OECD, 2007). The report concluded that donors must build up local leadership capacity, by designing programmes that create space for host countries to exercise ownership. Studies I and II begin to suggest a process by which such a process can be encouraged, in job analysis, selection, training and appraisal. The process we have explored in this paper is centred on person-job fit, and Fit Theory.Links to theory\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - International development policy proposes that reducing poverty depends on alignment of international aid projects with local priorities, which would imply a role for local as well as expatriate job experts in job selection processes. This paper aims to explore whether person-job \"fit\" with both local and expatriate job specification relates to work performance indicators.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Mission organizations and their individual workers play an influential role in poverty reduction projects. In Study I, N=70 host nation missionaries, i.e. local job experts (n=22), expatriate mission leaders (n=25) and expatriate mission workers (n=23) provided mean panel ratings of the importance of SHL's Universal Competencies, alongside religious values, for mission jobs. In Study II, N=130 individual expatriate mission workers also provided ratings of the same set of competencies for mission jobs and rated themselves on these competencies. Each individual worker's profile was assessed for \"fit\" with competencies identified by the panels in Study I. Individuals were also measured on the criteria of job satisfaction, work engagement and satisfaction with life.\nFindings: - From Study I, we learned that local and expatriate ratings differed significantly, indicating different job criteria, as policy suggests. In Study II, degree of fit with local and expatriate priorities each predicted significant amounts of variance in job satisfaction, engagement and life satisfaction. Hence at an everyday behavioural level, alignment with local job experts' perspectives on required competencies played a role in aid worker motivation.\nOriginality/value: - Whilst recognising the limits of self-report, this paper applies fit theory to poverty reduction projects. Discussed are the findings' relevance for psychological theory, methods and interventions in poverty reduction work.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Is exit tax a good idea for the taxman?	[ "Underground economy", "Endogenous tax horizon", "Exit tax", "Optimal exit time", "Revenue efficiency" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Economists recognized that capital mobility is driven by return differences, which dates back at least to the seminal works of Karl Marx. If we control for the factor of capital return, capital flees from an economy mainly to seek lower taxes or to avoid high political risks (see e.g. Le and Zak, 2006; Lensink et al., 2000). As capital plays a crucial role in modern market economies, capital flight may hurt an economy directly and, indirectly, reduce tax revenues tax authorities can collect.\n2. Model: For our purpose, we just need to consider an economy populated by capitalists of measure one and a tax authority. As usual, capitalists are specialized in capital accumulation while the tax authority is specialized in designing and levying taxes. Essentially, we shall focus on solving a dynamic non-cooperative game between the tax authority and capitalists. And hence we derive the equilibrium tax policy using the solution concept of subgame perfect Nash equilibrium.\n3. Equilibrium exit taxes: In the current economy, events proceed as follows:\n4. Further discussion: 4.1 The case with sales tax being included\n5. Concluding remarks: Given the fact that a type of exit tax has already been implemented in many market-economy countries, such as the USA, Canada, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, we have examined qualitatively whether or not it is a rational choice from the standpoint of the tax authority to implement such a tax. As a caveat, the model we have used is rather simple, and we can claim no more for it than that it seems to yield some insight into the global debate regarding the fiscal tool of exit tax. We definitely hope that the approach as well as the result established here will suggest more future research on this topic, both theoretical and empirical. For example, our work may inspire the normative analysis of the current exit-tax policy by taking into account the potential impact placed on those related workers and households who are not going to leave. Another interesting generalization of our model is to simultaneously consider the strategic reaction of those potential investors living outside the current economy. Before formally entering an economy, capitalists and investors are expected to think and plan ahead about the possible transaction costs that may kick in when exiting. That is, exit tax may affect the ex ante location choice of a rational economic agent.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study whether it is a rational choice for a tax authority to impose an exit tax on capitalists.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The tax authority chooses a lump-sum exit tax to maximize a weighted objective of expected tax revenue and expected tax horizon. The tax revene consists of capital income taxes and exit taxes. Capitalists are motivated by sustainable capital accumulation and hence maximize the terminal capital stock.\nFindings: The author finds that the objective function of the tax authority is strictly increasing in the exit tax, which holds for extensions with sales tax, labor income tax or proportional exit tax, and hence equilibrium exit tax is equal to an exogenous upper bound.\nOriginality/value: To the author's knowledge, no existing literature investigates this issue theoretically, and hence the current paper represents the first attempt. The author hopes this theoretical analysis can trigger related empirical studies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The industrial emergence of commercial inkjet printing	[ "Technological innovation", "Co-evolution", "Commercial inkjet printing", "Industrial emergence", "Supply-demand interaction" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Emerging or nascent industries are high-technology industries that build on scientific breakthroughs and which require years, if not decades, of further R&D, product development and market testing before realising their commercial potential in the market. They are \"newly formed or re-formed industries that have been created by technological innovations, shifts in relative cost relationships, emergence of new customer needs, or other economic and sociological changes that elevate a new product or service to the level of a potentially viable business opportunity\" (Porter, 1980, p. 215). In such industries, \"commercial markets do not yet exist or are still too small and uncertain to attract established companies\" (de Jong and de Bruin, 2013, p. 46), and industry emergence \"continues from the founding of the first organization until industry stability is reached, where stability implies that both participants and observers agree on meanings and boundaries\" (Miller, 2012, p. 62).\n2. Interaction between supply and demand in socio-economic change: Variety in socio-economic systems is generated by entrepreneurs and organisations by creating new products, processes, markets and organisational forms through discovery and recombination (Schumpeter, 1928). New technological trajectories are established by radical innovations. Such radical innovations are typically supply-driven, although attempting to meet latent market needs, with the incremental innovations later being made on the basis of market demands (Utterback, 1994).\n3. Methodology: The dynamics of industrial emergence are investigated here through a study of the Cambridge commercial inkjet cluster. This industry was identified as an appropriate sector for study for two main reasons.\n4. A very brief history of commercial inkjet in Cambridge, UK[2]: Early scientific breakthroughs in the area of CIJ were made in the 1960s by Richard Sweet at the Stanford Research Institute. Sweet was not involved in the commercialisation of the science. Instead, two firms drew on his breakthroughs to develop the technology: the technology consultancy Cambridge Consultants Ltd (CCL) in the UK, and the printing firm A.B. Dick Company in Chicago, IL. These two firms were themselves the progenitors for the first two firms to commercialise inkjet technology for commercial applications: Domino, which was spun-out from the Printing Systems Group (PG) of CCL in 1978, and Videojet, which was spun-out from A.B. Dick in 1980. Both were using similar technology: single nozzle CIJ using solvent inks.\n5. Supply-demand dynamics in the industrial emergence of commercial inkjet printing: From our present vantage point in time, two broad technological trajectories based around CIJ and DoD can be identified. While the former has now reached maturity and is seeing only minor incremental improvements to the technology and the markets to which it is being applied, the trajectory of DoD technology is itself splintering as firms begin to address a number of new market applications where specific technological approaches are required\n6. Discussion: In looking to explain how supply and demand interacts during industrial emergence it is apparent that there are a number of feedbacks at work that have both driven and hindered the industry's emergence. The first of these feedbacks can be seen on the supply-side. As noted in Section 5.2, inks must be customised for the inkjet printhead and industrial ink suppliers. Before they developed these customised inks, the industrial ink suppliers needed to be convinced that the inkjet market was going to grow to a profitable size. Feedbacks can be observed between the print systems and customers, with the relative advantages of commercial inkjet technologies providing a customer pull. Prior investments in traditional print systems and customer hesitation due to a lack of understanding and a lack of belief in the technology, and negative prior experiences, have slowed the adoption of inkjet technologies and the growth of the industry. These feedbacks are depicted in Figure 2.\n7. Conclusions: This paper has investigated the emergence of new industrial activity around commercial inkjet printing. While there was a clear market pull for CIJ in the form of legislation, in contrast, DoD has been a technology searching for applications. The interaction of supply and demand has seen a combination of customer interest and technology potential provide the stimulus for the development of DoD inkjet for particular applications. However, there have been asynchronies between the supply of reliable and robust print systems and the demand for these products. These asynchronies have arisen for a variety of reasons, including customer conservatism and prior customer investments in incumbent products.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how supply and demand interact during industrial emergence.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper builds on previous theorising about co-evolutionary dynamics, exploring the interaction between supply and demand in a study of the industrial emergence of the commercial inkjet cluster in Cambridge, UK. Data are collected through 13 interviews with professionals working in the industry.\nFindings: The paper shows that as new industries emerge, asynchronies between technology supply and market demand create opportunities for entrepreneurial activity. In attempting to match innovative technologies to particular applications, entrepreneurs adapt to the system conditions and shape the environment to their own advantage. Firms that successfully operate in emerging industries demonstrate the functionality of new technologies, reducing uncertainty and increasing customer receptiveness.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research is geographically bounded to the Cambridge commercial inkjet cluster. Further studies could consider commercial inkjet from a global perspective or test the applicability of the findings in other industries.\nPractical implications: Technology-based firms are often innovating during periods of industrial emergence. The insights developed in this paper help such firms recognise the emerging context in which they operate and the challenges that need to overcome.\nOriginality/value: As an in depth study of a single industry, this research responds to calls for studies into industrial emergence, providing insights into how supply and demand interact during this phase of the industry lifecycle.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Supporting and activating clinical governance development in Ireland: sharing our learning	[ "Evaluation", "Clinical governance", "Learning", "Governance for quality and safety", "Quality and safety", "Structures and processes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper articulates the learning gained from a national collaborative project entitled the \"Irish national clinical governance development initiative\". Its purpose was to foster and grow the capability of Irish health services staff to improve the quality and safety processes at work.\nLiterature review: In healthcare, the requirement for a coordinated approach to quality assurance activities was first formally advanced by the World Health Organisation in 1983 (World Health Organisation, 1984). The first country to formally introduce clinical governance was the UK (1998 and 1999). The umbrella term \"clinical governance\" was defined by both the UK Department of Health (1998) and Scally and Donaldson (1998, p. 61): \"clinical governance is a system through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish\". Clinical governance was advocated by the UK Department of Health in response to some well publicised failures at Bristol Royal Infirmary (Kennedy, 2001), Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital (Redfern, 2001) and other organisations in the NHS. At the time, the UK Labour Government pledged to develop better regulation, monitoring, and accountability of clinical professionals through the management framework proposed under clinical governance. Despite the focus on investment in clinical governance structures and processes, failures continue as clearly demonstrated in the Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (Francis, 2013; National Advisory Group on the Safety of Patients in England, 2013; Keogh, 2013).\nMethodology: This research identified the successes, challenges and outcomes of a national clinical governance development initiative and identifies the learning. As of necessity the methodology closely follows the development plan of the national initiative which involved three phases developing resources for practice; implementing resources in practice; and gathering feedback and identifying learning. Mixed methods were used and the individual methodology used in each of these phases is outlined below followed by the outcomes of each phase.\nFindings: A detailed examination of the six themes and the 23 topic codes lead to the identification of key learning outcomes, at this stage of the initiative. Development is dynamic rather than a static process and so these should not be assumed to be the totality of learning achieved. The 11 points provide a summary of the key learning throughout the national clinical governance development initiative (see Figure 2).\nDiscussion: Arising from the national initiative a focus on quality and safety through clinical governance development has emerged. Similar to international experience (Brennan and Flynn, 2013; Queensland Government, 2012; Baker 2003; Som 2004; Walshe, 1998) the term clinical governance comprises a mixture of activities relating to governance, management and practice which can be confusing for those expected to execute these roles. Promoting the use of the term \"governance for quality and safety\" assisted in gaining an understanding of the more traditional term \"clinical governance\". This echoes the findings and approach adopted by the Queensland Government (2012) who also use the term governance for quality and safety.\nConclusion: At a time when there are a lot of demands (measurement and scrutiny) the health services lead and respond well to focused support as they improve the quality and safety of services. This national initiative set the aim to create a culture where quality and safety is everybody's primary goal. Every aspect of the development was focused on improving patient safety, delivering quality compassionate care and achieving good clinical outcomes. Some of the important insights are: active listening with patients and staff - understanding the experience of patients (what matters to them) and what motivates staff is central in creating a quality culture; real time measurement prompts wise decisions which lead to the need for good quality data and transparency for governance of quality and safety; terminology matters in avoiding confusion - the term \"clinical governance\" was seen by some as \"management speak\" - therefore, we are proposing the term quality and safety and specifically \"governance for quality and safety\".\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a description of the Irish national clinical governance development initiative and an evaluation of the initiative with the purpose of sharing the learning and proposing actions to activate structures and processes for quality and safety. The Quality and Patient Safety Division of the Health Service Executive established the initiative to counterbalance a possible focus on finances during the economic crisis in Ireland and bring attention to the quality of clinical care.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A clinical governance framework for quality in healthcare in Ireland was developed to clearly articulate the fundamentals of clinical governance. The project plan involved three overlapping phases. The first was designing resources for practice; the second testing the implementation of the national resources in practice; and the third phase focused on gathering feedback and learning.\nFindings: Staff responded positively to the clinical governance framework. At a time when there are a lot of demands (measurement and scrutiny) the health services leads and responds well to focused support as they improve the quality and safety of services. Promoting the use of the term \"governance for quality and safety\" assisted in gaining an understanding of the more traditional term \"clinical governance\". The experience and outcome of the initiative informed the identification of 12 key learning points and a series of recommendations\nResearch limitations/implications: The initial evaluation was conducted at 24 months so at this stage it is not possible to assess the broader impact of the clinical governance framework beyond the action project hospitals.\nPractical implications: The single most important obligation for any health system is patient safety and improving the quality of care. The easily accessible, practical resources assisted project teams to lead changes in structures and processes within their services. This paper describes the fundamentals of the clinical governance framework which might serve as a guide for more integrative research endeavours on governance for quality and safety.\nOriginality/value: Experience was gained in both the development of national guidance and their practical use in targeted action projects activating structures and processes that are a prerequisite to delivering safe quality services.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Ready and willing to learn: exploring personal antecedents to taking on learning challenges	[ "Motivation", "Learning orientation", "Learning behavior" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Individual learning provides competitive advantage to both organizations and individual employees (Watkins and Marsick, 2003). Developing new skills and knowledge is required for employees to remain effective and marketable, and employees are being tasked with taking ownership of their development through self-directed learning (Carre, 2000; Guglielmino and Guglielmino, 2001; Maurer, 2002). Self-directed learning is conscious and intentional (Jeong et al., 2018). It occurs when learners have primary responsibility for their own learning (Ellinger, 2004) and the \"flow of experience is under their control\" (Gureckis and Markant, 2012, p. 464). Dynamic business environments are routinely rendering jobs obsolete (Grant, Parker and Fried, 2009), so it is critical for employees to actively seek out learning challenges (Nembhard and Tucker, 2010).\nLiterature review: Learning readiness\nMethod: Study design\nData analysis: The data were analyzed first by using simple descriptive statistics to determine the means and variance for each of the constructs, as well as the outcome variable. Next, as the outcome variable of taking on a challenge is binary, logistic regression was used to test the first four hypotheses, controlling for any demographic variables that may impact the results. Typically, logistic regression can show the interactive effects of each of the constructs on the outcome variable to provide a test for H5. However, as the three constructs were significantly correlated with each other and the correlations were quite high, issues of multicollinearity prevented a straightforward analysis with logistic regression.\nResults: In total, 26 per cent of participants chose the more challenging task. Results from regressions analysis (Table II) show that the first four hypotheses were supported. Learning goal orientation significantly predicted taking on a challenging task (OR = 2.54, 95 per cent CI: 1.54, 4.20), controlling for age, which was marginally significant (OR = 1.04, 95 per cent CI: 1.00, 1.07). Those high in learning orientation were 2.46 times more likely to take on the challenging task. Performance-avoid goal orientation significantly negatively predicted taking on a challenging task (OR = 0.73, 95 per cent CI: 0.53, 0.99), meaning that those who were high in performance-avoid orientation were 0.73 times less likely to take on the challenging task. Curiosity (OR = 4.38, 95 per cent CI: 2.38.50, 8.38), and need for cognition (OR = 2.03, 95 per cent CI: 1.34, 3.08), also positively predicted talking on a challenging task. This reveals analysis that curiosity had the strongest effect on taking on a challenging task. Participants who scored high in curiosity were 4.38 times more likely to take on a challenging task. Demographic variables were not found to be significant for performance-avoid orientation, curiosity, or need for cognition.\nDiscussion: This study investigated the extent to which three personal components of individual learning readiness - learning goal orientation, need for cognition and curiosity - predict the self-directed informal learning behavior of taking on a challenging task. This paper contributes to research on workplace learning in three ways. First, it explores antecedents to a critical learning behavior in today's dynamic work environments, that of taking on challenging tasks. It expands on the research on individual learning readiness (Ellstrom, 2001) to suggest that being ready to learn includes not just the ability of employees to learn, but their willingness to take on the challenge of doing so. Second, it answers calls for more direct measurements (Baumeister and Vohs, 2007) by using a behavioral measure to show that each of the three constructs predicted whether working adults chose to take on a challenging task, even when there was competition for their time. Individuals who were learning oriented, had greater need for thinking tasks or were more curious were more likely to choose to take on a challenging learning task, in their work. Third, it demonstrates that working adults who were more learning oriented, were also more likely to prefer thinking tasks, and were more curious. The findings unexpectedly showed that curiosity, need for cognition and learning goal orientation loaded onto a single factor. Previous research has shown that learning goal orientation, need for cognition, and curiosity are correlated, but capture distinct underlying constructs (Amabile et al., 1994; Day et al., 2007; Olson et al., 1984). This study expands research on these important constructs by examining all three together. In contrast to previous work, it shows that, when measured with a population of working adults, they are not empirically discriminant.\nLimitations: Although this paper sheds light on the relationship of three components of learning readiness and the informal learning behavior of taking on the challenge of learning, it does have limitations. First, this is a single study with a single type of challenging task. While the task was tailored to the population, individuals in workplace settings are presented with an array of challenging tasks. Further research is needed to determine if these findings are replicated with other types of challenging tasks, both within and outside of participants' domain of knowledge. Second, the study participants are not traditional office workers. However, in this case, Amazon Mechanical Turk workers represent a conservative test for the hypotheses. There is a direct relationship between the amount of time they spend on a task and how much they get paid. Therefore, taking on a challenging task could actually cost them money. However, it would be beneficial to have further research with more traditional work populations.\nConclusion: Today's workplaces are challenging. Employees need to be both willing and able to take on those challenges (LePine, LePine and Jackson, 2004). This paper builds on the concept of individual learning readiness to introduce personal learning readiness as a concept that captures the predisposition to engage in learning challenges. It describes the personality factors and learning motives that enable workplace learning, and opens the door for further exploration of the antecedents to initializing informal learning behaviors.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the personal antecedents to taking on the challenge of learning, particularly when there is competition for time at work. Taking on challenging tasks, particularly those that enhance learning, is a critical behavior in today's dynamic business environments. This paper explores how individual differences motivate people to choose a challenging task over an easy one.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A behavioral measure was used to determine if working adults higher in learning goal orientation, curiosity, and need for cognition were more likely to take on a challenging task, even when there was competition for their time. Structural equation modeling was used to more deeply examine whether these constructs independently contribute to the outcome.\nFindings: Goal orientation, curiosity and need for cognition each significantly predicted whether working adults took on a challenging task. Additional analysis revealed that learning goal orientation, curiosity, and need for cognition loaded onto a single factor.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper answers calls for the use of direct measurement in social science research. Rather than asking individuals about what they have done or would do, the study observes what choices working adults actually make when confronted with the opportunity to learn.\nOriginality/value: Contributing to the recent surge of work on informal learning behaviors, this paper examines a critical learning behavior - that of taking on challenging tasks. It demonstrates that even if individuals are ready learn (have the time and resources), there are key individual differences that drive whether they are willing to do so.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The use of participatory methodologies for conducting literacy activities: A perfect but not explicit fit	[ "Practice", "Research", "Participatory methodologies", "Information literacy", "Action research", "Participatory action research" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper offers directions toward constructing the basis for a research agenda that integrates participatory methodologies (PMs) into literacies research and practice as a valuable methodological basis. To achieve this purpose, this paper explains the pros and cons of using PM on L research and practice are, as well as its possibilities, characteristics and the contributions of a research agenda under such integration (PM-L agenda). This analysis draws from the pertinent literature, Scopus publication data, my own practice as an IL researcher and a questionnaire used to gather further insights from the research community in this matter and to strengthen our analysis.\nLiterature review: This section includes a brief review of PM as the research methodologies, in which we exclusively focus on this paper, specifically AR and PAR, although other branches derived from AR are mentioned. Furthermore, we analyze the \"perfect but not explicit fit\" between PM and L, by explaining the pros, cons, hesitations and eagerness that researchers from different methodological traditions might have toward the idea of using PM. A further overview of IL and other L was not deemed necessary beyond the definitions provided in the introduction section above, given space constraints and the scope of this article, which do not require a further discussion or understanding of these concepts to present its main topics in an accessible manner.\nMethodology: The following two sections report the methodology and unpublished results from a questionnaire suggested in a previous article (Machin-Mastromatteo et al., 2013). This questionnaire was conceived from a PAR approach, as all IL practitioners and researchers were invited to answer it, so findings would emerge from the participation of the community of stakeholders. We took the advantage of inviting researchers and practitioners during the first four editions of the European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL). A larger number of practitioners were invited to participate by sending the questionnaire link through mailing lists and social media sites devoted to IL.\nResults: The profiling questions included in the questionnaire allowed to identify the background fields of 34 participants: 20 had a LIS background, 10 were from the Social Sciences, 2 from Engineering, 1 from Education and 1 from Law. Regarding having experience with PM in their L research and practice, 16 participants replied \"Yes\" and 18 \"No\". The following subsections summarize participants' answers to the other questions.\nConclusion: This article provides a step toward the revision and further adoption of PM for L research and practice. All systematic research studies that are properly carried out and take into account the perspectives and even the input from its participants are valid; these can advance our understanding around L and contribute to its theory, research and practice. The intention of a paper such as the present is to explore, seek to understand and establish the possible contributions PM-L Research agenda can bring to the LIS profession, under the understanding that any systematic methodology may help the advance of L as fields of study, apart from justifying that PM are a perfect but not explicit fit through the cited literature, the analysis of Scopus data and the researchers and practitioners that participated in the questionnaire.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to construct the basis for a research agenda that integrates participatory methodologies (PMs) into literacies (L) research and practice as a valuable methodological basis.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The pros and cons of using PM on L research and practice are explained, as well as its possibilities, characteristics and the contributions of a research agenda under such integration (PM-L agenda). This analysis draws from the pertinent literature, Scopus publication data, the author's own practice as an information literacy (IL) researcher and a questionnaire used to gather further insights from the research community in this matter.\nFindings: A further understanding of the contributions that a PM-L research agenda can bring to the library and information science field is achieved. The pros, cons, hesitations and eagerness that researchers might have toward the idea of using such integration are valuable for determining if this really is a perfect but not an explicit fit.\nResearch limitations/implications: Although the questionnaire was promoted in a large international conference during a four-year period (2013-2017), it was answered by 34 participants; only 16 participants had previous experiences with the PM-L integration, and only an average of 8 participants provided significant answers to our open-ended questions. Thus, the amount of data available to analyze was limited. Certainly, using Scopus data provides a large but incomplete picture of the specialized literature that is peer reviewed and indexed, because it excludes publications not indexed that may be pertinent.\nOriginality/value: The PM-L integration is deemed as highly adequate, as PMs seek to improve participants' conditions, situations and realities through reflection and engagement, while L-related activities and research (including information, digital, media literacy or new literacies) are conducted to improve people's use and understanding of the media for which they are developing literacy. This contributes to their betterment as critical-thinkers, persons, citizens and learners. However, many researchers and especially practitioners do not formally use PM to conduct L activities, at least in many cases, this is not made explicitly. In the case of practitioners, some have conducted such activities empirically, without an appropriate methodological foundation. Hence, to establish PM as the methodologies of choice may help researchers and practitioners have a stronger methodological basis to conduct their work.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of organizational and individual characteristics on corporate intranet utilizations	[ "Knowledge transfer", "Intranets", "Malaysia", "User studies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Intranet is a term used to describe the use of internet technologies internally within an organization rather than externally to connect to the global internet. The term intranet started to emerge in the year 1994, but two years later, its adoption among business enterprises became so prevalent that the year 1996 was also tagged as \"the year of intranet\" by some information systems (IS) authors (Levitt, 1996; Muraszkiewicz, 1996). Recently, intranet adoption has been very widespread that Malaysian business enterprise and public organizations are also not without exception. It is no longer considered as a lavish technological investment but rather treated as technological need and necessity detrimental to the well-being of the organizations. Various studies have shown that business enterprises have reaped the fruits of their intranet investments in many respects (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998; Knight et al., 2005).Within the intranet computing environment, individual utilization can be a combination of purely volitional and mandatory. Mandatory utilization occurs when organizations enforce the utilization of certain functionalities of the intranet such as functional business IS. On the other hand, volitional utilization is purely dependent on users' discretion. In this situation, some innovative users would effectively utilize the intranet for some specific reasons and objectives; while others may simply abandon it. This simply implies that there are some determining factors shaping the utilization behavior of the users. With intranets being equipped in most Malaysian corporate workplace environment, questions regarding users' utilization behavior still remain unknown. Little is really known on the factors that shape Malaysians utilization behavior from the users perspectives. Against this background, this study seeks to understand the utilization behavior of users in an intranet computing environment at selected Malaysian companies. In addition the study is aimed at investigating the factors that have bearings to the shaping of utilization behaviors.\n2 Literature review: Theories such as Theory of Reasoned Actions (TRA) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) and Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 1995) suggest that individual behavior is subject to some determinants such as individual characteristics, organizational characteristics or innovation characteristics. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986) posited that individual interaction with the environmental surroundings the person should have bearing on behavior. TPB, TAM 2 (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003) identify one of such factor is social norm. UTAUT further identify facilitating conditions which can include top management support or user technical supports are also important factor that shape individual behavior. All these factors are usually contained within or associated with the organization where users are attached to (Jeyaraj et al., 2006). To this effect, the study at hand posited the organizational characteristics are determinants of intranet utilizations. TAM 2, UTAUT, SCT and models of Trice and Treacy (1988) and Jeyaraj et al. (2006) also posited that individual differences are also influential in shaping behavior. In this connection, it is posited that individual characteristics are determinants of intranet utilization. Based on the above discussion, the research model is conceptualized as shown in Figure 1.2.1 Intranet utilizations mode\n3 Research methods: Several corporate enterprises were contacted to participate in the study. However, in order to be eligible, the intranet being used should be of high maturity, i.e. being integrated with organizational IS. Consequently, four companies were found to fulfill the criteria and therefore chosen to participate. After lengthy discussion with representatives of these enterprises, it was decided that the respondents of the study should be the executives working in the headquarters only. The reasoning being that majority of the employee ranging from the executives to top management were located here and furthermore, employee working here are directly involved in the core-business and core-functioning such as human resource, marketing, finance and service operation the organization. Hence, in the course of such activities the use of ICT such as intranet would be very extensive. Adopting a stratified random sampling technique, 700 questionnaires were distributed upon which 423 were returned but 359 were found usable.Sekaran (2003) suggested that a researcher should adopt well validated and reliable instrument to ensure that the research is scientific and escape the laborious efforts in developing a new instrument. Accordingly, instruments that had been used by previous studies as shown in Table I were adopted and adapted for the purpose of this study. Other than demographic information, the questionnaire contained open-ended questions with seven point Likert scale. Based on 359 usable responses, data were analyzed using SPSS version 14.0. Non-response biases were checked by comparing early and late responders using independent sample t-test. Apparently, the results showed that the responses were free from non-response biases. ANOVA test were also performed across companies to check whether significance differences could be observed on all the research variables. Evidently, no significant difference could be detected and following the results, responses from the four companies were treated as one sample in subsequent analysis. Considering that this study was exploratory, factor analysis involving principal axis factoring with Varimax rotation was then executed on multi-items measures. In interpreting which factor loadings are worth considering, this study adopted loadings of 0.3, as suggested by Hair et al. (1998). All the measures were entered into principle axis factoring with Varimax rotation. The exercise unveiled that the original number of items measuring decision support, top management support, user technical support, functional integration, web efficacy and personal IT innovativeness were retained. However, one item measuring knowledge sharing was also removed due to the problems of cross-loading. Two items measuring utilization mode and one item measuring subjective norm were also eliminated due to low-factor loadings. Specifically, items relating to publishing and recording mode were found not be highly practice. Likewise, item relating to the influence of subordinate in utilizing the intranet was also found to be inapplicable. Nevertheless, upon conducting reliability analysis, the values of Cronbach's a suggest that the instrument used in the study were highly reliable.\n4 Findings: 4.1 Status of intranet utilization\n5 Discussion: 5.1 The status of intranet utilization\n6 Conclusion: Intranet, despite its widespread adoption among public and private organizations, has captured little interest of the IS researchers to investigate the nature of utilization and the corresponding determinants especially at the user level. Consequently, this study has significantly contributed to the body of IS knowledge by developing an empirical-based framework that depicts the determinants of intranet utilization at the user-level perspective. However, the conduct of this study was not without limitation. With regard to the theoretical framework, only four organizational factors were explored. Clearly, besides the four characteristics investigated, there were other factors that could be relevant and applicable in other organizational settings. Similarly, there are many other individual traits such as cultural orientation, job design, or ethnicity that are worth exploring. Besides, measuring positive utilization, future studies should also consider assessing intranet utilization for unproductive purposes. Many studies done either abroad or in Malaysia have found that the internet was unwisely used in the workplace (Case and Young, 2001; Yulihasri et al., 2006). As intranet and internet resemble each other in many respects, a study addressing this issue is seen worth venturing. Furthermore, instead of using perceptual measures, future studies should consider adopting objective measures as that would provide more accurate information compared to perceptual measures as used in this study.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper has the purpose of investigating the effect of organizational and individual characteristics on corporate intranet utilizations measured in terms of utilization modes, utilization for decision support and utilization for knowledge sharing.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study employed a positivist case study approach conducted at four corporate organizations operating in Malaysia. About 700 questionnaires were administered to intranet users yielding 359 usable responses.\nFindings: - Four organizational characteristics, namely top management support, technical user support, functional integration and social norm, were found to be significantly related to intranet utilization variables. Likewise, four individual characteristics, namely web efficacy, personal information technology innovativeness, length of service and intranet experience, were also found to be significantly related to intranet utilization variables.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Only four organizational and individual characteristics were explored. In addition, data were collected employing a cross-sectional design instead of longitudinal design. The perceptual measures used in the questionnaires could also contribute to biasness.\nOriginality/value: - The study contributes to the body of knowledge by developing an empirical-based framework that depicts the determinants of intranet utilization at user-level perspective.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Adoption of AI-based chatbots for hospitality and tourism	[ "AI-based chatbots", "Anthropomorphism", "Mixed method", "Perceived trust", "Perceived intelligence", "PLS-SEM", "TAM" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Technology is a game-changer for the travel and tourism industry. The innovative technologies such as chatbots, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are changing the way the tourism industry presently operates (Tussyadiah, 2020; Bowen and Morosan, 2018). AI-based systems are not just triggering the service and process automation, but they are also being used for direct interaction with customers in various frontline services (Van Doorn et al., 2017). Currently, more than 14% of airlines worldwide are using chatbots for various functions of airlines and it is predicted to reach 68% by 2020. Globally, more than 42% of airports are planning to adopt chatbot technology (Ghosh and Chakravarty, 2018). The global chatbot market is more than US$190m and is predicted to increase (Sweezey, 2018).\n2. Literature review: Adoption of chatbots technology is an emerging subject of research and many studies have been done worldwide in various contexts. The studies conducted for adoption and usage of chatbot technologies are travel, tourism and hospitality companies (Ivanov and Webster, 2019b), service chatbots (Sheehan, 2018), hotel interactive technologies (Morosan and DeFranco, 2019), service robots (Belanche et al., 2020; Mende et al., 2019), chatbots in general (Brandtzaeg and Folstad, 2017) and chatbots adoption in Siri case (Io and Lee, 2019). Extant studies are also discussing the chatbots/robots for tourism and human interaction (Yu, 2020; Mirnig et al., 2017; Stadler et al., 2014; Rosenthal-von der Putten et al., 2017). To study the adoption of chatbots for tourism, TAM along with human-robot interaction (HRI) variables - ANM, PNT, technology anxiety and PTR - are considered which are context-specific to chatbots for tourism applications.\n3. Hypotheses development: 3.1 Perceived ease of use\n4. Research methodology: This section describes the process for data collection along with the design of the survey instrument. The mixed-method research design helps researchers to evade inconsistency in outcomes of research caused by just focusing on qualitative or quantitative analysis (Creswell and Clark, 2007). The mixed-method approach is used and suggested in tourism studies for a better conclusion of research (Kuo et al., 2017; Tom et al., 2017; Mariani and Baggio, 2020). In this research, the mixed-method approach is used which combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to confirm the reliability and consistency of the conclusions (Kallmuenzer et al., 2019; Creswell et al., 2007). The research design for this study was carried out in the three phases and the data from these two methods were analyzed and validated. In phase one, initially subject matter experts (SMEs) from the tourism industry and travel companies were interviewed to confirm and ensure the accurate measures for the second phase of the quantitative survey. The characterization of all the constructs was adapted from the operational definitions established in the extant research (Table 1). The main themes that emerged from the various dimensions were discussed informally with the managers (notes were taken) from the travel agencies, who were considered the domain experts. These discussions occurred while the request was proposed for authorization to conduct the survey (phase two). This enabled the authors to highlight the importance of AI-based chatbots for their adoption and AUE in the travel and tourism sector. In the third stage, the managers from the travel agencies who had more than 10 years of experience were contacted and questions were asked to understand the AIN and AUE of chatbots. To cross-validate the results and reinforce the robustness of the conclusion, the answers were recorded. The quantitative data collected from the survey respondents and the qualitative data from the managers' interviews ensured validation of each other and formed a concrete basis for depicting the conclusions. The supporting quotes provided within the qualitative interview analysis section are grounded in the experiences of the managers from the travel agencies to ensure a meaningful and deeper relation to the AIN and AUE of chatbots in tourism. This aids to enhance both the relevance and validity of our contribution to the practitioners.\n5. Data analysis and results: A total of 44% of female and 56% of male members were the respondents. The educational background of respondents was as follows: 10% below higher secondary, 24% higher secondary, 28% graduate and 38% were postgraduate and above. Of the respondents, 44% were using AI-based chatbots and 56% of respondents were using other advanced technology. The AI-based chatbots were used in travel and tourism agencies for travel planning and concierge, flight bookings, hotel bookings and real-time travel assistance. The chatbots used by the respondents were: Myra by MakeMyTrip, Ixibaba by ixigo, Gia by Goibibo, Expedia chatbot by Expedia and Yuva by yatra. The respondents using the technology of any type and chatbots for tourism purposes: 36% less than 6 months, 41% from 6 to 12 months and 23% are 1 year and above.\n6. Discussion and conclusions: 6.1 Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to investigate the customers' behavioral intention and actual usage (AUE) of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots for hospitality and tourism in India by extending the technology adoption model (TAM) with context-specific variables.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To understand the customers' behavioral intention and AUE of AI-powered chatbots for tourism, the mixed-method design was used whereby qualitative and quantitative techniques were combined. A total of 36 senior managers and executives from the travel agencies were interviewed and the analysis of interview data was done using NVivo 8.0 software. A total of 1,480 customers were surveyed and the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique was used for data analysis.\nFindings: As per the results, the predictors of chatbot adoption intention (AIN) are perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived trust (PTR), perceived intelligence (PNT) and anthropomorphism (ANM). Technological anxiety (TXN) does not influence the chatbot AIN. Stickiness to traditional human travel agents negatively moderates the relation of AIN and AUE of chatbots in tourism and provides deeper insights into manager's commitment to providing travel planning services using AI-based chatbots.\nPractical implications: This research presents unique practical insights to the practitioners, managers and executives in the tourism industry, system designers and developers of AI-based chatbot technologies to understand the antecedents of chatbot adoption by travelers. TXN is a vital concern for the customers; so, designers and developers should ensure that chatbots are easily accessible, have a user-friendly interface, be more human-like and communicate in various native languages with the customers.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes theoretically by extending the TAM to provide better explanatory power with human-robot interaction context-specific constructs - PTR, PNT, ANM and TXN - to examine the customers' chatbot AIN. This is the first step in the direction to empirically test and validate a theoretical model for chatbots' adoption and usage, which is a disruptive technology in the hospitality and tourism sector in an emerging economy such as India.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Toward robotic process automation implementation: an end-to-end perspective	[ "Business process management", "Data science", "Process automation", "Robotic process automation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The robots revolution is on the rise. After the revolution that customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) created, a new term is going to revolutionize the workplace: robotic process automation (RPA) (Anagnoste, 2017).\n2. Research methodology: The research methodology used in this research is the DSR. The interest in DSR started to grow in the 1990s (Peffers et al., 2007), when three papers (March and Smith, 1995; Nunamaker and Chen, 1990; Walls et al., 1992) introduced this methodology, having its roots in engineering (Simon, 1996). In contrast to behavioral research, which deals with the justification and development of theories, explaining or predicting phenomena associated with a business need, DSR deals with building and evaluating artifacts that are designed to fit a business need (Hevner et al., 2004), aiming at the \"utility\" (building and evaluating means-ends relations) instead of \"truth\" (explore and validate cause-effect relations) (Winter, 2008), building a \"to-be\" conception and then according to the defined model building the system, having in consideration restrictions and limitations (Osterle et al., 2011).\n3. Literature review: As RPA is a recent and an unexplored area in terms of literature, performing a literature review is adequate because it can identify any gaps in the existing research in RPA to suggest areas for future research, summarize the existing knowledge about a RPA and provide a framework to position new research areas (Kitchenham, 2004). Plus, this research follows a concept-centric approach proposed by Webster and Watson (2002), as the review is guided by concepts, presented and discussed grounded on most relevant concepts related with RPA.\n4. Proposal - RPA conceptual model: A conceptual model provides a scheme with the relationship between major concepts (Jarvelin and Wilson, 2003), facilitating the representation of knowledge in a non-ambiguous form (Schermann et al., 2009). Plus, conceptual models can be used to guide research by systematizing knowledge and mapping a fraction of reality (Bunge, 1967), therefore being appropriate for representing the main concepts around RPA and their relationships, as represented in Figure 5.\n5. Evaluation: To illustrate the application of our proposal, the authors selected five RPA CS articles from journals/conferences (Aguirre and Rodriguez, 2017; Hallikainen et al., 2018; Khramov, 2018; Lacity et al., 2016; Lacity and Willcocks, 2017). Our goal is not to propose a critical evaluation of the quality of the research contributions, but shed some light on our proposal. This kind of evaluation has been applied in other studies (Hevner et al., 2004; Pereira et al., 2013). The CS analysis can be seen in Table IX.\n6. Discussion: In terms of benefits reported, all the CSs reported that the tasks performed by the robot are being executed faster than when manually. Two CSs refer that the automated process has less errors than before and that the productivity has increased. There are probably more benefits of the automation of processes with RPA in these CSs, but there were not present or clear. Comparing with the benefits gathered in the literature review, 70 percent were present in the CSs, which shows that the benefits gathered in the literature review are reflected in CSs.\n7. Conclusion: RPA is revolutionizing the workplace, using software robots that replace humans by interacting with systems through the user interface, being faster and more efficient than a human. A robot is capable of doing repetitive tasks that used to be done by humans, such as filling forms, logging into many systems, monitoring events, performing checks, sending e-mails and extracting data from many file types (Anagnoste, 2017), so that the workers can dedicate their time and effort to tasks that add more value (Aguirre and Rodriguez, 2017).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Robotic process automation (RPA) seeks to automate business processes, using software robots that interact with systems through their user interface, improving efficiency and reducing costs. However, some critical steps, such as identifying processes suitable for RPA automation, can have a tremendous impact in organizations if a wrong process is selected. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide an approach for analyzing RPA development in business organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research presents a cohesive literature review about RPA, in order to identify RPA main concepts, which should be reported and considered in all RPA case studies. A model connecting the main elicited RPA concepts is presented as well as its evaluation and applicability grounded of past RPA case study (CS) analysis, using design science research.\nFindings: The results from this research show that most of the RPA main concepts gathered in the literature review are not reported in the selected RPA CSs.\nOriginality/value: As RPA is a recent topic, literature lacks a synthetization of RPA main topics. This research aims to fill the gap on that, by identifying and synthesize the main topics related to RPA and proposing a model that connects the main RPA concepts, which can be used by researchers as a schema for conducting and writing RPA case studies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Market demand for sustainability in management education	[ "Management education", "Sustainability", "Stakeholder", "Business schools", "Executive survey", "PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education)" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The extent to which business students should engage with sustainability topics has been the subject of much debate. Some argue for expansion and integration, such as through academic institutions (Stead and Stead, 2010) or initiatives like the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (Velazquez et al., 2005). But others doubt the appropriateness, need or role of sustainability in business curriculum, as evidenced by uneven progress in recent decades (Starik et al., 2010). This study focuses on senior executives of leading corporations to explore the extent for market demand for graduates trained in sustainability topics, and finds that this key group of business schools' stakeholders prioritizes and values such training.\nBackground and context: As educators and their institutions' purpose and values have evolved recursively with a dynamic culture (Bush, 2006), sustainability topics within business curricula evolved from the inclusion of socioeconomic issues in the 1960s to the emergence of the natural environment as a legitimate concern of business in the 1990s. \"Over the past four decades, business, and therefore business academia, [have] been challenged by calls to reconceptualize its views regarding its responsibilities to society\" (Rands and Starik, 2009, p. 20). Of course, uncertainty regarding the definition of \"sustainability\" or the related concept of corporate social responsibility (Matten and Moon, 2004) complicates normative adoption by business schools - whatever the interpretations of the terms by senior executives.\nMethodology: The findings in this paper are based on a survey returned by executives from companies participating in the UNGC. As the sample is composed of UNGC signatories, the responses represent the perspectives of organizations with above-average engagement with sustainability issues, though. In all, 33 per cent of firms in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 33 of the FTSE 100 were signatories to the UNGC[1] at the time of the survey. Moreover, institutional isomorphism (Scott, 2001) is evident, as the UNGC has grown from 44 companies at its founding in 2000 to about 4,500 companies at the end of 2008 and more than 6,000 companies by June 2010. Following Rogers' (1962) theory on adoption of innovations among members of social systems through successive waves of \"innovators\", \"early adopters\", \"early majority\", \"late majority\" and \"laggards\", these companies are likely to represent more than just \"innovators\" and \"early adopters\" in engaging with the challenges and opportunities of sustainability, but the \"early majority\" as well. Therefore, their perceptions are likely to be indicative of the direction of progress for the rest of mainstream business.\nFindings of demand for sustainability-related education: Reported areas of necessary change\nDiscussion and implications: Leaders of UNGC signatory firms now represent a large and growing fraction of the mainstream of global businesses, with more than 6,000 signatories and counting. It is therefore possible to take representations of these leaders' views as indicative of progressive companies today, and of the majority in the future.\nConclusion: This study was intended to provide insights and evidence for use in the strategic planning of business schools. The fundamental findings, regarding the employment market's demands for sustainability-oriented capabilities in graduates, provide largely intuitive considerations, as the management education industry adapts to the same global dynamics as all other organizations.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate about the relevance of sustainability in management education through exploration of the needs and expectations of a key group of business schools' stakeholders - senior executives of leading corporations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper presents findings from a survey regarding sustainability within management education returned by executives from a wide span of global companies. The study includes 194 survey responses by senior executives from companies that are signatories of the United Nations Global Compact.\nFindings: Results from a survey of executives from leading multinational enterprises reveal widespread recognition that sustainability issues are increasingly important for effective management, thus that managers must be appropriately trained for these emerging challenges. Survey results also indicate the kinds of skills and qualities seen as valuable by corporate leaders.\nResearch limitations/implications: It is not possible to extrapolate from this study the aggregate sentiment of all senior business executives, but the sample of 194 respondents is significant.\nPractical implications: The expressed demand from business leaders provides context for business school faculty and administrators involved in the development of appropriately trained professionals.\nOriginality/value: The study provides indication of demand from a significant subset of influential executives, providing support for the on-going progress of the integration of sustainability topics and training in the curricula of business and other fields.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Resource allocation and service design in local government: a case study	[ "Local government reform", "Service delivery", "Public sector reform" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Traditionally budgets in public sector organizations served as a mechanism for allocating and controlling expenditures with reference to certain spending limits (Burns et al., 2004; Axelrod, 1995). The role of budgets was to ensure that estimated revenue would cover estimated costs, and subsequently budgeted targets were used to control actual spending. As public sector organizations faced budget constraints they were looking for opportunities for improving productivity in order to provide better services with the same level of resources (Cook and Hughes, 2009b; Williamson and Douglas, 2013; Jimenez, 2009; Alam and Nandan, 2005; Guthrie and English, 1997; Guthrie et al., 2005). Mere refinement of budgeting in the public sector was seen to be insufficient to address various issues on how better services could be delivered. Provision of services emphasizes the role of accountability on different attributes of service performance, such as, quality, efficiency, timeliness, accuracy, accessibility, and professionalism. The emergence of public sector reform provided a significant opportunity to use the budgeting process to design and arrange public services on a more transparent basis (Goetz and Jenkins, 2005; Benito and Bastida, 2009; Bosworth, 2005; Philipps and Stewart, 2009). This paper looks into how the budgetary process was used to redesign services provided by a local government organization in New Zealand. Such organizations operate in a complex environment as they are expected to anticipate and design services. The recent reforms in local government organizations mirror the overall changes in the public sector as they aim to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in service provisions by ensuring transparency and accountability (Coe, 2008; Pallott, 1999). As the budgetary process involves the allocation of resources under the gaze of increased expectations, its focus needs to change from compliance culture to improved customer focus in service delivery. In this context, the ideas behind new public management (NPM) suggest the adoption of rational principles, such as clear goals, corporate plans, and information systems, to allocate resources in public sector organizations (Burns et al., 2004; Broadbent and Guthrie, 1992; Goddard, 2001). To facilitate the efficient resource allocation process several legislations were introduced in the form of financial reforms such as accrual accounting and administrative reforms such as, accountability and employment practices (Rivenbark and Roenigk, 2011; Kloot and Martin, 2001; Broadbent and Guthrie, 1992). Local government organizations were given freedom to promote efficient financial management in the interests of their residents and ratepayers. However, it was expected that different local government organizations would review their own circumstances to introduce a resource allocation process to manage services. This paper investigates how budgeting is instrumental in designing services in a local government organization in New Zealand. To do so, it addresses the following research questions:\nBudgeting in public sector reform: Public sector reforms have largely focused on introducing greater efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and accountability in the public sector organizations (Whitehead, 2009; Williamson and Douglas, 2013; Devas and Grant, 2003; Guthrie et al., 2005, 1999). As part of the reform process, a new model known as the \"NPM\" was introduced as the existing practices were found to be inefficient, costly, and unresponsive to social and economic development. Such an approach attempts to introduce management structures, practices, and principles that are based on the market principles (Cook and Hughes, 2009a; Guthrie et al., 2005; Hood, 1995). NPM combined insights from public choice, the new institutional economics and managerialism to reduce the scope for public sector activities (Boston, 1990; Hood, 1995). Such a move should not be seen as an isolated phenomenon but rather viewed as part of an overall attempt to shift away from public production towards corporatization and privatization.\nLocal government reform in New Zealand: The Local Government Act of 1989 had significant influence on the planning and budgeting activities of local authorities. Section 223C specifies the principles of accountability. It requires the authority to set clear objectives for its activities, and to measure its performance in relation to the stated objectives. Some of the unfinished businesses of the Local Government Act of 1989 were dealt with in the subsequent Local Government Act in 1996. The Local Government Act of 1996 requires all councils to have a long-term plan which can guide short-term planning, including annual budgets. Such plans are to be undertaken after proper consultation with the community served by the local government authorities. The long-term planning includes outputs and outcomes including cost of capital, revenue, cashflow projections, asset management, and borrowing requirements. Lapsley and Pallot (2000) evaluated these two Local Government Acts of 1989 and 1996 as complementary as termed as first and second wave of reforms in New Zealand local government. While the first concentrated on structural aspects, the second introduced financial and operational aspects to form a total package. The second Act is more relevant for resource allocation and budgeting in local government organization. Subsequently, the Local Government Act of 2002 refocused the purpose of local government entities to represent the community expectations through democratic decision making. The Act of 2002 builds on previous Acts to integrate the mechanisms of the Long Term Council Community Plans. Resource allocation principles are also specified in the 1996 Act. This influences how local councils operate their activities. The Local Government Amendment (No. 3) 1996, Section 122F, states: (a) the principle that the costs of any expenditure should be recovered at the time that the benefits of that expenditure accrue, (b) the principle that, to the extent that any expenditure (i) is independent of the number of persons who benefit; or (ii) generates benefits that do not accrue to identified persons or groups; or (iii) generates benefits to the community generally,- the cost of that expenditure should be allocated in a manner consistent with economic efficiency and appropriate to the nature and distribution of that benefits generated, which manner may require the use of rating mechanisms under the Rating Power Act 1988; (c) the principle that the costs of any expenditure should be recovered from persons or categories of persons in a manner that matches the extent to which the direct benefits of that expenditure accrue to those persons or categories of persons; (d) the principle that the costs of any expenditure to control negative effects that are contributed to by the action or inaction of any persons or categories of persons should be allocated to those persons or categories of persons in a way that matches the extent to which they contribute to the need for that expenditure. Taken together the Local Government Acts of 1989, 1996 and 2002 have implication for different ways of offering public services. While such Acts were expected to influence the budgetary process and service design, this study investigated a local government organization to understand the changing nature of the budgetary process.\nResearch method: This study is concerned primarily with implications for the budgeting process on changes to service design within a local government organization in New Zealand. To understand the effect of changes in service design, the study explores how a particular local government organization applied specific criteria set the Local Government Act which required to categories services into public and private goods. As such, the study adopted a case research approach to investigate the changes influenced by the Local Government Acts 1989, 1996 and how they continued to exist in subsequent periods (Local Government Act, 2002). These changes are considered to be significant as subsequent changes build of these changes and incorporate other areas of reforms. This case study was conducted in a metropolitan city council which is located in the North Island in New Zealand, thereafter termed as the \"Council-A\". The \"Council-A\" restructured its internal operation and reorganized functions from ten operating departments down to four major divisions. These divisions are: corporate services, recreation and community service, works service, and planning and regulatory services. During the study, particular attention was given to the ways in which planning and budgeting policies were formulated.\nContexts of budgeting and service design: Planning and budgeting in local government involves a whole range of activities throughout the annual reporting cycle. Other planning activities such as the district plan, the business plans, the recreation plan, and the community development plans are integrated into the annual planning and budgetary process. The Acts (1989, 1996, and 2002) require that all planning processes start with community inputs. Community surveys are also used to measure the effectiveness of existing programs. A divisional manager explains the central role of community surveys:\nFunding principles and budgeting: The Local Government Acts (1989, 1996, and 2002) require local authorities to classify each service according to the benefits provided and are classified as: direct benefits, general benefits, or control of negative effects. While direct benefits are received directly by an individual or group, general benefits are provided to the community as a whole. This distinction is related to the concepts of public, merit, and private goods. The control of negative effects is needed to protect the community from actual or potential problems (e.g. dog control or noise control). The distinction between services, which are public and those which are private, is blurred. For example, perceptions have been changing about whether the services of libraries and museums should be provided free, or whether they should be paid for by the users, at least in part. To decide such issues the authority must consider what it is mandated to provide, what its responsibilities are, and what image it wishes to promote.\nBudgeting and the reform process: Before the reform, the annual budgetary process was concerned with: what level of rates would be required to meet the currently budgeted annual expenditure how the budget was going to be managed, and how various needs were met. Budgeting was largely concerned with establishing the level of rates which would be required to maintain the current level of services, and determine the inputs required to provide these services. As different services were financed from a common source of rate-based finance, budgets were used to allocate funds to different programmes and levels of activities.\nConclusion: This paper investigated whether the role of budget changed as result of the local government reform process. Local government organizations are responsible for the provision of various services. As there was no transparent basis for resource allocation to competing demands the budgetary process was dominated by lobbying and political maneuvering. The reform process tried to address these issues by introducing more transparent financial and accountability systems. In addition, such changes also provided a basis for categorizing services into core and non-core activities and facilitated a classification of services based on public and private goods.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Following the introduction of the New Zealand Local Government Amendment Acts (1996, 2002), some significant changes have taken place in resource allocation and service design of local government organizations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of local government reforms on budgetary processes and service design in a New Zealand local government entity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a qualitative case study research involving semi-structured interviews with the key informants to understand the evolving role of resource allocation the study investigates the budgetary processes in a metropolitan city council.\nFindings: The traditional role of budget has changed to a more active and visible instrument in explaining the effectiveness and efficiency in the use and allocation of resources. Budgets have been given a central role in the management of local government finances. The reform process in New Zealand has enabled local government organizations to organize their activities by using the concepts of public and private goods.\nResearch limitations/implications: This is a single local government entity case study. Any generalization of the conclusions from this study should undertaken with care even though there are similarities between New Zealand and other countries even though they operate under different institutional contexts in different countries.\nOriginality/value: This paper makes important contribution by highlighting the implications of resource allocation on service design within New Zealand local government entities.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
CDS spreads as an independent measure of credit risk	[ "Credit default swaps", "Credit ratings", "Credit rating agency", "Credit risk", "Implicit ratings" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In 1909, Moody established the first credit rating agency (CRA) by classifying bonds of the railway industry. He introduced simple rating symbols, from Aaa to C, which are still in use today. This simple letter scale allows investors to quickly judge and compare the default risk of investment opportunities. CRAs were considered important actors in financial markets. Moreover, regulators, e.g. the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Basel Committee of the Bank for International Settlement, incorporated the requirement of credit ratings for investment decisions. Before the financial crisis started in 2007, investors relied on the accuracy of credit ratings and the evaluation procedures of CRAs (Kiesel, 2016). Prior research shows that downgrades have a negative effect on stock prices and increase CDS spreads, whereas rating upgrades only have a weak positive effect on stock returns and a weak negative or non-significant effect on CDS spreads. However, on September 15, 2008, the North American investment bank Lehman Brothers defaulted and in succession filed for bankruptcy. Prior to its default, Lehman Brothers did not face a downgrade of its issuer rating (Flannery et al., 2010). The rating indicated that the creditworthiness of Lehman Brothers is of good quality and it was not changed until a few days before the default.\n2. Literature review: Altman (1968) introduced a scoring method for the discrimination between bankrupt and non-bankrupt corporates. He uses a multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) with five ratios obtained from the balance sheets and income statements. The MDA is a method to distinguish between two or more mutually exclusive groups - in this case, bankrupt and non-bankrupt corporates - by evaluating multiple variables. A simple linear combination of the variables forms an individual discriminant score that is denominated Z-score by Altman (1968). Based on a sample consisting of 33 bankrupt and 33 non-bankrupt manufacturing corporations, he performs an MDA with the following five ratios, i.e. variables: working capital/total assets, retained earnings/total assets, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)/total assets, market value equity/book value of total debt and sales/total assets. To measure the accuracy of the model, Altman (1968) uses a matrix containing hits and misclassifications. The model classifies the corporates between the two groups with an accuracy of 95 per cent in the sample used to derive the MDA function. To provide a Z-score for privately owned companies, Altman (2000) replaced the variable equity market value with book values. The boundaries of the revised MDA model were recalculated and proved slightly less reliant than the original one. This refined model is called the Z'-score.\n3. Data selection: To analyze the relation of CDS spreads and ratings, we use empirical data. The CDS spread data are obtained from the Thomson Reuters EOD. Thomson Reuters collects CDS quotes from multiple sources each day and computes a composite quote allowing a comprehensive market view. As they are obtained from different sources, Thomson Reuters however cannot ensure that the prices are from actual trades or from construction and quoting (Mayordomo et al., 2014). Nonetheless, CDS mid-spreads from Thomson Reuters are used by a variety of researchers and conceded as viable representation. The sample contains corporates headquartered either in the USA or in Europe. CDS contracts are OTC derivatives and, therefore, may vary in terms and conditions. All contracts refer to senior unsecured debt of the reference entity. We only consider CDS contracts with a maturity of five years, because they are the most liquid ones (Longstaff et al., 2005).\n4. Methodology: 4.1 CDS spread smoothing\n5. Empirical analysis of credit ratings and CDS spread: 5.1 Mathematical model\n6. Test of model fitness: 6.1 Hit-miss-match analysis\n7. Conclusion: Despite issues concerning the timeliness and accuracy of credit ratings, as well as a subjective rating methodology, market participants are highly dependent on CRAs and their opinions. With the introduction of credit derivatives and the rising prominence of CDS a new way of quantifying credit risk with market indicators emerged. Prior research has shown that CDS spreads are a viable substitution for credit ratings or at least providing a supplementary risk assessment. However, for example, a CDS spread of 100 bps is observed in seven different rating grades and therefore cannot be assigned to an agency rating unambiguously. The prevailing CDS-based model was relying on ratings of CRAs as they were needed for calibration purposes in the first place.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The creditworthiness of corporates is most visible in credit ratings. This paper aims to present an alternative credit rating measure independently of credit rating agencies. The credit rating score (CRS) is based on the credit default swap (CDS) market trading.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A CRS is developed which is a linear function of logarithmized CDS spreads. This new CRS is the first one that is completely independent of the rating agency. The estimated ratings are compared with ratings provided by Fitch Ratings for 310 European and US non-financial corporates.\nFindings: The empirical analysis shows that logarithmized CDS spreads and issuer credit ratings by agencies have a linear relationship. The new CRS provides market participants with an alternative risk assessment, which is solely based on market factors, and does not rely on credit rating analysts. The results indicate that our CRS is able to anticipate agency ratings in advance. Moreover, the analysis shows that the trading volume has only a limited influence in the anticipation of rating changes.\nOriginality/value: This study shows a new approach to measure the creditworthiness of firms by analyzing CDS spreads. This is highly relevant for regulation, firm monitoring and investors.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Que Sera, sera? Conceptualizing business network foresighting	[ "Network pictures", "Business network foresight", "Business network strategizing", "Foresight events", "Network horizon" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper is concerned with the formation and development of foresight among actors in business networks. With this explicit focus, we seek to develop a research agenda from an IMP perspective. Following the IMP tradition of analyzing networks in terms of actor bonds, resource ties and activity links, the present approach is actor-centric (Snehota and Hakansson, 1995). Our focus is understanding the cognitive aspects of interaction, concentrating specifically on the individual and the shared formations of expectations about the future among business network actors. In this sense, we ascribe to and extend on the notion of actors' network theories (Mattson and Johanson, 1992), network horizons (Holmen and Pedersen, 2003) and the research stream concerned with network pictures (Mouzas et al., 2008). Before stating what we exactly mean by foresight and actors in business networks and our reasons for studying them in more formal terms, we start off with a couple of examples from different business network settings that may help contextualize the phenomenon of business network foresighting.\nStrategic foresight from an imp perspective: A thematic review of the strategic foresight literature must start with its precursor: forecasting, which dominated business literature and practice several decades ago. Forecasting has been defined as \"the task of making a probabilistic statement on a relatively high confidence level about the future\" (Wills, 1972). This notion was part of the strategy perspective offered by Igor Ansoff (1965, 1975), who was at the forefront of introducing long-range planning systems based on environmental forecasts[1]. In essence, the failure of predicting the 1973 oil shock led to considerable scepticism with respect to the validity of forecasting as an exercise in producing accurate predictions, casting the business actor in the role of a passive observer (Martin, 2010). Therefore, research focus has gradually shifted to anticipation or foresight, which involves an explicit recognition that the choices actors make today are actively shaping the future. The foresight perspective holds that futures are not singular but multiple, and we derive one future rather than another from the interactions among various actors (Godet and Roubelat, 1996).\nExploring and developing practices of business network foresight: some building blocks: How should we proceed in order to promote processes that will help to generate business network foresight? As mentioned earlier, in this paper we mainly attend to the creation of business network foresight as a part of intentional strategizing. However, we are aware that the formation of expectations in business networks is a continuous and integral process of business interactions, which permeates continuous trust-building and re-assures adaptations, etc. Our interest here, is however in the deliberate and committed attempts by the focal firm and/or its exchange partners to temporally \"freeze\" the flow of events in reality in order to create what Weick and Quinn (1999) refers to as making sequences visible for all relevant participants and showing patterns through maps, schemas and stories, thus convincing the participants about specific issues of concern. This is what we typically experience when powerful business actors, industry associations or others seek to externalize expectations of the future among other business network actors.\nDiscussion and implications for research: In this contribution, we primarily focus on furthering the development of a research agenda. For this reason, we have downplayed managerial implications. However, a few managerial implications must be mentioned, as they may inspire others to think about these issues and how they might affect managerial practice. First, we need more research on how an actor (or individual manager) who would like to take an interactive approach to foresight can gather information about other relevant actors within the network horizon. To develop ways of doing systematic inquiry into other actors' views of the network horizon, their thoughts on potential developments and their strategizing processes are important but complex activities. Second, we need to develop methods and tools to assist mangers in preforming such systematic inquiries to be able to strategic network foresight. We posit that managers may benefit from considering a multitude of different dimensions before arranging episodes of foresight in networks.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Networks and relationships are not stable. On the contrary, they change and are transformed by the actors who take part in them. Change and transformation result from the actions and reactions of these actors. However, a key issue is what makes the actors choose some actions and reactions while refraining from others. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors argue that the actors' expectations to the future of the network are formative for the actions and reactions and, furthermore, that the future expectations are formed by interaction among the actors that take part in the networks.\nFindings: The authors depart from the existing foresight literature, but realign its ideas to fit with the core tenets of the IMP approach. Thereby, the purpose is twofold: to explore and conceptualize network foresight phenomena as well as to contribute to the practice of collective foresighting in business networks.\nResearch limitations/implications: The authors suggest research into formations of expectations in networks with a specific view to the interactive and structural effects of networks. Furthermore, the authors suggest a framework for categorizing network episodes and linking these to the formation of recognized issues and solutions.\nPractical implications: The authors provide a framework for analyzing the focus of business networks in terms of solutions and issues, and analytically breaking down the interaction among these.\nOriginality/value: The authors introduce the concept of business network foresight, both as a distinct concept that enables us to understand change and transformation in networks, but also as a procedure for supporting actors' strategizing efforts in business networks.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Combining knowledge to generate novelty: a study of disclosed ideas for life science inventions	[ "Collaboration", "Universities", "Hospitals", "Disclosed inventions", "Medical innovation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In medicine, which includes areas such as drugs, diagnostics and medical devices, inventions and innovations frequently originate in medical and scientific practice in public hospitals and universities, and often involve firms only in peripheral roles or later stages (Hopkins, 2006; Rosenberg, 2009; Morlacchi and Nelson, 2011). However, traditional investigations of innovation typically look at how this takes place within firms and their greater networks, and there are comparatively few investigations of how innovative ideas related to what is often called \"life sciences\" may stem from other settings. In this paper, we ask how ideas with innovative potential emerge in the life sciences, which competencies these ideas are most likely to be based on, and how important the combination of different sources of knowledge is for generation and development of ideas. In addition, we analyze the practices that have been developed in a life science setting to facilitate integration across heterogeneous actors and knowledge bases in research and innovation.\nCombining knowledge for generating new ideas in life sciences: Close linkages between science and the clinic have repeatedly been found to be important for health-related research and innovation activities (Hicks and Katz, 1996; Lander and Atkinson-Grosjean, 2011; Hopkins, 2006). New knowledge and ideas for products and services emerge from a complex interplay between scientific units, clinical units and commercial organizations, and often also involve incremental technological and process improvements through learning in practice (Morlacchi and Nelson, 2011). Several analysts emphasize that innovation processes in medicine and healthcare are \"distributed,\" meaning that decentralized interaction across fields of science, organizations and sectors is a key feature of the problem-oriented learning processes that over time lead to development and use of new medical technologies, services or drugs (cf. Blume, 1992; Rosenberg et al., 1995; Metcalfe et al., 2005; Ramlogan et al., 2007; Gittelman, 2016). In this distributed system, collaboration between research organizations and small high-tech firms in the commercialization of knowledge is seen as particularly important for innovation, as impetus to medical innovations often comes from different part of the science system - not necessarily from life science. Several authors highlight how healthcare providers, clinical knowledge and clinical practices are fundamental components of health innovation (Metcalfe et al., 2005; Morlacchi and Nelson, 2011; Rosenberg, 2009; Nelson et al., 2011), but these actors' roles are not well understood.\nResearch propositions: Summing up, the literature portrays innovation in medicine as highly dependent upon integration of multiple sources of knowledge. In this context, knowledge is distributed across multiple public and private organizations and what we have termed domains. Particular attention has been given to three domains: life science research on the causes and characteristics of disease, the clinic as a setting for observation and treatment of patients and the firm as a main instrument of commercialization. There is a high degree of specialization as innovation depends on long-term investments and heterogeneous knowledge bases. The medical context is also characterized by multiple bridges across these domains, partly institutionalized by multi-organizational arrangements and purpose-built organizations such as academic medical centers, and also through the flow of individuals, cross-disciplinary teams and widespread networks that connect healthcare and scientific domains. Research facilities and tools, medical problems and patients are important boundary objects that connect and become the core of micro-innovation systems.\nData and methodology: The paper studies early stage research-based inventions, using a data set of individuals involved in generating new product ideas within life sciences. The data set is constructed from disclosures of inventions (DOFIs) to the joint Technology Transfer Office (TTO) of the two largest R&D performing organizations within life science in Norway - the University of Oslo and South-Eastern Regional Health Authority in Norway. The health authority is the owner of 11 public and five private non-commercial hospitals organized as trusts, and R&D for about 220 million euros annually is performed in the organization. The University of Oslo is the country's largest academic institution. More than half of the R&D within life science and medicine in Norway is performed by the organizations we study, with a particular high concentration of activities in the Oslo University Hospital (40 percent of all national health-related R&D). With a high concentration of life science and health-related R&D in the region, we assume that the organizations are also responsible for the major part of the research-based innovation activities within life science and medicine in the country. As a consequence, we assume that a large share of ideas for new inventions within life science that emerged in Norway in this time interval were disclosed to the joint TTO and are contained within our database.\nInvention processes in life science: a result of multi-organizational collaboration?: As mentioned the DOFI database contains information about 165 disclosed ideas submitted by 296 individuals. Slightly more than half of the inventors work in hospitals, 40 percent at universities, and 7 percent in firms. Among the individuals listed as the lead inventors, 50 percent are employed in the hospital sector and 50 percent in the university sector. In total, 30 percent of the lead inventors are employed both at the hospital and university, indicating that boundary spanners are important for generation of new ideas in life science.\nA community that straddles institutional boundaries?: The ideas reported as DOFIs in our life science data are potential product innovations that in some cases can be protected by patents, and are often connected to research activities. Consequently, we expect personnel in research positions and with research competencies to be overrepresented also among hospital staff. To investigate further we looked at current occupational positions, level of education and number of scientific publications for all inventors.\nKnowledge integration practices: To explore why collaboration between hospitals and universities is widespread in life science invention processes, we carried out interviews with prolific inventors as outlined in the methodology section. The informants highlighted the cross-disciplinary nature of their scientific work, an aspect particularly important in the context of developing new ideas with an innovation potential. A professor of biophysics said, \"Inventions are usually spin-offs from research activity. In my area [biophysics], promising research is carried out through collaboration between multiple groups. Physicist are good at measuring things, chemists can make the molecules and drugs, biologists are experts on the composition of the cells and cancer researchers and oncologists measure and monitor tumor growth. We complement each other.\" Other informants described similar patterns.\nDiscussion: The analysis has provided new information about the people and communities that are involved in developing ideas for inventions in medicine, highlighting practices that promote knowledge interaction and integration across organizations. Existing literature argues that combination of different but complementary sources of knowledge is important for innovation, but challenging to archive in practice (Tell, 2011; Carlile, 2004). In the healthcare context, innovation activities occur in clinical and scientific units in hospitals, in universities and in firms, and actors within this heterogeneous system are involved in generating ideas, inventions and innovations in the form of new products and services. Empirical and theoretical writings on innovation in medicine and health indicates that innovation in this sector relies on heterogeneous and decentralized knowledge bases, and that interaction across different sources of knowledge is particularly important (Mina, 2009; Morlacchi and Nelson, 2011).\nImplications and conclusion: Our empirical study from the medical innovation context illustrates how important knowledge interaction is for inventive activities. Moreover, the study illustrates how pervasive these links are in this specific context. Most studies of knowledge integration and its role in innovation focus on firms and networks between firms. This paper has illustrated the importance of investigating the role of teams and individuals in knowledge integration across organizations (Tell, 2011; Andersson and Berggren, 2011; Carlile, 2004). At the same time, our study indicates that networks exist at several levels, between organizations, between professions and groups and at the individual levels. Networks are inherently interconnected. One implication is that studies of knowledge integration should attempt to carry out multilevel analyses, where ties between organizations and individuals are investigated within the same context (Moliterno and Mahony, 2011). In this study, we clearly see that multiple networks are layered on top of each other, and together they make a deeply embedded structure of contacts that seems to be vital for generating novelty in a highly specialized and knowledge intensive context.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a combination of diverse sources of knowledge is important for generation of new ideas and address how institutional infrastructures and practices support integration of knowledge across organizations in medicine and life sciences.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper investigates new product ideas that emerge from hospital and university employees, and looks at the extent of interaction between clinical and scientific environments in the idea generation process. The paper utilizes data about all new product ideas within life science that were reported in South-Eastern Norway in 2009-2011, as well as information about the individuals and teams that had been involved in disclosing these ideas. Interviews with inventors have also been carried out.\nFindings: Interaction and integration across scientific and clinical domains are common and important for generating new product ideas. More than half of the disclosed life science ideas in the database come from groups representing multiple institutions with both scientific and clinical units or from individuals with multiple institutional affiliations. The interviews indicate that the infrastructure for cross-domain interaction is well-developed, particularly for research activities, which has a positive effect on invention.\nOriginality/value: The paper uses an original data set of invention disclosures and investigates the hospital-science interface, which is a novel setting for studies of inventive activities.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Action with(out) activism: understanding digital climate change action	[ "Social media", "Climate change", "Activism", "Social change", "Digital spaces" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Climate change activism is happening in multiple spaces, with individuals and groups pursuing different strategies, ranging from more traditional organised praxis to relatively new online engagement. Some academics and activists have critiqued digital activism as ineffectual while others have celebrated it as part of the solution to inaction on pressing issues such as climate change. In this paper, we analyse a case of climate change action by over 10,000 Australians that involved everyday online interventions which produced material changes, namely, in the transformation of the Climate Commission. The Commission was an institution that provided information about climate change impacts in the Australian context, but in 2013 was defunded by a conservative national government. A crowdfunded initiative transformed the Commission into the Climate Council and it is now an independent institution.\nAction and activism in the climate change arena: There are multiple arenas within which climate change activism and protest can take place. This section first explores the \"traditional\" physical spaces of climate change activism and protest, before considering the opportunities and challenges of online/digital spaces as loci for climate change activism.\nMethods: As previously noted, the Climate Council was established in the wake of the disbanding of the Climate Commission in 2013. Within a short period of time after the establishment of the Climate Council, the organisation had several thousand \"Founding Friends\", as a result of a widespread social media campaign. This paper reports on a survey that was undertaken by the Climate Council with their Founding Friends that sought to understand their motivations for supporting the renewed institution.\nFindings and discussion: This section identifies two key themes: first, reflections on the institutional space of the Climate Council in terms of the action undertaken and second, on the actions/activism undertaken by individuals and their engagement with the Climate Council. Findings and discussion are interwoven here as the empirics drive the research that this paper presents. Further, given the number of respondents, we have chosen to emphasise the richness of that data and respect the voices of participants.\nAction without conscious activism? Reflections and conclusion: This paper has reflected on the emergence of digital spaces as loci for action on climate change that we argue raises significant questions about what it means to be a \"climate activist\". We have reflected on the creation of the Climate Council in Australia as a mechanism to examine the motivation of the Climate Council's supporters to gain a better understanding of mainstream, organised climate change action and how this might intersect with more diverse and \"everyday\" forms of activism. Rather than theorising these interventions as forms of \"constructive activism\" (Maddox et al., 2016) or \"connective action\" (Bennett and Segerberg, 2012), we have conceptualised this case of climate change intervention as action with(out) conscious activism. The diffuse, spontaneous and yet powerful effects of collective support for the Climate Council with an absence of universal resistance affect leads us to this interpretation. Action with(out) conscious activism can be articulated then as a hybrid of connective action and constructive activism as it captures transformative action that works simultaneously with an arms-length attitude to activism.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: A recent mainstream intervention in Australia involved the creation of a climate change communication institution, the Climate Council, from crowdfunding and support in social media. Such digital action invites further examination of supporters' motivations. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the reported intentions and interests of the Climate Council's supporters to gain a better understanding of mainstream climate change action in digital spaces.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper reports on a survey that was undertaken by the Climate Council with their Founding Friends that sought to understand their motivations for supporting the institution. The survey received over 10,000 responses. From four selected questions, the paper considers all of the quantitative responses while a random sample of 100 responses was taken from the qualitative data.\nFindings: The data show that most Climate Council supporters were motivated to maintain an institution that communicates the impacts of climate change while a minority desired more political engagement by the institution. The results capture an example of action with limited conscious activism.\nOriginality/value: Digital spaces fundamentally need the interconnections between people in order to function, in a similar way to physical spaces. Nonetheless, the power of online action, in all its contradictory forms, should not be overlooked in considering the range of possibilities available to those interested in effecting meaningful social change. Even mainstream interventions, as presented in this paper, that seem to disavow climate change activism on the whole, can nevertheless produce institutional changes that defy national governance shifts.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An investigation of financial literacy, money ethics and time preferences among college students: A structural equation model	[ "Financial literacy", "Emerging markets", "College students", "Money ethics", "Time preference" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The majority of financial consumers today are facing challenges regarding their financial well-being due to the demands of consumer society as well as financial crises prevalent, especially in emerging markets. One of the most significant factors affecting consumers' financial well-being is their financial literacy (Sohn et al., 2012). Financial literacy is a multidimensional concept, which comprises cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral elements (Atkinson and Messy, 2012; Jorgensen and Savla, 2010). Prior studies have demonstrated that low levels of financial knowledge are associated with suboptimal financial behaviors and negative financial attitudes among financial consumers (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2007). The first objective of this study is to validate the link between these three financial literacy components in Turkey, which is a developing country. Although several studies investigated the factors influencing these components in isolation, the interrelationships between them have received little attention, especially for developing countries like Turkey. One of the unique characteristics of Turkey is that it has been one of the fastest growing countries in the world with an average growth rate of 7.4 percent in 2017 (Turkish Statistical Institute, 2018). However, the savings rate which is necessary to sustain this growth remains relatively low (Altug and Firat, 2018). One of the ways to increase the savings rate would be to take measures to foster more desirable financial behaviors and to improve financial knowledge (Ruhaak, 2013). In addition, Turkish consumers have a relatively little experience with formal financial systems and new products such as private pension system, their financial knowledge could be more limited than those in more developed countries (Ozdemir et al., 2015). On the other hand, it is also possible that unstable macroeconomic conditions and prevailing in Turkey could lead financial consumer to be relatively more acquainted with personal finance topics since people have a better understanding of financial concepts (e.g. hyperinflation) when they are confronted to them on a day-to-day basis (Klapper et al., 2015).\nLiterature review and hypotheses: Earlier studies mostly focused on the impact of socio-demographic variables on individuals' financial literacy, generally using the term interchangeably with financial knowledge, thus ignoring the behavioral and attitudinal components. Later on, financial literacy became to be investigated as a multidimensional construct consisting of financial knowledge, attitude and behavior dimensions.\nMethodology: Data\nAnalysis and results: This study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the researchers' model and utilizes AMOS 22.0 for analysis. Initially, the measurement model is examined to confirm the relationship between the measured variables and their latent constructs. Following that, the structural model is examined to test the hypothesized relationships between the constructs (Hu and Bentler, 1999).\nConclusion and implications: The purpose of this study has been to explore the interrelationships between financial knowledge, attitude and behavior, controlling for money attitudes, time preferences and demographics. Consistent with our expectations, students in higher-class ranks were found to have better financial knowledge scores. This could be due to the fact that these students had more opportunities to improve their knowledge through courses and experience or due to higher motivation to learn about financial matters because they are closer to becoming financially independent after graduation. In addition, students with higher parental income had higher financial knowledge scores. This also confirms what prior studies in the literature have found (Chen and Volpe, 1998, 2002; Mandell, 2009). This might be because more affluent families are more likely to discuss financial issues with their children (Jorgensen and Savla, 2010). However, contrary to some studies in the previous literature, no significant difference was demonstrated between male and female students in terms of their financial knowledge levels. This result might be caused by differences of financial knowledge area expertise between men and women. A number of prior studies demonstrated differing interests of men and women on financial topics (Jorgensen and Savla, 2010). For instance, it is shown that women are more knowledgeable about general financial topics whereas men are more knowledgeable about topics related to insurance and personal loans (Danes and Hira, 1987). Consequently, high scores in certain areas of financial knowledge test might be offset by lower scores in other areas.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Financial literacy has a strong influence on financial well-being, and it is a concept especially important for college students who start to develop their financial habits. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial literacy, money attitudes and time preferences among Turkish university students.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 1,443 university students from 14 campuses in Turkey. Structural equation modeling methodology is employed to test the hypotheses.\nFindings: The results suggest that students with higher financial knowledge scores have more favorable financial attitudes and exhibit more desirable financial behaviors. It is also demonstrated that financial attitude is positively related to financial behavior. Furthermore, a significant and negative relationship between the affective dimension of the money ethic construct and financial behavior is found. In contrast, the relationship between the behavioral dimension of money ethic and financial behavior is positive. It is further demonstrated that a present orientation leads to more negative financial attitudes.\nOriginality/value: This study will reveal the interrelationships among dimensions of financial literacy, money ethics and time preferences in an emerging economy with a relatively little experience with formal financial systems and unstable macroeconomic conditions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Higher education for sustainable development at EARTH University	[ "Higher education", "Graduates", "Sustainable development", "Equity", "Agronomy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The humanitarian crisis that took place in mid-2014, when over 46,000 children and young people under the age of 18 and traveling without an adult reached the southern border of the USA, revealed what many analysts had already stated: that the economic development model based on economic policies from the \"Washington Consensus\" and followed by Mexico and Central America over the past three decades excludes broad sectors of the population (Calva, 2012) which end up becoming victims of unsustainability (Kopnina, 2015).\nEARTH university's educational model: EARTH University, founded in 1986, is located in Guacimo, Costa Rica and is dedicated to the education of agricultural engineers (Cortes, 2010). Typically, there are 400 students studying on campus, which is located on a 3300 hectares property, with 40 professors teaching classes. In addition to classrooms, libraries and laboratories, the facilities include housing for students and professors. Various productive activities are carried out in the university's commercial farm. There is a banana operation that exports its products to the USA and Europe; other crops are planted and harvested; and there are livestock and agroindustrial activities (Hardman, 2009; Nicole, 2013).\nMethod: The study was conducted using a mixed methodology that combined gathering and triangulating information through a standardized questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies can produce data which are a useful catalyst for academic reflection (Willmore et al., 2015). The instruments used are described below.\nResults and discussion: Economic impact\nConclusions: The search for alternatives for promoting inclusive development is especially relevant in Latin America, the region with the most social inequality on the planet. Universities may play an important role in this process if the education offered is committed to a sustainable development perspective that promotes economic growth without deteriorating natural resources and that advances social justice.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present the experience of a Central American university that has been successfully advancing an educational model focused on sustainability for over 25 years. Many universities in industrialized nations are assuming a more active role in promoting sustainable development, while in emerging countries, interest in this issue is recent and not well known.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A study was conducted on perceptions of the impact from graduates of EARTH (Escuela de Agricultura de la Region Tropical Humeda) University in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, utilizing a mixed methodology that combined the application of a standardized questionnaire, together with focus groups of graduates, and semi-structured interviews of graduates, their employers, members of their communities, clients of the companies where they work and colleagues.\nFindings: Agricultural engineers who received their education at EARTH University have had a positive social, economic and environmental impact in their communities of origin. They have taken on leadership positions and have become change agents who are aware of the social needs around them. They contribute to economic growth and job creation, and at the same time, promote sustainable management of natural resources.\nResearch limitations/implications: It is a case study and their findings are limited.\nPractical implications: Learning about EARTH University's experience may be useful for other higher education institutions seeking to cultivate this perspective in their degree programs, and for academics who support a fundamental reorientation in higher education aimed at confronting the challenge of promoting sustainable development.\nSocial implications: The results established that most of the agronomists who studied at EARTH University are having a positive economic, social and environmental influence, which appears to be closely associated with their university education. This suggests that higher education may in effect play an important role in promoting sustainability and contributing elements for advancing this perspective in higher education in Latin America.\nOriginality/value: This study of EARTH University's educational model reveals that, in the case of Latin America, education for sustainability cannot be limited to providing training in natural resources management. The promotion of inclusive development supposes that students have learned how to manage productive activities that are economically and socially sustainable, and that students have received a solid education in values, aimed at fostering a commitment to build a fairer society.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring mobile government from the service quality perspective	[ "Service quality", "Mobile government service" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Contemporary society is mobile (Malik et al., 2013; Norazah, 2013). Jahanshahi et al. (2011) note that nearly 80 percent of the world's population has a cell phone. There are nearly 7 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, which the International Telecommunication Union suggests is equivalent to 95.5 percent of the world's population (Mobithinking, 2014), and this figure will grow to 8 billion by 2016 (Malik et al., 2013). Smartphone sales have grown strongly worldwide, with 1 billion sold in 2013 alone (Mobithinking, 2014). By 2016, more than a billion individuals will own smartphones and tablets (HP, 2014). The growing use of mobile devices for accessing information and services increases the appeal of mobile services. This modernization, driven by the fast-paced technology industry, has changed how citizens want to deal with government; they are no longer happy with the traditional way of delivering services (Reddick, 2009). Governments should be responsive, transparent, and available 24/7 (HP, 2014) due to users personalizing their devices and their expectations of new channels of interaction with a government. In response, mobile governments have been developed and deployed in many countries (Malik et al., 2013). Mobile government services are government services that are provided through Government Mobile Application (Apps) or interactive SMS - push and pull service or Government kiosks (TRA, 2013). To cope with this new form of government, many countries established different regulatory bodies that are responsible for establishing policies, guidelines, or standards for both government as a service provider and the telecom industry as a network provider.\nRelevant literature: Mobile government\nMobile government service quality framework: This study defines factors of mobile service that a customer might perceive during evaluations of mobile services. Since few studies report directly on m-government service quality from customer perspectives, the literature from other areas such as mobile commerce, banking, and the internet was reviewed to develop a pool of constructs. Researchers largely use extant service quality models to evaluate mobile-service quality (Negi, 2009). Use of existing service quality models or e-service quality models in the mobile context is making it more difficult to evaluate as mobile service has its their own features (Lu et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2012). This is the reason for the absence of a scale to measure mobile-service quality (Ozer et al., 2013). Thus, studies use disparate service quality dimensions.\nProposed framework of m-government service quality: Although the hypotheses presented above are grounded in the literature and arrived thorough an understanding of the concepts, further empirical testing is required to test these hypotheses to establish the model as applicable in relating the factors that affect mobile government service quality. Table I summarizes these different factors. From the collection of previous research studies, a conceptual model was developed (see Figure 1) to demonstrate that six factors may have an impact on service quality in the context of mobile government.\nResearch implications and future research: A holistic framework was designed for use by researchers as a starting point for future examinations. This paper provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive framework for m-government mobile-service quality, serving as a guideline for clearer understanding and future research. With technological development worldwide in terms of mobile devices, it will be important to consider the dimensions appearing in the framework while developing and evaluating mobile services. This paper offers a number of opportunities for government into the design of mobile services and provides advice on how to design mobile services that customers use. Moreover, it will help the government to evaluate their mobile services later and define areas of improvement in all dimensions. However, future researches are needed to assess the framework and test it in practice. Researchers and practitioners can use the framework for both qualitative and quantitative studies, and adoption of disparate views from stakeholders of mobile services for each dimension will be especially valuable.\nConclusion: Mobile technologies are penetrating world markets quickly. With the growing rate of mobile sales and subscriptions, combined with introduction of m-government in many countries, it is the most lucrative time to research mobile government service quality. Governments use technological advancements to find innovative ways of delivering services, and the demand for better government services is increasing. Huge efforts and budgets are allocated to mobile service initiatives. Therefore, there should be some way to evaluate whether these services perform as expected or not. In the absence of a mobile service model, this paper identifies m-government service quality dimensions that best fit these types of services, helping governments design mobile services and capture customer experiences during their use. The holistic framework combines all dimensions necessary to achieve service quality with such services. Thus, the government can identify the dimension that they need to focus their efforts on, leading to customer satisfaction. The findings from this study extend the understanding of m-government service quality and help in building a greater understanding of the factors associated with the development of mobile services from the beginning.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify service quality dimensions and their sub-dimensions for mobile government services. Despite studies conducted on mobile services, there is lack of a comprehensive framework of mobile government service quality. Researchers and practitioners must outline a taxonomy of mobile government service quality before they can begin to test their effects empirically. It cannot be assumed that e-government is the same as m-government. Therefore, it is important to understand the dimensions that affect mobile government service quality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Mobile government service quality dimensions were extracted from the literature on m-government from its development and transition from e-government to service models being used. This helps understand what service quality dimensions are necessary when creating more efficient, reliable, and responsible forms of m-government. The dimensions are demonstrated within a holistic framework of m-government service quality, presented for both academic and practitioner appreciation.\nFindings: This paper identifies 20 mobile government service quality sub-dimensions classified within six dimensions.\nOriginality/value: The literature on mobile government service quality is scarce. With the expectation of mobile subscriptions worldwide reaching 8 billion by 2016, it is the most lucrative time to be researching how the design of mobile government affects service quality. This paper is the first to provide information on m-government service quality dimensions available for assessment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Work context and turnover intention in social enterprises: the mediating role of meaning of work	[ "Motivation", "Corporate social responsibility", "Employee turnover", "Turnover", "Meaningfulness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Recently, the new sector of organizations that mainly pursue social missions and simultaneously engage in commercial activities has greatly expanded. The organizations are generally called \"social enterprises\" despite taking diverse forms and being referred to by various names (Battilana and Lee, 2014). Over the last decade, social enterprises have emerged as promising vehicles for solving difficult social issues with innovative approaches (Ridley-Duff and Bull, 2015; Santos, 2012). Although the number of people working in social enterprises has increased, these organizations suffer from the challenge of retaining employees (e.g. Caringal-Go and Hechanova, 2018; Ohana and Meyer, 2010). For example, in South Korea - this study's context - a State of Social Enterprise Survey reported that the average employee turnover rate at social enterprises is more than 30 percent (Jeon, 2012). Nevertheless, previous social enterprise studies rarely investigated talent management or retention issues (Doherty et al., 2014; Ohana and Meyer, 2010).\nSocial mission, shared vision and turnover intention: Organizational mission refers to the goals, purposes and values an organization pursues (Stevens et al., 2015; Thompson and Bunderson, 2003). Since an organization's mission embodies whom the organization serves and how (Bart et al., 2001), it helps employees perceive and define their organization. In turn, the perceived mission influences employees' attitudes and behaviors in the workplace (Brown and Yoshioka, 2003; Vardi et al., 1989). Here we focus on the organization's social mission, which is to create value for the public good; this is the foundation and primary focus of social enterprises (Miller et al., 2010). If employees believe that their organization benefits society, they will perceive it as caring and as acting on just principles (Ellemers et al., 2011). This shapes the positive image of the organization and employees' higher identification with the organization, and increases their willingness to remain (Cohen 1993, O'Reilly et al., 1991).\nThe mediating role of meaning of work: Previous studies have proposed and demonstrated that meaning of work mediates contextual factors to produce favorable outcomes in a work environment (e.g. Arnoux-Nicolas et al., 2016). Such results extend and support an early claim regarding the middle state in the psychological process between work-related factors and employees' work outcomes (Hackman and Oldham, 1976). In the same vein, our investigation examines the role of meaning of work as a link between a relevant working context (e.g. social mission and shared vision) and favorable outcomes (e.g. low turnover). This investigation is important, especially in the context of social enterprises. Despite the lack of research in this context, recent research findings show that meaning of work is an important intrinsic need that reduces turnover intention for social enterprises employees (Caringal-Go and Hechanova, 2018). Hence, we propose that the meaning of work plays a mediating role between social mission and shared vision, and turnover intention.\nThe moderating role of shared vision: In addition to the independent effects of social mission and shared vision, we propose that the effects of employees' perceived social mission on meaning of work would be augmented if their perception of shared vision is high in social enterprises. With a strong sense of shared vision, employees perceive and communicate the positive aspects of a given environment (Huang et al., 2017). Employees also shape a common purpose and goals with colleagues (Kirkman and Rosen, 1999), and clearly understand the values the organization pursues (Berson et al., 2015; Pearce and Ensley, 2004). In this case, employees' perceived social mission as a positive dimension of enterprise will be more frequently and clearly communicated within the organization. Accordingly, their sense of social contribution and congruence with the job will be more salient as it is constantly identified. In other words, employees who have a high sense of shared vision will also be able to confirm their job as benefiting society and focus more on the importance of what they do, which encourages higher meaning of work (Grant and Ashford, 2008; Steger et al., 2012).\nMethod: Research setting\nMeasures: Since the scales used in this research were originally developed in a Western cultural context, we developed a Korean version of the questionnaire using the forward and backward translation method with the assistance of three Korean-English bilinguals. Unless otherwise indicated, all items except demographic variables were measured on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).\nAnalytic strategy: We tested our hypotheses with Mplus Version 7.4 using maximum-likelihood estimation. Following Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) two-stage procedure, we assessed the measurement model and a hypothesized structural model. Since our hypothesized model includes an interaction term, we used the latent moderated structural equation method (LMS; Klein and Moosbrugger, 2000) to estimate a fully latent structural model. Compared to the unconstrained approach, the LMS approach is considered to provide more precise estimates of model parameters (Marsh et al., 2006). To test this model, we took several steps to estimate several structural models. First, we tested the hypothesized structural model without including hypothesized interactions, and assessed the fit of this baseline mediation model to determine whether a further step was viable. Next, using the LMS method, we tested the hypothesized structural model with the interaction and confirmed whether a moderating effect existed. Finally, we checked whether the fit of this model was significantly better than that of the previous model by log-likelihood difference kh2 tests (Muthen, 2012). During these procedures, all models specified for hypothesis testing included control variables.\nResults: Measurement model and common-method variance check\nHypothesis testing: To evaluate overall model fit, we tested the hypothesized structural model by first specifying a baseline mediation model in which the two predictors (social mission and shared vision) have both direct and indirect effects on turnover intention via meaning of work. The first model that predicts the partial mediation model had a good fit to the data (kh2[104]=171.37, p<0.001, CFI=0.98, RMSEA=0.05, SRMR=0.03). Next, we tested our hypotheses, and first examined the direct effects of two organizational factors on turnover intention. While shared vision was negatively related to turnover intention (b=-0.22, p<0.01), social mission did not show a significant relationship with turnover intention (b=-0.08, ns), rejecting H1a and supporting H1b. All other standardized path estimates were significant, indicating that social mission (indirect effect=-0.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]=[-0.23, -0.08]) and shared vision (indirect effect=-0.13, 95% CI=[-0.19, -0.06]) are indirectly related to turnover intention via meaning of work. These findings support H2a and H2b.\nDiscussion: Our aim in this investigation is to better understand the conditions that help employees in social enterprises remain in the organization. Study findings emphasize the role of meaning of work as a linking mechanism between organizational context and turnover intention. Employees' perception of social mission and shared vision of the organization have significant and negative effects on turnover intention, and meaning of work positively mediates the effect. Moreover, we find that high levels of both social mission and shared vision have more favorable effects than attainable by a single factor in increasing meaning of work.\nTheoretical implications: Our study extends previous social enterprises research in several ways. Despite recent scholarly attention to social enterprises, research on human resource management has been neglected (Doherty et al., 2014) in favor of issues related to entrepreneurship or governance (e.g. Bidet and Eum, 2011; Wry and York, 2017). In particular, to our knowledge, few studies address employee turnover in a social enterprise context (e.g. Doherty et al., 2014; Ohana and Meyer, 2010). Our research sheds light on the important question of how to retain employees in the context of social enterprises by demonstrating that employees' turnover intention is lessened by organizational context (i.e. social mission and shared vision) and the experience of meaning of work. This calls for more scholarly attention to employee retention in social enterprises. In addition, although social mission, shared vision and meaning of work have been recognized as important factors that distinguish social enterprises from for-profit organizations (Miller et al., 2010; Ohana and Meyer, 2010), how these factors are linked to and processed as employee turnover intention has not been understood. In this study, we connected these individual-level states and attitudes to work-context factors by adopting meaning of work theories, and uncovered the important role that meaning of work plays in reducing turnover intention in social enterprises.\nPractical implications: The findings of this study offer guidance for managers in social enterprises in which financial resources and rewards are limited. First, managers should pay attention to increasing the perceived social mission and shared vision among employees. One important method is to create a clear and persuasive mission statement. Employees must be aware of and aligned with the mission statement in order to form an attachment to the mission (Brown and Yoshioka, 2003). Therefore, it is particularly important to compose an organizational statement rather than an entrepreneur's personal statement (Kirkpatrick et al., 2002) and to openly discuss the mission statement with all employees. In addition, social enterprises should prioritize the convergence of the organization's social mission and individual employees' meaning of work. They should understand that consenting to the mission and personally aligning with it are separate actions. Even if an employee shows respect for the aspirational mission of the organization, failing to find a connection to his or her meaning of work may increase turnover.\nLimitations and directions for future research: This study has several limitations. Due to the relatively short history of social enterprises in South Korea and their difficulties in participating in the survey, our best choice was to use cross-sectional data. We sought to reduce common-method bias through procedural and statistical methods, such as improving scale items to eliminate ambiguity, reducing social desirability and using common-method factor techniques. Nevertheless, we cannot preclude causal inference, which will require additional research that adopts a longitudinal approach in the future. Second, our turnover variable was measured in terms of self-reported intention. Although turnover intention has been considered to be a meaningful predictor of actual turnover (Steel, 2002), we cannot completely rule out the possibility that it does not fully reflect the actual turnover ratio (Allen et al., 2005). Third, our choice of meaning of work scale merits further explanation. Although the three-item scale enabled better access to data sources, we could have used other, more recent, scales (e.g. Steger et al., 2012). Since these were developed based on the limitations of previous scales, future research that uses these scales is needed. Finally, in this study, we investigated only one type of withdrawal behavior: turnover intention. We chose to do so because it is one of the most critical work outcomes that affect a social enterprise's business success. As we confirmed the limited part it plays among multiple layers in social enterprises and employees' job attitudes, further investigation of diverse work outcomes - such as job satisfaction and embeddedness - is essential.\nConclusion: The success of social enterprises is expected to contribute to resolving societal problems and that many nations strive for. Understanding how to retain employees in social enterprises, therefore, is important in terms of effecting positive social change. This study provides empirical evidence that highlights the positive role of social mission, shared vision and meaning of work in the social enterprise sector, and yields practical advice for managers seeking for retaining talented employees. We hope that our findings will encourage future research in the areas of managerial psychology and social enterprise, and help practitioners in social enterprises gain meaningful insights into their careers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of meaning of work as a linking mechanism between the perception of work context and turnover intention within the rarely studied context of social enterprises.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Drawing on meaning of work theories, an integrated research model was developed. Data were collected using questionnaires from 315 full-time employees at 114 social enterprises in Korea. Mediated and moderated structural equation models were used to assess the hypotheses.\nFindings: Social mission was fully mediated by meaning of work to predict low turnover intention, and shared vision was partially mediated to predict the same. The authors also found that the positive relationship between social mission and meaning of work was stronger when shared vision was higher.\nOriginality/value: This study extends previous literature on managerial psychology (i.e. meaning of work and turnover) in the context of a new but increasingly prevalent organizational form, social enterprises. It also provides practical advice for managers seeking to retain employees and encourage the sustainability of the social enterprise sector.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Corporate governance dynamics and wealth effects: evidence from large loss acquisitions and large gain acquisitions in the USA	[ "Board of directors", "Compensation", "CEO", "Chief executives", "Corporate governance", "Equity ownership", "G30", "G32", "G34" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The corporate decision system consists of decision management and decision control. To exercise decision management, managers are authorized to initiate and implement proposals for strategic resource allocation. To practice decision control, boards of directors are granted the right to ratify and monitor these proposals. Fama and Jensen (1983) emphasize the importance of separation and balance between decision management and decision control to build a value increasing corporate decision system.\n2. Data and methodology: We use major acquisitions announced between 1994 and 2001 found in the Securities Data Company's (SDC) US Mergers and Acquisitions Database for three reasons. First, acquisitions over this period have been well examined in recent research (Moeller et al., 2005; Cremers and Nair, 2005; Dong et al., 2006; Masulis et al., 2007; Guo and Masulis, 2015). Second, the acquisitions are proposed prior to the requirements regarding the composition of boards of directors and board committees imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and by the NYSE and NASDAQ in 2002. These requirements encouraged homogeneity among firms in the mix of inside and independent directors serving on boards and committees. By examining acquisitions prior to 2002, we are better able to ascertain the significance of the composition of boards and committees on strategic risk taking as boards and committees will display a greater range of configurations in board composition (Guo and Masulis, 2015). Third, this period records a dramatic growth in merger and acquisition activity in the US market. Moeller et al. (2005) find economically significant increases in the number and the dollar volume of deals (in constant dollars) in the late 1990s. Not only have the number of total deals increased, they also report an increasing number of economically significant size acquisitions constituting 10 per cent or more of the pre-acquisition size of the acquiring firms[2]. Moreover, the consensus of the literature has been that acquisition activities engaged by firms over the period examined negatively impacted, on average the shareholders' wealth of the acquiring firms (Andrade et al., 2001; Moeller et al., 2005).\n3. Empirical analysis and discussion: 3.1 Descriptive statistics from univariate comparisons\n4. Governance structure changes after major strategic acquisitions: When major strategic acquisitions are completed and proceed to the implementation stage, the focus of the board should turn to effective monitoring of the implementation of the acquisition. This effective monitoring in the post-acquisition phase could require additional expertise and more independence on the board. Consequently, we examine whether major strategic acquisitions trigger a post-acquisition rebalancing in the configuration of corporate governance elements in a direction consistent with increasing the effectiveness of the board's monitoring. In addition, given the large economic damage to shareholders, large loss acquisition firms have incentive to make changes in their internal governance system that will reduce the likelihood of future reoccurrences. We examine changes in the post-acquisition board structures of firms making large loss acquisitions compared to a control sample of major acquisition firms that have not recorded large losses.\n5. Conclusions: Jensen (1993) points out that, in general, the decision management and decision control of firms do not respond with timely strategic responses to significant changes in their environments that demand major restructuring and refocusing of the firm. Choi and Szewczyk (2018) find an imbalance in the configuration of corporate governance elements favoring the CEO in firms making major strategic decisions. They argue that this imbalance in the firm's corporate governance dynamic creates an environment that encourages necessary but risky strategic decision-making by the CEO. However, these imbalances can also make it easier for the CEO to gain acceptance of major strategic proposals that are hubris driven or self-serving. In this paper, we examine the relationship between imbalances in the elements of corporate governance favoring CEOs in firms making major strategic acquisitions and their impact on shareholders' wealth. We focus on firms making large loss major acquisitions and large gain major acquisitions and identify corporate governance elements that are associated with incurring large losses and creating large gains in shareholders' wealth.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: When major reallocations of the firm's assets are strategically necessary, the corporation's decision system is perhaps put to its severest test. This paper aims to argue that a relevant balance in the corporate governance structure is highly important to assure those strategic decisions taken are successful and economically beneficial to shareholders' wealth.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study examines US firms making major acquisitions resulting in large losses or large gains and identify weaknesses and strengths in their respective governance structures.\nFindings: Firms making large loss acquisitions demonstrate a balance in the corporate governance structure that heavily favors the CEO. Firms making large gain acquisitions present a more efficient balance in the configuration their corporate governance dynamics. Finally, the authors present evidence that making a major acquisition triggers rebalancing of the corporate governance dynamics to increase the effectiveness of monitoring the implementation of the acquisition. The authors find firms making large loss acquisitions make more extensive changes in the professional expertise on their boards.\nOriginality/value: This study provides a broad understanding of the role of corporate governance by examining overall governance dynamics and offers how one corporate governance structure does not fit all firms, at all times, in all circumstances. Instead, timely imbalances within the configurations of corporate governance dynamics over the major strategic acquisition process can be consistent with the goal of increasing shareholders' wealth.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The refinement of design for manufacture: inclusion of process design	[ "Design", "Product management", "Product design", "Process management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The flow from product design, through process design, to process execution is regarded as the product realisation process. Currently multiple methods such as activity overlapping, modular system configuration, and technologies for early information interpretation are used to meet the objectives of this product realisation process, such as time to market and quality. Proliferation of products coupled with price pressure suggests a need for greater attention to the design of flexible and productive processes. The ability to design effective, efficient processes that are easily transferred and ramped - up to normal operating conditions is difficult to imitate; and as such will provide a competitive operating edge (Pisano, 1997; Hayes et al., 2005; Pisano and Wheelwright, 1995).Process design and product design are two very different functions. \"Process development is a technically difficult and organisationally complex activity in its own right, and operates in a much richer context than is generally portrayed in the simultaneous-engineering literature\" (Pisano, 1997, p. 31). But there are few publications that focus on process development in the business domain. As Pisano (1997, p. ix, Preface) notes, \"... process development involved specific technical and managerial challenges that remained unaddressed by the existing bodies of literature\". This has not been rectified so far, as Hayes et al. (2005, p. 195) observed:The development of new operating process technologies, however, has engendered far less excitement among academics and practitioners, let alone the public at large. This is perhaps not surprising because we, as consumers, often come into direct contact with innovative new products in our daily lives but rarely glimpse the operating processes hidden behind facility walls.Design for manufacture (DFM) specifies a set of design rules to meet or improve production conditions, with the objective of increasing a product's manufacturability. DFM endeavours to create decision-making methods to incorporate manufacturing issues into product design choices (Hayes et al., 2005). Originally DFM, as an approach to smoothing the product design and production interface, mainly refers to product design for process execution (a single interface), for instance, product design to enable a fixture-less assembly process (Whitney, 1988, 1995), not to the interactions between process design and other functions in the product realisation chain. Even within this limited scope, existing work mainly discusses DFA (design for assembly) used for assembly processes but has left DFT (design for testability or testing) used for test processes with little investigation. This is perhaps because most work is based on studies in machining or assembly plants (Whitney, 1988; Nevins and Whitney, 1989; Whitney, 1995; among others).In the new dynamic manufacturing environment, DFM has a significant positive effect on time-to-market, and frequency of introducing new products and processes, and the higher the \"intensity\" of DFM (e.g. duration of use), the better (Youssef, 1994, 1995). However, no literature explores the DFM variants among the three functions, over two interfaces, in the product realisation chain.The dearth of existing research focusing on the role of process design motivates this study. Our first objective is to better describe the activities that occur between product design and launch. Similar exploratory case studies, such as that by Terwiesch et al. (2001) focus upon a situation where there is not a clear division between product design and process design. This leads to the second objective, which is to refine the DFM concept in the context where such distinctive design elements exist. We find that traditionally the product realisation process has been treated as having a single design-manufacturing interface, which is imprecise. Instead, two interfaces (product design - process design; process design - process execution) should be investigated; accordingly the single-interface DFM concept should be developed into multiple \"design for\" variations such as product design for process execution, process design for process execution, and product design for process design. Furthermore, reversal of this order - such as process design for product design - can help address issues such as how to make process design more adaptive to potential product design changes. All these speculative concepts are novel yet worth exploring, providing the impetus for this research. Finally, these concepts need to be linked to the organisational routines (levels of functional coordination) and the enablers for these concepts need to be identified (the various levels of process engineering capabilities present).Owing to the exploratory nature of the research, a case study method is used to address the gap in knowledge concerning process design and the new variants of DFM. Initially a theoretical background is provided by reviewing issues relevant to the product realisation chain and techniques existing in the relevant literature. A description is then given of how this research was conducted and the business context for the subjects. The collected data from an electronics plant is provided and analysed along with some refined categories and concepts, including various \"design for\" elements. These empirical findings are discussed and some theoretical implications are given. Derived managerial implications and potential directions for future research provide the conclusion to the paper.\nTheoretical background and literature review: Product realisation\nResearch method and context: Data collection and analysis\n\"Design for\" considerations: the case study: Arising from the research were various concepts and an awareness of the distinction among product design, process design, and process execution in the product realisation process and the inadequacy of the single-interface DFM to explain the observations made. Following an establishment of how the full product realisation process occurs is a discussion of the phases that AES passed through and the strategic outcome.Introduction to the product realisation process in AES\nEmpirical findings and theoretical discussions: The case study shows that due to the existence of three distinctive functions (including process design) in the product realisation process, there are two major interfaces (product design - process design; process design - process execution) and thus two major information transformations (from product spec to process design spec, and from process design spec to process execution procedure). So there is a need to transform the dyadic relationship (between design and manufacturing) into a triadic relationship (among product design, process design, and process execution), requiring refinement of the traditional DFM concept. Since there are two \"design\" functions, DFM should consist of two \"design for execution\" elements - \"product design for process execution\" and \"process design for process execution\". As they are performed by different groups and have different concerns, these two \"design for execution\" elements should be studied separately as we have done in this case study. Most studies of the traditional DFM concept are only about \"product design for process execution\" in assembly or machining plants as discussed in the literature review.Furthermore, the case study shows that the \"design for design\" elements, or the interactions between product design and process design, are critical for expediting product realisation. Such considerations are beyond the scope of the design-execution relationship. Product designers can incorporate design rules (e.g. constant positioning of test pads and installation of self-testing functions) to make process design easier and faster. Meanwhile, capable process designers can take initiatives to prepare proactively for potential product designs, including using earlier product design information and making the designed process more flexible and insensitive - able to easily cope with design changes. Precisely speaking, \"product design for process design\" is a real \"design for\", designing to aid the downstream function, whereas \"process design for product design\" is a pseudo- or quasi - \"design for\", designing to quickly deal with the outputs of the upstream function. These two \"design for design\" elements differ from some concurrent engineering practices, which emphasise concurrency of product design and process design. While modular design and the coordination between upstream and downstream functions have been explored previously, the \"design for design\" concept is novel and important and highlights the bi-directional interaction between two distinctive design functions.Furthermore, the \"process design for product design\" concept is similar to, but not equivalent to, the set-based approach (Ward et al., 1995; Liker et al., 1996). The set-based approach assumes the upstream function (product design) takes initiatives to purposely provide options for the downstream function (process design) to passively follow, whereas the \"process design for product design\" concept assumes the downstream function takes the initiative to reserve a set of options and to utilise other methods to prepare for future changes from the upstream function. In this sense, variety (or flexibility) is built into the process developed to handle product variety with less cost and more speed. When needed, previously prepared \"potential process variety\" (created through proactively preparing for changes) can be turned into \"demonstrated process variety\" (the implementation of one option) to deal with process variety in the factory. This is aligned with the Law of Requisite Variety (Ashby, 1956) which states that to control a complex system, the controlling system must generate at least as much variety as the system being controlled.The case study also reveals that the levels of engineering capability have positive links to the implementation of \"design for\" elements. In the primary stage when process engineering is not strong, the plant relies on product designers to \"design for\" production and to provide process equipment. Because product design and process execution are too dissimilar to communicate with each other (one a \"design\" function, providing technical information, the other an \"execution\" function, receiving technical information), the \"product design for process execution\" is a top-down download of physical materials with instructional information. Only after the process design function has grown to a certain capability level, and has become established in a plant, can in-house process design, and the interactions between the two \"design\" functions, occur. The process design function plays a key role in raising the technical content in the communication among functions and the effectiveness of engineering realisation. When process design can take initiatives to \"design for\" both execution and design functions the engineering capability has strengthened enough to be a competitive advantage.This empirical data and further theoretical discussion supports the conceptual framework shown in Figure 4. The long-term view of plant and functional management is the imperative to build capability in process design and engineering. The core of the framework is comprised of three key variables (part of the focus of this study), process design capability (e.g. using early information, modularly designed testing system), functional coordination (e.g. product and process design rules and mutual adjustments), and effective implementation of \"Design for\" elements (from the traditional DFM to process design for process design). The first variable enables the last two, and in-depth coordination is the foundation for the effective implementation of \"design for\" elements. The final outcome is improved interfacing activities and overall performance of product realisation to meet strategic objectives.Antony (2001) argues that if the in-house engineering team applies the technique of design of experiments then process performance can be significantly improved, highlighting the need for process design for process execution. Gonzalez-Benito (2005) claims manufacturing proactivity (implementing advanced production management practices) has a positive link to business performance. A strong process design function working together with production can reinforce such proactivity through proactively dealing with product design. Also, a formal approach to overcome the barriers across the design-manufacturing interface and the empathy from design towards manufacturing are facilitating factors to achieve a smooth production start-up (Vandevelde and Van Dierdonck, 2003). The \"design for\" elements establish such a formal approach and enhance such empathy.Five coordination mechanisms for the interaction between design and manufacturing were identified by Adler (1995): none, standards (e.g. design rules), schedules and plans, mutual adjustment, and joint teams. The higher degree of novelty (in terms of content of interaction problems) and/or the higher degree of analysability (in terms of difficulty of searching solutions to problems), the more in-depth coordination is required. In AES, the interaction among product design, process design and process execution covered all the coordination forms: standards (e.g. various design for rules, such as the location and size of test pad), schedules (e.g. the time frame for pilot and production runs), mutual adjustment (e.g. \"design for design\" adjustments for self-test programs and early information releasing and processing), physical joint teams (e.g. product designers coming to Singapore for pilot runs) and virtual joint teams (product designers and process designers working together to finalise test spec through frequent electronic interactions). It becomes clear that inclusion of process design does not limit the depth of coordination.The present analysis may be compared to the study in which Terwiesch et al. (2001) applied Adler's framework to a ramp-up project (having low novelty and moderate analysability) in a hard-disk drive plant in Singapore and found that the low-interaction methods of coordination, such as standards and schedules, were used. In the company they studied, product design and pilot run were carried out in the US, whereas the pre-production and production were run in Singapore. They claimed that in companies which are \"shifting some of their pilot line activity to their manufacturing facilities\", \"the degree of coordination goes down\". This finding is not in accord with the case in AES (running both pilot and production in Singapore). Maybe this is because Terwiesch et al. (2001) only looked at the design-manufacturing interface but ignored the product design - process design interface, or, the process design functions in the plants they studied were not playing significant roles. Both the importance of the process design function and the clear establishment of this new interface are evident in the AES case - differentiating the two similar research topics and providing impetus for further research involving distinct process design functions.\nConclusion: Through an in-depth case study in an electronics plant we reveal the existence and functions of four \"design for\" elements (product design for process execution, process design for process execution, product design for process design, and process design for product design) and the link between the implementation of these \"design for\" elements to the levels of functional coordination and process engineering capability.Management should properly define the role and methods of process design and support these with the required resources. Pisano (1997) acknowledges that building capabilities in process development is no easy task for managers, as researching, developing and implementing new process technology occurs in dynamic environments. Accordingly process design should be regarded as a proactive and significant intermediate component in the product realisation chain to enable the \"design for\" mechanisms for both upstream and downstream components. A complete understanding of the concept of design for manufacturing (DFM) and careful implementation of various \"design for\" practices can improve the effectiveness of both design and execution.The exploratory nature of this qualitative research and the sample size suggest two directions for future research. Empirical studies with larger sample sizes can be used to further verify the empirical findings. Replication of empirical studies from other industries would also demonstrate the generalisability of these findings. Quantitative modelling with mediating variables and constructs should lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of this topic.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - There are three distinct functions in the product realisation chain (product design, process design, and process execution) and thus there are two interfaces (product design - process design; process design - process execution) rather than one (product - manufacturing). This fact supports a need to shift from dyadic relationships to triadic relationships and from the traditionally single interface concept of design for manufacture (DFM) to multiple \"design for\" elements. This study seeks to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Through an in - depth case study in an electronics plant and qualitative data analysis, we reveal the existence and functions of these \"design for\" elements are revealed, and also the link between the implementation of these elements to the levels of process engineering capability.\nFindings: - Proactive and capable process engineering allows improvement of technical coordination among functions. This enables the \"design for\" mechanisms for both upstream elements (product design) and downstream elements (process execution); this has a positive impact on the performance of product realisation (especially time to market) and thus operational competitiveness.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Since this is a single case study, future empirical research with larger sample sizes should provide further validation of these findings and demonstrate better generalisability of developed concepts.\nPractical implications: - This paper highlights several initiatives, conceptually linked to the appropriate \"design for\" elements, which may be applied in manufacturing settings to support product realisation objectives. Process design, as a significant and proactive intermediate component, should be given sufficient attention and investment.\nOriginality/value: - The study expands the existing DFM concept to several new \"design for\" concepts and discusses some implementation-related issues.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Narratives: the rhetoric of intentional action	[ "Narratives", "Rhetoric", "Interpretive methods", "Intentional actions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nNarratives and Rhetoric: Basic notions\nNarratives and interpretation of human action: An epistemological debate in social sciences\nPhilosophical foundations of interpretative and narrative methods on social sciences: Alfred Schutz: Alfred Schutz (1899-1959) was an Austrian philosopher, economist and banker. In philosophy he followed the phenomenological school of Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) whose aim was to stablish the foundations of knowledge and science on the study of our mental activities and acts. Husserl friendly commented that \"Schutz was a banker by day and a phenomenologist by night.\" Schutz, after attending in Viena a lecture by Max Weber on the interpretation of human action, considered that it was a right approach, which requires a philosophical foundation. This subject becomes the central topic of his research and his paper common-sense and scientific interpretation of human action (1954), included in Alfred Schutz (1990) Collected Papers I, sixth edition is a basic reference, from which I will comment some subjects.\nConclusions and further research: This paper uncovers two main properties of narratives. First, the rhetorical character of narratives, which allows us to include them in the studies of rhetoric. Second, the relations of narratives and intentional action, which open a phenomenological approach to their study. It offers new research subjects on the studies of mental projects in everyday life and formal projects in management activities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to clarify that narratives have a rhetorical dimension, whose study has to be considered an important part of rhetoric (this claim is not accepted by important scholars). The arguments are based on the properties that narratives are very persuasive and that they are implicitly involved in the three species of rhetoric (deliberative, judicial and celebrative) introduced by Aristotle in his Rhetoric. Second, narratives are strongly related to the concept of intentional action or human action that has a purpose, a mental project and the execution of the act, such it is defined in the classical paper by Alfred Schutz common-sense and scientific interpretation of human action (1953). This property relates narratives with phenomenology, epistemology of social sciences and management research and practice.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research is a theoretical work based on the study of central concepts of rhetoric, narratives, historiography and epistemology of social sciences and it uncovers the narrative aspects involved in intentional action. As a theoretical study, it does not include empirical studies, but it points out some kinds of management activities, such as creating projects and case studies.\nFindings: It uncovers the relationships between rhetoric and narratives, and between narratives and intentional action. If offers a new conceptual frame that can be very productive.\nOriginality/value: This conceptual approach is new. It clarifies important misunderstandings about narrativity, facts, meanings and interpretations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Pricing strategy for companies with mixed online and traditional retailing distribution markets	[ "Pricing", "Distribution channels and markets", "Retailing", "Game theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: A number of statistical reports from the industry and the government show that commerce on the internet is growing at an attractive rate. For instance, according to The 2006 State of Retailing Online, the ninth annual report published by Shop.org and conducted by Forrester Research (Shop.org, 2006), online retail sales are expected to hit $211.4 billion in 2006, a 20 percent gain over revenues of $176.4 billion in 2005. Again according to the Department of Commerce, quarterly e-commerce sales in the third quarter of 2006 increased 20.4 percent from the third quarter of 2005. As a consequence, the rapid development of commerce on the internet has made direct online sales attractive for retailers and individuals, for many reasons. First, the expanding role of the internet in consumer and business procurement activity has created unprecedented opportunities for companies to have easy and vast access to customers. Secondly, the economics of materials delivery has been revolutionized by third-party shipping such as Federal Express and UPS. As a result, many companies are considering selling directly to the end customers through online channels or pursuing both online and traditional retail channels simultaneously.When a company employs a multi-channel strategy, an important question is what pricing strategy should be adopted so that the company can optimize its profit. In our research we focus on the pressing question of a multi-channel pricing strategy under different market structures. We use a game theory model to specifically study the following questions: Under the Bertrand, Stackelberg and channel integration market structures, what is the optimal pricing strategy that the multi-channel company should adopt? Under which market structure can the multi-channel company draw the largest profit?The rest of our paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a summary of the relevant literature. Section 3 presents our modeling framework. Section 4 studies the pricing strategies under three different types of market structures - the Bertrand, the Stakelberg and the channel integration structures - and shows the important findings. Section 5 illustrates our findings by means of numerical examples. A conclusion and managerial implications are presented in Section 6.\n2. Literature review: In this section, we review the relevant marketing literature to position our paper. We review some of the papers that examine issues that arise when firms sell product through multiple channels. In particular, we focus on those papers that explicitly account for the presence of the online channel.2.1 Multi-channel retailing\n3. Model framework: Here we consider a market setting where a company sells a product through two independent channels: an online channel and a traditional brick and mortar channel. Both channels sell the same product and compete with each other (see Figure 1).In this market, customers can purchase the product from either the online channel or the traditional retail channel. When customers purchase a product from the traditional retail channel, they are assumed to be heterogeneous in the value v that they obtain from this purchase. We denote the value obtained by consumers from a product purchase on the traditional channel as v, and for analytic simplicity, assume that v is uniformly distributed within the consumer population from 0 to 1, with a density being 1. All consumers with positive consumer surplus (i.e. v is greater than the price of the product) will buy this product.Suppose the product is sold through an online channel at price p1 and through a traditional channel at pricep2. Therefore, the consumer surplus in the traditional channel would bev-p2. The value obtained by consumers when the product is purchased online would be less than v. We capture the decrease in value by the parameter th(0<th<1), which represents the web-product fit. Therefore, the value of the product when purchased online isthv, and the resulting consumer surplus isthv-p1. All consumers whose traditional channel consumer surplus is positive will consider buying from the traditional channel. Similarly, all consumers whose online consumer surplus is positive would consider buying from the online channel. Since in our model consumers can buy from either channel, they would prefer the channel where they can derive more surplus. If v-p2>=thv-p1, then the consumers would more likely purchase from the traditional channel. The marginal consumer would be one whose valuation vdrequals(p2-p1)/1-th. We can show that whenvd<vr, all consumers with valuation in the interval [vd,vdr] prefer to buy through the online channel, and all those in the interval [vdr,1] prefer to buy through the traditional channel. Consumers whose valuations are found in [0,vd] will not buy the product from either channel. However, whenvd>vr, no consumer wants to buy through the online channel and all those consumers whose valuations are in the interval [vr,1] would buy through the traditional channel. Chiang et al. (2003) have used a similar market structure. The corresponding model is provided in Appendix 1.In the next section, we assume that the marginal cost for the product sold through the online channel is c1(the shipping costs are included) and the marginal cost for the product sold through the traditional channel isc2. If the multi-channel company integrates its two channels, it will seek a unified and centralized price solution to maximize the total profit of the integrated system. Otherwise if the two channels are not integrated (i.e. the multi-channel company lets these two channels work independently), competitive prices are then sought for the two individual channels. For the competitive pricing case, we consider in this paper the two basic structures for most of the competition between online and traditional channels: the Bertrand and Stackelberg market structures.In what follows, we first consider optimal pricing strategies under the Bertrand and Stackelberg market structures. We then analyze the equilibrium prices for the channel integration structure.\n4. Pricing strategies in different market structures: 4.1 Non-integrated competitive pricing\n5. Numerical examples: While our findings in propositions can be derived analytically, the analytical expressions are too complex to provide meaningful insights. Thus we now present some numerical examples to illustrate the magnitude of multi-channel company profit under the three market structures. To focus on analyzing how the channel integration impacts the multi-channel company's total profit and to make the results comparable, we set marginal cost c1=c2=0 without loss of generality and allow the parameter of th to vary. Kacen et al. (2002) did an empirical study to show that customer acceptance of web-based purchases (web-product fit, th), based on actual empirical analysis of data, turns out to be larger than zero and less than one (Table I).Since th is larger than zero and less than one, we vary the value of th from 0 to 0.99, and substitute these values into the company profit functions under the three different market structures: the Bertrand, the Stackelberg and the channel integration structures.Figure 2 shows that the channel integration market structure provides the largest profit to company, when the company uses a mixed channel to sell its product. This is expected as channel integration effectively alleviates the channel conflict and represents the best solution for a multi-channel company. The gaps among the cases of channel integration profit, Stackelberg profit and Bertrand profit reflect the value of channel integration. These gaps show that as channel competition increases (increasingth), the value of channel integration increases for the multi-channel company.\n6. Conclusions and managerial implications: The contributions of this study are both theoretical and substantive in nature. In this paper, we demonstrate that an optimal pricing strategy exists under different market structures for a multi-channel company, and we further obtain equilibrium prices for these market structures. We first derive pricing strategy for the two types of channels (online and traditional retail channels) under three different market structures (Bertrand, Stackelberg and channel integration), and then we do comparative statistics to determine an optimal strategy decision. Our results indicate that when a company that is using or planning to use multiple channels to sell its product, the optimal pricing strategy for the company to adopt is that when the marginal cost for the product sold through the online channel is far larger than the marginal cost for the product sold through the traditional channel, the online price is higher than the traditional retail price; when the marginal cost for the product sold through is equal to or less than the marginal cost for the product sold through the traditional channel, the online price is lower than the traditional retail price. These pricing strategies hold for both the competitive and integrated marketing structures. In the business market, K-mart (bluelight.com), Barnes & Noble, Jo-Ann Stores and Room Store are some of the largest examples which separately run the two channels and apply this type of pricing strategy in their businesses. However, channel integration is of particular interest currently because recent trends indicate that an increasing number of firms have started to integrate the traditional retail and online channels together to avoid channel conflict and to gain benefits from channel integration. Our results also show that the optimal marketing structure for the multi-channel company to adopt is the channel integration, which can effectively synchronize the price strategies of its two channels to manage consumer demand and maximize firm profit. Our numerical examples further illustrate and verify our analytical findings and provide more managerial interpretations and insights.Our research can be extended in several directions. First, in this paper, we assumed that consumers have perfect information. However, information with the consumers could be incomplete, and we can explore the competitive pricing strategy under incomplete information settings. Second, our analysis is based on a single period model. Future research could examine the mix pricing strategy in a dynamic multi-period environment. Finally, the coordination of online and traditional retail channels is of interest to both researchers and practitioners. Further research can be carried out with the advanced methods and plans used by online channels to coordinates with traditional channels.The managerial implications of this research are various. In today's business environment, with the rapid development of the internet, companies and individuals are increasingly using the internet to sell directly to customers. The rise of dual channel competition provides a motivation for many companies to better understand the sales and profit implication of this phenomenon. Since the online sales do compete with traditional retail sales and this competition is becoming more and more intense with the rapid development of the internet, it is managerially important to develop a mechanism of cooperation between the online and traditional channels. This is an intuition-based conclusion. In our paper, we use mathematical model to show that this intuition can be made objective by a channel integration mechanism. This step toward channel integration can effectively increase customer satisfaction levels and promote customers to shop via all channels. By strategically implementing a channel integration policy and by setting up the optimal pricing strategy, the whole company can maximize its profit in a competitive market. In the business market, Wal-Mart, Gap, Home Depot, Circuit City, Electronics Boutique, and Charles Schwab are some of the largest examples of integrated companies that have successfully synchronized pricing strategies and operations across their two channels. Many more other companies such as Answerthink, Gibson, Land's End, and Macy's are engaging in or planning to engage in channel integration.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework to help business marketers with a mixed online and traditional retail channel (multi-channel company) to find the optimal pricing strategy and market structure in order to maximize their profits.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A game theory model is developed to determine the optimal pricing strategy for the multi-channel company.\nFindings: - It was demonstrated that an optimal pricing strategy exists under different market structures for a multi-channel company. When a company uses multiple channels to sell its product, the optimal pricing strategy is to use a low-high pricing strategy if the online marginal cost is equal to or less than the traditional marginal cost, or a high-low pricing strategy if the online marginal cost is far larger than the traditional marginal cost. Furthermore, in order to maximize its profit, the company using multiple channels should adopt channel integration as the optimal market structure.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The present study assumed that all consumers have perfect information. However, information with the consumers could be incomplete. It is recommended that future research explore the pricing strategy under incomplete information settings.\nPractical implications: - The paper provides a very useful model framework, pricing strategy, and market structure for business managers who are using or planning to use multiple channels to sell their products.\nOriginality/value: - This paper fills a conceptual and practical gap for a structured analysis of the current state of knowledge about multi-channel pricing strategies. It provides practical and solid advice and examples demonstrating the application of the different types of pricing strategies for business managers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Star power: the effect of star rating on service recovery in the hotel industry	[ "Service recovery", "Perceived justice", "Customer defection", "Peripheral route", "Star ratings" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: With the prevalence of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in recent years, researchers have paid particular attention to issues involving customer satisfaction, including service quality, service failure and service recovery (Tsao and Hsieh, 2015; Tsao et al., 2015; Tsao and Hsieh, 2012). The inseparability of the service industry ensures a relatively high degree of contact between service providers (personnel or facility) and customers, thus increasing the likelihood of service failure (Lewis and McCann, 2004; Petzer and Steyn, 2006). Service recovery is a means of compensating for service failure, and the quality of service recovery exerts a significant impact on customer satisfaction, which in turn influences subsequent conversion behavior (Keaveney, 1995). Unlike customers in other service industries, hotel guests must come into the service venue in person, having direct contact with service providers (Tefera and Govender, 2015; Mersha, 1990). Furthermore, demand fluctuations in the hotel industry can create an imbalance between supply and demand, thereby increasing the likelihood of service failure (Lewis and McCann, 2004). The fact that production and consumption are so closely linked together, means that the customers affected by service interruptions (and even other customers) are often present when service failures occur. This can greatly affect whether customers perceive the recovery as fair, and consequently affects the effectiveness of recovery efforts (Mattila and Ro, 2008).\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: 2.1 Hotel rating, service failure and perceived justice\n3. Methods: 3.1 Research design\n4. Analysis and results: 4.1 Manipulation check for the experiment\n5. Discussion and conclusions: 5.1 Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study investigated distributive justice (DJ), procedural justice (PJ) and interactional justice (IJ) in the recovery of service in the hotel industry as well as their effects on post-recovery satisfaction and the subsequent behavior of customers. This study also sought to elucidate the moderating effects of star ratings on these influences.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A field experiment design with 424 consumers using structural equation modeling was adopted to test the study hypotheses.\nFindings: DJ, PJ and IJ were all shown to have a significantly positive effect on post-recovery satisfaction, which in turn has a significantly positive effect on customer loyalty and significantly negative effect on customer defection. Analysis on the moderating effects of star ratings also revealed that the relationship between DJ and post-recovery satisfaction during recovery efforts is stronger for hotels with higher star ratings than for hotels with lower star ratings. During recovery, post-recovery satisfaction was shown to be more effective in reducing customer defection from hotels with lower star ratings than from hotels with higher star ratings.\nPractical implications: This study provides a reference by which hotels can match their service recovery mechanism to their star rating to retain customers and increase customer loyalty in the event of service failure.\nOriginality/value: This study confirms the importance of IJ in the service recovery processes in the hotel industry and provides verification that the star rating of a hotel plays a crucial role as a moderator between recovery effort and recovery effectiveness.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Developing a business process for product development	[ "Business process management", "Performance management", "Supply chain management", "Product development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: In an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing global marketplace, whereby product life cycles are reducing and technological change is the new constant, organizations have identified strategic supply chain relationships as a major source for competitive advantage (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Dyer, 2000). Interest in the concept of supply chain relationships is becoming more and more prevalent, with companies becoming more aware of the opportunities and benefits of collaborative relationships, both within their own organizations and beyond (Soosay et al., 2008). In the last decade, research has revealed that effective supply chain relationships can create value by combining resources, sharing knowledge and increasing speed to market (Barringer and Harrison, 2000; Doz and Hamel, 1998).A rationalisation of the supply base is occurring with increasing focus on developing strategic supply chain relationships with fewer suppliers. Characteristics such as long-term relationships, two way communication, cross-functional teams and high levels of trust are correlated with key characteristics of competitive advantage, such as flexibility, joint cost reduction, decreased time to market and increased responsiveness to customer demand (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Phillips et al., 2006; Soosay et al., 2008). This new relationship dynamic has dramatically changed the competitive landscape and has paved the way for organisations to engage more meaningfully and collaboratively as supply chain partners who can collectively remove transactional waste and sustain joint competitive advantage. One key initiative that organisations are beginning to reap real benefits from is that of early supplier involvement (ESI) within the new product development (NPD) process (Cousins et al., 2007; Humphreys et al., 2007). However, whilst early research has shown ESI within the NPD process to positively influence cost, service and quality within the supply chain, limited empirical studies have been conducted (McIvor et al., 2006; Tam et al., 2003).The paper conducts an exploratory case study into ESI within NPD within Genco. The central objective is to provide a better understanding of ESI within NPD by investigating its key influencing factors. Moreover, the degree of ESI that exists between a multinational organisation and its key suppliers in terms of timing and extend of integration is studied.This paper provides unique empirical insights into a division of a world leading engineering firms \"centre of excellence\", who specialise in the design and manufacture of diesel and natural gas powered electrical generators (known as Genco. throughout this study for anonymity). In addition, this is one of the first papers known to develop a business process for ESI utilising continuous improvement methodologies within the NPD process. Yet, the use of such methodologies is increasingly been called for Bhatt and Troutt (2005), Chakraborty and Tan (2012) and Schroeder et al. (2008) with limited and mixed empirical findings into the influence of ESI within NPD, this study assesses the key benefits and impediments to a successful implementation of ESI within NPD.\n2 Literature review: A considerable amount has been written documenting the benefits, pitfalls and process of early integration of suppliers within the NPD process. Handfield et al. (2000) propose continuous long-term improvements of supplier performance is only achieved by:* identifying where value is created in the supply chain;* positioning the buyer strategically in line with value creation; and* implementing an integrated supply-chain management strategy to maximise internal and external capabilities, throughout the supply chain.Today supply-chain strategies are moving in a clear direction to transform buyer supplier relations, away from the traditional adversarial relationship, to more collaborative relationships (Cousins, 1999; Cox, 1997; Kraljic, 1983).Recent developments in sourcing strategies need to be understood. Adopting supplier rationalisation and categorisation approach as an integral part of a company's sourcing strategy is deemed vital (McIvor et al., 2006). The move towards increased supplier integration in the 1990s spawned a spreading strategy known as supply base rationalisation. The underlying rational of this approach builds on the idea that a firm only has a limited amount of resource; working more closely with fewer suppliers, allows a firm to focus on its people. This strategy also generated benefits in terms of supplier leverage and use of supplier skills resulting in significant cost savings. It is believed this strategy normally only realises short-term cost savings and in order to sustain this advantages they require principals such as lean manufacturing and production systems to extend the benefits (Cousins et al., 2007). The term supply base rationalisation is in fact a misnomer, while firms have indeed reduced the number of direct or strategic suppliers; in a majority of cases the actual number of suppliers within the overall network remains the same as some suppliers become indirect. Therefore, as well as production systems the product development team should have a strong connection with the supply portfolio and should develop suppliers to increase value addition throughout direct and indirect suppliers. Handfield et al. (2000) highlights important steps in order to develop strategic suppliers. Key steps include:1. identifying critical commodities;2. identifying critical suppliers; and3. forming a cross-functional team.This team should establish a supply-chain strategy and define rules of procurement so as business objectives are clear. The chosen method to identify supplier value and create purchasing strategies is the commodity portfolio matrix (Kraljic, 1983).2.1 Kraljic positioning & category spend\n3 The case organisation: The case organisation (Genco.) is a division of world leading engineering firm, who specialise in the design and manufacture of diesel and natural gas powered electrical generators. The UK division is respected as a \"engineering centre of excellence\" whereby research design and development excellence is married with manufacturing expertise to allow a seamless transition from concept to design to manufacture. Collaboration and cross-functional team working (internally and externally) is slowly forming part of the fabric and culture of the organisation, but change is taking time. Over 2,000 people are employed at this facility with over 90 per cent of its output exported across the world.Traditionally NPD engineers in Genco's power division would design product for multiple brands, geographical regions, production facilities and dual source supply.The design activities would traditionally occur within a departmental silo with limited internal linkages cross-functions and limited linkages with the external supply chain. Continuous business transformation philosophies have started to breakdown silo barriers and have begun changing the design process. The design process now occurs within concurrent product and process development (CPPD) teams made up of a matrix of functional disciplines with growing involvement from third party supplier engineers.A further transformation has occurred within Genco which has created product platforms, which align with distinct manufacturing value/supply chains. A process of integrating and aligning the product development system and production systems is now standard practice. This transformation has simplified the design scope and created numerous opportunities for engineers to engage with the customer, the product, the process and the suppliers of distinct value chains, creating a renewed search for market sustainable competitive advantages.A core strategy for collaborative product platform development is to involve suppliers earlier in the development cycle (Lindquist et al., 2008). As the value chain complexity of each product platform has been simplified, early supplier integration (ESI) has been highlighted as a possible source of process differentiation. Now that each product platform within the electric power division has a clear product brand, production facility, and a dedicated source of supply, product development moves from the traditional silo function to a lean collaborative innovative process this process change has become easier to leverage. Effective integration of suppliers into the product value/supply chain will be a key factor for manufacturer in achieving the improvements necessary to remain competitive (Handfield et al., 1999). The highly respected Toyota product development system is an example of such gains. Toyota has simplified product development to consist of 13 leanprinciples, with number eight being \"to fully integrate suppliers into the product development team\".At Toyota, suppliers are valued for their technical expertise; and are involved from the earliest stages in concept development of a product (Morgan and Liker, 2007). Questions in this field which arise include, which suppliers should be fully integrated? What degree of responsibility should be delegated? At what time should suppliers be involved in the development process, and should suppliers be members of the project teams?As suppliers have a large and direct impact on cost, quality, technology, speed and responsiveness of the buying companies. (Ragatz et al., 1997). Initially, this investigation will look at the commodity sourcing strategies of Genco. by building a model of the supply base. Second, the current level and timing of supplier integration will be defined and correlated against the sourcing strategies.\n4 Methodology: To perform this study the case study method of investigation was chosen for a number of reasons (Yin, 1984). First, there is a growing number of academic publications utilising the supplier development models, such as the purchasing portfolio within the literature, however, little is known about their actual use in practice (Gelderman and van Weele, 2002). Second, the case method will provide rich insights into the NPD business unit.The structured methodological approach adopted was the continuous improvement approach (DMAIC). This approach is gaining momentum in industry, but limed research, particularly empirical has been conducted utilising this methodology (Haque and Pawar, 2003; Linderman et al., 2003; Schroeder et al., 2008). This approach will allow an ESI model to be created for the case organisation and will provide an insight possible future large-scale surveys and in-depth study of specific hypothesis.4.1 Team formation\n5 Discussion of results: The central objective of this study was to provide a better understanding of ESI within NPD by investigating its key influencing factors. Moreover, the degree of ESI that exists between a multinational organisation and its key suppliers in terms of timing and extend of integration is studied. Investigation of ESI within NPD was conducted through a Six Sigma methodology adopting contemporary supply management principles and practices, such as Kraljic's portfolio.Initial findings suggested the presence of the characteristics of ESI. For example, the findings indicate the presence of a number of the characteristics of ESI consistent with the literature including supplier involvement at the concept stage of design, cross-functional involvement and high levels of information sharing (Ragatz et al., 1997).5.1 Critical suppliers timing\n6 Conclusion: The study has highlighted a number of key lessons for organisations that are considering the adoption of ESI:1. The changes to achieve effective ESI often drive change to the core of an organisation and have implications for the way in which an organisation is structured, individual roles, responsibilities, reward systems, reporting relationships and cultural identity of the firm. The changes are systemic in that modification to structural arrangements for example, automatically has a knock-on effect upon individual roles, responsibilities, reward systems and reporting relationships. It is essential to ensure the adoption of a holistic approach to managing the entire process.2. ESI requires a cultural change within the buyer and supplier organisation where there is enhanced understanding of the concept of collaboration. It is acknowledged that effecting culture change is often regarded as being a mammoth task, which is made even more difficult by the deeply embedded culture that has evolved over a long-period of time. This problem is further exacerbated when trying to achieve cultural alignment among the supply chain members. A culture in both the buyer and supplier organisation must exist in order to facilitate and encourage joint problem solving and decision making across intra organisational boundaries.The findings have stressed the need for a culture that breaks down the internal barriers that exist within the traditional functional view of the firm. It is not enough to change the attitudes of the purchasing personnel but the attitudes of the other business functions and senior management must also be changed in the pursuit of collaborative buyer-supplier relations. It requires a culture permeating the organisation hierarchy that encourages and values collaboration.Senior management has a critical role to play in facilitating ESI. Within the organisation at the core of this paper, strategy has been formulated by a small team of senior managers, more or less in isolation from those whose support is a vital ingredient for implementation.Furthermore, it has been formulated by a team who are often perceived to make decisions which display a lack of knowledge and understanding of working processes, practices and relationships throughout the organisation, or of the implications of their decisions in terms support structures necessary to facilitate implementation. Thus, considering the inter- and intra-organisational implications of ESI, it is essential that organisations pursue a much more participative approach to the strategy making process. At the same time, senior management need to exercise what Brown and Eisenhardt (1995) describe as subtle control. This term refers to the ability of senior management to have the vision necessary to develop and communicate a distinctive, coherent concept of the product. In the case of product development, this means meshing firm competencies and strategies with the needs of the market to create an effective product idea.When pursuing ESI it is essential to assess the impact that this will have upon those who will be most affected by it. Effective collaboration between individuals and groups places a new found emphasis upon skills that were not so necessary when engaging in the more traditional adversarial relationship. In particular, assessing the impact on those most affected by new developments is likely to reveal a need for training to permit skill acquisition and development in a variety of areas including team working, problem solving, negotiation and conflict management.6.1 Future research directions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Organizations are identifying strategic supply chain relationships as a major source for competitive advantage. Interest in the concept is becoming prevalent in many industries, including new product development within the engineering sector. Collaborative supplier relationships are being used in new product development as a tool to share the development burden and reduce the development life cycle. The purpose of this paper is to develop a business process to act as a roadmap for optimum supplier integration.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - An Engineering case organisation (Genco Inc.) is explored to provide an understanding of the extent and timing of supplier involvement, within new product development. Subsequently a high level business process is developed to govern early supplier integration, within a product development phase gate model.\nFindings: - The findings suggest and the business model strives to create a more holistic view of supplier integration; extending the scope beyond the individual firm-centric factors, the paper develops the importance of supplier collaboration, design for supply chain and consideration of the overall value network. The business process creates a move towards defining supplier commodity types pre-project launch, strategically timing and managing the extent of supplier integration.\nPractical implications: - The business process can be used to govern supplier integration by categorising commodity type. Each supplier classification can be phased into the development project to maximise the efficiency of development collaboration. The resulting process also acts to share accountability to create future roadmaps and accountability for future competitive advantage.\nOriginality/value: - Currently, to the best of the authors' knowledge, an individual case organisation has not been documented with regards the extent of supplier involvement or timing, nor has an early supplier involvement (ESI) business process been developed.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Increasing autonomy in publically owned services: The case of community health services in England	[ "Autonomy", "National health service", "Community nursing", "Marketization" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The past two decades have seen a trend in the management of public services to introduce mechanisms found more usually in the private sector. A prominent aspect of this so called \"New Public Management\", \"NPM\", (Hood, 1991; Clarke and Newman, 1997) is the introduction of different levels of institutional autonomy combined with market incentives in an attempt to improve public services. The objectives of these changes are to improve the internal efficiency of the public organisations; improve user satisfaction and improve public accountability and transparency (Le Grand and Bartlett, 1993; Pearson, 2000; Boyne, 2003a). The economic theory behind these policies is that bureaucratic and monopolistic public management causes inefficiency (Buchanan and Tollison, 1984), and that increasing the autonomy of public organisations in the context of a degree of market competition should improve both financial and quality performance by creating stronger incentives for managers to induce their organisations to perform better (Le Grand and Bartlett, 1993).\n1. Autonomy in the English NHS: Foundation Trusts: NHS Foundation Trusts (FTs) were first set up in 2004. They were conceived as a new kind of organisational form, still part of the NHS, but modelled on \"co-operative and mutual traditions\" (Allen et al., 2012). The formal governance structures of FTs are different from other NHS Trusts in two distinct ways: first, FTs have greater autonomy, and less accountability to the central NHS. Second, they are required to have members and governors drawn from staff, patients and local residents, which were new classes of stakeholders for NHS hospitals. The government saw the new status of FT as offering the potential for more rapid creation of new services, greater patient involvement in decision making about services and a more business-like and efficient approach (DH, 2005). Although FTs have greater freedom to manage their finances, including being able to keep any surplus they make, as well as being able to borrow money from whomever they wish, they are required to use their assets solely as a means to improve the healthcare services they deliver and cannot distribute any surplus to staff or members. The increased autonomy from the DH granted to FTs was twinned with increased accountability at local level. Although Allen and Jones (2011) report some evidence to suggest that FTs used their new found autonomy to develop services that were more responsive to their local populations, there is no evidence that the change of status from NHS trust to FT has in fact engendered improvements in performance. Superior performance pre-dated elevation to FT status, and was one of the key factors in allowing those hospitals to be granted FT status (Verzulli et al., 2011). Moreover, there is no clear evidence to date that accountability to local communities has been improved by the addition of governors and members to the governance structures of FTs (Allen et al., 2012). In general, empirical evidence about the impact of reforms to the public sector suggests that the availability of resources and the quality of management appear to influence performance more consistently than changes to regulation, organisational structure and market structure (Boyne, 2003b).\n2. Changes in the organisation of CHS: In order to understand the latest set of organisational changes to CHS, it is necessary to briefly explain the recent history of these services in the English NHS. CHS have been subject to large scale organisational changes in the past two decades. On the introduction of the internal market to the NHS in the early 1990s, CHS were transferred to NHS Trusts. CHS could be the sole services in a trust or combined with acute hospital services and/or mental health and learning disability services. In the late 1990s under New Labour, CHS were integrated with commissioners of services in PCTs. By the mid-2000s, New Labour had decided that CHS should be organisationally separated from commissioners so that they would be subject to greater autonomy and supply side competition. One potential organisational form for CHS was the creation of CFTs which would have the same governance structures as existing hospital and mental health FTs. Alternatively CHS could integrate with acute services (vertical integration) or with other community-based services such as mental health and/or social care providers (horizontal integration). Another potential organisational form for CHS was to \"spin out\" of the NHS to form independent social enterprises run by their staff (Spilsbury and Pender, 2015).\n3. Study design and methods: In 2007 the Department of Health initiated a pilot programme to establish a number of CFTs, with an evaluation of the programme commissioned from us in 2008 (Allen et al., 2011). In April 2008, some of these pilots became arms-length autonomous provider organisations (APrOs) within their PCTs. These organisations operated under a trial period of \"separation\" with autonomous governance as a precursor to converting to full CFT status. APrOs that were able to demonstrate managerial ability and financial stability and which were approved by the regulatory body Monitor, would be eligible to become CFTs from April 2009. One of the aims of the evaluation was to explore the reasons why providers of CHS aspired to become CFTs rather than taking on other organisational forms, and to see what impact this decision had on the way they organised their services.\n4. Results: 4.1. Consideration of organisational form\n5. Discussion and conclusion: Our study has limitations because the proposed changes to allow the formation of CFTs did not go ahead, so it is not possible to find out what the effect of such changes were, including both whether increased organisational autonomy led to better performance or whether accountability to local people was improved. Nevertheless, we were able to investigate the attitudes of all the providers of CHS to the plans to increase their managerial autonomy, whether simply by separating from PCTs (which were becoming mainly commissioning organisations) or by becoming CFTs (NHS organisations with greater formal autonomy from central control). Thus we were able to investigate the importance of autonomy to NHS managers. As no CFTs have yet been formed, this study provides the only evidence about increasing autonomy for CHS in England.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore government efforts to enhance the autonomy of community health services (CHS) in England through the creation of Foundation Trusts status. It considers why some CHS elected to become nascent Community Foundation Trusts (CFTs) while others had not and what advantages they thought increased levels of autonomy offered.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data are drawn from the evaluation of the Department of Health's CFT pilot programme. Participants were purposively selected from pilot sites, as well as from comparator non-pilot organisations. A total of 44 staff from 14 organisations were interviewed.\nFindings: The data reveals that regardless of the different pathways that organisations were on, they all shared the same goal, a desire for greater autonomy, but specifically within the NHS. Additionally, irrespective of their organisational form most organisations were considering an almost identical set of initiatives as a means to improve service delivery and productivity.\nResearch limitations/implications: Despite the expectations of policy makers no CFTs were established during the course of the study, so it is not possible to find out what the effect of such changes were. Nevertheless, the authors were able to investigate the attitudes of all the providers of CHS to the plans to increase their managerial autonomy, whether simply by separating from PCTs or by becoming CFTs.\nOriginality/value: As no CFTs have yet been formed, this study provides the only evidence to date about increasing autonomy for CHS in England.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An integrated framework for eChain bank accounting systems	[ "Accounting", "Information systems", "Data security", "Worldwide web", "Value chain" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The banking sector is undergoing significant changes as the international economy and dynamic business environment expands towards value chain system (Soliman and Youssef, 2003; Chen et al., 2005). The widespread relaxation of the financial system and regulation has resulted in more efficient financial markets and financial technology (Ramani and Pavri, 1994; Stoneman, 2003; Wu et al., 2004). As internet technology evolves, different kinds of electronic banking technologies that breach geographical, industrial and regulatory barriers, creating new products, services and market opportunities, and developing a great information and system-oriented business and management process (Swierczek and Shrestha, 2003; Walker and Johnson, 1996). Supply chain management is understood as the integration of suppliers, distributors, and customer logistical requirements into one cohesive process (Chandra and Kumar, 2001; Rao, 2000).Today's, intensive changes and the fierce market competition compel process supply chain companies to break through these obstacles by integrating management strategies, human factors, production processes and control techniques (Extrem, 2003; Jonathan, 1999; Clark, 1994). Some of the consequences of lack of co-ordination in redefining these business processes are difficulties in accessing information, which slows down the supply chain development process and creates unnecessary rework, with a corresponding related cost. One of the famous accounting information system examples is Formosa Plastics Group, a Taiwan-based multinational conglomerate, which is insistent on timely and effectively closing its conglomerate financial accounting activities within one working day (Wang, 2001a, b). Real-time information access and delivery helps industries better react to customers' management needs (Gupta, 2000). To achieve managerial and data sharing integration, banks must coordinate with their clients to build architectures and reference models that rapidly integrate value chain system.Many bank accounting information system managers will not make the switch to client/server-based or Web Services financial systems until these applications can guarantee the security, interoperability, portability, transaction integrity and monitoring capabilities found in mainframe systems. Previous standards-based distributed computing architectures such as the Object Management Group's Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), or the Open Group's Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) found difficulty in delivering comprehensive interoperable services in a multivendor heterogeneous computing environment (The Common Object Request Broker Architecture and Specification, 1995; Johnson et al., 1995; Garceau et al., 1999). Therefore, the traditional methods for enterprise financial reporting and analysis tended to be manual, time-consuming and costly. Managing the supply chain has become a way of improving competitiveness by reducing uncertainty and enhancing customer services (Chandra and Kumar, 2000). Financial reports that are difficult to deliver, interpret, analyze and compare can increase the perception of management risk. For example, enterprises might keep providing goods to outside vendors without knowing that the vendor's credit rating has turned bad (Wang, 2001a).In order to collaborate with value chain system, large banking companies are replacing custom-coded in house systems with methods that bridge incompatible computing systems. As central factory and satellite vendor relationships have required more emphasis in value chain system, the need for platforms that communicate across differing accounting and financial systems has grown more acute (Essinger, 1993; Morisi, 1996).This paper focuses on the bank supply chain management process to alleviate unnecessary rework and enhance business opportunities for both the central factory and its suppliers. Current bank accounting information systems that seek to link servers over the internet to exchange data face the following challenges.First, information technology (IT) investments are one of the well-recognized keys to competitive advantage in the banking sector. Existing banking systems, practically always homegrown, remain huge and cumbersome, requiring intense maintenance and lack flexibility. The investments already made in existing systems cannot be discarded and constitute a \"legacy\" burden (Lin et al., 2000). In addition, each bank customers or its value chain partners might build their own applications with their own proprietary operating systems, application programs, and data files. Therefore, bank sectors must enable cooperative processing across heterogeneous computerized environments (Lin et al., 2000; Petrie, 1996).Second, the \"check\" has been the most common payment instrument when a central factory (hub) pays its satellite vendors under the supply chain system. However, the check issuance through review, signing, mailing, collation, registration, clearance and account registration process is time and labor consuming for both the hub and its suppliers. Though \"remittance\" has become an alternative for the \"check\" in recent years, the data included in remittances does not carry valuable information such as account cancellation and transaction types. Both the hub and its suppliers need to spare extra labor and time to work on heavy bank reconciliation. Moreover, as the remittance has less creditability than checks, suppliers have difficulties applying for bank loans, which increase their operating costs and financial burdens. The current system causes much trouble for enterprises to borrow adequate capital, but weakens their competitiveness. To respond to the close cooperation between upstream and downstream manufactures in the supply chain system, a member of the supply chain must be regarded as a core member of the financial product design team. As eCBASs expand, banks can closely work with the central factory (hub) to acquire order information, and create loan opportunities with high quality services such as fund receiving/payment, production financing, account write-off, and capital allocation (Curran et al., 2003; Xu et al., 2003).Third, a bank assesses the loan risks according to the historical financial status of creditors and the value of the collateral that they provide. Due to the lack of production process information, commercial banks usually offer capitals to its customers at accounts receivable (A/R) stages. Because the value of collateral is contingent, the risks are sometimes uncontrollable. With eCBASs, financial institutes can provide quick loans with low-cost capital to domestic small and medium sized suppliers at different stages in the operation (e.g. stock forecast, acceptance order, invoice and account receivable). eChain bank accounting information systems could offer e-financial services to enterprises (including central factory and satellite vendors) at early production stages to satisfy the clients' loan agreements, financial allocation, and global fund management needs. The objectives of bank accounting information systems are to provide an integrated diagnostic view of a online, real-time system that can closely monitor the whole supply chain process with early warning of internal control weaknesses and financial integrity. Many banks are now recognizing the importance of ensuring system controls such as embedded modules or pre-warning modules. Liang et al. (2001) indicates that after the design phase, the control mechanism will cost four times as much to retrofit controls into a system; and after implementation it will cost 16 times as much to retrofit controls into a system. Therefore, the internal control embedded modules should be implemented as early as possible during the system development life cycles.Fourth, bank accounting information systems deal with sensitive information that requires high levels of security. The fundamental property of the internet design is at the core of risk exposure on the net. Financial institutes must pay special attention to the security (e.g. confidentiality, entity and data authentication, and non-repudiation) of internet information flows such as payments and fund transfers.We propose an open system oriented approach - eCBAS that is based on web services, web intelligence, eXtensible business reporting language (XBRL), and pre-warning systems to solve the above-mentioned problems. Modern ITs now provide a creative open environment that support the bank information exchange standard, and link to a supply chain platform, integrate messages from the \"external\" information flow to combine the \"information flow\" and \"cash flow\" data to enterprise A/R, accounts payable (A/P), financial trading accounts, greatly enhancing the interaction between the users and the bank (Figure 1).One of the important eCBAS missions is to interoperate among various software applications, running on a variety of platforms and/or frameworks to facilitate the electronic exchange of standard business documents between third parties. Instead of scrapping the legacy systems, this framework takes advantage of web services, XBRL, web intelligent, pre-warning systems and security (Booch, 1991; Clark, 1994) to improve the quality and accuracy of accounting information for specific industries and can be viewed as an enabling technology for continuous reviewing and monitoring (American Institute of Certified Public Accountant, 1998; Booch, 1991; Foster et al., 2002)The eCBAS plays a more effective role in modern organizations than the existing traditional bank accounting information because it can provide additional attributes as follows.1. Integrated value chain system. With a vast majority of core platform applications already completed in the form of vendor-developed components as mentioned earlier, future bank accounting information systems should consider using common, industry-wide domain interfaces. By linking supply chain applications with Web Services, XBRL and web intelligence through eCBAS, a bank can now acquire purchase order information from the central factory, predict suppliers' future cash inflows, verify their credibility, and then pre-loan capitals to the suppliers for procuring required materials. The eCBAS can further handle the receivables/payables settlement and write-off services between the supplier and central factory consistently after the products are delivered, furthermore, significantly improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the entire supply chain.2. Excellent fund payment and allocation. By adopting Web Services and XBRL technologies, financial institutes will speed up and reduce the expenditure for collecting and processing data. For example, banks can work closely with hubs (central factory) linking to its platform to enhance the processing efficiency of A/R, A/P and financing for trade and strengthen the circulation of capital. The changes in information transfer have enabled banks to capture the movements of creditors and the dynamic change in both credit lines and interest rates. The focus has been changed to the sources of reimbursement. That is to say, the bank can capture the sources and timing of reimbursement through control over information.3. Rapid financing service. The application for financing must undergo a long process and be reviewed by management at different levels. Consequently, the enterprise has hard time to acquire the funds rapidly and invest them into the production timely. Since the payment receivable is usually paid by remittance, most of the small and medium enterprises have no physical bills or lines of credit (L/C) as a financial basis when they need the financing support of the bank. Fortunately, under the eCBAS environment, the bank is able to quickly access all purchase and payment databases by closely monitoring the value chain workflow, which could assist its customers with systematically integrated financial services.4. Global capital logistic service. To assist the enterprise in the global market development and the worldwide production and distribution deployment, banks must support the enterprise with rapid international capital logistic service and exchange rate hedging tools to improve its competitive strength.5. Reducing cost. Financial institutes minimize their customer (including hubs and satellite vendors) costs by allowing easier, more automatic composition and providing financial information. Particularly in electronic banking systems, the extra cost at the client side should be reduced as much as possible. Users can easily take advantage of electronic banking with the standard infrastructure and software that is already available. With the advantage of finance going electronic, banks can improve the quality of services and enhance the operating efficiency, reducing the operating cost of the bank and effectively improving customer loyalty. This makes the electronic banking service more attractive, but might unfortunately have an impact on the security level this service can offer.The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we start by explaining the basic architectures of eCBASs framework. The main architecture requirements in an electronic banking system are identified. Section 3 presents application of the approach through a case study of a major Taiwan's commercial bank - HNCB Bank and discusses the advantage of eCBAS. Finally in Section 4, we formulate some concluding remarks. These include an indication of the current best practices, and some suggestions for future improvements.\n2 eChain bank accounting systems framework: The eCBAS framework consists of five important emerging technologies: web services, XBRL, web intelligence, pre-warning, and security. The framework is shown in Figure 2, which provides a creative open environment that can support the industrial exchange standard, and link to client's platform. Using this eCBAS, banks can acquire the order/production information from the central factory through the supply chain system and approve quick loans for the suppliers to procure required materials before A/R stages. Furthermore, eCBAS manages the receivables/payables settlements and write-off services between the suppliers and central factory consistently right after the products are delivered, and by doing so, improves the efficiency and competitiveness of the entire supply chain significantly.As shown in the diagram, the components of eCBAS framework include the following important technologies.2.1 Web services transaction platform\n3 An application design example - eChain bank accounting system: Considering both the demand of the enterprises for the rapid capital control in response to the globalization and liberalization of the industry, and the demand of the consumers for the integrated and convenient financial products and services, bank sectors in Taiwan should change along with the competitive economic environment and should not limit their services to traditional deposit and loan service providers.3.1 eChain: integrated services for supply chains\n4 Summary and discussion: In this paper, an eCBAS framework was proposed to support, design, and implement the eCBAS models. Apart from the conventional views of bank organization, function, this framework integrates a value chain product view to stress that all value chain activities should be coupled together including account activities and fund capitalization. The architecture also brings forth an integration infrastructure, in compliance with web services, XBRL standards, to provide services necessary to integrate distributed data sources which enable commercial bank to regulate the impacts of market changes.For the purpose of concept verification, we present a HNCB's prototype bank accounting systems based on eCBAS framework. The successful implementation of distributed object systems will enable banks/customers with an increased level of comfort that transactions continue to be processed in an accurate, complete and highly controlled environment regardless of where they are located or who has designed the application.This eCBAS approach depends on web services, XBRL, web intelligence, Plug-and-Play pre-warning function and security systems to enable the interconnections of customers, branches, bank managers, and the rest of worldwideweb. Finally, the successful introduction of any new IT requires careful consideration of the organizational change. The personnel within the bank sectors, as well as its extended value chain partners, must be prepared to understand how to utilize the technology effectively, how it will enable them to better fulfill their roles and responsibilities, and how the technology enables the goals and objectives of the enterprises.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The eChain type of bank accounting information system (eCBAS) is proposed to facilitate standard business document electronic exchanges between banks, central factories, and their satellite vendors in the virtual world. This framework integrates various software applications, running on a variety of platforms and/or frameworks facilitating the electronic exchange of standard business documents.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Instead of scrapping legacy systems, this framework takes advantage of web services, XBRL, web intelligent, pre-warning systems and security technologies to improve the quality and accuracy of accounting information, supporting continuous monitoring and auditing.\nFindings: - Through eCBAS, financial institutes can now closely monitor the cash or production flows of their satellite vendors. Commercial banks can shorten the loan application periods and also offer quick loans with low-cost capital to domestic small and medium satellite vendors at different operating stages.\nOriginality/value: - This framework integrates a value chain product view to stress that all value chain activities be coupled together including account activities and fund capitalization. For concept verification, this paper presents a HNCB prototype bank accounting system based on the eCBAS framework. The successful implementation of eCBASs will provide banks/customers an increased level of comfort allowing transaction processing to be continued in an accurate, complete and highly controlled environment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Path to effective mobile advertising in Asian markets: Credibility, entertainment and peer influence	[ "China", "Culture", "South Korea", "Attitudes", "Mobile advertising", "Incentive" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Mobile communications have enjoyed phenomenal growth around the world over the past decade. According to the International Telecommunication Union (2017), at the end of 2016, there were over 7bn mobile subscriptions, which is equivalent to 95 percent of the global population. The high penetration rate, along with unique characteristics, makes mobile devices an effective tool to reach targeted consumers and deliver advertisements (Tsang et al., 2004). Moreover, the soaring popularity of smartphones and tablets and proliferation of applications also helped to fuel a jump in the mobile advertising market. According to eMarketer (2016a), the global mobile advertising spending will surpass $100bn for the first time in 2016, accounting for more 50 percent of all digital advertising expenditure and almost 20 percent of total ad spending. By 2020, mobile's share will climb to 73.7 percent of digital and 34.2 percent of total media ad investment.\nResearch background: Mobile advertising in China and South Korea\nMethods: Procedure and sampling\nResults: Descriptive results\nDiscussions: This study aims to examine how beliefs, attitude and other influencing factors affect mobile advertising effectiveness in two important Asian markets of China and South Korea. Overall, we found that in both countries, beliefs about mobile advertising significantly influence ATMA, which in turn positively and significantly influences consumers' intention to use mobile advertising. Intention to use mobile advertising further significantly and positively influences consumers' behavioral responses after exposing to mobile advertising. These results are consistent with previous research and provide additional empirical support for the theories of TRA and TAM in the mobile advertising context.\nTheoretical implications: This research offers theoretical contributions to the advertising literature by proposing an integrated model of mobile advertising effectiveness taking the uniqueness of the mobile medium into consideration. Build upon the theoretical frameworks of TRA and TAM, the proposed research model delineates the relationships among beliefs, attitudes and behavioral responses. However, despite the widespread application of the TAM in the new technology adoption research, it is argued that factors influencing acceptance of individual new medium can vary depending on the technology, target users and the context (Moon and Kim, 2001). In other words, the basic constructs of TAM, PU and PEOU may not be sufficient to explain users' acceptance of mobile advertising because of the unique characteristics such as being highly interactive, personal and location sensitive. Taking this fact into consideration and by extending research on the TAM, this study developed and tested a model to predict the intention to use mobile advertising and purchase intention thereafter. The proposed model integrated key constructs from the mobile acceptance research stream into the theoretical frame of the TAM. We proposed that in addition to PU and PEOU, credibility and irritation are important belief factors influence consumers' ATMA. Furthermore, we incorporated incentive, subjective norm and privacy concerns as predictors for consumers' behavioral intention. The results of this research study provide support for our integrated model. As such, this research extended the TAM framework and broadens its applications to the mobile environment.\nManagerial implications: Mobile advertising has increasingly become a promising advertising channel for marketers to reach targeted consumers and to generate new revenue streams worldwide. Managerially, understanding customers' beliefs, attitudes and behavioral responses toward mobile advertising is critical for multi-national companies expanding into China and South Korea. Such knowledge can assist these companies in developing and implementing specific mobile advertising strategies to target Asian consumers. Some practical suggestions are as follows. First, providing useful and relevant information in easy to use format is an effective way to cultivate positive ATMA and ultimately drive consumers' behavioral responses. Relevancy is the key to increase the perceived information usefulness of mobile advertising. Also, with the advancement of location-based technology, marketers could position consumers and reach them with location-relevant information in the right place at the right time through mobile advertising. Marketers should also make sure user interface of the mobile ad is simple to use, including streamlining transaction interaction and giving users control over the process.\nLimitations and future directions: This research contributes to the mobile advertising literature and provides needed insights for companies and organizations that seek an effective way integrate mobile advertising into their marketing communication mix. However, there are several limitations associated with this study. First, this study was conducted among Chinese and South Korean consumers and may not reflect the views of consumers in other countries. In addition, in order to have a better understanding of the impact of culture, it would be interesting to conduct similar studies in cultures with large cultural distances.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose and test an integrated model of mobile advertising taking into consideration the unique characteristics of Asian consumers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The survey research method has been used to collect data among young mobile users in China and South Korea. A structural equation model (SEM) technique is employed to analyze the data.\nFindings: The results show that Chinese and South Korean consumers share similar beliefs and attitudes toward mobile advertising. Perceived informational usefulness, perceived entertainment usefulness, perceived ease of ease and credibility emerge as significant belief factors positively influencing attitude in both countries. Irritation, on the other hand, negatively predicts attitude. Attitude toward mobile advertising and subjective norm emerge as the strong predictors of consumers' intention to use mobile advertising in both countries. The effects of perceived social usefulness on attitude and incentive on intention to use demonstrate different patterns between the Chinese and South Korean samples.\nPractical implications: The findings are particularly relevant to international marketing managers. To effectively reach Asian consumers through mobile, increasing credibility and entertainment values are the keys. Meanwhile, providing relevant information in easy to use format is also an important issue.\nOriginality/value: Based on the established advertising theories, this study proposes an integrated model to examine how beliefs, attitude and other influencing factors affect mobile advertising effectiveness among Chinese and South Korean consumers. This research provides insights into the uniqueness and effectiveness of the new mobile medium as opposed to traditional media. Furthermore, this study deepens the understanding of advertising hierarchy effects in an international setting by examining similarities and differences between China and South Korea. Most of existing cross-cultural studies choose cultures that are sharply contrast to gain significant findings and to support established cross-cultural theories. It is also very important for researchers to examine cultures that are relatively similar to gain a better understanding of the impact of culture. The study answers such a call.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Sequential expansion in a foreign market: Knowledge drivers and contingencies of establishments of additional subsidiaries	[ "Knowledge-based view", "Strategy", "Subsidiary", "Post-market entry", "Sequential expansion" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Expansion in foreign markets is a key issue of international business, and identification of essential drivers helps the multinational firm to assess modes of expansion. Drawing on the knowledge-based view (Grant, 2002), this study contributes to theory on international expansion by extending the understanding of drivers of multinational firms' post-entry expansion in foreign markets. A conceptual model of drivers of investment sequences is developed, and the study identifies major reasons why a multinational firm establishes additional wholly owned subsidiaries in a foreign market. Such investments are important manifestations of corporate strategy, as they entail a great deal of commitment and equity risks (Anderson and Gatignon, 1986; Ghemawat, 1991; Li and Rugman, 2007; Lu and Beamish, 2001; Wooster et al., 2016).\nTheoretical background: A multinational firm's initial investment in an important foreign market is often followed by further investments Mudambi (1998). For example, a firm that has established a wholly owned subsidiary often follows the same path and sequentially invests in more such subsidiaries. Thus, in accordance with behavioral theory (Cyert and March, 1963), the firm chooses familiar investments to reduce risks and uncertainty in a path-dependent way.\nDevelopment of hypotheses: Conceptual model\nMethods: Sample and data collection\nResults: Descriptive statistics and correlations\nDiscussion: Discussion of the findings\nConclusions and limitations: Research on international expansion pays just limited attention to the important issue of sequential post-entry establishments of subsidiaries in foreign markets. In particular, no previous study examines whether local market experiences associated with corporate strategy are essential drivers of sequences. There is also a lack of studies of contextual boundaries for effects of broad and deep experiences.\nManagerial implications and future research: To make a sound decision, a multinational firm evaluating a further subsidiary investment in a foreign market needs to assess the extent of its broad and in-depth market experiences associated with both corporate strategy and the previous wholly owned subsidiary in the market. The firm is advised to evaluate whether the product scope is broad enough and whether it has enough experiences related to the previous investment to justify establishment of an additional subsidiary.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: A multinational firm's expansion in a foreign market is a key issue of international business. The purpose of this study is to extend the understanding of essential drivers that will facilitate firm's assessment of alternative modes of sequential expansion.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study applies the knowledge-based view and explores a multinational firm's sequential post-entry expansion in a foreign market. Event histories of Swedish industrial firms' establishments of wholly owned subsidiaries in Germany, the UK and the USA were explored using Cox regression.\nFindings: Broad market experiences stemming from corporate strategy and deep experiences from the preceding subsidiary increase the likelihood of a sequential investment. Effects of broad experiences are contingent on the context specified by the geographic scope of the firm and its general subsidiary experience.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study contributes to international expansion theory and integrates sources of knowledge originating from strategy theory and internationalization theory. The study shows that the dual approach is needed to understand international expansion.\nPractical implications: In evaluating a further subsidiary investment in a foreign market, the multinational firm is advised to assess whether it possesses enough market experiences to justify the investment. The experiences should be associated with corporate strategy, the previous wholly owned subsidiary and the context specifications identified in the study.\nOriginality/value: The study is unique, as it addresses the simultaneous impact of broad and deep market experiences. Also, the inclusion of central context specifications makes the study novel.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Communication needs and food allergy: a summary of stakeholder views	[ "Food safety", "Communication", "Food testing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: At present, best practice in communication and information provision about food allergies has not been identified, and the information needs of different stakeholders and end-users has not been systematically assessed. It is therefore important to define the most important issues regarding effective communication and food allergies, to understand the barriers to developing effective communication about food allergy, and to identify potential differences (between different stakeholder and end-user groups) in communication needs. Interested recipients of relevant food allergy information are likely to include allergic consumers, health professionals, industry and regulators, public authorities, and the general public, but it is unlikely that they will all need the same information delivered by the same mechanism.\nCommunication and food allergy: Potential differences between the information needs of different stakeholder and end-user groups can be identified intuitively. Food allergy sufferers may have very specific information needs related to their illness. Health professionals, the food industry and catering sector, and risk regulators and managers may also have different information requirements. In addition, the non-allergic general population may need to be aware of the potential impact of food allergy and how to handle food preparation under circumstances where there is potential for allergic individuals to consume allergenic ingredients with adverse consequences. Care should be taken that this information provision does not increase perceived rates of food intolerance when, in fact, symptoms are attributable to some other medical cause, particularly under circumstances where appropriate medical treatments exist for the condition (Sloan and Powers, 1986; Knibb et al., 1999).\nCommunication with the allergic population: Four groups of people are of immediate concern, when communicating information about food allergy: children, adolescents, adults and the parents of food allergic children. Each group has individual needs and concerns, which poses challenges for effective communication.Prevalence of food allergy is highest in young children (Sampson, 2001), yet very little is known about most effective methods of communication for this group. Given that many parents self-diagnose and self-treat allergy in their children (Eggesbo et al., 2001) this could have potentially serious consequences for the safety and health of their children, whether they have clinically confirmed food allergy or not. The methods of communication and how that information is given and whom by, need careful consideration and further study.Adolescents and young adults are the groups most at risk from severe food allergy reactions, possibly because they disregard information and advice about how to manage their condition (see, for example, Bock et al., 2001; Gowland, 2002). Hourihane (2001a, p. 1023) has commented that there are additional difficulties in developing communication about food avoidance for these individuals for whom \"risk-taking behaviour and ignoring advice from figures of authority are features of developing independence\". This may indicate the need for specifically segmented communication approaches tailored to this differentially vulnerable group.The information needs of an adult who has suffered from allergy all of his/her life may be very different from someone who has just recently been diagnosed. Adults with self-diagnosed food intolerance need useful, accurate and trustworthy information about getting a clinical diagnosis or seeking further information about their symptoms (Booth and Knibb, 2000).At time of writing, the only treatment for food allergy is avoidance of target foods by sensitive individuals (Ortolani et al., 1999). As well as the effects of allergic illness itself, allergic individuals must learn to cope with constantly exercising extreme vigilance when examining products for potentially problematic ingredients, implying that effective labelling is essential in the prevention of allergic responses. Joshi et al. (2002) report that the ability of parents of food allergic children to accurately read food labels is very poor, primarily because of the complexity and ambiguity of information provided, which may have fatal consequences in some cases. Poor labelling practices and so-called precautionary labelling might also lead to unnecessary restrictions in the child's diet (e.g. Hourihane, 2001b; McCabe et al., 2001).Food-induced anaphylaxis in allergic individuals already aware of their allergy happens most at \"safe sites\", such as homes, school, workplaces and hospitals (Eigenman and Zamora, 2002). One conclusion that can be drawn is that an important strategy to avoid accidental reactions includes clear labelling of forbidden foods, and increased information provision at all levels (Wood, 2002). In addition, understanding how to adopt effective labelling practices is also important in the catering sector (van Putten et al., in press).\nEmerging allergy communication issues: There is potential for novel proteins from conventional or genetically modified sources to produce an allergic response in vulnerable individuals, as crops produced with agricultural biotechnology ultimately result in the introduction of novel proteins in the foods (Oehlschlager et al., 2001; Taylor and Hefle, 2001). The communication issue here relates to the provision of information about the efficacy of safety testing rather than health communication per se. Advances in processing techniques may keep labile allergens intact, or, conversely, enable specific destruction of allergen activity (Davis et al., 2001; Soler-Rivas and Wichers, 2001). Other issues of societal concern regarding genetically modified crops may also emerge as a focus of communication activities. For example, public perceptions that the integrity of nature is in someway compromised by the introduction of genetically modified crops may increase the complexity of the debate about whether crops with reduced allergenicity are acceptable (Frewer et al. (in press); Frewer and Salter (in press)).The information needs of other stakeholders has not, to our knowledge, been systematically analysed. It is possible to speculate about potential differences in information needs. For example, food retailers have to deal with the potential impact of food allergens on consumer health and wellbeing. In order to optimise communication with consumers about allergy issues, staff training must be a priority. Training materials must be developed from reputable and trustworthy sources of information about food allergies.The food manufacturer is in a unique position, as communication will occur with both suppliers and consumers. Consumer protection occurs through optimising labelling, and through ensuring that the allergen is not present in the food, necessitating effective production segregation and ingredient traceability. Communication with suppliers needs to include clear understanding on the aims of the manufacturer's allergen control policies, as well as specific guidance on the allergens that are to be controlled, issues of cross-contact, and the levels of allergen which are of concern. The manufacturer also needs to establish how well the supplier understands the allergen issue, and design strategies to address any shortcomings. Neither appropriate labelling, nor allergen control can be achieved without active communication with suppliers. Consumer protection will be ultimately contingent on good manufacturing practice coupled with the implementation of an effective labelling strategy.Regulators are likely to need general information on the natural history of food allergy and intolerance to food i.e. symptoms, severity, mechanisms, cross-reactions, diagnosis and so forth. Thus, regulators need to understand more about the underlying causality and distribution of food allergy across populations in order to optimise consumer protection and communication.Health professionals will need to know which foods are commonly associated with food allergic reactions, as well as understanding the allergic symptoms that can result. Health professionals also need information about diagnosis of food allergy, which can be complex, and treatment of food allergy which can involve input from a variety of health professionals including the family doctor, dietician and allergy specialist.In order to confirm information priorities across different stakeholder and end-user groups, a stakeholder analysis of information needs was conducted, in order to prioritise food allergy communication needs, and to identify any specific information requirement of stakeholder groups, warranting development of targeted information strategies. The aim of the stakeholder analysis was to facilitate the identification of information needs across different stakeholder and end-user groups, enabling more effective allocation of resources and efficient information dissemination practices.\nStakeholder priorities for food allergy communication needs: A communication issues list was developed to identify the types of information about food allergy that different stakeholder groups would benefit from having made available. Specifically, stakeholders were asked to indicate their information priorities in the area of allergy. Topics included the causes and management of food allergy, symptomology, treatment, differences between food allergy and food intolerance, regulatory issues, food labelling, and so forth. Stakeholders were also provided with the opportunity to make open-ended responses regarding their information priorities. The list was developed from examination of the food allergy literature for potential communication issues, and information provided by discussion with different stakeholders (patient groups, health professionals, manufacturing industry, retailers, regulators and social scientists specialising in risk communication issues). The aim was to identify whether a targeted communication strategy was needed to ensure that information was relevant to the specific needs of different stakeholders and end-users and, if so, what information was needed to meet the needs of which individuals, institutions and organisations. If no differences in information needs were identified, a differentiated communication strategy would be, of course, unnecessary. The details of the methods and analysis are published elsewhere. In summary, a list was drawn up of different types of information, and respondents, drawn from all stakeholder and end-user groups, were asked to rate which information would be useful to which stakeholder or end-user group (Miles et al., in press). Only the main findings and conclusions will be discussed here.There was consensus that different stakeholders were interested in having access to all available information, although some stakeholders identified specific priorities which varied across the stakeholder and end-user groups. Information about the causes of food allergy was indicated as being to be important for everyone. Other general information such as what types of symptoms food allergy causes, what people can do to avoid becoming allergic, what can be done to ease symptoms were indicated as being particularly relevant for the general public, allergic consumers and patient groups, health professionals and educationalists.Regulators needed information about what causes food allergy, how much allergenic material is required for a reaction, how many people are allergic to different foods, and how severe are symptoms, particularly in relation to dose. Regulators would also be interested in understanding why and when precautionary labelling is appropriate, and how and under what circumstances cross-contact occurs. Systems and procedures judged to be important for regulators included the development of a grading system for precautionary labelling. This information was not judged be as useful for allergic individuals. Regulators were also thought to need information about the statutory application of precautionary labelling, ingredient traceability throughout the food chain, consistent food allergy labelling and mandatory clear labelling guidelines.In addition to benefiting from the same information as regulators, food manufacturers were identified as potential beneficiaries from minimised risk of cross-contact, including rigorous application of segregated lines in food production. The responses for food retailers and caterers were very similar to each other. They require information about what causes food allergy. Information about why and when precautionary labelling is used, and information about cross-contact, were also judged to be reasonably important for this group. Information about how much allergenic material is required for a reaction, how many people are allergic to different specific foods, and the severity of symptoms were judged to be relatively less important for manufacturers. Interestingly enough, some large manufacturers considered these issues very important. However, it is possible that they were they were not consulted as part of the stakeholder analysis.The provision of ingredient lists for catering outlets and education for catering staff were rated as important for caterers. Ingredient lists and education were also considered important for retailers, as was information about changes in the composition of processed foods.The different stakeholder and end-user groups agreed that simple terminology, naming of specific nuts in products, consistent food allergy labelling and regulated use of precautionary labelling were priorities. Mandatory clear labelling guidelines were preferred to voluntary guidelines, and rated as being particular priorities for the retail and catering sector. The sample was split over their opinion about whether patient groups and food allergic consumers would benefit from having precautionary labelling disallowed. Patient groups and food allergic consumers themselves did not want precautionary labelling to disappear.It is also important to determine how the information will be delivered, and to whom; which was not considered in this stakeholder analysis. Whilst it is tempting to exploit the Internet in dissemination activity, it should be remembered that not all consumers have access. Over-enthusiastic information provision may result in increased and inaccurate self- diagnosis of food allergy or food intolerance. Thus communication with the general public should pay due attention to inclusion of appropriate definitions of illness (e.g. of food allergy and food intolerance), as well as providing a detailed and relevant symptomology.\nConclusions: All stakeholder and end-user groups need information about the causes and management of food allergy. Regulators and the food industry required more information about clear guidelines for labelling practices, whereas the patients and health professionals required more information about symptomology, treatment and prevention.Regulators specifically need information from risk assessors regarding issues key to the implementation of an effective regulatory framework, probably at a higher level of technicality than that required by other stakeholders (for example, consumers).Retailers, manufacturers and caterers require information about the implications of mandatory labelling requirements. Retailers in particular are concerned about the effect of providing consumers with misleading information about products.Patient groups and health professionals were particularly concerned about broader public health issues, as well as perceiving the need to develop information addressing the societal management of food allergy at different stages in the allergic patient's life. For these stakeholders, broader dissemination of information to the general (non-allergic) community was also a priority.Neither the issue of introducing novel proteins into the food chain, or the societal acceptability of highly technological mitigation strategies, were considered as specific communication issues in the stakeholder analysis. However, these are likely to become increasingly important topics of public debate in the future, particularly as more novel products are commercialised, and thus should not be excluded from the process of communication.Whilst the stakeholder analysis effectively identified specific information needs of different stakeholder groups, the effectiveness of current communications strategies were not discussed. Neither were the most effective delivery systems to provide information to different patient groups, such as parents of allergic children, allergic children themselves, or allergic adolescents. This issue will be the topic of further research in the InformAll project.It can be concluded that a targeted information strategy, which meets the needs of different end-users and stakeholders with interests in food allergy, should be developed if effective communication about food allergy is to meet the needs of individuals, institutions and organisations with different interests and priorities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to elicit information about the specific information needs of different stakeholders and end-users. An essential part of food allergy prevention includes the development of effective communication strategies to all stakeholders and end-users of this information, including allergic consumers, their carers, health professionals, public authorities (regulators and compliance authorities) retailers, manufacturers, caterers, and the general public.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A stakeholder consultation was conducted to solicit the views of different stakeholders regarding what information they required.\nFindings: - The results of the stakeholder analysis indicated that some information needs were common across all stakeholders and end-users. An example is the need for information about the causes and symptomology of food allergy. Some specific information needs for different stakeholders were also identified. The industrial sector requires more information about clear guidelines for labelling practices, whereas allergic consumers and health professionals require more information about symptomology, treatment and prevention. Regulators need information from risk assessors regarding issues key to the implementation of an effective regulatory framework, at a more detailed level of technicality than that required by other stakeholders (for example, consumers).\nOriginality/value: - Targeted information strategies may be the most resource-efficient way to effectively communicate to different stakeholders about food allergy. However, information channels best suited to specific stakeholder needs remain to be investigated and exploited.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Online shoppers' perceptions of e-retailers' ethics, cultural orientation, and loyalty: An exploratory study in Taiwan	[ "E‐retailers’ ethics", "Individualism", "Collectivism", "Loyalty", "Online retailing", "Retailing", "Electronic commerce", "Taiwan" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Online and offline environments present different shopping experiences, even for identical products. For the former, customers must interact with online businesses in a virtual space that consists of a technical interface, rather than with employees in a physical space, as with the latter. Unlike consumers who shop at brick-and-mortar stores, internet buyers cannot physically inspect potential purchases (Yen and Lu, 2008); therefore, they may perceive a higher level of purchase risk (Lee and Tan, 2003) stemming from differences between expectations regarding perceived performance and reality (Yen and Lu, 2008). For example, Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (http://mic.iii.org.tw/) argued that the elements of the uncertainty of after-sales service, the security of e-transactions, the privacy of personal information, and the credibility of online vendors are the major causes of dissatisfaction among online shoppers in Taiwan. It thus appears reasonable to argue that consumers' perceptions toward e-retailers may limit their willingness to engage in e-commerce transactions.Roman (2007) constructed a scale for measuring consumer perceptions regarding the ethics of online retailers (CPEOR), which includes four dimensions: privacy, security, non-deception, and fulfillment/reliability. This scale adds greater complexity and dimensionality to measure ethics than scales using a unidimensional approach to measure consumer perceptions of online shopping sites (Roman, 2007). Privacy and security have consistently been identified as the two most important ethical concerns of internet users (Roman and Cuestas, 2008) and have been examined by most studies (e.g. Ashworth and Free, 2006; Pollach, 2005). However, previous researchers have tended to ignore other potential important ethical marketing issues pertaining to the internet, such as deception, dishonesty, and accuracy (Roman, 2010, 2007). Though the CPEOR scale was developed in 2007, few studies (e.g. Arjoon and Rambocas, 2011; Kurt and Hacioglu, 2010; Limbu et al., 2011; Nardal and Sahin, 2011; Roman, 2007; Roman and Cuestas, 2008) have examined the antecedents (e.g. consumers' general internet expertise) and consequences (e.g. trust, perceived value, satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth) of CPEOR. Further, it is particularly relevant to understand how consumers evaluate the ethics of their web sites in the face of competition between merchants and constantly rising consumer expectations (Roman, 2007). A multitude of variables which influence consumer attitudes, such as individual personal values, could and should be examined (Roman and Cuestas, 2008).While culture is important in ethics, individualism/collectivism strongly influences consumer attitudes and decision making (Oyserman et al., 2002). Much discussion of electronic commerce among internet users' communal and collective orientations (e.g. Keng and Ting, 2009; Ko et al., 2008) focusses on the usage of community-building technology (such as Weblogs, Twitter, and Wikipedia). Frost et al. (2010) also indicated that online shopping environment, whose activity does not depend on interaction or social cooperation with other consumers, attracts individualists (Triandis and Suh, 2002). However, previous studies have overlooked the influence of vertical (emphasizing hierarchy) and horizontal (valuing equality) individualism and collectivism on consumer perceptions of e-retailers' ethics. To bridge the gap between cultural traits and e-shoppers' attitudes this study extends a prior conceptual model to examine how personal cognition affects consumers' beliefs in commercial web sites.The enormous online market growth has led to a rapid increase in the number of online retailers and shoppers, causing scholars to focus on how to improve the online shopping experiences of internet users, especially in terms of loyalty intention. Total revenues from online shopping reached approximately 11.94 billion USD in Taiwan during 2010 (http://mic.iii.org.tw/). However, consumers can easily select new retailers with low associated switching costs based on the characteristics of online shopping environments (Chang and Chen, 2009). Stimulating web site visitors to make repeat purchases requires considerable efforts (Shop.org and Boston Consultancy Group, 2000). Loyal online customers are highly profitable for e-retailers. Thus, one useful way to understand consumers' orientation toward e-retailers is by examining their loyalty tendencies (Arjoon and Rambocas, 2011).The current investigation focusses on an assessment of the impact of individualism and collectivism on CPEOR. More specifically, this study attempts to understand whether e-loyalty intention is affected when an enterprise enhances consumer perceptions regarding e-retailers' ethics.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 CPEOR\n3. Hypotheses: According to the value-attitude-intention-behavior hierarchy, personality value influences attitude, which, in turn, affects consumer intention and behavior. In this study, individualism/collectivism can be attributed to personality value and relatively universal affects on consumer's attitudes toward e-retailers' ethics, which, in turn, influence loyalty intentions (see Figure 1).3.1 Individualism and CPEOR\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Measures\n5. Results: 5.1 Correlations\n6. Discussion: This study draws on a substantive sample of 949 respondents to explore the culture and loyalty intention in the context of consumer perceptions of e-retailers' ethics. We find consumers' cultural value partially affects their attitudes of e-retailers and find support for our proposed impact of CPEOR on e-loyalty intention (see Table V).First, the results indicate that vertical individualism affects only non-deception among the four dimensions of CPEOR. E-shoppers with vertical individualism are more likely to be concerned with the perceptions of deception or manipulative advertising and sales practices because e-commerce lacks opportunities for face-to-face interactions, reducing the ability of individuals to detect deception (Ben-Ner and Putterman, 2003). Based on the cultural pattern of vertical individualism which emphasizes personal benefits and is more sensitive when these are threatened (Singelis et al., 1995), vertical individualists cannot tolerate any deceptive event in shopping processes. However, V-I does not significantly influence other dimensions of CPEOR (e.g. security, privacy, and fulfillment). Perhaps vertical individualists are more likely to hold risk orientations (Singelis et al., 1995), and thus they are more willing to tolerate online financial/information risks which are very analogous to the concepts of security/privacy (Roman, 2007) in order to reach their goal or achievement.As for the relationships between horizontal individualism, vertical/horizontal collectivism and CPEOR, security, privacy, and fulfillment are adopted to measure the service quality delivered by web sites on which customers shop online (e.g. Parasuraman et al., 2005; Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2003). These concepts, which include security of safely payments, privacy of protected personal information, and correct fulfillment of delivery, are vital to facilitating online shopper willingness to make purchases. In terms of horizontal individualism, the individual is an autonomous self, but similar to the selves of others (Triandis and Singeles, 1998b). Consumers with this cultural pattern respect other individuals and view everyone as equal (Triandis and Singeles, 1998b). They also tend to pursue their own interests and not to compare themselves with others (Chiou, 2001). Thus, when e-retailers fulfill their promises properly, horizontal individualists tend to retain satisfying perceptions of seller security, privacy, and fulfillment.Whether consumers consider that members of the in-group are the same or different from each other or have unequal status, consumers with a vertical/horizontal collectivism orientation both see the self as an aspect of an in-group and are more likely to serve and sacrifice for the in-group (Triandis and Singeles, 1998b). They also consider relationships to be greatly important even if the costs of these relationships exceed the benefits (Singelis et al., 1995). Thus, this study supports that collectivists see e-retailers as part of their familiar in-groups and place the benefits of the in-groups ahead of their own goals, thus displaying higher CPEOR for tolerance of retailers' mistakes. A higher collectivist orientation results in a higher perception that in-group members are more ethical (Chiou and Pan, 2008).Finally, this study also demonstrates that CPEOR is a significant factor in e-loyalty intention, such that increased CPEOR should lead to increased repurchase behaviors. Loyalty in B2C e-commerce can be explained by the concept of customer value (Frost et al., 2010), whereby e-shoppers are willing to shop at the retailer who confers the greatest value, such as perceived higher service quality (Parasuraman et al., 2005) and lower risk taking (Roman and Cuestas, 2008). While consumers must face a dilemma in choosing between the potential benefits and the risks of e-commerce, compared to traditional retail formats, they are less willing to purchase online or repurchase from the same e-retailer. This finding, similar to those of previous studies (e.g. Arjoon and Rambocas, 2011; Limbu et al., 2011), further extends the concepts of those attitudes that influence individual actions by examining consumers' beliefs about the ethics of e-retailers.6.1 Theoretical application\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study aims to examine the impact of cultural orientation on consumer perceptions regarding the ethics of online retailers (CPEOR), and to understand the influence of CPEOR on e-loyalty intention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper operationalizes Roman's CPEOR scale and Triandis' individuality and collectivism typology. A valid sample of 949 respondents is collected via an online survey.\nFindings: - Consumers with horizontal individualism, and with horizontal and vertical collectivism tend to hold higher perceptions of e-retailers' ethics. The higher consumers perceive positive CPEOR, the more they tend to purchase from the same online sellers.\nPractical implications: - Multinational enterprises must understand the possible effects of cultural context on consumer attitudes of e-retailers' ethics before they can create successful marketing strategies. Additionally, if e-retailers maintain shopping situations where transactions are secure, private, and certain, e-shoppers are more likely to be inspired to repurchase from the same vendors.\nOriginality/value: - The CPEOR scale, which includes security, privacy, non-deception and fulfillment dimension, is greater completeness to evaluate consumer perceptions of e-retailers' ethics than scales using a unidimensional approach. This study further examines both individualism and collectivism at the individual level, which is rare in the existing literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Career adaptability and university-to-work transition: Effects on graduates' employment status	[ "Employment", "Graduates", "Career adaptability", "Work-transition" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Currently, the transition from university to the labor market represents a particularly demanding task for recent graduates, given the undergoing continuous changes in the socioeconomic context and the increase of precarious of precarious work (International Labour Office, 2017; Savickas et al., 2009). Portugal is no exception to this scenario. The economic crisis trigger in the country in 2008, similar to what occurred in several other European countries, increased job uncertainty and insecurity, especially among new graduates (Statistics Portugal, 2016; Taveira, 2017). Bearing in mind such unpredictability in the labor market, scholars are relatively unanimous about the importance of considering graduates' technical and non-technical competencies to depth understand their employability process (e.g. Bridgstock, 2009; Pool and Sewell, 2007; Sultana, 2012; Tomlinson, 2017; Yorke and Knight, 2004). Consistent with this position, there are recommendations to replace the notions of immediate employment and compatible employment, by the notion of sustainable employability, when analyzing the university-to-work transition (Van der Heijde, 2014; Oliveira, 2014; Lo Presti and Pluviano, 2016; Watts, 2006; Zheltoukhova and Baczoe, 2016). This concept goes beyond the simplistic view of \"the ability to gain and retain fulfilling work\" (Hillage and Pollard, 1998). Instead, it focuses on the understanding of proactive characteristics and adaptive resources that enable individuals to play an active role in their career development and success, throughout life. Career adaptability may accurately represent some of these adaptive resources (Savickas, 2005; Savickas and Porfeli, 2012). It defines \"the readiness to cope with the predictable tasks of preparing for and participating in a work role and with the unpredictable adjustments prompted by changes in work and work conditions\" (Savickas, 1997, p. 254). Career adaptability involves attitudes of positive concern, curiosity, confidence and control in relation to one's future career-life (Savickas and Porfeli, 2012). These attitudes can be favored during the process of career construction, with impact in the individual's adaptation to career tasks and transitions. Actually, career adaptability emerges as a central construct of the adaptation model proposed by Savickas in his Career Construction Theory (CCT) (Savickas, 2005). According to CCT's model, adaptation results (e.g. employability, career success, satisfaction, identity) represent the culmination of a process of successful integration of the self into the work role. This process begins with adaptivity (willingness) and adaptability (ability) to engage in positive career-related behaviors that allow individuals to adapt in professional contexts (Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher, 2017; Savickas, 2002). Individuals differ from each other throughout this process of adaptation (Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher, 2017; Savickas, 2002), which may offer some explanation as to why different people experience different results in similar situations. Furthermore, different adaptation results seem to be preceded by different patterns of adaptation (Rudolph, Lavigne and Zacher, 2017). Therefore, the sequence of processes that occur between adaptivity and adaptation results is not clear or straightforward, and more knowledge seems necessary for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of adaptation. Specifically, although there is evidence on some antecedents of career adaptability (e.g. cognitive ability, personality, major self-evaluations, future time-perspective, proactivity, hope and optimism) as well as on some of its consequents (e.g. career planning, exploration, decision-making behaviors) (Rudolph, Lavigne and Zacher, 2017), we still do not know how career adaptability resources interact and develop during university-to-work transitions, largely due to the scarcity of longitudinal studies in the field with relevance for the perspective of employability under analysis. Actually, because career adaptability is a life-long process and highly context-dependent, periods of destabilization represent important opportunities for researchers to study the relevance of career adaptability to understand transitions (Johnston, 2016).\nAssessment of career adaptability: One of the most widely used instruments to measure career adaptability is the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (Savickas and Porfeli, 2012). This instrument comprises four distinct dimensions: concern, describing individuals' awareness and ability to plan for a vocational future; control, the self-discipline and responsibility to deal with what comes next; curiosity, the tendency to explore possible selves and alternative scenarios for oneself; and confidence, the individual's self-belief that they will attain their career goal. Although the four dimensions of career adaptability share commonalities with each other, apparently they can behave distinctly, depending on different career-related outcomes across different contexts (Guan et al., 2013; Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher, 2017). In this vein, this research is also a response to the recent appeal from Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher (2017), Rudolph, Lavigne and Zacher (2017) to provide greater focus on nuanced and differential relationships between career adaptability and various adaptation results, in this case taking graduates' employment status after transition to the labor market. Moreover, taking into account existing research regarding university-to-work transition of graduates, a pertinent question is whether career adaptability resources remains stable before and after graduates' transitions. Also, it may be questioned whether there are career adaptability differences among graduates before and after the conclusion of higher education studies and that may be related to their employment status. Lastly, it can be questioned whether the four dimensions of career adaptability present a homogenous pattern of change or, on the other hand, if there is differentiation among these four dimensions over the university-to-work transition period. Taking such questions into consideration, this paper presents a study that will analyze intra- and inter-individual differences in terms of career adaptability resources (concern, control, curiosity and confidence) during university-to-work transitions, as well as compare their effects on graduates' employment statuses 18 months after the conclusion of their graduation.\nCareer adaptability and employability among new graduates: One of the most significant results of adaptation among new graduates is their employability, specifically, to be employed after time in higher education programs (Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher, 2017). Employability has been conceptualized as a specific and active form of work adaptability that enables workers to identify and realize career opportunities (Fugate et al., 2004). More recently, Tomlinson (2017) proposed career adaptability as a key element of psychological capital, that, together with human, social, cultural and identity capital, compose the new conceptual model of employability presented by this author. Therefore, in theory, a positive relationship between career adaptability and employability is expected. This relationship has also been demonstrated empirically. For example, several studies have demonstrated the positive association between higher career adaptability scores and adaptation results related to employability, such as perceptions of employability, skills or capacities (Coetzee et al., 2015; Gamboa et al., 2014; de Guzman and Choi, 2013; Rudolph, Lavigne and Zacher, 2017; Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher, 2017; Spurk et al., 2016) and employment status, that is, the ability to find a job (Guan et al., 2013). Taking career adaptability as a set of individual constructs of concern, control, curiosity, and confidence, as measured by the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale, Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher (2017), Rudolph, Lavigne and Zacher (2017) review suggests that higher scores for the four career adaptability dimensions are related to greater confidence in the ability to manage internal and external requirements related to employability. Indeed, it is the dimension of confidence that has evidenced a stronger relationship with employability (Coetzee et al., 2015; Gamboa et al., 2014; de Guzman and Choi, 2013; Rudolph, Lavigne, Katz and Zacher, 2017).\nCareer adaptability over university-to-work transition time: Current research on career adaptability is mainly focused on a between-person level, while within-person changes in career adaptability over time and during specific developmental or professional tasks are still somewhat scarce (Zacher, 2014). Tolentino et al. (2014) reported excellent test-retest reliability between the four dimensions of career adaptability, confirming the stability of the construct over a four-week period. However, there is no knowledge of the stability of the construct over longer periods, nor is there knowledge concerning the period during career transitions. Beyond the current evidence of the positive impact of career adaptability resources on career outcomes, some studies have also demonstrated that different professional situations may stimulate or deplete career adaptability resources. In her systematic review of the career adaptability literature, Johnston (2016) draws attention to the need to understand the different patterns of results found according to different contextual factors. For example, this author refers to an elevation of career adaptability resources among individuals who experience professional transitions and unemployment situations (Duarte et al., 2012; Johnston et al., 2016; McMahon et al., 2012), and a decrease of career adaptability resources when facing job insecurity and job strain (Klehe et al., 2011; Maggiori et al., 2013). Previously published research on within-person changes in terms of career adaptability with adolescents (Hirschi, 2009; Negru-Subtirica et al., 2015) and employee samples (Zacher, 2014, 2015) also suggests intra-individual variations of the dimensions of career adaptability over time, related to different individual (e.g. age, gender, family background, personality, emotional dispositions) or contextual factors (e.g. education, perceived social support). To our knowledge, no other research has analyzed the relationship between career adaptability changes over university-to-work transition time and employability among new graduates. Specifically, it is still not clear if university-to-work transition activates or depletes career adaptability resources (Johnston, 2016).\nMethod: Participants\nResults: Table I presents means and standard deviations for the employed and unemployed groups, from wave 1 and wave 2, minimum and maximum values, skewness and kurtosis. In general, career adaptability scores in the four dimensions are considerably high, always being above the midpoint of the scale (3). Also, there are lower dispersion of scores in the four assessed dimensions (SD<1.0). for both waves, in both groups. Analyzing scores distribution in the five values of the Likert scale, it was verified that for all the subscales the minimum value was higher than 2.0. In self-report scales, this occurrence might reflect some answers biases, namely central tendency and social desirability errors. All the values of kurtosis and skewness values range between -2 and 2, which indicates that it is a normal univariate distribution (George and Mallery, 2010). It is also observed that the group of employed graduates scored higher than their unemployed peers in both the assessed periods, while scores within groups evidence low variance.\nDiscussion: This study analyzed intra- and inter-individual differences in career adaptability resources during university-to-work transition time and compare its effect on the graduates' employment status 18 months after the conclusion of higher education studies. To our knowledge, this is the first study with repeated measures of career adaptability in university-to-work transition. The obtained results are partially in agreement with previous research, because only inter-individual differences between the two compared groups were confirmed (Savickas, 2002). No statistical differences emerged for the within-person variables, which suggests that, apparently, university-to-work transition did not carry any observable change in career adaptability resources of the graduates participating in this study. That is, career adaptability resources differentiating graduates who attain employment are similar before and after the university-to-work transition, which indicates that the shape of an individual's career adaptability profile does not change in the university-to-work transition time. A possible explanation for such results might be related to the Portuguese socioeconomic context that coincided with the participants' work transitions. At that time, Portugal was still in a period of economic recovery from the economic crisis in Europe in 2012, and this had repercussions in terms of unemployment rates, which were particularly higher for newcomers to the labor market (OECD, 2016). Previous research suggests that a decrease of career adaptability resources may derive from job insecurity (Maggiori et al., 2013). Hence, a climate of uncertainty in the labor market might have affected the new graduates in terms of their activation of career adaptability resources. If on one hand, the situation of university-to-work transition should have stimulated new graduates to an increase in career adaptability, on the other hand, facing job insecurity might have mitigated this expected process. This possibility was recently proposed by Johnston (2016), when she suggested that career adaptability may be depleted in situations that are appraised as threatening, which is compatible with the socioeconomic scenario these new graduates faced, even in the cases of those who have already found a job.\nLimitations and further research: The limitations of the study should also be referred as a way to more accurately frame the obtained results and to inform further research in the field. A first consideration relates to the sample used in this study, which is relatively small because of the sample loss between wave 1 and wave 2, and provide from one single university context. Further research should attempt to increase sample variance by enlarging the sample size and increasing the diversity of university contexts. A second consideration relates to the interval between the two measurements. Indeed, 18 months might be too much time for precise evaluation of career adaptability pattern in the situation of university-to-work transition. It might happen, for example, that in the 18-month interval an increase, followed by a period of decreasing adaptability resources, has already occurred and is not being captured with this research design. In that case, further research with more measure moments in time is need to clearly understanding the pattern of change in career adaptability.\nImplications: This study contributes to the literature on graduates' employability by adopting a design with two repeated measures of career adaptability in a university-to-work transition period. Although our study is not conclusive as to how individuals adapt and regulate in response to university-to-work transitions, the hypothesis that was established concerning the obtained data might lead further researchers to outline other research designs that may clarify our findings. Empirical studies with more measurements in time and in different socioeconomic contexts would offer more sustained explanations concerning how graduates adapt and regulate in this transition.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In a socioeconomic context that is undergoing continuous change, career adaptability emerges as a central construct for understanding the employability of graduates. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to analyze intra-individual differences in career adaptability among graduates between the end of graduation (time 1) and integration into the labor market 18 months later (time 2); and second, to analyze the effect of career adaptability on graduates' employment status 18 months after completing graduation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A sample of 183 graduates in four different study fields (Economics, Engineering, Social Sciences and Humanities and Law) completed the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale at two different points in time: when they graduated and 18 months after graduation. To assess intra-individual differences over time and the effect of career adaptability on graduates' employment status, a repeated measures design was used.\nFindings: The obtained results confirmed a positive association of the four dimensions of career adaptability, with higher scores for the group of employed graduates, in the two measurement times. No statistical differences emerged within personal variables.\nPractical implications: This study evidences the relation of career adaptability and employability and demonstrates that it is possible to identify those students who are more vulnerable in terms of career adaptability resources before university-to-work transition and, on this basis, to outline specific interventions to promote their employability.\nOriginality/value: By adopting a design with two repeated measures of career adaptability, this study offers new insights about the specific role of adaptability in a university-to-work transition period.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A model for outsourcing HRD	[ "Outsourcing", "Human resource development", "Process planning", "Working practices", "United Kingdom" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: A growing trend in HRD in recent years has seen a steady increase in the number of training tasks being undertaken by external providers (Ardichvili and Gasparishvili, 2001; Woodall et al., 2002). This practice of outsourcing carries benefits such as cost reduction, increased service quality and increased access to experts in specialized areas (Csoko, 1995). Others, however, believe that outsourcing exposes organizations to opportunistic behaviour by contractors, limiting the ability of firms to develop distinctive competencies within the workforce, and creating inefficiencies because of a lack of familiarity with the organizations' strategy and culture (Ulrich, 1996).This paper explores the impetus for outsourcing, focusing on elements of cost, competence and capacity. We outline a few problems with outsourcing, including the importance of culture and trust. In order to present an overview of the complexities involved in managing outsourcing of HRD, a published case study of the ceramics manufacturer Corning is discussed. From our review of the literature and this case study, we have developed a \"good practice\" approach to outsourcing HRD based on four essential steps. We proceed in the paper to propose a new two-part model for outsourcing HRD, taking into consideration the interaction between risk elements and contextual complexity. Part 1 of the model is then tested for validity through case study analysis of HRD outsourcing at Colliers CRE, a commercial property company, and Unilever, the international manufacturer of foods and care products. The paper concludes with some recommendations for organizational practice and theoretical research.At the operational level, outsourced HR tasks are essentially administrative, operational, or transactional in nature, thus creating a separation from its main, transformational, function (Cox et al., 2005; Greer et al., 1999; Woodall et al., 2002). However, even at this strategic level it would appear that increasingly responsibilities of the HRD function are also being outsourced (Woodall et al., 2002; Wright and Snell, 1998).This paper will consider the rationale for outsourcing HRD and investigate the benefits to both the organization and its employees. The potential pitfalls in outsourcing learning and development will be identified, as well as examples of good practice. Evidence from two case studies will be offered in order to test the validity of Part 1 of the new model for outsourcing HRD.Outsourcing\nMethodology: We determined to undertake qualitative research to assess the face validity (Patton, 2001; Anderson, 2007) of Part 1 of the model. Qualitative research involves an indepth understanding of human behaviour and the reasons that govern human behaviour. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research relies on the reasons behind various aspects of behaviour. Simply put, it investigates the why and how of decision making, as compared to what, where, and when of quantitative research (Oppenheim, 2000). Qualitative research is largely exploratory, while quantitative research tends to be conclusive. Hence, the need is for smaller but focused samples rather than large random samples. Qualitative research categorizes data into patterns as the primary basis for organizing and reporting results. It was decided to use semi-structured interviews with senior HRD managers in two different well-known organizations - Colliers CCRE and Unilever as the means to gather data. Since semi-structured interviews are flexible, and new questions can be brought up during the interview as a result of the interviewee's responses, then the interview flows more like a conversation than a structured interview which has set questions. On this occasion, the interviewer had a framework of themes that they wished to explore, based upon Part 1 of the model that we had developed This approach is more appropriate and congruent to the nature and function of research in HRD (Swanson and Holton, 1997). Notes from the interviews were subjected to content analysis. Content analysis (sometimes called textual analysis when dealing exclusively with text) is a standard methodology in management reseach for studying the content of communication. Holsti (1969) offers a broad definition of content analysis as \"any technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of messages\". The investigation was limited in its scope to Part 1 of the model alone. Managers in the two organizations were interviewed in relation to aspects of their HRD outsourcing policy and strategy. The procedures they each adopted were documented. These data were then analyzed against the Part 1 four-stage approach. The research has also been limited to empirical case study analysis of only two organizations, and clearly further research needs to be undertaken. Part 2 of the model - the matrix framework - will need investigation in the future.Case studies\nConclusion: The purpose of this paper was to outline the problems associated with outsourcing HRD and to propose a new two-part model for its effective management. A published case study of the ceramics manufacturer Corning was discussed. From our review of the literature and this case study, we have developed a \"good practice\" approach to outsourcing HRD based on four essential steps. This four-stage approach forms Part 1 of our model and seems to have been valid for analyzing the two case studies. Part 2 of the model takes into consideration the interaction between risk elements and contextual complexity. Owing to the scope of the investigation, we were unable to apply Part 2 of the model, and this should be investigated in the future. We have included some recommendations for organizational practice.Approaches to outsourcing training vary between firms, largely because their impetus for taking training outside is likely to differ. However, this paper has attempted to demonstrate that there are certain key issues that need to be considered when trying to make an outsourced training strategy successful in any business. These are essentially related to making the right decision about what to outsource; engaging the right providers; and then putting measures in place to build and maintain a strong, trusting, effective relationship.Implications for research\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of approaches to outsourcing HRD in the UK.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper employs semi-structured interviews and case studies. The research model was developed from a literature review.\nFindings: - There are many problems associated with outsourcing any or all aspects of the HRD function. Approaches to outsourcing vary between firms, largely because their impetus for taking training outside is likely to differ. There are certain key issues that need to be considered when trying to make an outsourced HRD strategy successful in any organization: making the right decision about what to outsource; engaging the right providers; and putting measures in place to build and maintain a strong, trusting, effective relationship.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The model should be further tested, applied and refined as necessary.\nPractical implications: - Organizations wishing to outsource HRD could be guided by the model and findings of this research.\nOriginality/value: - A novel and innovative two-part model was developed from a literature review and tested against two large well-known UK organizations. It will be of value to HRD managers and researchers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Financial institutions using social media - do consumers perceive value?	[ "Value", "Behaviour", "Perceived usefulness", "Social media", "Financial services", "Intention" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In an increasingly competitive marketplace, highlighted by escalating consumer expectations (Berry et al., 2010; Sorescu et al., 2011), it is critical for organizations to continually innovate in ways that promote and reinforce long-term mutually beneficial customer relationships. Financial institutions are one such service industry faced with intense competition. The financial services sector is continually evolving (Rajaobelina et al., 2013) with technological change having one of the greatest impacts on the industry (Murray et al., 2014). To address these environmental challenges, financial institutions could benefit from investing in interactive service innovations. Interactive service innovations are novel ways of offering new benefits to existing customers (Berry et al., 2010), such as employing social media to facilitate two-way communication with consumers.\nLiterature review: Social media\nMethod: In order to achieve the objectives of this research, a survey was developed and tested in 2010 (Time 1), and replicated in 2014 (Time 2) in Australia, as explained above. Both studies used panel data, in which n=1,102 and n=353 panelists were surveyed at Time 1 and 2, respectively. The sample characteristics for both studies are outlined in Table I. As a larger sample was collected in 2010, a random subsample was selected from the 2010 data set using a select random cases function (Hair et al., 2010). A total of 339 were selected from Time 1 cleaned data to match the cleaned sample size of Time 2 data. Having equal group sizes removes statistical issues when comparing the data (Hair et al., 2010).\nResults: A bivariate regression found overall perceived value to have a significant positive relationship with intention to adopt supporting H1 at Time 1 (R2=0.445, F (1, 337)=270.732, b=0.667, p=0.000) and Time 2 (R2=0.468, F (1, 337)=296.190, b=0.684, p=0.000). A multiple regression analysis found perceived usefulness, perceived monetary value, and perceived social value accounted for a significant 46.6 percent of the variability in overall perceived value at Time 1 (R2=0.471, adjusted R2=0.466, F (3, 335)=99.424, p=0.000), and 58.9 percent of the variability in overall perceived value at Time 2 (R2=0.592, adjusted R2=0.589, F (3, 335)=162.300, p=0.000). Perceived usefulness was positively related to overall perceived value at Time 1 (b=0.251, p=0.000), and Time 2 (b=0.323, p=0.000), supporting H2. Perceived monetary value was positively related to overall perceived value at Time 1 (b=0.184, p=0.000) and Time 2 (b=0.172, p=0.000), supporting H3. Perceived social value was positively related to overall perceived value at Time 1 (b=0.484, p=0.000) and Time 2 (b=0.455, p=0.000), supporting H4. The results of the multiple regression analyses are outlined in Table III for Time 1 and Time 2.\nDiscussion, implications, future research: The objectives of this paper were to examine consumer perceptions of value of financial institutions using social media to communicate with their customers; if overall perceived value predicts a consumer's intention to adopt, and actual adoption of social media to interact with a financial institution; and if perceptions of value in using social media to interact with a financial institution changes over time. We measured consumer perceptions of value in 2010 when Australia financial institutions' adoption of social media (Twitter and Facebook) was new, and then measured perceptions of value again in 2014 after the big four Australian financial institutions had adopted social media (Twitter and Facebook) and customers had been using the platforms to interact with institutions. The results offer some counter-intuitive findings in that perceptions of value (across all dimensions tested) dropped from 2010 to 2014. This contradicts traditional marketing research, which finds perceptions of value increase with experience (Scherer et al., 2015). A potential explanation for this could be seen in adaptation theory where consumers continually adapt with experience or exposure to stimuli so that the exceptional becomes the norm (Converse and DeShon, 2009). In the current instance this theory could explain that as consumers increase their exposure and experience with social media to interact with their financial institution they no longer see the same level of value because as they now expect this level of interaction, it is no longer novel or innovative.\nLimitations: A limitation of this research was not measuring hedonic value, despite past research identifying it as predicting technology adoption intention (Kim and Han, 2009; Venkatesh et al., 2012). Hedonic value refers to the \"enjoyment, pleasure, and anxiety related to the use of a product/service\" (Kim and Han, 2009, p. 37). In 2010 when the survey was first developed, hedonic value was not included as research suggests it is difficult for an individual to evaluate hedonic value (i.e. enjoyment) without any experience with using social media to interact with a financial institution (Millar and Millar, 1996). To enable comparisons between 2010 and 2014, hedonic value was not included in the replicated survey in 2014 (Time 2). Future research would benefit from examining perceptions of hedonic value in the context of social media adoption by financial institutions as well as perceptions of use and motives of using social media to interact with financial institutions. Another limitation of this research was not considering other factors that could explain changes between perceptions of value and intentions to adopt from Time 1 to Time 2 including; demography of users, psychographic characteristics, and experience and comfort with technology. Finally, this research only focussed on Twitter and Facebook as the social media platforms that consumers could self-report using. Durkin et al. (2014) found YouTube to be the third most used social media channel by financial institutions, behind Facebook and Twitter. YouTube was not examined in this research, however, industry reports suggest that in the first quarter of 2015, three of the big four Australian banks (CBA, NAB, Westpac) had 2-3 million total views on their respective YouTube videos. This means their YouTube content could be reaching a significantly wider audience than Facebook or Twitter. Perhaps opportunities for impact on consumer engagement lie in the YouTube channel as opposed to Facebook and Twitter for Australian financial institutions. For instance, Deutsche Bank, an early adopter of social media, releases videos on YouTube explaining the financial products and providing basic financial education (Madche, 2015). South African financial institutions have had similar success using YouTube to teach youths budgeting and savings skills (Chikandiwa et al., 2013). Alongside YouTube, Deutsche Bank successfully uses Twitter for press releases and announcements, and multiple Facebook pages directed to careers, corporate news, and financial services (Madche, 2015). Wolfgang Gaertner, Head of Group Technology and Operations at Deutsche Bank believes it is vital for the organization to be in the same space as customers, explaining their extensive presence on social media channels however it should be done with caution (Madche, 2015).\nConclusion: To summarize, our research has a number of theoretical and practical implications. The findings add to the technology adoption literature by examining the role of value in voluntary adoption of an interactive service innovation. Moreover, our research adds to investigations into consumer use of social media to interact with organizations, specifically in the context of financial services. Finally, our research adds novel insight around the changing role of value in technology adoption over time and its implications for organizations. While organizations may invest significant resources into developing innovative ways to add value to their service, consumers need to perceive value before they adopt the innovation. For financial institutions desiring to use social media effectively to interact with consumers, their marketers need to articulate to consumers the value they will gain from adopting social media to interact with the organization. As perceptions of social value were the strongest predictor of value and intention to adopt, financial institutions need to develop ways to use social media that creates social value for (and with) the consumer in line with value co-creation principles (Bolton et al., 2013). Furthermore, financial institutions should strive to employ social media in a way that is useful for consumers. If consumers do not perceive using social media to interact with a financial institution as offering utility in comparison to alternative modes of communication (phone, in-person, internet banking), then consumers will not adopt this technology, thus running the risk of wasted organizational resources.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer perceptions of value of financial institutions using social media to interact with consumers; if overall perceived value predicts a consumer's intention to adopt, and if intention predicts self-reported adoption of social media to interact with a financial institution; and if perceptions of value in using social media to interact with a financial institution changes over time.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Self-administered surveys were run at two time points; 2010 and 2014. Data were analyzed using multiple and mediated regressions, and t-tests. Comparisons are made between the two time points.\nFindings: Perceived usefulness, economic value, and social value predicted overall perceived value, which in turn predicted a consumer's intention to adopt social media to interact with a financial institution. At Time 2, adoption intention predicted self-reported usage behavior. Finally, there were significant differences between perceptions across Time 1 and 2.\nResearch limitations/implications: The implications of the research highlight the importance of overall perceived value in the role of adoption intention, and that at Time 2, adoption intention predicted self-reported adoption to read and share content. A reduction in perceptions of value and intentions from Time 1 to Time 2 could be explained by perceptions of technology insecurity. In future studies, the authors recommend examining inhibitors to adoption including hedonic value.\nPractical implications: The findings suggest that consumers will use social media if the sector creates and clearly articulates consumer value from using social media. The sector also needs to address technology security perceptions to increase usage of social media.\nOriginality/value: This paper is one of the first to investigate the consumer's perspective in social media adoption by financial institutions, by exploring the role of value in consumer adoption and usage of social media.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
For structure: A critical realist critique of the use of actor-network theory in critical accounting research	[ "Critical realism", "Emancipation", "Actor-network theory", "Critical accounting research", "Social structures" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over the last three decades, studies informed by actor-network theory (ANT) have grown into a highly influential stream of research within the broader, inter-disciplinary accounting research literature. This body of research comprises empirical studies of a broad range of accounting practices (see reviews by Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011; Lukka and Vinnari, 2014, 2017; Robson and Bottausci, 2018) and has recently attracted attention as a basis for accounting research with an explicitly critical, or emancipatory, intent (e.g. Baxter and Chua, 2017; Vinnari and Dillard, 2016; Vosselman, 2014). However, the issue of whether ANT is truly useful as a foundation for critical research or, in fact, poorly suited for investigating and intervening in the political processes that are implicated in emancipatory projects has generated considerable debate in the social sciences. Both critical (e.g. Amsterdamska, 1990; Fine, 2005; Hopper and Bui, 2016; Reed, 1997; Roberts, 2012; Star, 1991; Whittle and Spicer, 2008) and sympathetic voices (e.g. Alcadipani and Hassard, 2010; McLean and Hassard, 2004; Doolin and Lowe, 2002; Walsham, 1997) have been raised, suggesting that there is no consensus as to whether or not ANT can be imbued with critical intent.A recurring theme in this debate concerns the limited attention to the role of social structures as a force that conditions the possibilities of critique and emancipation. Even though actor-network theorists do not deny the existence of social structures, they have typically downplayed their role as a pre-existing object of analysis in an attempt to transcend conventional, sociological concerns with how such structures condition human agency and to nurture an open-ended view of the possibilities of human as well as non-human agency (e.g. Callon, 1986; Callon and Latour, 1981; Latour, 1987, 1999, 2005; Law, 1992). Accounting research inspired by ANT is no exception to this tendency to de-emphasise the role of social structures in favour of broader analyses of the concrete networks of human and non-human actors that evolve in specific contexts (Baxter and Chua, 2017; Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011). However, critics have argued that this emphasis on concrete, context-specific actor-networks detracts from a deeper understanding of the enduring influence of the more widely diffused, and often abstract, structures that underpin modern states, corporations and markets, and how the potentially oppressive effects of such structures can be perpetuated or overcome (e.g. Fine, 2005; Hopper and Bui, 2016; Reed, 1997; Roberts, 2012). Understanding how such effects might be avoided or resisted in order to further disenfranchised interests and marginalised societal concerns lies at the heart of the emancipatory strivings of the critical accounting project (Gallhofer and Haslam, 2019; Gendron, 2018; Roslender and Dillard, 2003; Tinker, 2005).The relative neglect of social structures in ANT has recently come under sustained criticism from scholars writing from a critical realist perspective (Dy et al., 2018; Elder-Vass, 2008, 2015a, 2017; Mutch, 2002; O'Mahoney, 2016; O'Mahoney et al., 2017, 2018). Whilst sympathetic to aspects of ANT, these critics have stressed the need to retain a strong emphasis on pre-existing, social structures as a basis for theorising what constrains and enables emancipation. Critical realists offer more or less comprehensive definitions of social structures (see e.g. Archer, 1995; Bhaskar, 1979, 1986; Elder-Vass, 2010; Porpora, 2015; Smith, 2010). These definitions share a conception of social structures as constituted by a set of socially constructed entities that have been reified through historical processes of reproduction and transformation and, therefore, precede and condition any notions of agency. Such structures span multiple levels of analysis and are manifest in inter alia social class stratifications, organisational hierarchies as well as more informal norms that reinforce the socialisation of human beings into specific groups. In contrast to ANT, critical realism (CR) conceives of social realities, of which such structures are part, as embedded in, but ontologically distinct from natural realities (Carolan, 2005; Kaidesoja, 2013; Richards, 2018). Even though critical realists are increasingly recognising that non-human, material artefacts, such as accounting information systems, can be part of structural arrangements, they regard agency as a distinctly human phenomenon that is conditioned by social structures (Elder-Vass, 2017; Mutch, 2002; O'Mahoney et al., 2017). Similar to ANT, CR is a relative newcomer to the critical accounting project. However, over the past decade, it has begun to inform a small but growing body of research that firmly situates the emancipatory potential of accounting in relation to the social structures in which it is embedded (see Modell, 2017a, b). As such, CR presents a distinct alternative to ANT that throws into sharp relief how the latter theory's tendency to downplay social structures affects its potential as a foundation for critical accounting research.Drawing on CR, the objective of this paper is to develop a critique of ANT that deepens our understanding of how the two approaches' varying attention to social structures affects their potential as a basis for critical accounting research. Although the present paper does not question the possibility of ANT being imbued with critical intent per se, I argue that greater attention to social structures is required to develop a deeper understanding of how sustained courses of emancipatory action can be furthered and that CR has some distinct advantages in this regard. Whilst actor-network theorists have eschewed deeper analyses of pre-existing social structures for fear of constraining the possibilities of emancipation, critical realists insist that these possibilities are inescapably conditioned by such structures. In contrast to actor-network theorists, critical realists accept that social structures can imbue the world with relatively enduring and ubiquitous states of structural stability. The recognition of such stability arguably leads critical realists to espouse a more cautious view of the possibilities of emancipation, whilst providing a better ontological basis for explaining how the emancipatory courses of action that do emerge can be stabilised over time. Whereas actor-network theorists tend to downplay structural stability as an ontological possibility, critical realists seek to explain what gives rise to such states of affairs whilst systematically searching for variations in how social structures constrain and enable emancipation. This imbues CR with a much more profound appreciation of how social structures work and prevents it from naively valorising agency as an unfettered engine of emancipation. In contrast to ANT, CR also offers an epistemological rationale for going beyond empirical descriptions to advance theoretically informed explanations of how social structures constrain and enable emancipation. This follows from its rejection of the highly empiricist epistemology associated with ANT and leads to a deeper appreciation of how social structures not only generate empirically observable events but also how such structures might influence alternative, but not yet realised, courses of action that may further emancipation. It also facilitates the task of identifying the structural boundary conditions that are likely to affect the possibilities of emancipation across diverse empirical contexts and the efficacy of research interventions aimed at realising such possibilities.The remainder of the paper proceeds as follows. In Section 2, I briefly outline the key ontological and epistemological premises of ANT and explicate how these premises have influenced its emergence as a critical research programme in the accounting literature. Drawing on CR, I then deepen the ontological and epistemological critique of ANT and explicate how its lack of attention to social structures affects its potential as a basis for critical research in Section 3. In Section 4, I conclude the paper with some brief comments that situate my discussion in relation to broader debates about the status of the critical accounting project and summarise my critique of ANT.\n2. Actor-network theory as a basis for critical accounting research: 2.1 Ontological and epistemological underpinnings\n3. A critical realist critique and alternative: In what follows, I draw on CR to deepen the ontological and epistemological critique of ANT as a basis for critical accounting research. In doing so, I also outline how CR offers a distinct alternative to ANT insofar as the examination of social structures is concerned and how a deeper understanding of how such structures work can be turned into emancipatory critiques. 3.1 Ontological critique\n4. Conclusions: This paper has sought to contrast ANT and CR as two contemporary approaches to critical accounting research whilst advancing a critique of the former perspective. As such, the paper may be seen as a response to recent calls for extending the debate about what critical accounting research is and could be (Everett et al., 2015; Gendron, 2018). A distinct feature, uniting ANT and CR, is that they are both relatively open-ended approaches that are not constrained by any prior, ideological commitments as a basis for the advancement of critique and emancipation. This makes both approaches useful points of departure for identifying novel objects of critique and exploring previously under-utilised ways of furthering emancipation. Whilst ANT relies heavily on empirical work to this end, putting its faith in the emancipatory potential of revelatory descriptions, CR offers a more theoretically informed approach centred on the notion of explanatory critique. Both approaches also emphasise the situated, contingent nature of critique as an endeavour that needs to be tailored to specific empirical contexts to be effective. Both ANT and CR are therefore well-positioned to answer emerging calls for critical accounting scholars to advance pragmatic and context-sensitive notions of critique and emancipation rather than pursuing grand, universal solutions as a basis for radicalising research (e.g. Brown et al., 2015; Gallhofer and Haslam, 2019). Accounting scholars with a preference for explicitly normative, ideological modes of critique, such as those originating in traditional, Marxist thought, may object to such contingent conceptions of critique and emancipation on the grounds that they do not beat the path towards radical social change on a grand scale. However, given the failure of such changes to materialise and the disillusionment that this has created among critical accounting scholars (e.g. Molyneaux and Jacobs, 2005; Tinker, 1999, 2005), it is timely to explore new ways of taking the critical accounting project forward.Whilst both ANT and CR have the potential to reinvigorate the critical accounting project, I have made the case for the latter as an approach that promotes a much deeper appreciation of the role of social structures as a force that constrains as well as enables emancipation. My central critique of ANT has been that by downplaying the significance of pre-existing social structures it neglects the emergence of enduring and ubiquitous states of structural stability as an ontological possibility. Whilst actor-network theorists have eschewed deeper analyses of social structures for fear of reinforcing the reification of such structures as a pre-dominantly constraining force, that circumscribes the possibilities of critique and emancipation, CR advances a more nuanced, ontological understanding of how social structures can both constrain and enable emancipation. In comparison with ANT, CR can perhaps be read as offering a less optimistic view of these possibilities. However, by emphasising the emergent nature of social structures as being reproduced or transformed through a constant interplay between causal powers with constraining and enabling properties, I have argued that CR is better suited for explaining how the emancipatory courses of action that do emerge can be stabilised over time. In the longer term, this may help to establish more plausible expectations as to what critical accounting scholars can and cannot accomplish by way of advancing emancipatory projects. This may guard against the inflation of expectations that perhaps underlies the disillusionment with the critical accounting project and that might also emerge from what I see as a somewhat exaggerated sense of optimism in ANT.In contrast to ANT, CR also provides an epistemological rationale for combining relatively open-ended and context-sensitive quests for emancipation with a mode of critique that draws on prior theoretical knowledge in the search for regularities in the possibilities of emancipation. This follows from the recognition of such knowledge as a basis for examining the potential, but not immediately observable, causal powers that may be harnessed in the pursuit of emancipatory projects across different contexts. Rather than de-naturalising any received, theoretical conceptions of the world for fear of reinforcing the reification of social structures, critical realists can thus be said to affirm the liberating potential of theorising. This stands in stark contrast to the essentially a-theoretical inclinations of ANT to constantly foreground the context-specific formation of actor-networks without offering deeper and more generally applicable explanations of how social structures work.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contrast actor-network theory (ANT) and critical realism (CR) as two contemporary approaches to critical accounting research and advance a critique centred on the neglect of social structures in the former perspective.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper based on a critical reading of ANT inspired by CR.\nFindings: Although the author does not question the ability of ANT to be imbued with critical intent per se, the author is critical of its tendency to downplay the significance of pre-existing, social structures and the concomitant neglect of enduring and ubiquitous states of structural stability as an ontological possibility. This may lead to an overly optimistic view that naively valorises agency as a largely unfettered engine of emancipation. By contrast, CR offers a deeper and more nuanced ontological conception of how social structures constrain as well as enable emancipation. In contrast to the highly empiricist epistemology of ANT, it also provides an epistemological rationale for going beyond empirical descriptions of how social structures work to advance theoretically informed, explanatory critiques that are better suited for realising less easily observable opportunities for emancipation.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper advances the debate about how social structures should be examined in critical accounting research and the relative merits of doing so in advancing emancipatory projects.\nOriginality/value: The paper is an attempt to contrast ANT and CR as two distinct approaches to critical accounting research and thus extends the debate about what such research is and could be.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of switching costs and brand communities on new product adoption: served-market tyranny or friendship with benefits	[ "Brand communities", "Big data", "Switching costs", "New product adoption" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Consumer communities in general, and brand communities in particular, have become very prominent components of many firms' marketing strategies. These often virtual communities, which allow consumers to connect and communicate based on their shared love of a product or product category, are effective because participation in these communities fosters admiration for a brand and its products while increasing the attachment that individuals feel towards the brand and its offerings (Dessart et al., 2014). This attachment, demonstrated by their participation within these communities, increases the emotional connection consumers have with the branded products they own, hopefully inciting them to purchase the brand's new products and, perhaps more importantly, to stay away from competitors' products (Thompson and Sinha, 2008). Thus, community-based strategies, in which managers actively foster the creation and consumer participation in these brand communities, are one way for a firm to encourage the adoption of its new products while constructing barriers to competitors. However, firms use many strategies with consumers, often simultaneously, necessitating a greater understanding of how these strategies might interact.\nConceptual framework: Brand community participation, loyalty and oppositional loyalty\nStudy context: Prior studies have shown that online forums provide a means to monitor and study behavior in actual brand communities (Cova and Pace, 2006; Thompson and Sinha, 2008). Building on this existing literature, we collect data on the participation and adoption behavior of members of two brand communities and a product category community related to computer processors. This provides an excellent context in which to study brand community and switching costs for the following reasons. First, the computer processor market is dominated by two brands, AMD and Intel, which account for over 98 per cent of the market (Krazit, 2005). Thus, it is easy to identify the relevant rival brand communities. Second, non-brand specific forums exist which are dedicated to computer hardware in general. This allows for comparisons to be made between the brand specific communities and a related product category community. Finally, consumers who purchase computer processors face potential switching costs due to the nature of the product. Because of technological advances, users may face these switching costs when upgrading their processor whether staying with their preferred brand or changing to the competing brand. To use a new processor, a user may have to replace one or more components including the main circuit board, memory chips, power supply and video card. Aware of this, both Intel and AMD have engaged in a range of actions designed to reduce these switching costs. To reduce switching costs for existing customers who upgrade within the same brand both companies have made new processor products backwards compatible with older components. Another action designed to make switching to the competing brand more expensive, is subsidizing component-related technologies such as PCI and ATX to maximize compatibility with future processor products. Thus, the study context is one in which switching costs play an important role in product adoption.\nDiscussion: In this study, we examined the impact of community participation and switching costs on new product adoption behavior. In doing so, we make several significant contributions to the existing literatures. Foremost is the finding that community participation interacts with switching costs. The results of Models 1, 2 and 3 replicate the separate main effects on new product adoption predicted by the brand community and switching cost literatures. When examining the adoption of a new product by a specific brand, Intel, Models 1, 2 and 3 show that brand community participation generates the expected loyalty, among Intel community participants and oppositional loyalty, among AMD community participants, while higher switching costs reduce the likelihood of adopting the new product from Intel. The results in these three models represent what a marketing researcher would expect to find when reading each literature independently and simply combining their results.\nManagerial recommendations: Based on our results and our discussion, we have three central recommendations for managers who are using both brand communities and switching costs. First, our research suggests that these two strategies can be a winning combination. By fostering community engagement, both through brand specific and more general product category communities, managers can maximize the effectiveness of embedded switching costs. Because community engagement simultaneously maintains the effectiveness of switching costs in terms of preventing consumers from switching to rival brands, but more importantly eliminates the negative effects of switching costs on upgrading within the preferred brand, we strongly encourage managers to invest in fostering brand and product communities. Indeed, we suggest that managers actively seek to increase customer engagement with both brand specific and general product communities in the months leading up to a product launch. We began our data collection six months prior to the product launch and suggest that managers begin their push for increased engagement at least three months out from launch to maximize the benefits of increased engagement.\nLimitations and future research: The study has limitations that should be kept in mind when interpreting the results. To address the research questions, the study context involves a product that carries considerable switching costs for the consumer. Thus, the results may not extend to other products or markets where switching costs are negligible. While the Weibull PH model accounts for unobserved sources of frailty, there are other aspects of marketing strategies that community participation may interact with. For example, does community participation influence how members respond to promotions? Or product pre-announcements? Or price increases? Knowing that community strategies alter the outcomes of switching cost based strategies, researchers should now examine their joint impact on other marketing strategies. With the continued growth of brand and product communities, the potential consequences of unrecognized interactions are dire, and the potential opportunities are considerable.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the competing effects of brand community participation, which should enhance loyalty to both the brand and to already-owned products, against switching costs, which should make consumers sensitive about the financial costs associated with new products.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using the participation and weekly adoption data from 7,411 members in two brand communities and one product category forum over a six-month period, switching costs were computed for each member using 10 years of product release and pricing data.\nFindings: Consistent with prior research, switching costs had a significant effect on reducing product adoption. Brand community participation also had a significant effect on overcoming switching costs. However, these main effects were qualified by an interaction, such that the most active participants were more likely to buy the new product when switching costs were higher.\nOriginality/value: Most importantly, these findings provide unique insights into financial switching costs and demonstrate ways in which brand community participation provides a way to mitigate switching costs for consumers who would most be affected by them.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Improving teaching capacity to increase student achievement: The key role of data interpretation by school leaders	[ "Principals", "Leadership", "Teacher professional development", "Organizational models", "School heads", "Teaching capacity" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: A global competition in educational achievement in \"core subject matter areas like reading, arithmetic/mathematics and science\" has emerged (Scheerens, 2013, p. 16) as governments focus on international comparative studies of student achievement such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (see Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010, 2013). A prime motivation for such interest can be found in numerous reports that cite the social and economic benefits of maintaining high-performing education systems in a global knowledge-based economy (see, e.g. Barro, 2001; Business Council of Australia, 2005; Hanushek and Woessmann, 2009, 2010; Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2008).\nTheoretical framing: Researchers such as Leithwood et al. (2008) and Shen and Cooley (2008) point to the key role that heads play in improving student achievement. Marzano (2003) identified key functions of school leaders: shaping a vision of academic success for all students; creating a climate hospitable to education; cultivating leadership in others; improving instruction; and managing people, data and processes to foster school improvement. In an extensive meta-analysis, Marzano et al. (2005, pp. 11-27) found a 0.25 correlation between 21 leadership characteristics of successful heads and student achievement, which potentially, can increase student achievement up to 22 per cent higher than the starting percentile (Marzano 2003, p. 3). Their claim is that, for students below average, the principal's leadership can increase performance to the average or higher range (Marzano et al., 2005).\nThe case study: The school featured in this paper is an example of a \"seed\" school. These are schools that already have \"a strong capacity for change, where the staff is cohesive, excited about teaching, led by a visionary leader willing to involve the entire staff in decisions, and broadly aware of research trends and ideas being implemented elsewhere\" (Slavin, 1997, p. 7). After taking up the position, the head discerned that the academic performance of students, while above state and sector norms, was \"flat-lining\". He resolved to work on creating better academic outcomes by focusing on an improvement of teaching through intensive staff professional development. In a project over five years he initiated a focus on data-driven instructional decision making and conducive school structural changes to accommodate the implications of these (Park and Datnow, 2009; Shen and Cooley, 2008). Before proceeding we briefly explain the model developed by the head and his staff, entitled the CTLM.\nMethodology: As our review of headship literature demonstrated, the head plays an important role in the life of an effective school. Our supposition, derived from the literature, was that this head would have to juggle many agendas at once (Marzano et al., 2005) to accomplish the goal of enhancing teaching so that student academic outcomes improved. We focused on the operational aspects of the CTLM and the heads strategies to keep track of progress. Of particular interest was the use the head made of conventional whole of school metrics and especially more specific student achievement and teacher effectiveness data.\nThe data sources: As indicated earlier, the school utilised the SA-ST, the Waddington Reading Tests (Waddington, 2012) as a well as a \"school-wide diagnostic writing task\" and \"running records\" to focus teaching endeavours and determine student achievement growth. In this paper we used these tests and tasks as well as data obtained from the NAPLAN for this school as the basis for analysis. Before continuing we first provide an account of each.\nFindings: The remainder of this paper is dedicated to the analysis of the data-based approach of the CTLM and an examination of the head's perceptions of this data as it relates to each teacher.\nConclusions: The business of collecting, analysing and making instructional decisions based on data is increasingly identified as a central tenant in the school improvement process (Lachat and Smith, 2005), but for effect it requires changes in school cultures and teachers' attitudes to data and the role it can play in instructional decision making (Mandinach et al., 2011; Hamilton et al., 2009). This has direct implications for the head as instructional leader and for the improvement strategies and the support structures they choose to put into place (Hargreaves and Fullan, 2012; Park and Datnow, 2009). The CTLM provided an insight into how one head attempted to come to terms with such a complex agenda. In the CTLM the head used a variety of data sources to inform and direct this model.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper argues that in a well-organised school with strong leadership and vision coupled with a concerted effort to improve the teaching performance of each teacher, student achievement can be enhanced. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that while macro-effect sizes such as \"whole of school\" metrics are useful for school leaders in their professional development roles, there are important micro-conditions that can be uncovered in a more detailed analysis of student achievement data.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Evidence of student achievement in a variety of standardised and non-standardised assessment tasks was subjected to examination in a post hoc, case study design. The assessment tasks were the South Australian Spelling Test Waddington Reading Test, a school-wide diagnostic writing task, teacher running records and National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy. Performance in selected classrooms was compared on these tests utilising a variety of parametric quantitative statistics.\nFindings: School-based reform initiatives require external criteria on which to base decision making. Without such criteria based on data and the capacity to interpret it, interactions in the school culture have unanticipated consequences that have the potential to neutralise school improvement strategies. Further, findings suggest that fewer but sharper and quicker data collection tools are more valuable in such teacher decision making, but these require expertise to produce and interpret them.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper provides insights from one school, but the reported data are embedded in a sustained five year school reform programme.\nPractical implications: This paper documents a whole school organisational reform model devised by a school head and leadership team to improve student academic performance. The paper offers a process for developing a data-based school reform strategy for professional development to enhance both student achievement and school outcomes.\nSocial implications: The paper outlines a model for school reform that is focused on all students increasing their academic outcomes. By emphasising collaborative teacher work based on research-justified teaching approaches, the model shows that social inequalities can be reversed.\nOriginality/value: The paper outlines a whole of school reform model focused through a combination of distributed leadership, data-driven decision making, within a context of a coaching, mentoring and feedback regime for teachers. Together this model is an application of theoretical ideas to school reform.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Does bribery have a negative impact on firm performance? A firm-level analysis across 132 developing countries	[ "Entrepreneurs", "Corruption", "Multivariate analysis", "Developing countries", "Firm performance", "Bribery" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Bribery is now recognised to be a widespread problem across the developing world and well beyond (Aidis and van Praag, 2007; Round et al., 2008; Svensson, 2003; Williams and Onoshchenko, 2014a, b, 2015). Reflecting and reinforcing the dominant \"moral\" theorisation of bribery as a negative phenomenon, many studies have revealed how at the aggregate national level, bribery has a deleterious impact on economic development and growth (Ades and Di Tella, 1999; Baumol, 1990; Mendez and Sepulveda, 2006; Meon and Sekkat, 2005). Is it also the case at the firm level however, that enterprises who view it as necessary to pay bribes to public officials suffer from worst firm performance than those who do not? Or conversely, do they witness higher performance? Rather than allow moral attitudes to act as a substitute for evidence, the aim of this paper is to evaluate whether it is indeed the case at the firm level that bribery has negative impacts on firm performance. Until now, the few studies conducted in individual nations and regions have produced mixed results (Athanasouli et al., 2012; De Rosa et al., 2010; Donadelli and Persha, 2014; Gaviria, 2002; Teal and McArthur, 2002). The intention in this paper, therefore, is to provide the first firm-level analysis of the relationship between bribery and firm performance across the developing world. This will reveal that when adopting a moral attitude towards bribery, great care needs to be taken not to bias understanding of its firm-level impacts by failing to recognise how bribery is often beneficial to the individual firms involved.\nCompeting theories of the impacts of bribery: Until now, bribery has been dominantly theorised from a moral standpoint as a negative phenomenon, which has been reinforced by studies at the aggregate country level that display how bribery has a deleterious impact on economic development and growth; the greater the level of bribery, the lower the level of economic development and growth (Ades and Di Tella, 1997, 1999; Brown, 2006; Hellman et al., 2000; La Porta et al., 1997, 1999; Mauro, 1995; Persson et al., 2003; Treisman, 2000; Wei, 1997). Rather fewer studies have been conducted at the firm level of the relationship between bribery and firm performance. When this has been considered, two competing theories exist. On the one hand, and reflecting the dominant moral theorisation, bribes are theorised as hindering firm performance and on the other hand, bribes can be theorised as greasing the wheels of commerce and thus enhancing firm performance. Here, each is reviewed in turn.\nMethods: Data and variables\nResults: Of the 106,805 formal private sector businesses with five or more employees surveyed in the WBES between 2006 and 2014, 25.3 per cent viewed the payment of bribes to public officials as necessary to get things done across these 132 developing countries. However, there are marked cross-national variations in the share of enterprises viewing the payment of bribes to get things done as necessary, ranging from 84.5 per cent in Guinea, 83.8 per cent in the Syrian Arab Republic and 79.8 per cent in the Republic of Congo through to 2.7 per cent in St. Lucia, 1.3 per cent in Israel and no enterprises in Dominica, Eritrea and Micronesia.\nDiscussion and conclusions: The finding that over a quarter (25.3 per cent) of enterprises believe that it is necessary for enterprises like theirs to give gifts or payments to public officials in order to get things done provides an indicator of the prevalence of bribery across the developing world. Analysing whether this enhances or reduces firm performance, the firm-level analysis reveals that once other determinants of firm performance are taken into account and held constant, enterprises believing that it is necessary for enterprises like theirs to give gifts or payments to public officials in order to get things done have 13.9 per cent higher average annual sales growth rates (i.e. 9.0 per cent compared with 7.9 per cent) and 48 per cent higher annual productivity growth rates (i.e. 3.7 per cent compared with 2.5 per cent), confirming H2 that bribery enhances firm performance. Although annual employment growth rates are 7 per cent lower (5.7 per cent compared with 6.1 per cent) in enterprises viewing bribes as necessary, this is not statistically significant. Overall, therefore, this analysis of the three indicators of firm performance confirms H2 that bribery enhances firm performance, and no evidence is found at the firm level to support H1 that bribery is deleterious to firm performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Reflecting the moral theorisation of bribery as a negative phenomenon, bribery has been widely shown to have a deleterious impact at the national level on economic development and growth. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether it is also the case at the firm level that bribery has negative impacts on firm performance. Until now, the few studies conducted in individual nations and regions have produced mixed results. Here, therefore, a more comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between bribery and firm performance is undertaken across the developing world.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To do so, World Bank Enterprise Survey data on 106,805 enterprises across 132 developing countries is used to provide a firm-level analysis of the relationship between bribery and firm performance.\nFindings: The finding is that bribery enhances firm performance. Firms asserting that it is necessary for enterprises like theirs to give gifts or payments to public officials in order to get things done have 13.9 per cent higher average annual sales growth rates and 48 per cent higher annual productivity growth rates, after controlling for other determinants of firm performance.\nPractical implications: Given that engaging in bribery at the firm level results in higher firm performance, despite bribery having an overall detrimental negative impact at the country level, public authorities will need to develop measures to alter not only the cost-benefit ratio confronting individual enterprises but also the institutional deficiencies that result in the prevalence of bribery.\nOriginality/value: This is the first firm-level evaluation of the relationship between bribery and firm performance across the developing world.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
APRT-FMEA buffer sizing method in scheduling of a wind farm construction project	[ "Optimization", "Case study", "Project management", "Construction planning", "Scheduling", "Novel model" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In most project scheduling problems with resource constraints, due to the scarcity of resources and equipment and the high level of expertise of some staff, it may not be possible to take advantage of any amount and number of them. For this reason, in the literature, all kinds of project scheduling problems have been presented with taking resource constraints into account. Nowadays, one of the major problems with projects is that they are not completed according to schedule. Nowadays the high level of competition in the market results in increasing the requests to complete the projects within the shortest possible time. This complicates the situation with considering resource constraints and uncertainty together, leading to delays and interruptions during the project execution. One way of increasing the reliability of the schedule is to create buffers by considering appropriate resources for performing activities in order to cope with deviations. For this purpose, a hybrid buffer sizing algorithm is presented in this paper based on a real case.\n2. Methodology: This paper introduces a new hybrid algorithm which is a combination of traditional buffer sizing algorithms and the widely used risk assessment method known as FMEA with the aim of making the more realistic project schedule. In the first phase of the project, several turbines (out of the total of 22 turbines) were installed according to the primary schedule with an average duration of 142 days. Then, the APD, APRT, RSEM and C&PM algorithms were separately applied in the implementation and installation of the other wind turbines, as fully explained in the sections case study of the article. The APRT method turned out to be the best method in terms of obtaining a more realistic schedule in this case study. However, this method had its own problems and constraints which were explained in the sections case study of the article. Therefore, to resolve these problems and constraints, FMEA was simultaneously applied with APRT. Applying the hybrid APRT-FMEA-method to the scheduling of one of the wind turbines, yielded the more realistic schedule than traditional. Therefore, this hybrid algorithm was applied to the implementation of the rest of the turbines. It is of note that all the 22 wind turbines in this project are alike with similar installation operations.\n3. Case study: MAPNA Group is a group of companies involved in construction and installation of energy generation machineries, including gas and steam turbines, wind turbines, heat recovery steam generators and conventional boilers, electrical generators, electrical and control systems and railway locomotives. The construction of the first wind farm began in 2012 and the project is still being executed to reach the total capacity of 100 MW. The total cost of the Kahak wind farm project, which includes 22 MB turbines, is about $5.5m.\n4. Findings: In line with the results of implementing the hybrid APRT-FMEA algorithm in this case study, Figure 7 shows a critical chain schedule with buffers. The CCPM identifies the longest chain of both precedence and resource-dependent tasks in the generated project schedule as the critical chain of project network schedule (Goldratt, 1997). Note that buffers do not protect individual tasks. Buffers do not belong to management. Buffers can be used by any task and they exist to protect the total project commitment.\n5. Discussion and conclusion: This paper introduced a new hybrid algorithm which was a combination of traditional buffer sizing algorithms and the widely used risk assessment method known as FMEA with the aim of making the more realistic project schedule. In the first phase of the project, several turbines (out of the total of 22 turbines) were installed according to the primary schedule with an average duration of 142 days. Then, the APD, APRT, RSEM and C&PM algorithms were separately applied in the implementation and installation of the other wind turbines. The APRT method turned out to be the best method in terms of obtaining a more realistic schedule in this case study. However, this method had its own problems and constraints. Therefore, to resolve these problems and constraints, FMEA was incorporated into APRT. Applying the hybrid APRT-FMEA-method to the scheduling of one of the wind turbines, yielded the more realistic schedule than traditional. Therefore, this hybrid algorithm was applied to the implementation of the rest of the turbines. It should be noted that all the 22 wind turbines in this project are alike with similar installation operations.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an efficient model for project buffer sizing by taking failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) into account to reach a more realistic schedule.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the first phase of the project, several turbines were installed according to the primary schedule with an average duration of 142 days. Then, some of critical chain project management algorithms were separately applied in the implementation and installation of the other wind turbines. The adaptive procedure with resource tightness (APRT) method turned out to be the best method in terms of obtaining a more realistic schedule in this case study. Finally, FMEA was simultaneously applied with APRT.\nFindings: Applying the hybrid method to the scheduling of the wind turbines, yielded the more realistic schedule than traditional.\nResearch limitations/implications: The proposed hybrid APRT-FMEA algorithm was implemented on a real wind farm construction project which was completed with 37 percent shorter duration than the initial estimation; in spite of the initial estimation of 142 days, the project completed in 103 days.\nPractical implications: Introducing and implementing a new algorithm which is a combination of buffer sizing algorithms and one of the well-known and mostly used risk assessment methods in order to provide the more realistic project schedule in the construction of wind turbines.\nOriginality/value: Introducing and implementing a novel algorithm which is a combination of conventional buffer sizing method and one of the efficient risk assessment methods in order to make the schedule more realistic.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Importance of wine attributes: a South African Generation Y perspective	[ "South Africa", "Generation Y", "Wine attributes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The South African wine industry, an industry once characterised by high profit margins and prosperity, has experienced growth stagnation coupled with rapidly increasing production costs over the decade spanning 2005 to 2015. During this period the number of primary wine producers and the area under wine grapes has decreased substantially. Concurrently, the average income for grape producers has increased by 43.8 per cent while the weighted average production cost combined with the average packaging cost increased by 94 per cent (SAWIS, 2016). This trend of production costs rising at more than double the rate of average income is unsustainable if the South African wine industry is to prosper in the long run.\nLiterature perspectives: General characteristics of Generation Y consumers\nMethodology: This follow-up study utilised an ex post facto quantitative survey design, as proposed by Chrysochou et al. (2012). The convenience sample consisted of 600 South African university students (as a Generation Y cohort). A total of 429 questionnaires were retained for further analysis following the exclusion of cases containing missing values.\nResults and discussion: Sample characteristics\nConclusions, limitations and recommendations: Generation Y offers the struggling domestic South African wine industry the greatest future growth potential and are regarded as the wine consumers of the future. This study demonstrates that Generation Y South African wine consumers bring a unique set of marketing mix elements to the wine industry that should be noted by wine marketers. Developing a better understanding of the wine selection behaviour of this consumer cohort plays a fundamental role in designing and implementing suitable marketing strategies targeted at this specific consumer cohort. The findings of this study provide useful implications for the South African wine industry with regards to marketing to Generation Y.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to: determine the relative importance that Generation Y consumers indicate for 13 wine attributes in their selection of wine; determine if these wine attributes are significantly distinct in importance in the mind of the consumer; and compare the wine attribute importance findings with the US findings of Chrysochou et al. (2012).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Quantitative data were gathered from a convenience student sample (n=429) to which the Best-Worst Scaling method was applied for 13 pre-determined wine attributes in a Balanced Incomplete Block Design. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, t-tests and mixed model repeated measure ANOVA.\nFindings: Respondents were able to differentiate between the importance of wine attributes. Taste was the most important wine attribute followed by someone recommended it. Alcohol level below 13 per cent was least important. Firm controlled information such as information on back label was of little importance. South African Generation Y consumers seem to select wine similarly to those in the USA.\nOriginality/value: Findings contribute to generation-based research in wine marketing and increase the understanding of the wine selection behaviour of Generation Y consumers in South Africa. More effective marketing strategies to Generation Y consumers can result to grow wine consumption in this significant segment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Enterprise-wide technological transformation in higher education: the LASO model	[ "Change management", "Higher education", "E‐learning", "New Zealand", "South Africa", "Botswana" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The pursuit of technological transformation in higher education has become widespread internationally with the extensive pervasiveness of the internet and the perceived advantages to higher education. The resultant wide use of eLearning in higher education has made it imperative to understand what the critical issues are when implementing enterprise wide learning strategies to support a digitally enhanced learning environment. There is furthermore a growing awareness and commitment to prepare students for effective participation in the emerging global knowledge economy. Technologically based education is further seen by some as a way to address the increase in the world demand for Higher education. Daniel (1998, p. 12) states that \"one new university per week is required to keep pace with world population growth but the resources necessary are not available. Higher education must develop more cost-effective methods so that public resources can be focussed on schools and youth training\". Bates (1999) concurs that by using technology for teaching, universities can serve the public more cost-effectively and in particular can prepare students better for a technologically based society. In view of growing globalisation and transnational exchanges in many fields (Marquardt, 1996, p. 3), scholars like Evans and Nation (1991, p. 7) indicate that in \" ... these circumstances politicians, policy-makers and citizens are making demands upon education systems to reform. Open learning and distance education are at the forefront of educational responses to the changes that are taking place locally, regionally, nationally and internationally\".Enterprise-wide technological transformation has major systemic implications and needs to be carefully managed as Drucker (1998, p. 100) points out: \" ... as soon as a company takes the first tentative steps from data to information, its decision processes, management structure, and even the way it gets its work done begin to be transformed.\" Attempts to introduce any significant reform in institutions will impact on most, if not all, of its sub-systems. Bates (2000, p. 196) contends, \" ... using technology to extend the campus on a global basis will affect all aspects of a university or college, but particularly administrative systems.\" Fullan (1991, p. 349) refers to the necessity of looking at innovations within the framework of institutional development.Thomas et al. (1998) argue for a transformation of practices (both teaching and administrative) in order to take advantage of technology so as to provide needed functions, rather than superficial translation of existing practices. Bates (1999) argues that the introduction of eLearning will prompt \" ... a thorough re-examination of the core practices of an organization, whether advertising, or registration, or design and delivery of materials, or student support or assessment of students, in order to arrive at the most effective way of providing these services in a networked, multimedia environment.\"Managing change for enterprise-wide transformation in general and in higher education in particular is however problematic since people are central to the process, and it is therefore necessary, as Fullan (1991, p. 350) suggests, \" ... that we explicitly think and worry about the change process\" in educational reform. The LASO (Leadership, Academic and Student Ownership and Readiness) model (see Figure 1) (Uys, 2001a) was developed in response to this imperative.The LASO model (Uys, 2001a) was developed over five years from 1995 during the doctorate research of Uys (2000) and is grounded in literature on change management and educational reform. It further uses a comparative analysis of three case studies of the implementation of the LASO model over nine years. These case studies are the eLearning implementation on the Wellington campus of Massey University, New Zealand from September 1995 to December 2000, a five-month consultancy in 2000 at the Cape Technikon, South Africa to lead the enterprise-wide wide implementation of eLearning, and four years of implementing eLearning at the University of Botswana to January 2005.The LASO model is situated within the dynamics of educational reform and the implementation of innovation in educational settings.\nTheoretical underpinning: Educational reform and transformation\nImplementation over the last decade: The LASO model emphasises the necessity for top-down, bottom-up and inside-out approaches to be integrated. It further posits that the diffusion of innovation curve has a ragged contour given the complexities of change management and reform within higher education.Integrating top-down and bottom-up strategies\nSustainable transformation through networked educational management: The LASO model depends on networked educational management (NEM) (Uys, 2001b; Uys, 2002) to ensure sustainability of the transformation. NEM uses a distributed implementation approach in accord with Bates (2000) who suggests a distributed organisational structure for the support of eLearning. The concept of \"networked educational management\" was, similar to the LASO model, developed during the writer's doctorate research and applied over the last nine years.Networked educational management proposes eleven dimensions to manage eLearning: networking, student focussed, globalisation, flexibility, transcending time, market orientation, computer mediation, collaboration, convergence, boundary orientation and being information based. The key feature of NEM is its distributed nature with regards learning management as well as institutional management. The distributed nature of networked educational management is based on the new connectivity within eLearning, the distribution of learning and control, the distributed nature of the internet and intranets, and the globalisation of education.Networked educational management has its control, power and resources distributed throughout the organisation. Managing the connectivity that eLearning facilitates is a key difference between managing the conventional class and managing the operations of elearning. The learning control as well as on-line learning and teaching materials are distributed to both local and distance students using the same interface (i.e. a web browser) because of the convergence of learning modes which traditionally have been called \"distance education\" and \"on-campus education\". This implies that the management of learning is no longer linked to physical locality (on-campus/off-campus) but distributed to study networks comprising local, distance, national and international students, that operate as virtual teams.Bates (2000) acknowledges the challenge to create a congruity between centralised and decentralised management aspirations in tertiary education: \"When it comes to organisational structures, the challenge is to develop a system that encourages teaching units to be innovative and able to respond quickly to changes in subject matter, student needs, and technology. At the same time, redundancy and conflicting standards and policies across the institution must be avoided\" (p. 181). A similar tension within the organisation of information systems activities and communications has been transcended in computer and communication systems using distributed approaches. Networked educational management can ensure conformity to central principles and standards as Evans and Nation (1991) contends, and simultaneously encourages diversity (Negroponte, 1997).At Cape Technikon the diffusion has been sustained through the use of a distributed implementation structure. A Centre for eLearning was established to provide central support and to coordinate the progress of the project. The task team on eLearning of Senate furthermore creates institute-wide policies.Linked to the central structure are workgroups within each faculty that includes a representative from the Centre for eLearning.At the University of Botswana a satellite communication structure for eLearning is being implemented. The UBel Committee has representatives from every school as the starting point for such a distributed approach. Every school further has an eTeam who are led by the school representative on the UBel Committee. At the University a similar distributed support structure was planned as a second layer of a comprehensive distributed support and communication system. The Educational Technology Unit (EduTech) in the Centre for Academic Development currently provides central support and coordinates UBel through the UBel Committee. A satellite support centre linked to EduTech was being planned for each school. One of these eCentres was implemented at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology in 2004 but due to a lack of staff has not been functioning as effective as planned when the writer's contract finished in January 2005.Flexibility of implementation is, however, assured through a distributed approach in which the implementation is contextualised within schools and departments. This structure seems to be working well at the Cape Technikon and the University of Botswana and confirms suggestions by Bates (2000) on having a fairly large professional centre while each faculty (or school) or large department will have a small flexible unit of technical support and generalist educational technology support.\nSummary: The LASO (Leadership, Academic & Student Ownership and Readiness) model for Technological Transformation in Higher Education emphasises the necessity for integrated and orchestrated top-down, bottom-up and inside-out strategies. This model acknowledges that the process of technological transformation is complex with many dislocations, dilemmas and uncertainties.Sustainability requires that the LASO model be complemented by a distributed implementation and support approach that advocates true partnership between academic and support staff. This approach provides the capacity for students or staff to initiate and participate in the technological transformation of an institution.Creating an enduring vision and a strategic implementation framework for the effective implementation of technological innovations seems critical as Berge and Schrum (1998, p. 35) contends \"the most important function of institutional leadership may be to create a shared vision that includes widespread input and support from the faculty and administration, articulates a clear educational purpose, has validity for stakeholders, and reflects the broader mission of the institution\".The LASO model is proposed as a guiding framework for enterprise-wide technological transformation within higher education.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to discuss the Leadership, Academic and Student Ownership and Readiness (LASO) model for enterprise-wide technological transformation in higher education developed by the writer as part of his PhD research.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The article uses a comparative analysis of three case studies of the implementation of the LASO model over nine years. These case studies are the eLearning implementation on the Wellington campus of Massey University, New Zealand from September 1995 to December 2000, a five-month consultancy in 2000 at the Cape Technikon, South Africa to lead the enterprise-wide implementation of eLearning, and four years of implementing eLearning at the University of Botswana to January 2005.\nFindings: - The LASO model is an approach to ensure enterprise-wide technological transformation in higher education through a strategically developed framework based on a clear and unified vision and a central educational rationale.\nOriginality/value: - The paper questions the strong bottom-up approach of Rogers' innovation of diffusion theory and the smooth contours of the innovation curve when applied to the enterprise-wide infusion of eLearning in higher education.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Psychological contracts for key employees: Manager personality can enhance creation and fulfillment	[ "Personality traits", "Organizational structure", "Psychological contract" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: It is often stated that any organization's most valuable asset is its workforce. Effective management of human capital is therefore crucial if the firm is to prosper.\nPsychological contracts at work: To this end, managers have an important part to play. A key feature of their role is to help entice, develop and retain talent. They additionally act as the company's agent in establishing the psychological contract (PC) that is sometimes created between the employer and an individual worker.\nThe importance of manager personality dimensions: Previous work has largely ignored the significance of manager personality in this context. However, a strong possibility exists that the factor is highly influential in determining PC's content and whether or not the obligations are fulfilled. The importance of manager's personality is assumed to increase as a contract becomes more relational.\nOrganizational structure and its effect: But manager personality alone does not guarantee satisfactory creation and fulfillment of PCs. Organizational factors can also determine what scope a manager will have. For instance, his or her freedom to make certain promises is almost certain to be constrained within firms where:\nComment: The review is based on \"The manager as employer agent: The role of manager personality and organizational context in psychological contracts\" by Isabel Metz, Carol T. Kulik, Christina Cregan and Michelle Brown. It is mooted here that certain manager personality dimensions can positively influence the effectiveness of psychological contracts between employer and individual employee. A key claim is that managers indicating high levels of these dimensions are likelier to successfully create contracts and will strive to ensure that the company will subsequently deliver on promises made.\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: It is often stated that any organization's most valuable asset is its workforce. Effective management of human capital is therefore crucial if the firm is to prosper. To this end, managers have an important part to play. A key feature of their role is to help entice, develop and retain talent. They additionally act as the company's agent in establishing the psychological contract (PC) that is sometimes created between the employer and an individual worker. Psychological contracts reflect certain obligations the company makes to an employee. Managers act to facilitate these agreements that often involve both explicit and implicit pledges. Their profound understanding of the employer perspective makes them ideal for this function.\nPractical implications: The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\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" } ]

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.