title
stringlengths 6
301
| keywords
listlengths 0
23
| messages
listlengths 2
2
|
|---|---|---|
Mediation effect of quality of worklife, job involvement, and organizational citizenship behavior in relationship between transglobal leadership to employee performance
|
[
"Organizational citizenship behavior",
"Job involvement",
"Employee performance",
"Quality of worklife",
"Transglobal leadership"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the phenomenon of the market economic deterioration that resulted in massive unemployment and poverty in Indonesia, cooperatives appeared as saviors for those marginalized from capitalistic economy. Cooperatives have been a source of livelihood for 91.25 million people, mostly in rural areas, while large companies can only absorb 2.52 million people [Nasution in Izzati (2011)]. Fuller states that there are some solutions in the identification of a weak \"business volume\" of an organization, such as the revitalization of human resources strategy by optimizing the employees' performances, human resources training and development, recruitment and human resource planning. Meanwhile, Subyakto (1996) states that the fundamental obstacle in cooperatives is a matter of human resources. Hermawati (2011, 2015, 2013, 2014) states that a good organization, in its growth and development, focuses on human resources to function optimally, efficiently and effectively.\n2. Theoretical background: The theories by Smith et al. (1983), Padsakoff et al. (1996), Efraty and Wolfe (1988), Eastman (1994) state that there is a tight relationship between individual performance and OCB. It is supported by the research by Biswas and Varma (2006) that proved that the OCB of the employees significantly affects employee performance, the aspects of OCB have positive effects on employee performance, it is closely related between OCB and the group's work in terms of quantity, but there is no close relationship found in the quality of the work.\n3. Materials and methods: 3.1. Materials\n4. Result and discussion: 4.1. Validity and reliability of instrument\n5. Conclusion and reccomendation: Some conclusions showed that transglobal leadership directly affects the QWL, Job Involvement and OCB. The higher the transglobal leadership, the higher the effect on QWL, Job involvement and OCB. However, transglobal leadership has no direct effect on employee performance. Therefore, the quality of work life, job involvement and OCB are mediating variables between transglobal leadership and employee performance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to obtain empirical evidence, analyze and explain the mediating effect of the quality of work life (QWL), job-retention engagement and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) on the relationship between transglobal leadership and employee performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The population in this research is all employees of the most outstanding cooperatives in East Java Province. The method used to analyze the data in this study is generalized structural component analysis.\nFindings: The main findings of this research show that the effects of mediation variables of QWL, job involvement and OCB in transglobal leadership influence employee performance in cooperatives in East Java. These findings are not in line with the Theory of Leadership by Sharkey et al. (2012), and explains the link between behaviors of transglobal leadership and employee performance. The study finds a need for attention in intervening/mediating variables such as QWL, job involvement and OCB as regard the relationship between transglobal leadership and employee performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: Transglobal leadership directly affects the QWL, job involvement and OCB: the higher the transglobal leadership, the higher the effect on QWL, job involvement and OCB. However, transglobal leadership has no direct effect on employee performance. Then, QWL, job involvement and OCB are mediating variables between the effects of transglobal leadership on full-mediation employee performance.\nSocial implications: To improve the performance of employees of cooperatives, some improvements are needed such as an increase in the quality of a leader's cooperative approach, especially with transglobal leadership style. However, particularly in the approach, factor of quality of work life, job involvement and OCB cannot be ignored or overriden. Improved leadership capacity, priority for improved business intelligence main factor, while the quality of work-life priorities take precedence in the growth and development factors. Job involvement of preferred priority on self-esteem factor performances, while the main priority organizational citizenship behavior on altruism factor. Employee performance will be improved with the aforementioned ideal conditions, especially on the work factor result.\nOriginality/value: Mediation effect of job involvement and OCB, using Sobel test, for assessing the relationship between translgobal leadership and employee performance has not been studied before.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Lean manufacturing implementation: leadership styles and contextual variables
|
[
"Lean manufacturing",
"Lean management",
"Leadership style",
"Contextual variables"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the transition from a traditional mass-production organization to a lean manufacturing (LM) enterprise, transformation in both technical and socio-cultural aspects is needed (Tortorella and Fogliatto, 2014). Since a successful LM implementation is highly dependent on firm employees (Sawhney and Chason, 2005), it is important to comprehend the underlying culture of LM practices (Bhasin and Burcher, 2006). In this context, leaders play a crucial role in the establishment of such lean culture (Mann, 2009; Shook, 2010).\n2. Literature and propositions: 2.1 LM\n3. Method: 3.1 Sample selection and characteristics\n4. Results: A set of ordinary least square (OLS) hierarchical linear regression models were performed to test both theoretical models proposed. Table III presents the regression models with LM bundles of JIT, TPM, and TQM as dependent variables. Model 1 shows the control variable of company size, and task and relation orientation as independent variables. Model 2 also incorporates contextual variables LA and ST as predictors. We included the moderation effects in Model 3. The variance inflation factors in the regression models were all <4.0, suggesting that multicollinearity was not a concern.\n5. Discussion: We investigated the relationship between the implementation of LM practices and leadership styles orientation, and the moderator effect of the leadership contextual variables. LM practices are widely disseminated as a way to improve operational performance, such as reducing inventory and costs, increasing quality and delivery service levels, etc. Although LM practices involve a set of technical propositions, they are not fully adopted unless the socio-cultural aspects (behaviors and organizational culture) of the lean change are also addressed during the implementation. Thus, leaders are essential to demonstrate and define the expected behaviors in order to address socio-cultural issues that might undermine the LM implementation (Mann, 2009; Liker and Convis, 2011). The specialized literature on LM frequently states that leaders in companies undergoing lean implementation must be collaborative, delegators, and excellent motivators of their subordinates. However, the literature has not yet considered detailed descriptions of attributes and styles of leadership desirable to support the evolution of lean implementation. Further, previous studies (Dombrowski and Mielke, 2014; Gelei et al., 2015) which investigated leadership attributes that contribute to (or inhibit) a successful lean implementation perform a post hoc analysis focusing on high maturity companies such as Toyota, and disregard the evolutionary nature of the implementation process and its resulting demands for adaptive and transient leadership attributes and styles. Through an empirical survey with 225 leaders from different companies, we explored the moderating effect of leadership contextual variables (LA and ST) on the relationship between implementation of LM practices (JIT, TPM, and TQM) and leadership style orientation (task and relation).\n6. Conclusions: The current research was conducted assessing leaders of Brazilian manufacturing companies, but our findings may apply to a wider population. Our results showed that a relation-oriented leadership style can be negative for the implementation of LM practices, and this is even worsened when leaders have larger teams, which was specifically observed for TQM. On the other hand, we identified that older leaders may struggle with LM implementation, and its impact is direct. Regarding task-oriented leaders, we verified that its effect is positive for most practices, but no moderation effect was found for this style orientation. Implications of these results are of considerable importance and relevance for both researchers and lean practitioners.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how the association between leadership styles (task or relation orientation) and lean manufacturing (LM) implementation changes due to two contextual variables, team size and the leader's age.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors carried out a survey with 225 leaders from different Brazilian companies that are implementing LM. Research constructs were validated through rigorous procedures using confirmatory factor analysis. Hypotheses were tested using ordinary linear least squares regression.\nFindings: The results suggest that larger teams and more senior managers were negatively associated with LM implementation. Task-orientation style makes leaders more likely to achieve higher levels of LM than relation-orientation style leaders. Finally, the influence of relation-oriented leaders on LM implementation is contingent upon the size of the team.\nResearch limitations/implications: Regarding study's limitations, sample size and respondents' location restrict results to this contextual condition, indicating that increasing the sample would help provide wider and more generalizable results. It is also worth noting that results are based on respondents' (leaders) perspective. Hence, future studies may collect data from multiple perspectives, such as leaders and their followers, in order to compare results so as to verify the convergence or divergence among different respondents.\nPractical implications: The results suggest that leaders should have different behaviors according to the context in which they are inserted. Therefore, such behavioral prescriptions are useful for managers since they are pressured to achieve high operational performance in short time periods and with few resources. Further, companies undergoing lean implementation may also be able to stimulate proper leadership behaviors and promote development programs accordingly, which is extremely relevant since behavioral changes usually take time.\nOriginality/value: The evolutionary process for achieving a successful lean enterprise requires different leadership styles according to the context in which leaders are inserted. This research provides arguments to help better understand the recommended leadership behaviors for lean implementation, complementing existing roadmaps by considering the proper leadership style as a contingency issue during lean implementation. Moreover, identifying the effect of contextual variables helps specify the contexts in which lean practices are more likely to be implemented.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Entrepreneurship education evaluation: revisiting Storey to hunt for the heffalump
|
[
"Self-assessment",
"Entrepreneurship education",
"Evaluation frameworks",
"HEInnovate",
"Storey"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Entrepreneurship education (EE) within higher education institutions (HEIs) has been recognized as critical to the development of a growing and vibrant economy (Kuratko, 2005; Laukkanen, 2010). As such, its promotion forms part of the economic policies of most modern governments (EC, 2015; All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), 2014). Within such policies, EE has been afforded special attention due to its perceived ability to harness early entrepreneurial aspirations and develop new venture creation potential for the future benefit of the economy (Young, 2014; EC, 2014). As a consequence, the case for increasing EE has emerged with the expectation of producing more and better equipped entrepreneurial individuals (World Economic Forum (WEF), 2009; Rae et al., 2014).\nResearch context: It is widely acknowledged by the academy that evaluating any type of entrepreneurship programme is important (OECD, 2007; EC, 2014). Such acknowledgement is hardly surprising, given entrepreneurship's increase in popularity over recent decades, and both academia's and government's considerable reliance on related programmes to deliver on their respective \"manifestos\". Indeed, the entrepreneurship phenomenon has now been firmly adopted by HEIs as a vehicle for operationalizing their mission statements, creating entrepreneurial graduates and contributing to regional economic development (APPG, 2014; EC, 2015). In turn, and to a large extent, government has been able to grow the so-called knowledge economy through EE by using HEIs as their delivery agents to develop a pipeline of entrepreneurs and create the entrepreneurial workforce of the future (BIS, 2009). While this is a global phenomenon, it has also been suggested that government could be expecting too much from HEIs (Henry, 2013).\nMethodological approach: Following a review of relevant extant literatures, as discussed above, the author examines the HEInnovate framework, highlighting some potential challenges associated with its application in practice. The author posits that such challenges need to be carefully considered by the organization (HEI) prior to administering the framework if its full benefit is to be realized. Such consideration should also help enhance the overall robustness of the framework.\nHEInnovate framework: The HEInnovate is an initiative of the European Commission's DG Education and Culture, and was developed in partnership with the OECD Local Economic and Employment Development Programme. While not an EE evaluative framework per se (i.e. it is not intended for application to a discrete entrepreneurship programme or policy) it is designed specifically for use within HEIs, allowing them to explore their existing level of innovativeness and entrepreneurialism and, by extension, assess their preparedness to engage in entrepreneurial activities. As a holistic self-assessment tool, it is designed to provide guidance to HEIs across seven core dimensions, as illustrated in Table II.\nDiscussion: Challenges of applying the framework\nConclusions: This conceptual paper has sought to explore the assessment of EE readiness, and accordingly, has focused on a specific self-assessment evaluative framework - the HEInnovate. The core research question related to how an institution assesses its entrepreneurial potential - and, by extension, its level of readiness to deliver EE - and the extent to which such assessment can be considered accurate. Accordingly, the paper explored some of the challenges involved in applying HEInnovate in practice, and considered ways in which its accuracy and value could potentially be strengthened. Using Storey (2000) by way of critical reflection, an augmented framework was proposed to help enhance the overall accuracy and value of the HEInnovate. The augmented framework considered the fundamental \"who\", \"how\" and \"when\" aspects of implementing the tool across its seven question dimensions, and offered suggestions to help offset potential biases and improve accuracy.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider entrepreneurship education (EE) evaluation. Specifically, it explores some of the challenges involved in applying the HEInnovate tool, and considers ways in which its accuracy and value might be strengthened. Using Storey (2000) by way of reflective critique, the paper proposes an augmented framework to support the application of HEInnovate. It provides a further framework to help signpost those involved in EE towards a more robust consideration of EE evaluation. In so doing, the paper aims to contribute to extant theory in the field of EE by: raising awareness of the continued need for evaluation, highlighting the potential benefits as well as the associated challenges of applying a self-assessment framework such as the HEInnovate and finally, proposing an augmented framework, which enhances the accuracy and value of the HEInnovate tool. Some avenues worthy of future research are identified.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper that draws on extant EE evaluation frameworks, specifically Storey's \"Six steps\" to Heaven (2000), to explore how a more robust application of the HEInnovate self-evaluation tool might be achieved.\nFindings: The HEInnovate framework is an easily accessible and widely applicable self-evaluation tool that higher education institutions (HEIs) are encouraged to use to determine their level of innovativeness and entrepreneurialism and, as a proxy, their preparedness to deliver EE programmes. The paper highlights the inherent challenges involved in administering self-evaluation frameworks of this nature, and uses Storey to identify areas for consideration so that the framework's overall reliability and robustness can be enhanced, and findings rendered more accurate. The search for the \"flawless\" evaluative framework is likened to that of \"Hunting the heffalump\".\nResearch limitations/implications: As a conceptual, perspective paper, the paper is limited by personal opinion. The focus on a single self-assessment institutional evaluative framework is a further limiting factor. That said, this approach prompts those using the HEInnovate framework to reflect on ways in which its application can be rendered more accurate and reliable.\nPractical implications: The findings offer practical guidelines to enhance the overall robustness and accuracy of the HEInnovate framework. The paper will be of value to HEIs seeking to introduce or increase their EE provision.\nOriginality/value: The paper demonstrates a novel application of Storey's evaluative framework, allowing users of the HEInnovate tool to greatly enhance its robustness and value. It also provides two new frameworks signposting entrepreneurship educators towards more a more robust consideration of EE evaluation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Brokers' incentives and conflicts of interest in the control of opportunism
|
[
"Nigeria",
"Insurance",
"Ethics",
"Intermediaries"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Insurance opportunism has been recognized as a serious economic problem whereby insurance customers deprive the system of resources as well as cheat it out on resources (Derrig and Krauss, 1994). This happens when they mask their true risk-type while applying for insurance and when they are making claims for fabricated or genuine incidents claims. It is common knowledge that policyholders have the ability to use their information advantage to make false declarations in order to be effectively covered or to pay lower premium (Alary and Besfamille, 2001), or to report inflated losses or losses that have not happened (Schiller, 2003). The latter has been far more widely reported with insurance customers.Owing to the need to check the information asymmetries which characterize insurance markets, insurance intermediaries partly contribute to ensuring transparency in the market but they have been systematically excluded from using their position to deter the opportunistic tendencies of some insurance customers. In the literature, however, there seems to be an insufficient treatment of operational models involving insurance intermediaries, which seek to arrest such opportunism in the insurance market by bridging the observed information gap. Additional research in this area is, therefore, warranted.To arrest this opportunistic trend, insurers have basically devised two approaches: contract-design (Townsend, 1979; Picard, 2000; Boyer, 2004) and auditing (Crocker and Morgan, 1998; Major and Riedinger, 2002; Morse, 2005; Morley et al., 2006). Surprisingly, however, these two major approaches in the field have achieved minimal results, with the consequence that insurance opportunism has now assumed global dimensions. However, the minimal results may not be unconnected with several factors, a few of which are addressed here.First, insurance contracts are inherently conducted under a condition of informational asymmetry. This means that information regarding the object of insurance is tilted to the side of the applicant (prospective insured) than the insurer. The second factor relates to attitudes on the part of the public, who view insurance opportunism as a means of making easy money with little or no risk of getting caught, or with no serious consequences if they are caught. Third, people believe they are entitled to commit acts of opportunism after paying high premiums with few or no losses reported for many years. Fourth, too many insurers are in denial about the scope of fraud and its impact on their bottom lines (Coalition against Insurance Fraud, 2000).As a result of such informational asymmetries between consumers and insurance companies in insurance markets, a number of institutions have evolved to mediate between consumers and insurance companies. In particular, insurance intermediaries, like exclusive agents or insurance brokers, help to ease coordination and to further market transactions (Goel, 2006). The term \"insurance intermediary\" is necessarily broad and covers, inter alia, brokers, independent agents, employees of insurance companies and their \"tied\" agents. A broker or other insurance intermediary is employed to act as a middle-man between the person employing him - normally the person requiring insurance - on the one hand, and the proposed insurer or insurers on the other[1] (Lowry and Rawlings, 2005, p. 57). They take an important position as match makers between the supply and demand sides of the insurance market. On the one hand, they provide distribution and marketing services for insurance companies; on the other hand, they supply informational and advisory services for consumers. Insurance intermediaries assist in concluding an insurance contract by economising on information and transaction costs. They provide low-cost information to consumers about their risk profiles, insurance needs and suitable insurance products, thus reducing complexity for consumers (Eckardt and Rathke-Doppner, 2008).The concept of insurance intermediary is founded on the assumption that the more rigorous the information gathering at the precontractual and post-contractual stages from customers, the more difficult it is for customers to perpetrate opportunism. Insurance customers, particularly, the commercial clients, are always under the assumption that exaggerating claims is a victimless crime, and, given the cost-benefit analysis argument, will, therefore, file fraudulent claims without any moral qualms (Becker, 1968).It must also be added that the role of brokers' in mediating between clients and insurers has not been devoid of conflict of interest, either. This becomes possible owing to the challenge of satisfying the interests of two differing principals in a single transaction: the interests of client-customers on the demand side and the interests of insurers on the supply side. Brokers have been alleged to be influenced by incentives, which are capable of generating this conflict of interest (Maynard and McAuliffe, 2008). How far are these conflicts true for insurance brokers and how do they balance such conflicts without sacrificing one set of interests for the other? Does the balancing of these conflicts have any impact on the role of brokers in the control of insurance opportunism?To place the foregoing in proper perspective, this study seeks to examine brokers' incentive in the Nigerian insurance market. It is necessary to assess how effective these incentives are in motivating brokers to anticipate opportunism on the part of their customer-clients. Second, the study seeks to examine the conflicts of interest, which the role of the brokers as information agents might engender in the control of insurance opportunism in the market. By examining these objectives, recommendations are proffered for the industry's regulators and practitioners in addressing the problems of opportunism and the negative consequences of conflict of interest in the insurance market.In order to achieve these objectives, the paper is presented in different sections: Section 2 contextualises the study; Section 3 reviews some relevant literature while Section 4 states the methodology adopted for the study. Section 5 presents the findings and its discussions. Section 6 focuses on the implications of the study for policy and practice while Section 7 concludes the paper.\n2 Context: The Nigerian insurance market is, in many respects the next frontier in the Nigerian financial space but, unlike the banking story, the growth opportunity of the Nigerian insurance industry has been stagnated for too long. But it is obvious that the Nigerian insurance market cannot be treated in isolation from the national economy. This market has been highly under-penetrated, particularly when compared with other African insurance markets. Of the estimated 20 m people in formal employment across Nigeria, <1 m currently hold personal insurance policies. This is despite a steady growth in incomes across the working population in recent years, and the emergence of a new middle-class group in Nigeria (Wiggle, 2009).The industry is highly competitive, considering the slow pace of growth in overall market size; and the ease of entry of new policy. The competitive nature of the Nigerian insurance industry is complicated by the presence of a large number of insurance brokers (510 as at 2006), who are major intermediaries in the flow of business between corporate customers and insurance underwriters.Over 70 per cent of industry premiums are controlled by this large group of brokers. Corporate accounts, in particular, can often only be secured with the involvement of a broker, as companies are comfortable with the competitive pricing and claims management support that brokers typically provide. Brokers have thus leveraged on this position of strength to dominate the industry. It is, however, still puzzling why the incentives driving such a strong force have not been empirically assessed in the control of opportunism in the Nigerian insurance market.\n3 Review of relevant literature: 3.1 Insurance opportunism in the context of asymmetric information\n4 Research methodology: A case method was adopted of the Nigerian insurance broking sector. Using the unusual case sampling strategy (Auerbach, 2003), Lagos city was selected where over 80 per cent of the insurance brokers' head offices are located. This decision was also supported by the sector experts who suggested that no useful purpose would be served by going outside the Lagos zone as no serious broking activities happen there. In all, 32 interviews were conducted among various insurance broking executives with titles such as Managing Director, Head of Property - Liability Department, accounts executives and other insurance experts working with the regulatory authority, as well as loss adjusters.Having liaised with academics and professional experts in Nigeria in structuring the questions without digressing from the key research questions, the researcher ensured the questions were slightly restructured and adapted to take into account the general hierarchical structure of most insurance broking firms. For instance, for most insurance brokerage firms, there were no separate departments handling each new business, renewals and claims functions. What operates mostly is to have an account executive handling both underwriting and the claims of his/her account. This could be for specific nature of risk such as property and liability, oil and gas or construction. This may range from 12 to 15 accounts per staff member to ensure adequate and personalized handling. The account executives are also answerable to superior officers, who monitor their activities to ensure efficiency in the information gathering tasks.Although semi-structured face-to-face interviews constituted the primary method of data collection, other methods were used to supplement these interviews - reviews of professional journal articles, magazines, annual reports, information gathering templates, claim forms templates and so on. The number of interviews was not pre-set, but was determined in part by pragmatic considerations such as time constraints and also by the attainment of theoretical saturation (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Flick, 2002).After collecting the data which spanned four months, the analysis is presented drawing from Auerbach's (2003) three-phase (six-step) coding method and data analysis.\n5 Findings and discussion: I. Remuneration system for brokers\n6 Implications for policy and practice: This study has highlighted the importance of financial incentives in motivating the brokers to bridge the information gap between customer-clients and the insurers. A broking market with restrictive remuneration system might be undermined by sharp practices of brokers who might want to break-even and make more profit. Hence, the regulatory authority should allow for a competitive incentive system where brokers would be in the position to negotiate their commission rates with insurers. In addition, brokers should be allowed to charge fees where appropriate from clients to justify their relevance in the insurance market. Well-remunerated brokers are directly motivated to control opportunistic tendencies of their clients. They are also able to resolve conflict of interest which financial incentives can generate for them while mediating between clients and insurers.In the same vein, brokerage firms, apart from training their client-facing staff on how to gather information from clients and pass this on to the insurer, must be compensated for achieving the information gathering role. The relevant trade union body, National Council of Registered Insurance Brokers should design the criteria for adoption by members. As a result, brokers would consequently adopt an uncompromising attitude towards the opportunistic behaviours of those unscrupulous customers who are making insurance patronage costly for the honest majority. When opportunities to make legitimate earnings by brokers are too restrictive, the asymmetric information problems become more profound and endemic, thereby threatening the survival of the insurance institution altogether. The Nigerian broking sector currently operates under this condition. In the interest of the policyholders, NAICOM and the market leaders should come together to enforce discipline in the rating of insurance products by making insurers adhere strictly to underwriting principles.\n7 Conclusions: This study has underscored the importance of incentives for brokers in the insurance market to control opportunistic behaviours of insurance customers. The reality of conflict of interest for brokers as information agents for two principals (client and insurer) has also been highlighted. In the end, what brokers need is a compensation arrangement fair enough to enable them to break even and earn some profit; this is because their profit expectations may not be met by either brokerage or fees, depending on the circumstances. Therefore, the task of arriving at such a compensation plan falls on how persuasive the brokers can be in bringing their negotiating skills to bear in the discharge of their information-bridging role and, of course, in a manner which aligns with the interests of both the clients and insurers. The ideal broker acts with the client's best interest in mind, while not over-looking their opportunistic tendencies at pre-contractual and post-contractual stages of the insurance contract. In other words, resolving conflicts of interest engendered by incentives in the insurance market is a recipe for the control of opportunism.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine brokers' financial incentives in the Nigerian insurance market and how they balance conflict of interest which their role engenders. The paper aims to assess how these affect the control of opportunism of customers in the Nigerian insurance market.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study involved the use of semi-structured interviews of insurance broking executives and documentary analyses of how incentives aid the control of opportunism in the insurance market.\nFindings: - Findings suggest that the Nigerian insurance market operates on highly tariff incentive system which might be hampering insurance brokers' role in bridging information asymmetries to control opportunism in the market. Conflicts of interest are also real in the insurance market.\nPractical implications: - Findings are relevant for practitioners and regulators in addressing the restrictive remuneration system which calls for liberalisation to encourage the control of opportunism in the insurance market.\nOriginality/value: - The study underscores how financial incentives might be utilised to balance conflict of interest which insurance intermediation engenders.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The influence of consumers' self-perceived health status and need for cognition on food-product evaluation
|
[
"Need for cognition",
"Food-product evaluation",
"Health-claim framing",
"Self-perceived health status"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The impetus for this research was an observation during a visit to a hypermarket with a friend of the author. He took a pack of orange juice from the shelf and carefully read the nutritional facts; subsequently he decided to choose that specific juice. Upon being asked by the author why he chose that brand of orange juice, he answered \"this one is healthier.\" Why he perceived that particular orange juice as healthier than the others and how the product information influenced him are the questions that formed the basis for this research. This study investigated the motives that influence people's choices in typical shopping situations.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Influence of health claims and health-claim framing on consumers' food-product choices\n3. Study 1: In this study the authors tested the following hypothesis: consumers with good self-perceived health evaluate food products more favorably when enhanced-function claims are used, whereas consumers with poor self-perceived health evaluate food products more favorably when reduced-disease-risk claims are used.\n4. Study 2: In this study the authors tested the hypothesis that consumers with a low NFC evaluate food products more favorably when enhanced-function claims are used, whereas consumers with a high NFC evaluate food products more favorably when reduced-disease-risk claims are used.\n5. Discussion: Although there has been considerable research discussing the effects of health claims on consumers' product choices, few studies have addressed consumers' product choices regarding different health-claim framing. The present study examined the underlying mechanisms of how consumers respond to health-claim framing, providing insights into the effects of health-claim framing on consumers' food-product evaluation by exploring unique personal conditions.\n6. Limitations and future research: The limitation of the present research is the use of students in the sampling. Only college students were recruited in the experiments, so that the results may not be extrapolated to the rest of the population. People evaluate differently to food products with age and shopping experience, therefore, future research could consider recruiting participants with different levels of market experience and age to determine the generalizability and practical applications of the results obtained. Furthermore, Individuals' self-perceived health status and NFC were tested separately, and the results indicated the moderating effects of these factors on food-product evaluation. Assessing the combined effects of the two personal aspects in an overall model would be interesting and valuable.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying mechanisms of how consumers respond to health-claim framing via experimental design.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Across the two experiments conducted for this research, the authors examine the moderating effects of self-perceived health status and individuals' need for cognition on health-claim framing.\nFindings: The results indicate that personal differences moderate the effects of health-claim framing on consumers' food-product evaluation. Consumers with poor health status evaluate food product more favorably when the reduced-disease-risk claims are offered. However, consumers with good health status evaluate food product similarly between the two health claims. Moreover, consumers with a high need for cognition evaluate food product more favorably when the reduced-disease-risk claims are used, whereas consumers with a low need for cognition evaluate food product more favorably when the enhance function claims are used.\nPractical implications: This research provides that reduced-disease-risk claims may be the better communication message used to persuade consumers no matter they rate themselves as poor health status or good health status. Moreover, the results of the present research also indicate the importance of market segmentation. Marketers could design proper advertisements and select the appropriate media vehicles for low need for cognition readers and high need for cognition readers separately.\nOriginality/value: There has been few studies addressed consumers' product choice with respect to different health-claim framing. Further, this research presents a new concept of the effects between individual differences and health-claim framing on consumers' food-product evaluation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Adoption of Six Sigma DMAIC to reduce cost of poor quality
|
[
"Six sigma",
"DMAIC",
"Rework",
"Pareto analysis",
"Cost of poor quality (COPQ)",
"Capability analysis",
"Process failure mode effect analysis (PFMEA)",
"Cause and effect diagram",
"Control chart",
"Chronic"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Today, organizations strive for an improved level of process capability and a reduced level of cost of poor quality (COPQ). The bottom-line objective is to generate a profitable margin and sustainable competitiveness in the market. COPQ is the cost associated with poor quality of products and services. For a manufacturing company, COPQ is the total cost of repair, rework, scrap, service calls, warranty claims and write-offs from obsolete finished goods. The concept of COPQ connects the improvement priorities of a company with its strategic objectives of achieving improved financial performance and greater customer satisfaction. As per statistics, COPQ is <10 percent of sales for companies who are at \"Six Sigma\" level, about 15 to 20 percent of sales for companies who are at \"four sigma\" level and about 20 to 30 percent of sales for companies who are at \"three sigma\" levels (Clark, 1999).\n2. Literature review: Before taking up the case explanations, let us briefly review the studies that have shown successful cases of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology applications in a variety of contexts.\n3. Case study: The case is about repair division of a company engaged in overhauling of critical components of transport helicopters. The division was struggling with a high COPQ. It identified three areas for improvement and based on Project Prioritization Index (PPI) selected the project on reduction in failure of cooling fan assembly (Table I).\n4. Conclusion and discussion: It is a well-known fact that quality is a prerequisite and is no longer a differentiator in today's intensely competitive business climate. However, the contribution of COPQ toward total costs and to the bottom line can never be over-emphasized. Since COPQ cannot be mapped by current accounting practices hence it remains a hidden cost. This present case is an application of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology with the objective of reducing COPQ in repair division of a helicopter company. The project team reduced the rejection rate of cooling fan assembly from 9 percent to almost 0 percent by systematic application of problem solving statistical tools.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the systematic application of Six Sigma tools for identification and reduction of cost of poor quality (COPQ). The study examines one of the chronic problems of failure of cooling fan assembly at repair division of a company dealing in helicopter components.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The case adopted Six Sigma Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) methodology to achieve the goal of reduction in COPQ.\nFindings: After completing the Define, Measure and Analyze phase, it was found that use of extreme tolerances and cross-fitment of bearings are the root cause of cooling fan assembly failure. The major recommendations made during the Improve phase were to design a bearing matching software for improving the cross-fitment of bearings and to procure a hydraulic jig with electronic jig instead of manual jig. The value of implementing these recommended solutions equate to a saving of INR 34 lacs per annum. Since it was a chronic problem, the company expects this to be a recurring saving.\nOriginality/value: This specific case exhibits the successful application of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology in repair and maintenance for driving down the cost of failure and improved processes.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Profiling information behaviour of nursing students: part 2: derivation of profiles
|
[
"Information retrieval",
"Individual behaviour",
"Personality",
"Students",
"Learning",
"Information literacy"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Part I of the paper (Stokes and Urquhart, 2011) discussed the quantitative findings of a mixed-methods doctoral research study on the development of information seeking profiles among nursing students, based on personality, self-efficacy, and learning style. The quantitative element of the study used a questionnaire (sample n=194) consisting of three validated scales for personality (Saucier, 1994), learning styles (Entwistle, 1997), and self-efficacy with information literacy (Kurbanoglu et al., 2006), a section on information seeking preferences based on Foster's (2004) model, as well as some demographic questions.\nLiterature review: For the purpose of the research, information seeking behaviour was defined as what takes place when an individual (or group) identifies an information gap and purposefully tries to fill it. Information searching includes the physical acts of looking for information. Logically, studies of information seeking may include elements of searching as indicated in Wilson's (1999) nested model. Student information seeking has often been described in terms of comfort or convenience (MacDonald et al., 2011; Prabha et al., 2007; Zach, 2005). Models of information seeking behaviour among students include a model of the mediating factors that influenced student use of electronic information services (in particular) (Urquhart and Rowley, 2007). The specific (micro) factors were information literacy (defined in terms of skills and knowledge that students could bring to searching), searching strategies (the type of searching routines normally adopted), academics' information behaviour (and their influence as role models for students), discipline, pedagogy (approach adopted to learning and teaching), and support and training (provided partly by library services, perhaps acting in co-operation with academic staff). The macro (wider contextual) factors included availability and constraints on access, information resource design, technology infrastructure, organisational leadership, policies, and funding. This model is a reminder of the contextual factors that influence information seeking by students in any particular situation. The further development of Foster's model (Foster and Urquhart, 2012), using the data set from the JUSTEIS project (Urquhart and Rowley, 2007; Urquhart et al., 2003b) clarified the importance of extrinsic context for the information seeker (time, social networks, physical location, and resource access). The internal context of Foster's original model was found to be better described as intrinsic context, and the importance of personality, learning style, knowledge, affect, self-efficacy, and motivation was highlighted from study of the JUSTEIS dataset.\nEthical approval: The research was granted ethical approval by Cambridgeshire 3 Research Ethics Committee and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University. In addition the Research and Development departments of the 13 local NHS organisations granted approval.\nQualitative data collection and analysis: Sampling\nQuantitative analysis: Initial findings already reported (Stokes and Urquhart, 2011) hinted at the potential development of profiles. Additional statistical analysis was undertaken subsequently to attempt to firm up these relationships. These examined relationships between personality traits and the information seeking behaviour micro-processes, all described as \"verbings\".\nQualitative data analysis - results: The 11 students that took part in the semi-structured interviews are referred to within the text according to Table II.\nDiscussion: The qualitative and quantitative findings are discussed separately before considering how they relate to each other.\nIntegrating qualitative and quantitative findings: The qualitative results for confidence substantiated the findings from the quantitative results that self-efficacy with information literacy does not necessarily increase as students' progress through a course. The qualitative findings highlighted the importance of \"amount of information\", with (mainly) different views at the beginning and end of the search. Core processes of opening, orientation and consolidation are visible, and students varied in their starting point (as would be predicted). All profiles showed some definite opening micro-processes (with the exception of deep identifiers, that focused on orientation (defining a problem) and consolidation (sifting)). The dendrogram for \"amount of information\" illustrated how the micro-processes were described by students: \"found some core articles\" (identifying shape of existing research), \"piles of articles\" (collecting, browsing), \"happy with what I've got\" (chancing, reviewing). Similar examples can be identified when students described their search strategy: \"So my main aim was basically to start reading literature around that topic which then focussed me more on what I needed to find\" (opening(browsing)/orientation(defining the problem)/consolidation (refining)); \"[...] I always check with the tutor if this is appropriate, because I don't want to go and research this big project if it's not relevant to the work\" (start point here seems to be consolidation (refining) using expert input to save time on opening and orientation processes).\nConclusion: The seven different search profiles developed need to be tested among other groups of nursing students, and students in general. Some attitudes and behaviour (e.g. towards referencing practice) could be peculiar to the institution at which the research was conducted. The qualitative data collection and analysis was approached as separately as possible from the quantitative stage of the research, to ensure that the qualitative analysis was not biased by the quantitative findings. The use of dendrograms helped to make the analysis systematic. The qualitative and quantitative findings do complement each other, and evidence for the micro-processes was found in the ways students described their searching. We have also confirmed the micro-processes for the Foster model, and stress the importance of the \"verbing\". The implications for information literacy programmes will be the focus of a later paper, but we note that the findings indicate that deep learning - for this group of students - may proceed in ways that have not been noted before.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop information behaviour profiles for nursing students, to help inform information literacy programmes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methods include further analysis of quantitative findings (previously reported in part 1), together with qualitative research data collection and analysis. Critical incident type interviews with 11 students were transcribed and analysed using an interpretative categorisation method that used dendrograms for data display and analysis. From the regression analysis of the quantitative data, the micro-processes for information seeking were linked to learning styles, and then to personality traits to generate information seeking profiles. Integration of the qualitative findings led to development of a task-based information search model.\nFindings: The start list of seven categories for qualitative analysis (derived from a literature review) was refined (one category added, one removed, with some relabelling). The quantitative data analysis revealed seven profiles (deep adventurer, deep identifier, deep investigator, strategic all-rounder, strategic collector, surface co-ordinator, surface skimmer, each linked to a particular learning style, personality trait, and preferred information seeking micro-processes).\nResearch limitations/implications: The data were collected at only one university and the profiles and the model need to be validated with data from other groups of nursing students. The findings on micro-processes consolidate and extend previous research.\nPractical implications: The profiles should inform information literacy programmes as they show that information search profiles may be more varied than assumed. The information search model extends previous task-based information search models.\nOriginality/value: The information search profiles have not been identified previously.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Pro-active warning system for the crossroads at construction sites based on computer vision
|
[
"Prediction",
"Computer vision",
"Safety management",
"Traffic accident",
"Pro-active warning system"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The construction industry is one of the most basic and important industries in China. It holds a vital position of supporting and promoting related industries within the national economy. Accidents from construction usually cause much loss, including economic loss and significant casualties. Reportedly, the number of people who have died in safety accidents on construction projects in China is 1.5 times that of the total death tolls in 50 other developed countries, including the USA, the UK, Germany and Japan (Liu et al., 2013). In the meantime, traffic accidents that occur at construction sites have been more serious recently, which requires more attention. According to the relevant statistics, the number of deaths due to traffic accidents every year around the world is approximately 1m, 200 thousand (Zhang, 2012). Because of the complexity of the construction environment (poor traffic facilities, several types of relevant participants such as pedestrians, engineer vehicles, private cars, and workers and no signal controls at crossroads), there are many potentially risky factors that could lead to traffic accidents at a construction site. Although it is difficult to find specific statistics on traffic accidents occurring at construction sites, it is critical to investigate the prevention measures.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 The study of early warning systems\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Design of the early warning system\n4. Validation of the developed system: 4.1 Original data test\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Applied algorithms\n6. Conclusion: Because of concerns with the safety problems of crossroads at construction sites, this paper analyzed the potential risks to and the dangerous factors for the safety in these areas and used computer vision technology to build an EWS. Although most existing methods of the monitoring of construction vehicles require a complicated terminal, our system presents an affordable and effective way to help with safety management. This system could realize monitoring, tracking, classifying, and dynamic predicting with high accuracy and specific warnings. Although we used classical CV algorithms instead of modifying them, we made contributions to the application of these theories to the crossroads at construction sites, which have not been investigated before. Furthermore, we added a performance test to the detection and classification functions, and the results showed that these classic methods can provide high efficiency for each function. In addition, although we did not modify the classic process of the Kalman filtering prediction, we set three different prediction cycles (0.5, 1 and 1.5 s) to evaluate the applicability of this method, and the results validate our assumption that this prediction algorithm shows high consistency with a real routine when the prediction cycles are short (0.5 s and 1 s). Therefore, our design of this system and the conducted test could provide a significant reference to safety management for the crossroads at construction sites.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: To improve insufficient management by artificial management, especially for traffic accidents that occur at crossroads, the purpose of this paper is to develop a pro-active warning system for crossroads at construction sites. Although prior studies have made efforts to develop warning systems for construction sites, most of them paid attention to the construction process, while the accidents that occur at crossroads were probably overlooked.\nDesign/methodology/approach: By summarizing the main reasons resulting for those accidents occurring at crossroads, a pro-active warning system that could provide six functions for countermeasures was designed. Several approaches relating to computer vision and a prediction algorithm were applied and proposed to realize the setting functions.\nFindings: One 12-hour video that films a crossroad at a construction site was selected as the original data. The test results show that all designed functions could operate normally, several predicted dangerous situations could be detected and corresponding proper warnings could be given. To validate the applicability of this system, another 36-hour video data were chosen for a performance test, and the findings indicate that all applied algorithms show a significant fitness of the data.\nOriginality/value: Computer vision algorithms have been widely used in previous studies to address video data or monitoring information; however, few of them have demonstrated the high applicability of identification and classification of the different participants at construction sites. In addition, none of these studies attempted to use a dynamic prediction algorithm to predict risky events, which could provide significant information for relevant active warnings.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Mobile applications in tourism: the future of the tourism industry?
|
[
"Mobile commerce",
"Behavioural intention",
"Mobile applications",
"Mobile tourism",
"Partial least square-structural equation modeling",
"Unified theory of acceptance and use technology"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The functionality of traditional mobile phone over the last decade has been used primarily for calling and text features due to its limited technology capabilities. Since the emergence of smart phones and the advancement of third-generation and now fourth-generation long-term evolution wireless data networks, this has rendered the development of new software possible. Consumers can now connect to the World Wide Web on their mobile devices (m-devices) through a stand-alone software commonly known as mobile applications (m-apps) (Hoehle and Venkatesh, 2015). Purcell et al. (2010, p. 2) define mobile apps as an \"end-user software applications that are designed for a mobile device operating system and which extend the device's capabilities by enabling users to perform particular tasks.\" M-apps enable consumers to access to a variety of services and resources without the need of a web browser. Among the available domains which could be accessed using m-apps include social networking, news, e-mail, weather, sports and podcasts (Yang, 2013). Kim, Lin, and Sung (2013), Kim, Chung, Lee, and Preis (2013) and Kim et al. (2015) pointed out that m-apps can also be adopted as another source of purchasing channel. According to Research and Markets (2012), the revenue from the apps market is predicted to surge to $36.7 billion by 2015. The number indicates that m-apps have a very prosperous future.\n2. Theoretical models of information technology (IT) acceptance: Over the last 20 years, several theoretical models have been constructed to explain adoption behavior of new IT and information system (IS). They mainly centered around \"Technology Acceptance Model (TAM),\" \"Theory of Reason Action (TRA),\" \"Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)\" and \"Diffusion of Innovation (DOI)\" (Davis, 1989; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Rogers, 1995). Some of the models have been criticized in view of their limitations. Most of the frameworks fail to explain predictive capabilities and were developed using limited empirical evidences (Chaudhry et al., 2006; Ooi and Tan, 2016).The research therefore decided to adopt the \"Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology\" (UTAUT) as the base model (Venkatesh et al., 2003) as they have found to be more superior than existing frameworks (Venkatesh and Zhang, 2010) (see Figure 1).\n3. Hypotheses development for mobile apps: 3.1 PE\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Sampling procedure and data collection\n5. Data analyses: 5.1 Sample profile\n6. Discussion: The present study revealed that m-apps intention to adopt is non-significant between PE and consumers' intention. The result is similar based on a comparative study conducted by Chong et al. (2012) between Malaysia and China whereby usefulness was revealed to have no significant relationship with the intention to adopt m-commerce. The benefits may not necessary translate to advantages in job performance as traveling is only done occasionally. EE is another important factor in this study. The result indicates that consumers give emphasis on the \"easy to use\" features. The study corroborates with the findings by Chong (2013c) in China, whereby the main reasons for consumers' adoption is due to the easiness of the functions. The finding is not surprising since most m-apps features are user friendly and well designed. SI on the other hand is another predictor of m-apps adoption. The result is similar with the findings by a Malaysian researcher whereby they discovered that young Malaysian users are easily influenced by friends, colleagues and mass-media in the mobile adoption studies (Teo et al., 2012; Leong, Ooi, Chong, and Lin, 2013). FC is also revealed as another factor affecting intention formation. The finding is in line with that of the study on m-TV in Malaysia (Wong et al., 2014). Similarly, FC was also proven to be significant with the intention to adopt m-commerce in Macau using 219 sample sizes (Lai and Lai, 2014). The finding is not surprising since most apps available are equipped with FAQ and technical supports. There is evidence that supports the prediction of intention with MIIT. The study agrees with the finding by Tan, Ooi, Chong, and Hew (2014) in Malaysia whereby they found that the intention to adopt mobile credit card can be predicted by MIIT. This shows that majority of the consumers are bold, venturesome and are willing to experiment with new innovations. The study, however, does not support the findings of PEX in predicting intention whereby consumers do not view PEX as a form of an expression to differentiate between individuals. According to a study on the adoption of mobile phones credit card in Malaysia, it was revealed that consumers are not influenced by PEX (Amin, 2008). One possible explanation is that the m-apps are designed to provide convenience and therefore consumers adopt to ease their task performance rather than to impress their friends or as a mean to express image, personality, fashion or style. PP is another predictor of m-apps adoption. The outcome is consistent with previous findings by Cheong and Park (2005) in Korea on the acceptance of mobile internet. The finding is not surprised in view of the existence of the entertainment and enjoyment elements in some of the tourism apps and thus leads to the enjoyment experienced among consumers. In terms of moderating variable, PE, EE, FC, MIIT, PEX and PP were not significantly moderated by gender. The finding is similar with the study on m-TV in Malaysia whereby the effect of PE, EE, FC and intention has no significant differences between genders (Wong et al., 2014). Tan, Ooi, Chong, and Hew (2014) in the study on mobile credit card also revealed that gender is non-significant with MIIT and intention. Similarly, Terzis and Economides (2011) also found that the intention to adopt computer-based assessment is non-significant among genders. The study, however, contradicts with the study by Amin (2007) whereby PEX is moderated by gender in the intention to adopt mobile banking. Interestingly, the relationship between SI and intention is moderated by gender. The study however contradicts with findings by Borrero et al. (2014) on social network sites and Zhang et al. (2010) on the study on mobile search technology.\n7. Implications: The study has several useful implications for researchers, mobile apps developers, travel-related organizations and even government departments when rendering m-apps services and disseminating information to their potential consumers. From the theoretical perspective, the study gathered samples by combining two different models, namely, UTAUT and psychology science constructs. We believe the integrated model will enrich our understanding on the factors crucial to m-apps adoption which is currently limited. Hence, this contributes to the scare academic literatures on m-apps in tourism from an emerging market perspective. In terms of managerial implications, the results can be used as a benchmark for other emerging and South East Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and Philippines which also have a m-device penetration rate of above 100 percent (Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia, 2015). First, practitioners should consider EE especially when designing their advertising campaigns. The navigation system and menu should be crafted such that the easiness when browsing and accessing the apps could prevail. Considering that SI is equally important, opinion of friends, family members, mass-medias' matters, thus SI can be implemented by integrating a sharing button in the apps software with social network sites. Regarding FC, practitioners must provide adequate resources and support for consumers. This may include toll-free customer care numbers, SMS and WhatsApp support, active presence in social sites, e-mail supports, workshop, when consumers encountered problem. As most m-devices incorporate the capability to play back video, audio and since PP is an important construct in this study, practitioners should include the entertainment elements in the apps as part of their marketing campaigns. This could include background music, flash icons and cartoon animations. Consideration should also be given to MIIT. When introducing new innovations, specific promotion methods and incentives should be designed to attract innovators since their purchase behavior is different from non-innovators. On the moderating effect of gender, since male users based their decision making on SI, gender customized marketing approach should be adopted for the needs of this segment market. As PE does not have any significant influence on IU, practitioners should give less emphasis on the usefulness elements in their integrated marketing communication initiatives. Similarly, practitioners should also reduce their resources in developing up-to-date and personalized services according to user identities since PEX has no significant role in motivating consumers. Yang (2013) further suggested to avoid \"vanity appeals\" when crafting any mobile marking strategies.\n8. Limitation and future studies: Although thorough considerations have been taken, there are several limitations that may warrant future research. The study surveyed at major shopping malls in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Cautious therefore should be exercised when generalizing the studies. Future scholars are strongly encouraged to compare the studies using different national subcultures. Another limitation is that our study only includes gender as a moderating variable. Other social-demographic variables, e.g., occupation, education, income, marital status should be considered for approaching research whereby this will lead to a more thorough result. The study also only takes into consideration the general concept of using m-apps to purchase for any tourism-related products and services without taking into consideration the price level. In view of this limitation, future scholars can consider conducting a comparative study from the view point of high-involvement and low-involvement purchases. Lastly, the study only combined two different viewpoints, namely, IS field and psychology, and as such the R2 can only explained about 54.15 percent of the model. There are other antecedents, e.g., government support, service quality and perceived value that might be adopted in order to enhance the statistical power of the findings. However, they were neglected to keep the framework simple. Thus, in order to add richness, additional research can place emphasis on the additional constructs in helping to provide results that can be generalizable across Malaysia.\n9. Conclusion: M-apps have changed the way consumers' shop, whereby the location and the atmospheric of bricks-and-mortar stores have become less importance to attract consumers. The study contributes by providing a better explanation among the consumers in Malaysia BI to adopt m-apps for purchasing tourism-related products and services. Thus, the study will be useful for mobile developers, tourism-related organizations and even government agencies in helping them to promote m-apps as the preferred medium to purchasing online and when formulating appropriate strategies.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology with psychological constructs, namely, perceived playfulness, mobile innovativeness in information technology and perceived expressiveness (PEX) to examine on the consumers' intention to adopt mobile applications (m-apps) as another mean in purchasing tourism-related product and services via their mobile devices. The study also included gender as moderating variable.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Partial least square-structural equation modeling approach was adopted to test the research framework using 474 valid respondents.\nFindings: The results demonstrated that only performance expectancy and PEX are non-significant with the intention to adopt. In addition, gender was found to have a moderating effect between social influence and intention.\nPractical implications: The study has several useful implications for researchers, m-apps developers, travel-related organizations and even government agencies when rendering m-apps services and disseminating information to their potential consumers.\nOriginality/value: The study contributes to the growing literature on m-apps in tourism from a developing country's perspectives.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Empowering at-risk students through appreciative inquiry
|
[
"Students",
"Child welfare",
"Learning methods",
"Teachers",
"Action research",
"United States of America"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction and purpose: Alternative schools are a last chance placement for students who experience failure in the traditional educational school environment. When students are placed in an alternative school they are at greater risk to become injured through violence, commit suicide, contract HIV and SDTs, become pregnant, and develop chronic diseases from poor health habits than many of their peers in traditional high schools (Grunbaum et al., 2009). Moreover, being labeled at-risk, often contributes to their risk factors (Kerka, 2003). Many educators associate alternative schools with ameliorating safety concerns on regular school campuses; yet, there are other alternative high school models (Kleiner et al., 2002).Traditionally, alternative high schools represent one of three basic models:1. innovative alternative schools designed with a non-conventional approach for student learning that include magnet and charter schools;2. last-chance alternative schools - labeled \"correctional\" and often the last chance student expelled from traditional school environments; and3. remedial-focused alternative schools - attentive to modifying student behavior and remediation of academic, social, and emotional skills (Raywid, 1994a).Some alternative schools combine the three classifications.In general, researchers apply a critical inquiry to studying alternative high schools. Research, for example, reports studies examining alternative high school students that focuses on academic, social and emotional factors; quality of academics, capacity to remedy behavioral issues, and, success rate (Dynarski and Gleason, 2002; Hardy, 2002; Tyler and Lofstrom, 2009; Vadeboncoeur, 2009). Furthermore, some researchers label alternative schools as correctional facilities or dumping grounds for disciplinary issues (Free, 2006; Gregg, 1999; McGee, 2001). They identify policies with no long-term benefits for alternative high school students (Raywid, 1994b); and, speak of the conflict between policy and practices to address the learning and behavioral needs of alternative high school students (Kim, 2006). A juxtaposed line of inquiry is one that is asset-based and seeks to discover strengths and assets of at-risk students; viewing them from a positive orientation.The purpose of this action research study, therefore, was to identify how at-risk high school students in an alternative school describe how they best learn and to extrapolate their preferred learning practices to improve teacher pedagogical practices. This study reports action research describing how at-risk students through involvement in an appreciative inquiry (AI) 4-D cycle contributed to the transformation of their learning environment in the alternative school they attended and influenced the pedagogical practices of their teachers. To protect the confidentially of students, teachers, school district, and the alternative high school reported in the study, we use pseudonyms for all names including the school district and the alternative high school.We defined an alternative high school as a public high school that provides a non-traditional education for students who:* seemingly lack successful educational experiences;* are at-risk of dropping out; or* are dissatisfied with the traditional school setting.We speculated that, too often, alternative school students are viewed from a deficit based lens. We sought to demonstrate that focusing on the strengths of students and describing how they best learn could influence their learning environment. We agreed with Lincoln (1995) who posited the importance of considering the student as a stakeholder and listening to the student about how s/he best learns. Consequently, we selected an AI action research model to frame our work.Appreciative inquiry is a theoretical research perspective guiding the direction of inquiry that emphasizes collective action at a decentralized level that fosters social capital, mutual respect, and generative thinking; it is driven by the belief that in every organization a discoverable positive core of success exists (Calabrese, 2006).As one of multiple forms of action research, AI's highly participative nature and democratic processes immerse whole groups into self and organizational renewal (Cooperrider and Srivastva, 1987; Reason and McArdle, 2007).Because it is action research, the AI researcher acts as participant and observer fully immersed with participants as he/she facilitates the AI 4-D cycle (Doveston, 2007). In doing so, the AI researcher guides participants through a sequenced set of AI protocols in the four distinct stages: discover, dream, design, and destiny.Each of these stages requires full participant involvement in collective action. As participants move through each stage, a shift in mindset moves participants toward optimism and a belief that a desired imagined future is possible (Egan and Lancaster, 2005; Ludema et al., 2003; Reason and Torbert, 2001). During this process, AI reframes deficit-based language and thinking into asset-based language aimed at imagination and innovation where participants cooperate and link their aspirations toward a compelling and desired future (Ludema et al., 2003; Whitney and Cooperrider, 2000).Appreciative inquiry evolved from several different, yet, complimentary lines of inquiry: positive thinking, optimism, the power of visualization, the Pygmalion effect, mind-body health research, and humanistic psychology (Boyd and Bright, 2007; Cooperrider, 1990; Fitzgerald et al., 2001; Linley et al., 2009; Ludema, 2000). AI enables organizations to create shared positive images so they are equipped with the tools to achieve the co-constructed, desired future, through discourse and anticipation. The heliotropic nature of AI is generated from imaging a positive, empowered future during the dream stage of the AI 4-D cycle (Elliott, 1999). Movement toward a positive, empowered future is built on the human conversations and the stories participants share. Asking unconditional positive questions to guide these conversations serves to change the inner dialogue in organizations producing positive action (Bushe, 1998). This focus is supported by research on positive thinking, optimism, the power of the visualization, athletic mental practice, and the Pygmalion effect (Beecher, 1955; Kirschenbaum et al., 1982; Rosenthal and Jacobson, 1968).Appreciative inquiry differs from traditional problem solving models by encouraging participants to reflect on and share personal past experiences of achievement within the organization. Most notably, participants are engaged in a change oriented process conducted in real time, in a social system guided by collective action and reflective thought (Egan and Lancaster, 2005). AI extends traditional action research through the engagement of storytelling narratives focused on sharing the best from the past directed toward a collective imagined future for the organization. Its multiple applications involve whole-group action research in business, science, and social science domains (Baskett, 1993; Bloom and Archer-Martin, 2002; Egan and Lancaster, 2005; Havens et al., 2006). It is used for strategic planning processes for universities and colleges (Finegold et al., 2002; Helland and Winston, 2005). It is used by whole communities and nations (Browne, 1998, 1999; Finegold et al., 2002). More recently, AI has been used as a research methodology and theoretical research perspective in applying the power of imagination and innovation to public schools. Specifically, AI has been applied in an inner-city urban high school, among teachers of at-risk students, in a low-performing middle school, identifying the strengths of a unique special education program, and in an inner-city middle school to improve professional development practices (Calabrese, 2006; Calabrese et al., 2007; Calabrese, Patterson, Liu, Goodvin, Hummel and Nance, 2008; Calabrese, San Martin, Glascow and Friesen, 2008).In this study, we used AI as a theoretical research perspective and an action research methodology. Our AI line of inquiry was designed to collect data based on student strengths and assets, and driven by our belief that the students had the capacity to be successfully guided through the AI 4-D cycle.Context of the study\nFindings: We identified four salient findings:1. Relevant experiences were important for learning.2. A cooperative and respectful learning environment is a core value.3. Learning should be enjoyable.4. The concept of family became an important metaphor for the learning environment.We present the findings in the order using rich and descriptive data taken from the students' involvement in the discovery and dream stages of the AI 4-D cycle. We used the qualitative practice of emendation in several of the quotations to increase readability, yet maintain the specific intent and meaning of the speaker. We refer to the participants as students throughout the presentation of findings.Finding 1. Relevant experiences were important for learning\nConclusion and discussion: This study's four findings:1. relevant experiences were important for learning;2. a cooperative and respectful learning environment is a core value;3. learning should be enjoyable; and4. the concept of family became an important metaphor for the learning environment.These findings are encapsulated within the notion of student empowerment. The AI 4-D cycle is an empowering process. As Cooperrider and Whitney (2003) state:AI seeks, fundamentally, to build a constructive union between a whole people and the massive entirety of what people talk about as past and present capacities: achievements, assets, unexplored potentials, innovations, strengths, elevated thoughts, opportunities, benchmarks, high point moments, lived values, traditions, strategic competencies, stories, expressions of wisdom, insights into the deeper corporate spirit or soul- and visions of valued and possible futures (para. 16).Consequently, we use the term empowerment since the collective voice of students within the AI structure created a sense of empowerment and encouraged them to exert a sense of power over how they believed their environment should be shaped.Our research tells the story of empowering at-risk students to contribute meaningfully to defining the learning environment of their alternative high school. Empowerment in a school or work environment flows from two different, yet complimentary components:1. It results from a concerted effort to put into place the structure, policies, and practices that create conditions for empowerment among those in the work (in this study, school) environment.2. It results from the psychological belief among those in the work place that they are empowered (Spreitzer, 2007).In this study, the students in this alternative high school felt empowered through both complimentary components.The AI process created the structure and practices allowing these alternative high school students to feel that they were empowered in influencing how they might be taught and what they should learn. The AI process also enhanced the students' belief of personal empowerment. These students became so engaged in the AI process that they created a digital story to share with teachers and administrators related to how they best learn. As a result of their presentation to their teachers and administrators, administrators and teachers agreed to examine current pedagogical practices to make them more relevant to students. Because of this administrative decision, the students felt empowered since their teachers and administrators gave credence to their recommendations for improving pedagogical practices.Although the research questions focused on the students' discovery of high point experiences and dreams of an optimal learning environment. In essence, participation in the AI process changed the focus from deficit thinking that might lead to defensiveness to a focus on strengths and possibilities. Researchers indicate that reflecting and writing on positive values and experiences creates an environment of acceptance (Kline, 2008).We believe that student involvement in the AI process can be beneficial to administrators and teachers concerned with creating an optimal learning environment. The AI process offers an alternative to the traditional, deficit-based problem solving view often taken of at-risk students who seemingly fail in traditional high school classroom settings and are placed in alternative high schools as a last resort. We suggest that instead of working on these students, it is better to work with them. This may mean a change of administrator and teacher focus where alternative high school students are the recipients of administrator and teacher decisions regarding appropriate learning environments to inclusion of these students in a cooperative and collaborative decision making process. There is growing support for improving education by expanding the boundaries for cooperation and collaboration (Slater, 2004). Including students in the conversation about creating and maintaining a healthy learning environment empowers all parties: students, administrators, and teachers.Based on our study, we offer three recommendations for administrative praxis using the AI process:1. The AI process can be a source for administrators for forming collaborative partnership with students and teachers. The administrator, as leader of the AI process encourages collective action to sustain inspired effort toward creating a healthy learning environment. Collective action with an AI focus contributes to higher levels of social capital among partners in a collaborative educational enterprises (Calabrese, 2006).2. The AI process encourages administrators and teachers in alternative high schools to rethink traditional pedagogical strategies and to incorporate new strategies that include more relevant applications. These strategies might employ greater use of evolving technology and whole group interaction where teachers participate as teacher and learner with students. This approach is consistent with Freire's theory that learners should be involved in a process that contributes to the definition of their learning content and outcomes (Rudd and Comings, 1994).3. The AI process encourages administrators and teachers to embrace collective whole group discussions as a means of student empowerment. Empowering alternative high school students in being participants in co-constructing a healthy learning environment may have long-term benefits contributing to whole system change (Whitney and Cooperrider, 2000).Our work in this alternative high school suggests multiple opportunities for further research in similar environments. The extension of the AI 4-D cycle to include the Design and Destiny stages is an appropriate next step. Further applications of the AI 4-D cycle to traditional high school students, teachers, parents, administrators, and additional school stakeholders are needed. These and similar applications of the AI process provide researchers with opportunities to explore the potential that AI has to close the gap between student expectations of the teaching and learning process, particularly - espoused theory versus theory-in-use (Argyris and Schon, 1974) as well as the overall improvement of the administration/management of schools.The generative nature of AI, with the formulation of unconditional positive questions, shifts the direction of traditional conversations of teaching and learning (Watkins and Mohr, 2001). We were humbled by the generative excitement of students as they became empowered. We saw that their claims to how they should learn made sense in the light of evolving learning theory. They asked to be treated with respect, in a safe environment, and to have a say in the development of meaningful and relevant learning activities. These alternative school students may have presented a recipe for creating a healthy learning environment in multiple settings that school administrators may use as a model in alternative or traditional school settings.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to identify how at-risk high school students in an alternative school describe how they best learn and to extrapolate their preferred learning practices to improve teacher pedagogical practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors used a qualitative case study design to facilitate the first two stages of an appreciative inquiry (AI) 4-D cycle - discovery and dream. Eight alternative high school students, four males and four females, were purposively selected as participants. Data collection methods included: group discussions, semi-structured paired interviews, and participant generated documents and visual presentation for district administrators and teachers. Data were analyzed using content analysis, open coding, axial coding, text analysis software, and pattern matching.\nFindings: - The study produced four salient findings: relevant experiences were important for learning; a cooperative and respectful learning environment is a core value; learning should be enjoyable; and, the concept of family became an important metaphor for the learning environment.\nOriginality/value: - The findings from this study suggest that further research with AI in educational settings may have important implications to inspire educators to think in new ways about learning.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Leadership and administrative support for interprofessional collaboration in a cancer center
|
[
"Administration",
"Cancer care",
"Healthcare professionals",
"Interprofessional collaboration",
"Leadership",
"Quantitative methods"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Leadership and administrative support can facilitate interprofessional collaboration and optimize practices to produce quality in cancer care (Lamb et al., 2011; Soukup et al., 2018).In interprofessional collaboration, professionals from different disciplines work in cooperation for the benefit of patients' care (Denton and Conron, 2016; Petri, 2010) with shared objectives (Petri, 2010). Cancer care is a typical area of interprofessional collaboration including professionals from varying fields, such as physicians, radiologists and nursing professionals (Prades et al., 2015) with different backgrounds and values. Thus, interprofessional collaboration can be complex (Petri, 2010), and leadership is essential for the effective functioning of the professionals' collaboration (Soukup et al., 2018). However, a need to examine further the role of leadership in interprofessional collaboration in cancer care has been recognized (Brewer et al., 2016; Denton and Conron, 2016; Lamb et al., 2011; Laschinger and Smith, 2013) in order to strengthen the interprofessional practices in healthcare setting.Interprofessional collaboration has been recognized to produce benefits for patients, professionals and organizations, and it can be facilitated by effective leadership and administrative support. Benefits for cancer patients (Chiew et al., 2018; Denton and Conron, 2016; Prades et al., 2015) means improved comprehensiveness (Chiew et al., 2018; Saini et al., 2012) and quality of care (Das et al., 2018; Kedia et al., 2015). For professionals, interprofessional collaboration has improved cooperation, including communication (Prades et al., 2015) and understanding of other professionals' role in cancer care (Laschinger and Smith, 2013). For organizations, benefits are seen through improved coordination (Denton and Conron, 2016; Petri, 2010) and decreased healthcare costs (Das et al., 2018; Petri, 2010).To achieve these benefits, effective interprofessional collaboration requires commitment on the part of the participating professionals, but also facilitating leadership and administrative support (Denton and Conron, 2016; Lamb et al., 2011; Laschinger and Smith, 2013; Petri, 2010; Prades et al., 2015; Soukup et al., 2018). Leadership refers to the actions of leading people, whereas administrative support refers to the means within the organization to reinforce and enable interprofessional collaboration, including organization strategy and organizational management (Elkhdr, 2019).Leadership and administrative support can facilitate interprofessional collaboration (Karam et al., 2018; Lamb et al., 2011; Soukup et al., 2018) by promoting shared goals, developing structures for the collaboration and establishing communication channels and tools (Karam et al., 2018), including appropriate facilities, equipment, logistics, technology (Soukup et al., 2018; Willcocks, 2018) and time for participating in the collaboration (Denton and Conron, 2016; Lamb et al., 2011). Leaders can promote collaboration by allocating and coordinating resources and service delivery for the patient, and their task is to formalize and evaluate the collaboration processes (Karam et al., 2018; Willcocks, 2018).Leadership of interprofessional collaboration requires specific competencies, such as skills to build collaboration, motivate professionals into shared goals and facilitate open communication (American Organization of Nurse Executives, 2015; Grubaugh and Flynn, 2018; Kainuma et al., 2018; Karam et al., 2018; McGrath et al., 2019). Competence requirements also include skills to build trust and relationships with other professionals and skills to create a respectful environment that appreciates professionals from different disciplines (American Organization of Nurse Executives, 2015; Brewer et al., 2016; Kainuma et al., 2018).Effective leadership has an opportunity to contribute to the effectiveness, stability (Prades et al., 2015) and quality of interprofessional collaboration (Lamb et al., 2011; Laschinger and Smith, 2013) including improved decision-making among participating professionals (Lamb et al., 2011). It can also promote equality and professional participation in interprofessional collaboration (Soukup et al., 2018), which can improve professionals' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration (Laschinger and Smith, 2013).Even though the importance of leadership and administrative support in interprofessional collaboration in cancer care setting has been established, the focus of previous studies has been on the outcomes of interprofessional collaboration in cancer care (Das et al., 2018; Li et al., 2017; Prades et al., 2015), with only a few studies targeting leadership (Laschinger and Smith, 2013; Willcocks, 2018). Thus, the need for further study focusing on leadership and how it can support interprofessional collaboration in cancer care is evident (Denton and Conron, 2016; Lamb et al., 2011; Laschinger and Smith, 2013) in order to strengthen administrative and leadership practices to contribute to the quality of collaboration for the benefit of the patients.This study aimed to analyze healthcare professionals' perceptions of leadership and administrative support (strategic and management support) in interprofessional collaboration.The ultimate aim is to contribute to the development of leadership and administrative practices in the cancer care setting to be responsive to healthcare professionals' perceptions.The research questions were:RQ1. What kind of perceptions do healthcare professionals have regarding leadership and administrative support in interprofessional collaboration?RQ2. What differences, if any, are there in healthcare professionals' perceptions according to the background factors?\nMethods: Measure\nResults: Respondents\nDiscussion: The perceptions of healthcare professionals in cancer care regarding leadership and administrative support (strategic and management support) for interprofessional collaboration were versatile and did not clearly support the results of earlier studies (Walsh et al., 2011). However, the results indicate that leadership and administrative support have a role in the realization of interprofessional collaboration; the connection was seen especially on the strategic level. Interprofessional collaboration was seen as a goal, but the realization of the supportive actions and resources needed was not so clear. This gives reason to continue research in the field of cancer care.There are also some background factors of professionals to be considered. Male respondents and those in leading positions perceived the leadership and administrative support for interprofessional collaboration as higher than others in cancer care setting. Male respondents may have been in leading position, which can partly explain the differences between genders, but further studies are needed to clarify this in more detail. However, in earlier studies on mental health (Forsyth and Manson, 2017), no differences between healthcare professionals have been found. Positive perceptions among professionals in a leading position may be dependent on their different responsibilities within the organization or due to their better access and knowledge of the organization. Leaders' perceptions may also be the result of their blind spots toward their own work, seeing interprofessional collaboration more positively than others. However, it is not possible to analyze these dependencies in this data.According to the respondents of this study, the leaders could support interprofessional collaboration by ensuring the resources for it, including personnel, time and education of professionals. The leaders' recognition with both positive and constructive feedback to professionals could also support collaborative practices and their development. However, more research is needed to elaborate professionals' perceptions to identify key practices to support interprofessional collaboration and its management.Critical perceptions of leadership and administrative support for interprofessional collaboration highlight the question of leaders' competence and education for facilitating interprofessional collaboration. Leaders might benefit from interprofessional collaboration with professionals from different disciplines, but also with other leaders (Vestergaard and Norgaard, 2018) at different levels of the organization. The need to examine competence of leadership in interprofessional collaboration has been acknowledged in a previous study (Brewer et al., 2016). Leaders' competence in the field of interprofessional collaboration also includes self-reflection and critical thinking skills (McGrath et al., 2019) targeted not only at the examination of professionals' collaboration but also at their own competence and education. Leading and managing professionals from varying disciplines with limited resources can be complicated and result in a sense of being overwhelmed (Reeves et al., 2010).However, interprofessional leaders have traditionally had only little education or administrative support for the development of their competence. Current professional education and socialization have been claimed to be exclusive, focusing only one discipline and preventing leaders from developing skills to create a common language and shared goals with other fields. (Reeves et al., 2010). Healthcare leaders' education could also include development of interprofessional competence with communication skills and understanding of other healthcare disciplines. Ensuring leaders' competence is a shared responsibility for individual leaders and organizations.Leaders need support from the organizations in order to facilitate and reinforce professionals in their interprofessional collaboration. The role of organization is to ensure that leaders have commitment, motivation and education to lead and manage interprofessional collaboration (Pihlainen et al., 2019). Collaborative practices can be supported by acknowledging interprofessional collaboration throughout the organization and its strategic guidelines, structures and all levels of administration (Grubaugh and Flynn, 2018). However, administrative support of interprofessional collaboration requires further attention from the healthcare organizations and research. One way of supporting leadership would be to renegotiate supervisors' and managers' roles and responsibilities in enabling interprofessional collaboration (Valentine, 2018).Development and support of interprofessional collaboration require constant evaluation from the perspective of both leaders and professionals. Evaluation could be conducted, for example, using regular, validated surveys (Peltonen et al., 2020), observations or some participatory methods (Hyytinen et al., 2019). All these methods should produce systematic, evidence-based knowledge about interprofessional collaboration for the organizations.Limitations of the study\nConclusion: Healthcare professionals' perceptions of leadership and administrative support for interprofessional collaboration in cancer care were versatile. Interprofessional collaboration is included among the goals in organizations, but the results indicate that there is a need for more supportive actions and resources. The findings of our study can help leaders to identify different aspects of leadership and management influencing interprofessional collaboration, so that these can be taken into consideration when assessing and developing practices.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The interprofessional collaboration is a key practice for providing cancer care. However, the realization of collaboration requires effective leadership and administrative support. In this study, the aim was to analyze healthcare professionals' perceptions of leadership and administrative support (strategic and management) in interprofessional collaboration for developing practices in cancer care.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A descriptive survey design was used to collect data from healthcare professionals (n = 350, response rate 33.3%), including nurses, physicians and other professionals participating in patient care in one Finnish cancer center (out of five) in 05/2018-10/2018. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The instrument focused on leadership in the work unit and administrative support including organization strategy and organizational management.\nFindings: Healthcare professionals perceived leadership in the work unit, organization strategy and management for the support of interprofessional collaboration as weak. However, the ratings of male respondents and those in leading positions were more positive. The findings indicate that healthcare professionals in the cancer care setting are dissatisfied with the leadership and administrative support.\nResearch limitations/implications: Interprofessional collaboration, including its leadership, requires systematic and constant evaluation and development.\nOriginality/value: Healthcare leaders in the cancer care setting can use the results to identify factors that might be in need of attention and development in the field of interprofessional collaboration.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Client recommendations for financial incentives on construction projects
|
[
"Contracts",
"Construction industry",
"Incentives (psychology)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In advanced economies globally, government agencies are major construction clients due to their engagement in extensive repeat work (Manley, 2006; Taskforce on Sustainable Construction, 2007). Such agencies are seen as industry leaders that have the potential to drive innovative \"best practice\" in construction procurement (Manley, 2006). Financial incentive mechanisms (FIMs) can be an important tool of such leaders, as incentives can improve project outcomes for the social benefit of tax payers and building users, while also creating positive cultural change and supporting industry development (Rose and Manley, 2005). FIMs also clearly offer the potential for improved project outcomes for private-sector clients.Financial incentives aim to raise efficiency by increasing the motivation to work harder and smarter through the offer of a financial reward (Sliwka, 2003). FIMs are used to increase the effort of contract agents (contractors and consultants) towards voluntary performance goals beyond minimum contractual specifications. This can potentially be achieved by having the contractor/consultants share in the client's success from the project in a wide range of performance areas such as cost containment, schedule performance and quality of workmanship. Yet, FIM effectiveness is moderated by the features of their design and the nature of the context in which they are used (Bresnen and Marshall, 2000). Therefore, in order to optimise their effectiveness, clients require a clear understanding of how the FIM aligns with the overall procurement approach.Despite the potential of FIMs, they can induce undesired behaviour and can inhibit the formation of the trust and cooperation between construction stakeholders if not designed and implemented carefully (Kadefors, 2004). A major challenge in motivating contracting parties is the complexity of the construction product supply chain. According to Rahman and Kumaraswamy (2004), construction projects are typically characterised by disjointed relationships between contracting parties, misalignment of objectives and risk-averse behaviours. Thus, FIMs need to be designed to promote unified motivation across highly inter-dependent but contractually fragmented multi-organisational project teams. Rewarding some organisations within the team, but not others, can be sub-optimal.Until now, there have been no comprehensive construction-specific recommendations available to clients to improve FIM performance. This paper addresses this knowledge gap. The recommendations provided here arise from the findings of four case studies of large Australian building projects commissioned by government clients under managing contractor contracts and completed between 2001 and 2005. Such recommendations can be applied to a wide range of procurement approaches that incorporate FIMs, a wide range of project types, and to private-sector clients.\n2. Background: Currently, the construction industry globally faces problems with long-term performance, competitiveness and productivity. For example, in the Australian context, labour productivity (gross value added per person employed) over the last 20 years has been low compared to economy-wide figures (Master Builders Association, 2006). Productivity improvements within the construction industry can have a significant positive impact on economic performance (ACIL Tasman, 2005). The construction industry has strong multiplier linkages with important industries in the economy, particularly transport and mining. Using macroeconomic modelling techniques, the impact on gross domestic product (GDP) of increased productivity in different sectors can be forecast. For example, if a one-off sustained 10 per cent improvement in productivity is assumed in each service sector in the Australian economy, and the impact on GDP is assessed, the construction sector will have the biggest average annual impact, estimated at 3 per cent over 20 years (2000-2020) (ACIL Tasman, 2005). These predictions reinforce the need for industry-focused research and development into improved business, production and labour practices to decrease costs and improve productivity.According to large-scale investigations into future directions of the construction industry in countries such as Australia and the UK (Hampson and Brandon, 2004; Egan, 1998), there are significant barriers to change that have impacted on growth, including:* a fragmented and adversarial industry structure;* a short-term approach to finance and planning, risk aversion; and* poor profit margins.The investigations also identified that future research into improved procurement models was needed to improve the industry's performance. Similarly, the Australian Expert Group in Industry Studies (1998) and Sidwell et al. (2002) identified the use of advanced procurement strategies that incorporate incentive systems that reward performance, as important to the industry's continuous development.As major clients, government agencies are considered to be in an ideal position to drive industry growth through promoting advanced procurement approaches. For example, Australian government projects account for approximately 25 per cent of all non-residential building activity by value of work done, and 45 per cent of projects in health, education, recreation and related areas (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005). Governments should promote industry development by leading the way in their own procurement initiatives, including the use of compatible financial incentive regimes (Australian Procurement and Construction Council, 1997), which the private sector may be encouraged to emulate.Despite recent use of advanced procurement approaches such as alliancing (that incorporate contractual incentive systems), the industry faces continuing challenges related to the subtle balances required in designing risk/reward systems that motivate project stakeholders (Rose, 2008). Despite the reported challenges faced by industry, there has been little research into the impact of incentive mechanisms in a construction project context, particularly in relation to their underpinning motivational principles and their impact on project performance (Bresnen and Marshall, 2000). This paper addresses this knowledge gap and provides industry-specific recommendations to be considered by project leaders when designing procurement approaches that incorporate financial incentives.\n3. Methods: This paper is based on the results of a large-scale investigation into financial incentive effectiveness in construction projects. The research problem addressed was that government clients have very little information available to them on how to incorporate incentives in their projects (as a part of an overall procurement strategy), nor do they fully understand the impact of incentives on project motivation. In response to this, four case studies were undertaken of large Australian building projects commissioned by government clients under managing contractor contracts and completed between 2001 and 2005. The aim was to identify the project \"drivers\" that promoted motivation toward the voluntary incentive goals in each project.Table I shows that the case studies involved different contexts, primarily related to incentive type, contract type (within the managing contractor arrangements) and incentive outcome. It will be shown that incentive type and contract differences impacted motivation toward incentive goals.The research employed a qualitative multi-case methodology. Case studies were seen as the best method given the complexity of project environments, and the need for in-depth understanding of the dynamics surrounding project-based motivation in order to effectively scope and identify project drivers and derive project recommendations. Four case projects were deemed sufficient to derive cross-case conclusions. This number falls within the optimal range recommended by Eisenhardt (1989) of between four and ten cases. Eisenhardt (1989) states that with fewer than four case studies, the empirical grounding of the research is likely to be unconvincing, and with more than ten cases it can be very difficult to manage the complexity and volume of data.The case studies were based on personal interviews covering four key stakeholder types - i.e. client, head contractor, consultants and subcontractors - who were heavily involved in the procurement and delivery of the case projects. Two people from each of the four types of stakeholders were interviewed on each project, so that overall 32 personal interviews were conducted, each ranging from 60 to 90 minutes' duration, based on semi-structured questions.Extensive preliminary data were collected, which helped shape the interviews. The semi-structured questions were founded on a set of four motivation indicators derived from organisational management and motivational theory literature. These motivation indicators are:1. goal commitment;2. distributive justice;3. process fairness; and4. interactional justice.Rose (2008) provides further information on the theoretical development of these motivation indicators. Interview data was captured by note-taking and digital recording that was transcribed verbatim in order to develop an accurate and comprehensive database. Informal field notes were also taken during site visits and the interviews.Case study findings were triangulated across the following data sources:* the semi-structured interviews;* project and contractual documentation (including project briefs and minutes from meetings);* industry publications; and* site visits.Triangulation across these data sources strengthened the validity of the research results, as supported by Patton (2002).Raw interview data was examined using content analysis. This involved manually aggregating themes and categories from the interview transcripts and secondary data, and discriminating between them. The identification and refinement of driver categories was achieved by inductive coding. The primary data amounted to approximately 33,000 words contained in interview transcripts.Each driver coding category was revised and refined until clear lines could be drawn between the identified project drivers that promoted motivation towards the voluntary goals. Care was taken to identify categories that covered all instances, were limited in number and were mutually exclusive. Due to the subjective nature of content analysis, an \"expert panel\" was formed to test content analysis accuracy and ensure inadvertent bias was minimised. An expert panel was convened to undertake an inter-judge reliability test, which resulted in over 80 per cent accuracy between allocations by the judges and the researchers, providing evidence of the reliability of the coding of motivation drivers.\n4. Client recommendations: Figure 1 illustrates the client recommendations that address the motivation drivers identified in the study. The discussion is organised around the five key project areas that have been shown to give rise to motivation drivers.4.1 FIM\n5. Conclusion: Financial incentives have been promoted as a valuable contract option that can exert a positive influence on project success. The literature suggests that they have the potential to align client and contractor objectives and, within the delivery approach, they can encourage cooperation. The research results support this general argument, but emphasise the importance of tailoring FIMs and associated delivery initiatives to suit the specific project context.In addressing the lack of guidance for clients in the use of FIMs in construction projects, this paper presented eight client-focused recommendations derived from the results of a major research project into FIM effectiveness. This research suggests that the uptake of these recommendations by clients is likely to increase the effectiveness of FIMs and promote overall motivation towards incentive goals. Client attention has been directed towards the following design and delivery initiatives in order to promote incentive goal motivation:* flexibility to modify incentive goals and measurement processes;* multiple-goal FIMs that increase opportunities to secure an incentive reward;* team performance-based reward distribution and a reward amount sufficient to be valued by potential recipients;* equitable risk allocation between the client and contractor and fair contract price negotiation;* early contractor involvement in design stages;* value-driven tender selection based on non-price criteria;* formal relationship development programs including early workshops and ongoing reviews; and* possible future work opportunities to motivate performance.Although three of the above recommendations relate to the FIM design, a significant finding was that project stakeholder motivation towards the incentive goals was strongly promoted through the development of good project relationships, including an appropriate risk allocation, and the offer of future work opportunities. Client managers should consider all opportunities for establishing trust and improving relational quality on their projects. If good relational quality cannot be achieved, the effectiveness of an FIM in promoting motivation is likely to be compromised.The qualitative findings presented here apply directly to government clients on Australian building projects commissioned under managing contractor arrangements and completed between 2001 and 2006. It seems that these results will be more generally applicable. There is no evidence to suggest that the recommendations provided would not apply equally to private-sector clients, or to other countries, time periods, or types of constructed assets. On the other hand, different types of incentives and contract arrangements will affect motivation, as discussed in the client recommendations. Further research is required to make more robust conclusions concerning the generalisability of the study's results.Although this paper's intention has been to make an empirical contribution, it is noteworthy that the findings add to the existing literature on financial incentives, by looking at the application of incentives in a multi-organisation construction team environment for one of the first times. The literature cited in this paper has drawn attention to the beneficial role of personal, team and organisational incentives, depending on the context under study. The current paper adds to the literature on within-organisation teams, by exploring the dynamics in inter-organisational teams. The findings indicate that a thorough understanding of context is required in the optimal design of incentives.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper seeks to provide recommendations for construction clients who design and implement financial incentive mechanisms (FIMs) on projects.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Four large Australian building projects commissioned by government clients under managing contractor contracts and completed between 2001 and 2005 were examined to explore the \"drivers\" that promoted motivation toward financial incentive goals. The results were triangulated across data sources, projects and stakeholder types.\nFindings: - FIM design should incorporate: flexibility to modify goals and measurement procedures over time; multiple goals covering different project areas; distribution of rewards across all the key organisations contributing to team performance (e.g. potentially not just the contractor, but the subcontractors and consultants) and a reward amount sufficient to be valued by potential recipients. FIM benefits are maximised through the following complementary procurement initiatives: equitable contract risk allocation; early contractor involvement in design; value-driven tender selection; relationship workshops; and future work opportunities.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper provides practical recommendations to industry and hence does not emphasise theoretical aspects.\nPractical implications: - The uptake of these recommendations is likely to increase the impact of FIMs on motivation and improve project and industry outcomes. Although the study focuses on government clients of building projects, all the recommendations would seem to apply equally to private-sector clients and to non-building projects.\nOriginality/value: - In order to improve motivation and reward high performance, clients are increasingly using FIM in their construction contracts. Despite the rising use of financial incentives, there is a lack of comprehensive construction-specific knowledge available to help clients maximise outcomes. The study addresses this gap in the literature.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
"Chopin" effect? An exploratory study on how musical tempo influence consumer choice of drink with different temperatures
|
[
"Choice",
"Temperature",
"Music",
"Drink",
"Tempo"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Each day consumers all around the world make many decisions about food and drink choices. Indeed, having a good meal is among life's most basic, yet delightful experiences. Although the sense of taste and smell are probably the most common sensory modalities consumers consider in the context of a dining experience, there is a growing body of literature that suggests how different environmental cues (e.g. auditory cues such as musical stimuli) can also affect consumer perceptions of food and drink (North, 2012; Fiegel et al., 2014). For example, North (2012) showed how various background music can differentially influence the way consumers describe the taste of the same wine.\nTheoretical background: Music and the perception of food and drink\nStudy 1: Study 1 aims to test the effect of different musical tempi (i.e. fast vs slow) on consumer choice of drink (e.g. tea) in its cold and hot presentations. This study also examines another important musical attributes, that is, musical mode (i.e. major vs minor). Musical mode is a musical variable that defines the arrangement of musical intervals in a musical piece. Musical mode is generally considered to be a powerful variable to indicate and elicit different affective valence (i.e. positive vs negative): major (minor) musical mode induces positive (negative) affect (Webster and Weir, 2005; Knoferle et al., 2012). This musical variable was included because the valence of affect might influence arousal level (Di Muro and Murray, 2012).\nStudy 2: Study 2 aims to extend Study 1 in two ways. First, this study examines the boundary condition of musical tempo effect. Specifically, following prior works on incidental affect, Study 2 examines whether the predicted effect still hold when consumers are (un)aware of the source of their feeling. That is, previous studies have demonstrated that when the source of the feeling and arousal level is made salient, their effects dissipate (Di Muro and Murray, 2012; Kim et al., 2010). Consequently, we expect that awareness cue will moderate the effect of musical tempo on consumer choice, such that when awareness cue is not present, consumers who listen to fast (slow) tempo music are more likely to choose cold (hot) drink, whereas when awareness cue is present, musical tempo effect on consumer choice will dissipate.\nGeneral discussion: There is an emerging interest in the literature that examines how auditory cues (e.g. musical stimuli) can affect consumer perceptions of food and drink (Spence and Shankar, 2010; Spence, 2012). However, the majority of such studies typically investigate the cross-modal correspondences between auditory cues and different basic tastes (i.e. sense of taste) (Knoferle and Spence, 2012) or the influences of musical stimuli on flavor perceptions (i.e. sense of taste) (North, 2012). This paper aims to extend extant literature in this stream by exploring how musical tempo (i.e. fast vs cold) can influence consumer choice of beverages (e.g. tea) in different temperature presentations (i.e. cold vs hot). Temperature is particularly interesting and important variable because consumers usually have strong preferences about the temperature of food and drink they consume (e.g. hot soup, cold soft drink).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of musical tempo on consumer choice of tea in different temperatures.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Across two studies, participants were asked to listen to several musical stimuli with different tempi (i.e. slow or fast). Then, they were asked to evaluate and choose one drink (i.e. iced tea or hot tea).\nFindings: Results suggest that consumers who listen to fast (slow) tempo music are more likely to choose iced (hot) tea. This effect is robust across different musical modes (i.e. major or minor) (Study 1). However, this musical tempo effect is attenuated when the participants are aware that the music they listened to can influence their judgments (Study 2).\nResearch limitations/implications: This research is an exploratory study. Thus, further examinations are needed to fully understand the underlying mechanism of this effect. Nonetheless, this research provides an initial evidence of the mediator of this effect.\nOriginality/value: This research explores how different musical tempi can influence consumer choice of hot or iced tea. Thus, this research adds understanding on how auditory cues (e.g. musical stimuli) can influence consumer choice of other food and drink variables (e.g. temperature).\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Political choices: the role of political skill in occupational choice
|
[
"Politics and political science",
"Careers",
"Personality",
"Interpersonal skills"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Research involving individuals and the politicization of work has tended to focus on career outcomes rather than choices and entry. While demonstrating that politics can impact careers, the results seem to depend upon the perspective of the researcher (Vigoda-Gadot and Drory, 2006). When subjects are active participants, the results are generally positive, including higher performance ratings (Ferris et al., 1994; Wayne et al., 1997), promotions (Thacker and Wayne, 1995), and raises (Kipnis and Schmidt, 1988). Conversely, when respondents are passive observers of politics, the results trend towards the negative (Andrews et al., 2003; Byrne, 2005; Gilmore et al., 1996; Vigoda-Gadot and Kapun, 2005). By shifting the focus to career choice and entry, the present study provides a valuable opportunity to understand this disparity by exploring the issue of occupational fit.\nMethods: Sample\nResults: Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix\nDiscussion: Overall, the results support the proposition that political skill relates to one's choice of major/career. While establishing the relevance of the overall measure of political skill represents an important contribution to the literature, perhaps the more interesting result is how the individual sub-dimensions relate to occupational choices. For example, in the main analysis between people- and technical- majors/careers, only the sub-dimension of Networking Ability was significant (p<0.05), raising questions about its relative dominancy.This result provides a context for understanding the differences in the profiles of social and enterprising majors. Specifically, Interpersonal Influence, which would be one way of establishing personal networks, had the greatest impact on the pursuit of enterprising majors and careers. By comparison, Apparent Sincerity, representing another way to cultivate personal networks, was the strongest factor for those pursuing social majors and careers. So where the enterprising student would seem to use more overt ways of being political, social people would rely on their Apparent Sincerity to more covertly engage in influencing others (Ferris et al., 2002).Directions for future research and implications\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to investigate how political skill relates to career decisions and occupational fit.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study utilizes undergraduate business majors to determine how their level of political skill influences their choice of career/major in a Holland-type framework. Hypotheses are tested using logistic regression.\nFindings: - The paper finds that there is general support for the proposition that political skill influences the pursuit of social and enterprising majors/careers.\nResearch limitations/implications: - While choice of major is a strong indicator of occupational choice, it is not a direct measure of individual careers. However, the results provide insight regarding how organizational politics relates to individual careers and suggests the need for further study.\nPractical implications: - The paper provides a valuable additional factor for assessing career fit.\nOriginality/value: - This paper is the first to critically examine organizational politics with reference to career choices rather than career outcomes and provides insight into how these affect satisfaction and success.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Outsourcing decisions - the case of parallel production
|
[
"Outsourcing",
"Concurrent sourcing",
"Insourcing",
"Mixed strategy",
"Parallel production",
"Taper integration"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The concept of combining \"make and buy\" by keeping some capacity under internal governance instead of fully closing in-house production is not new. For example, Porter (1980) and Harrigan (1984, 1986) addressed the topic when debating vertical integration under the label of \"taper integration.\" The mixed strategy option was also researched to some extent in the \"make or buy\" literature during the 1980s (e.g. Leenders and Nollet, 1984; Bradach and Eccles, 1989). This topic has again attracted academic interest from a governance perspective with regard to the debate on the blurring of firm boundaries under different labels: permeable vertical architectures (Jacobides and Billinger, 2006), concurrent sourcing strategies (Parmigiani, 2007; Parmigiani and Mitchell, 2009; Mols, 2010b), and plural sourcing/governance (Heide, 2003; Puranam et al., 2008). Mixed strategies were also addressed as an operational planning subject in which models were developed to understand capacity and supply chain flexibility by using parallel production lines or multiple distribution channels (e.g. Kamien and Li, 1990; de Kok, 2000; Ferdows et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2005; Boulaksil and Fransoo, 2010; Fredriksson et al., 2010).\nLiterature review: The literature review is divided into three parts. First, theoretical approaches to outsourcing are reviewed to explain the manner in which mixed strategies are understood. Second, outsourcing decision frameworks are reviewed to describe how to make outsourcing decisions. Third, the review focusses on why and how organizations employ mixed strategies to build a mixed strategy framework.\nResearch methodology: This study applies a case study approach (Yin, 1989, 2003) to provide new perspectives to well researched areas (Eisenhardt, 1989; Bengtsson et al., 1997; Voss et al., 2002). Cases used in case studies should be selected on the basis of being interesting for theoretical and empirical reasons and not to achieve high representativity (Yin, 1989; Bengtsson et al., 1997, p. 477).\nCase studies of parallel production: This section presents five case descriptions from the Scandinavian WPM sector that apply different mixed strategies. Most firms in the WPM sector started as joinery factories or sawmill-related companies, and many remained small, concentrating on serving local markets. The Swedish market is worth approximately 4-5 billion and is diversified, with over 400 companies present. WPM firms are closely related and often have the same type of suppliers for their purchase of wood raw material: sawmill companies in the primary wood industry that supply the sawn wood. Over the years, the sawmill industry consolidated, resulting in larger and fewer operational units (top ten Swedish sawmill producers hold approximately 60 percent of total production capacity); however, a long tail comprised of smaller, local sawmills still operates (in 2011, Sweden had more than 140 active sawmills with capacity larger than 10,000 m3 per year). At the European level, the market is even more fragmented, with the top 25 producers representing <25 percent of total production capacity.\nDiscussion of findings: To understand different types of mixed strategies and the position of such strategies along the continuum from insourcing to outsourcing, the discussion is structured around the types of mixed strategies represented by the cases.\nConclusions: This paper's investigation of mixed strategies is aligned with previous research (e.g. Jacobides and Billinger, 2006; Parmigiani, 2007; Mols, 2010a, b) to illustrate that such a strategy is a distinct choice that a firm makes and not merely an intermediate mode. Based on Leenders and Nollet (1984), a mixed strategy was further explored and contributed to by adding more depth to our understanding of different types of such strategies.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate an underexplored aspect of outsourcing involving a mixed strategy in which parallel production is continued in-house at the same time as outsourcing occurs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study applied a multiple case study approach and drew on qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with wood product manufacturing companies.\nFindings: The paper posits that there should be a variety of mixed strategies between the two governance forms of \"make\" or \"buy.\" In order to address how companies should consider the extent to which they outsource, the analysis was structured around two ends of a continuum: in-house dominance or outsourcing dominance. With an in-house-dominant strategy, outsourcing complements an organization's own production to optimize capacity utilization and outsource less cost-efficient production, or is used as a tool to learn how to outsource. With an outsourcing-dominant strategy, in-house production helps maintain complementary competencies and avoids lock-in risk.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper takes initial steps toward an exploration of different mixed strategies. Additional research is required to understand the costs of different mixed strategies compared with insourcing and outsourcing, and to study parallel production from a supplier viewpoint.\nPractical implications: This paper suggests that managers should think twice before rushing to a \"me too\" outsourcing strategy in which in-house capacities are completely closed. It is important to take a dynamic view of outsourcing that maintains a mixed strategy as an option, particularly in situations that involve an underdeveloped supplier market and/or as a way to develop resources over the long term.\nOriginality/value: The concept of combining both \"make\" and \"buy\" is not new. However, little if any research has focussed explicitly on exploring the variety of different types of mixed strategies that exist on the continuum between insourcing and outsourcing.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
CARL Libraries - a Canadian resource-sharing experience
|
[
"Academic libraries",
"Statistics",
"Interlending",
"Interlibrary loan",
"Consortia",
"Resource sharing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In Canada, as elsewhere, libraries of all types and sizes engage in a wide range of resource sharing activities. Within this landscape, interlibrary borrowing and lending - a key indicator of resource sharing amongst institutions (Jackson, 2007) - has changed dramatically within the past two decades. New telecommunication standards and technologies, the development and growth of consortia partnerships, improved discovery tools and delivery mechanisms, increased access to electronic, digitized and streaming content, along with budgetary crises, confusing copyright legislation and changing user behaviour and expectations have all had a significant impact on libraries and the core services they provide.\nThe Canadian context: Despite - or perhaps because of - immense geographical distances, Canadian libraries have a strong tradition of resource sharing at national, provincial, regional and local levels. Several early studies provide ample evidence of well-developed interlibrary borrowing and lending systems that support information access for all Canadian citizens. For example, the first comprehensive review in 1975 of national ILL activity, estimated that within five years \"a million or more items will be loaned by Canadian libraries to other libraries, principally in Canada\" (Stuart-Stubbs and Friesen, 1975, p. 6). England (1983) reported that ILL traffic steadily increased alongside developing library service throughout the nation. Likewise, Clement (1984) described rapidly developing network planning and ILL implementation trends across Canada. Lunau's (1993) survey of information resource sharing practices also detailed cooperation and equitable access while pointing out the significant roles of individual libraries, provincial groups and government agencies (Lunau, 1993). More recently, Evans and Savard (2008) described major trends affecting all Canadian libraries, including increased availability and access to electronic materials and services and the growth of consortial partnerships.\nMethodology: Academic institutions in Canada are publicly funded and generally fall under provincial jurisdiction. Policies, practices and budgets related to higher education vary widely among the ten provinces and three territories. Most of the nation's 346 academic libraries (American Library Association, 2012), developed in conjunction with parent institutions, have increasingly organized themselves into strong national and regional associations and consortia, such as:\nFindings: The data collected for the period between 1999 and 2012 shows a period of growth followed by a period of decline for both borrowing and lending transactions among CARL institutions (see Figures 1-4). The turning point from growth to decrease for borrowing transactions appears to have been in 2005. The year-over-year per cent change for borrowing decreases from a positive 25 per cent between 2003 and 2004 to a negative 19.8 per cent between 2004 and 2005, a substantial difference of 44.8 per cent. shows that only a small number of institutions experienced positive per cent change for 2004/2005.\nCase study - ILL at UA: In ILL, numbers alone never tell the complete story. A closer look at UA's total number of transactions provides a richer story than a table of numbers can represent. UA, located in Edmonton, Alberta, the most Northern provincial capital of Canada, is a large research institution. It currently has over 38,000 students attending approximately 400 different programmes. Almost 20 per cent of its student population is graduate students. Additionally, there are over 14,500 faculty and staff. It is perhaps no surprise then that the ILL department at UA(UA) received over 18,000 borrowing requests (see Table I) from its patrons during 2013. It is surprising, however, that this number represented an increase after three years of decreasing numbers.\nDiscussion: The data have shown that ILL at Canadian universities had been a different world prior to 2005/2006, with a significant event occurring during these years that changed the landscape dramatically. What exactly happened that resulted in a large decline in borrowing transactions during 2005? The authors have determined that one explanation for this event is the Canadian approach to building Canada's knowledge infrastructure through the Canadian National Site Licensing Project (CNSLP), incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and renamed in 2004 as the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN). The total membership by the end of 2004 was 74 institutions across Canada. Based on CNSLP's goal \"to bolster the research and innovation capacity of the country's universities by licensing electronic versions of scholarly publications on a national scale\" (Canadian Research Knowledge Network, 2014), member institutions had access to many high-impact collections of journals and backfiles. Collections have rapidly grown since 2004 by expanding into the humanities and social sciences. As students and researchers gained access to online full-text journal articles through their library subscriptions, their demand for ILL services diminished.\nConclusion: This brief overview of recent ILL activity in Canada brings up-to-date current professional literature on the topic, as well as statistical reporting of that activity by the CARL. Academic librarians in Canada, as elsewhere, have been tracking and benchmarking ILL borrowing and lending activity for many years. The data gathered from national surveys, of which CARL's Statistical Survey of Canadian University Libraries is but one example, are an important way that libraries become aware of how the research needs and expectations of the populations they support may be changing. The CARL data analysed has provided a map of the current resource sharing environment as seen through the lens of the Canadian research libraries, demonstrating that Canada's experience is indeed a Canadian-made experience.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to map the current resource-sharing environment in Canada through the lens of its research libraries in general and the University of Alberta in particular. The findings present an interesting view of changing resource sharing patterns and trends.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Interlibrary loan (ILL) transaction data were compiled from annual data reported to the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and a case study of the University of Alberta is presented.\nFindings: The current trend shows declines in both borrowing and lending transactions.\nResearch limitations/implications: Validity of the CARL ILL transactional data is subject to consistency in institutional reporting and accuracy of the data. The trends portrayed in the data are deemed realistic of the Canadian experience.\nOriginality/value: This is an original study of CARL ILL transactional data, providing an aggregated view of 13 years of annual data, and an analysis of this data. It updates previous research and benchmarks current ILL patterns at CARL institutions.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Gender differences in the online reading environment
|
[
"Gender",
"Reading",
"Behaviour",
"Worldwide web",
"Online operations",
"User studies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: We are living in a digital world. Technological advancement has made e-books and digital libraries a reality. Although the drawbacks of computer screens are still formidable enough to make online reading an option undesirable to many, digital technologies have already begun to affect reading practice and behavior as people spend more time reading online.Gender differences in web information seeking have attracted considerable interest (Hupfer and Detlor, 2006; Schumacher and Morahan-Martin, 2001; Smith and Whitlark, 2001; Weiser, 2000). However, little attention has been given to the study of gender differences in online reading behavior. The purpose of this study is to explore gender differences in the online reading environment. This paper will examine gender differences in online reading: to what extent do male readers and female readers differ in the preference for reading media and in the overall satisfaction with online reading? Does gender play a role in handling digital documents and in the changes of reading behavior? Understanding these issues would enable us to serve the need of readers more responsively and to empower readers in the online environment.\nMethodology: The worldwide web is becoming a pervasive resource for scholars and students in China. Undergraduate students and graduate students were selected as the subjects of this study for two reasons: they are among the heaviest online readers in China; and since undergraduate students and graduate students in this study are mostly 18-23 year old students, the impact of generational differences on reading is kept to a minimum.A total of 240 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to students at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou (one of the major universities in China) during the spring of 2006. Participants were informed that the purpose of this study is to explore the impact of digital media on reading behavior. They were asked to fill out the questionnaires based on their own experiences with reading. Participants in this study are undergraduate students and graduate students from diverse disciplines such as business administration, computer science, economics, engineering, library and information science, mathematics, physics, and sociology. A total of 203 completed copies were returned: 100 copies from graduate students and 103 from undergraduate students. Among 203 respondents in this survey, 80 are males and 123 are females.Participants were asked to provide responses to the following questions:1. Time spent on reading.2. Percentage of time spent on reading electronic documents.3. Percentage of time spent on browsing and scanning.4. Percentage of time spent on in-depth reading.5. Percentage of time spent on concentrated reading.6. Percentage of documents read one time (one-time reading).7. Reading things selectively.8. Non-linear reading (e.g. jump).9. Sustained attention.10. Frequency of annotating printed documents while reading.11. Frequency of annotating electronic documents while reading.12. Frequency of printing out electronic documents for reading.13. Frequency of downloading documents from the web for reading.14. Frequency of bookmarking web-documents for future reading.15. Preference for document media when reading.16. Circumstances in which they prefer reading online over reading on paper.17. Circumstances in which they prefer reading on paper over reading online.18. Overall experience with online reading.The response categories for questions 1-2 include \"more time\", \"less time\", \"no change\" and \"don't know\"; for questions 3-9 include \"increasing\", \"decreasing\", \"no change\", and \"don't know\"; for questions 10-14 include \"always\", \"frequently\", \"occasionally\", and \"never\"; for question 15 include \"electronic media\", \"printed media\", and \"either one is fine\"; and for question 18 include \"enjoyable\", \"satisfactory\", \"neutral\", \"not comfortable\", and \"frustrating\". Questions 16-17 are designed to gather open-ended thoughts related to the circumstances.The survey questions in this study are based on one of the authors' earlier study published in the Journal of Documentation (Liu, 2005). Since most undergraduate students and graduate students in China possess a good command of English, the questionnaire includes English and Chinese versions with the goal of achieving the greatest degree of consistency and comparability with Liu's (2005). As a matter of fact, several students answered the survey questions in English.\nFindings and discussion: Gender has been identified as a strong demographic that influences information behavior (Taylor, 1991; Wilson, 1999). Gender has also been identified as a strong predictor of attitudes and behavior in web information seeking. In a recent article, Hupfer and Detlor (2006) note that certain male-female differences in web searching appear to persist. For example, women tend to use the web to e-mail, chat, and search reference materials about medical and government information. Men, however, tend to focus on information about investment, purchase, and personal interests. Wolin and Korgaonkar (2003) find that males are more likely than females to surf the web for functional and entertainment purposes, whereas females are more likely to surf the web for shopping reasons.Table I shows that male readers and female readers differ in medium preference. Female readers have a stronger preference for paper as a reading medium than male readers: 73.2 percent of female readers prefer printed media compared to 51.3 percent of males, and only 5.7 percent of females favor digital media compared to 12.5 percent of males (kh2=10.379, p<0.01).On the other hand, males' and females' ratings of their overall online experience are different. As indicated by Table II, female readers in this survey tend to have a greater degree of dissatisfaction with online reading than males. Only 22.0 percent of female readers have positive experience with online reading compared to 30.0 percent of male readers, and 30.9 percent of females dislike online reading in contrast to only 18.8 percent of male readers (kh2=3.90, p<0.05).Table III shows gender differences in handling electronic documents when they read online. Survey results reveal that female readers tend to print out electronic documents for reading more frequently than males, whereas male readers tend to bookmark electronic documents for future reading more often than females. A total of 37.4 percent of female readers report that they \"always\" or \"frequently\" print out electronic documents for reading, compared to 33.8 percent of males. However, 28.8 percent of male readers \"always\" or \"frequently\" bookmark web-documents, in contrast to 20.3 percent of female readers. But these differences are not statistically significant. Similar findings are reported in a study of web searching behavior of sixth-grade students. Large et al. (2002) find that groups of boys on the average save more images than girls.With the growing amount of digital information available and the increasing amount of time people spend on reading electronic media, the digital environment has already begun to affect people's reading behavior. Based on a survey of 113 people who have extensive experience in online reading in the US, Liu's (2005) study finds a screen-based reading behavior is emerging. The screen-based reading behavior is characterized by more time on browsing and scanning, one-time reading, non-linear reading, and reading more selectively, while less time is spent on in-depth reading, concentrated reading, and decreasing sustained attention. As shown in Table IV, overall online reading behavior of Chinese readers is quite similar to that of American readers.According to Table IV, a higher percentage of male readers in this survey report increasing time spent on browsing and scanning (71.3 percent vs 66.7 percent), one-time reading (52.5 percent vs 39.8 percent), and non-linear reading such as jumps (77.5 percent vs 69.1 percent) than female readers. This suggests that male readers tend to be more interactively engaged in the online reading environment than female readers. Similar findings are reported in a study of web searching behavior of sixth-grade students by Large et al. (2002). They find that boys click more hyperlinks per minute than girls, and boys tend to perform more page jumps per minute than girls. Not surprisingly, a higher proportion of male readers report lower in-depth reading (57.5 percent vs 50.4 percent) and decreasing concentrated reading (45.0 percent vs 36.6 percent) than female readers. However, these differences do not reach statistical significance.In the online environment, readers need to cope with a massive amount of text and read selectively. In addition to coping with potentially distracting colorful or blinking graphics, audio, and video, readers often become disoriented because they have to make constant choices on which hyperlink to click or whether to scroll further down, rather than devoting full attention to reading (Charney, 1994; Schmar-Dobler, 2003; Thirunarayanan, 2003). Hupfer and Detlor (2006) also note that men naturally tend to be more selective in web searching. Women, however, tend to make a greater effort and employ a more conscientious approach. Table IV reveals that there are two significant differences between male and female readers on the dimension of reading selectively and sustained attention. A total of 85.0 percent of male readers report that they read things more selectively, compared to 64.2 percent of female readers (kh2=10.6, p<0.01). On the other hand, a higher percentage of female readers report decreasing sustained attention in the online environment than male readers (74.0 percent vs 57.5 percent kh2=6.61, p<0.025). These two differences are statistically significant. Ford and Miller (1996) find similar gender differences in internet searching: men tend to enjoy browsing, while women seem disoriented by the internet.There are several explanations why male readers and female readers differ in the preference for reading media and in the overall satisfaction with online reading.First, female readers demonstrate stronger preference for as well as greater reliance on paper as a reading medium than male readers. This is one of the major reasons why female readers are less happy with online reading than males. As Table V and Figure 1 indicate, there is a significant relationship between online reading satisfaction and reading medium preference. The extent of online reading satisfaction is positively related to the degree of preference for electronic media. For example, 1.9 percent who have negative online reading experience, 5.1 percent who have neutral experience, 20.5 percent who have satisfactory experience, and 28.6 percent who have enjoyable experience, prefer electronic media. Meanwhile, it is not surprising to find that the extent of online reading satisfaction is negatively related to the degree of preference for printed media. In other words, the higher the dissatisfaction with online reading, the stronger the preference for printed media. For example, 90.6 percent who have negative online reading experience, 62.6 percent who have neutral experience, 43.2 percent who have satisfactory experience, and 28.6 percent who have enjoyable experience, prefer paper as a reading medium. This finding is consistent with the results presented in Tables I-II.Second, female readers are more linear and thorough readers. In the printed environment, female readers tend to annotate more often than male readers, which clearly indicates that females are likely more serious readers than males. The dramatic shift to an online reading environment may present a challenge and frustration to this habit, since digital documents are not as convenient to annotate as paper documents. This is another factor contributing to the differences in the preference for reading media and in the overall satisfaction with online reading. Table VI shows that 53.6 percent of female readers \"always\" or \"frequently\" annotate printed documents while reading, compared to 43.8 percent of male readers. But in the online environment, female readers tend to annotate not as frequently as male readers. A total of 52.0 percent of female readers never annotate electronic documents, compared to 43.8 percent of male readers. This argument is further supported by their practice in handing electronic documents: female readers tend to print out electronic documents for reading more frequently than males (see Table III). Large et al. (2002) find that girls spend more time reading individual pages on the web than boys. This implies that females are likely to read things more seriously than male readers. Ray and Chi (2003) report that girls have a tendency to browse entire linked documents and are more linear and thorough navigators than boys.Third, males are more active browsers. Digital media introduce a number of attractive advantages that are absent in the traditional printed environment, such as interactivity, non-linearity, immediacy of accessing information, and the convergence of text and images, audio and video (Landow, 1992; Lanham, 1993; Murray, 1997; Ross, 2003). Digital media are ideal for browsing or casual reading instead of in-depth or serious reading (see Table VII). Large et al. (2002) find that boy's groups are more actively engaged in browsing than girl's groups. Perhaps, this is another reason why male readers have a greater satisfaction than female readers. A number of studies also suggest boys are more experienced users on the web and have more positive attitudes toward technology in general (Leong and Hawamdeh, 1999; Ray and Chi, 2003; Schumacher and Morahan-Martin, 2001).\nImplications and conclusion: This study demonstrates that there are some significant differences between male readers and female readers in the online reading environment. Understanding these issues would enable us to better understand the changing reading behavior in the online environment, and to develop more effective digital reading devices.People spend an increasing amount of time reading online. Yet the practices of online reading in networked environments are not well understood. This study also extends one of the authors' earlier study of reading behavior in the digital environment (Liu, 2005). Liu's study investigates how people's reading behavior has changed by targeting people living in the United States who are 30-45 years old. However, it is difficult to know what is unique about the American experience when understanding the impact of digital media on reading behavior in other cultures. By examining similar issues in a different age group (18-23 years old) and in another different culture, we are able to have a cross-cultural perspective of reading in the online environment.Comparisons with previous studies\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to explore gender differences in the online reading environment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Survey and analysis methods are employed.\nFindings: - Survey results reveal that female readers have a stronger preference for paper as a reading medium than male readers, whereas male readers exhibit a greater degree of satisfaction with online reading than females. Additionally, males and females differ significantly on the dimension of selective reading and sustained attention.\nOriginality/value: - Understanding gender differences would enable a better understanding of the changing reading behavior in the online environment, and to develop more effective digital reading devices. Factors affecting gender differences in the online reading environment are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The impact of firm size, firm age and environmental management certification on the relationship between green supply chain practices and corporate performance
|
[
"Green supply chain management",
"Quantitative research",
"Corporate performance",
"Control variables"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The impact of green supply chain management practices implementation on corporate performance has received a great deal of research and investigation both from academic as well as business perspectives (Dubey, Gunasekaran and Papadopoulos, 2017; Dubey, Gunasekaran, Papadopoulos, Childe, Shibin and Wamba, 2017). Governments and environment conscious organizations are pressurizing businesses to green their operations and promote organizational sustainability (Vijayvargy et al., 2017). Managers are keen to implement green supply chain management practices because this leads to many benefits such as reducing operational costs (Orlitzky et al., 2003), enhancing the corporate image (Porter, 1991), increasing customer satisfaction (Kleindorfer et al., 2005), improving employee job satisfaction (Jun et al., 2006) and creating more market opportunities (Diabat et al., 2013).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Review on control variables\n3. Research objective: Based on the literature review, the main objectives of this study are:\n4. Theoretical model and hypotheses development: The theoretical model guiding this research is presented in Figure 1.\n5. Research methodology: This study used a survey instrument to collect the primary data of managerial level respondents among the UAE organizations. The questionnaire consisted of three main parts in the survey in addition to the introduction section, which briefed the reader on the purpose of the survey. The first section of the survey aimed to collect pertinent information on the characteristics of the respondents and their organizations including their titles, the organizations scope of business, legal status, their number of years in business, size and possession of EMS.\n6. Results and analysis: This section elaborates the firm size, firm age of organizations participated in the study and whether they are EMS-certified or not. The responses were categorized as responding to the first call or to the follow up call. Of the responses received, around 33 were categorized as early responses (28 percent) and 84 responses were categorized as late responses (72 percent). A comparison of the means of demographic and independent variables for the two groups was conducted using one-way ANOVA (Rogelberg and Stanton, 2007). Results indicated that there is no statistically significant difference existing between the early and late wave groups, and therefore non-response bias was addressed.\n7. Discussions: The research examined if there is any relationship between three main control variables, namely, firm size, firm age and possession of EMS certification, on the various corporate performance dimensions. These three important variables have been used by many early researchers inconclusively and the results were conflicting. The corporate performance dimensions included in this study are environmental performance, operational performance, economic performance and social performance.\n8. Conclusion: One important findings of this research is that there is no relationship between firm age and any of the performance outcomes; this, in turn, indicates that old firms as well newly established organizations in the UAE can achieve performance improvements when implementing green supply chain management practices. Because sustainable supply chain practices in the UAE are still nascent in terms of the degree of maturity as opposed to other developed countries, there exists greater level of importance. This region is mixed with many different cultural, organizational and social aspects, and the outcome of this research warrants business organizations to look for such initiatives in order to retain their competitive advantage. An explanation of this can be that all firms in UAE are currently required to adhere to environmental regulations and need to satisfy different stakeholder needs including green requirements and therefore get equal performance results. Similar findings were recently coined by Badulescu et al. (2018), who concluded that there is no direct relationship between the age of the firm and its social performance measured by the number of social responsibility actions. Moreover, it was concluded that firm size is associated with all performance dimensions except operational performance, and this encourages businesses of different sizes to implement green supply chain management practices in order to improve their product quality and reduce lead time.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore if control variables have any impact on corporate performance when implementing green supply chain management practices. The research in particular examines the impact of firm size, firm age and possession of environmental management system (EMS) certification as control variables on different dimensions of the corporate performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research design consists of a comprehensive literature review, followed by an empirical questionnaire based survey with responses of 117 participant organizations proceeded by a comprehensive statistical analysis to validate the developed theoretical framework and contribute to both practical and methodological approach. This study investigates the impact of each of these three control variables on four dimensions of corporate performance using multiple regression analysis.\nFindings: The research found that there is positive relationship between firm size and environmental performance, economic performance and social performance but not with operational performance. The study also found that a certified EMS within UAE firms is having a positive impact on all four performance dimensions while firm age does not have any relationship with any of the four performance outcomes.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research provides guidance for supply chain managers in the UAE and other similar emerging market in order to better understand the relationship between control variables, impact and performance, on corporate outcome. The paper also describes relevant strategies that should be taken into consideration by these managers in order to build their sustainable supply chain. The research contributes to social dimensions of supply chain sustainability on how resilient green strategies are important for supply chain stakeholders during uncertain conditions so that it can respond to uncertain changes in order to contribute to corporate social responsibility. Some of the limitations of this research include the geographic coverage of the study region and other methodological limitation.\nOriginality/value: This research is the first of its kind in the UAE region to assess the link between firm control variables and its impact on green supply chain management practices; which are less studied in the green supply chain literature. While there might be few other studies that addressed and uncovered the relationship between implementing green supply chain management practices and corporate performance, however, no study has attempted to find out if firm size, firm age and possession of EMS would have any impact on the green supply chain practices and corporate performance relationship. The research was conducted in an emerging economy to understand the relationship better. A series of recommendations are also provided for firms interested in improving their environmental performance while implementing green supply chain practices.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Unequal at the college door: Career construction among freshmen at an elite Chinese university
|
[
"China",
"Higher education",
"Career construction",
"Freshmen",
"Career awareness",
"Urban",
"Rural inequality",
"Career-related skills"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: With college expansion, growing attention has been paid to the variations in college students' school-to-work transitions. Different paths and results of their school-to-work transitions suggest that students differ in career prospects and associated skills, which have been found to be largely associated with their family background (Li, 2002; Wendlant and Rochlen, 2008; Xie and Cheng, 2002; Zhou, 2005). This leads many, both scholars and the public, to raise concerns about the role of college in career construction, and further challenges the notion that college is a great equalizer. Indeed, career construction in college follows the principle of the Matthew effect that advantages beget further advantages (Rigney, 2009). Whether college is an equalizer or a gatekeeper calls for examining how college students differ in their career construction process at the beginning, rather than at the end of their college years.\nTheoretical background: College and school-to-work transition\nThe Chinese context: College expansion since the 2000s has made the school-to-work transition increasingly difficult for college graduates. From 2000 to 2015, the number of college students in China reached 7.65m, which is more than a sevenfold increase (Ministry of Education, 2016). The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reports that 17.6 percent of college graduates could not find jobs within two months of graduation, which is much higher than the overall unemployment rate and the unemployment rate for blue-collar workers (Zhang et al., 2013). Many college graduates face job mismatch and credential devaluation when entering labor market[1]. College students' career prospects and career-related skills - the stock of human capital, social capital, and cultural capital - are critical to their labor market outcomes (Li, 2012; Li and Zhang, 2008).\nData and method: We followed a cohort of 210 freshmen majoring in the social sciences upon entry to and throughout their first year of college at one flagship university in Shanghai, the largest and most economically advanced city in China. Students admitted the university are from all provinces in China, as the university places specific quota for each province. The university also does not distinguish students from rural or urban areas during the admission process, as long as they scored high enough in the college entrance examination. This cohort belonged to a broad category of social science majors upon arrival at campus and received general education in social sciences in the first year. At the beginning of Summer vacation, they all declared majors within five social science departments (i.e. sociology, social work, political science, international relations, and administration management). Elite universities are important because their students are generally considered to be a homogenous group (by sorting through the standardized college entrance examination) and are most likely to occupy the highest levels of the occupation structure.\nResults: Upon arrival: career awareness baseline\nDiscussion: This study employed a mixed-methods approach to examine whether differences in understanding about careers among freshmen existed when they entered a flagship university in China and how their career awareness developed over the first year of college. We found differences in students' career awareness at college entry, based on their geographic origins. Students from rural areas emphasized high GPAs, textbook compliance, and the major job relationship. Students from municipalities (zhi xia shi) and provincial capitals had significantly stronger career awareness than those from rural areas, and these initial differences continued to evolve throughout the first year of college.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inequality in career constructions among freshmen in an elite university in Shanghai, China. The authors first investigated whether rural students and those from municipalities (zhi xia shi) and provincial capitals differ in their career awareness when arriving at college. After finding the difference, the authors explored how this initial difference in career awareness evolves and influences the career construction process in the freshman year.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study used a complementary mixed-methods approach to monitor a cohort of students' career construction process and the evolvement of their career awareness throughout the freshman year (n=210). Data collection included two surveys: students' self-reflections and in-depth interviews to capture a holistic story.\nFindings: The findings revealed that students differed in career awareness when arriving at college. This initial difference further evolved in the first year of college: students from municipalities and provincial capitals considered college a part of their career paths and began timely to construct their careers, whereas students from rural areas lagged behind. This study suggests that college maintains inequality, reinforcing the initial gap in career construction based on students' family background.\nOriginality/value: College students differ in career prospects and associated skills when transitioning from school to work. Only a few studies have explored the role of college in shaping the career construction process during the college years. By exploring the process of career construction among freshmen, this study contributes to the growing literature on school-to-work transition and educational inequality in China.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
JPEG 2000: guide for digital libraries
|
[
"Cultural heritage preservation",
"Lossy compression",
"JPEG 2000",
"Guidelines",
"Digital libraries"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nList of abbreviations: DCT\n1. Introduction: As most fields in engineering deal with enormous amounts of digital images, lossy image compression became one of the most popular problems in computer science. In this context, one must trade off two competing costs: the number of bits of the compressed image (rate) and the error arising from the loss of information (distortion). Different applications impose different rate-distortion trade-offs and also additional constraints on computing demands, scalability, error resilience, etc. The JPEG 2000 represents both preservation and access format addressing all these impositions in a single internationally standardized framework. Especially, it is of growing interest to the cultural heritage archive community as a better alternative to tagged image file format (TIFF) format (van der Knijff, 2011).\n2. JPEG 2000 parameters: The following paragraphs review the most important parameters of the JPEG 2000 compression and provide guidance to choose values suitable for a particular application. Mostly, the chosen values also depend on the specific data. So no predefined settings (profiles) for all the parameters below exist. However, we provide a recommendation and mention the commonly used value for each of the discussed parameters. We also demonstrate some of the phenomena occurring in the compression using the test image in Figure 1. At the end of the section, the parameters are related to two most commonly used software codecs.\n3. Preservation risk?: We cannot provide a clear and eventual answer to the question of whether using the JPEG 2000 format is a long-term preservation risk. However, below we list the five most important aspects to be considered in order to decide whether or not to use it.\n4. Conclusions: The JPEG 2000 format is quite complex and therefore sometimes considered as a preservation risk. From the perspective of the user, a lossy JPEG 2000 compression is governed by a number of parameters that control compression speed and rate-distortion trade-off. Their inappropriate adjustment may fairly easily lead to sub-optimal compression performance. This article provided general guidelines for selecting the most appropriate parameters for a specific application. Although there is no universal compression setting, we suggested a recommendation, or the commonly used value is given wherever it was meaningful. Furthermore, the article also gave an overview of such parameters in two most commonly used software codecs, which is Kakadu, OpenJPEG. The recommendations are intended for use by involved users, e.g. cultural heritage institutions. The article was also written in a way to be useful to technically unskilled users who have to deal with the format.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The joint photographic experts group (JPEG) 2000 image compression system is being used for cultural heritage preservation. The authors are aware of over a dozen of big memory institutions worldwide using this format. This paper aims to review and explain choices for end users to help resolve trade-offs that these users are likely to encounter in practice.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The JPEG 2000 format is quite complex and therefore sometimes considered as a preservation risk. A lossy compression is governed by a number of parameters that control compression speed and rate-distortion trade-off. Their inappropriate adjustment may fairly easily lead to sub-optimal compression performance. This paper provides general guidelines for selecting the most appropriate parameters for a specific application.\nFindings: This paper serves as a guide for the preservation of digital heritage in cultural heritage institutions, including libraries, archives and museums.\nOriginality/value: This paper serves as a guide for the preservation of digital heritage in cultural heritage institutions, including libraries, archives and museums.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Consumption experience outcomes: satisfaction, nostalgia intensity, word-of-mouth communication and behavioural intentions
|
[
"Satisfaction",
"Behavioural intentions",
"Consumption experiences",
"Nostalgia intensity",
"WOM communication"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For almost 30 years, research on consumer behaviour has rejected the notion of the logical consumer and has acknowledged the dominant role of emotion on consumer acts. Besides the cognitive mechanisms that are triggered during shopping decisions, consumers engage in a number of sub-conscious and internal processes (Kim, 2012) which are related to the feelings, senses, dreams and fantasies that they want to satisfy through consumption (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982). Modern consumers do not seek satisfaction only from the functional characteristics of a product/service but they also seek extraordinary experiences (McCole, 2004) which are pleasant, creative, social (Schmitt, 1999) and absorbing (Holbrook, 2000). In other words, they seek memorable experiences that they can later share with their significant others. Exceptional consumer experiences can create value for companies (Gentile et al., 2007) because they can affect consumers' memories (Pine and Gilmore, 1998), satisfaction (Mascarenhas et al., 2006) and future behavioural intentions (Lacher and Mizerski, 1994). Nonetheless, delivering unique and engaging experiences to consumers is a key factor for the development of a competitive advantage (Tsaur et al., 2007). Thus, the investigation of the ways in which experiences can influence consumers at the post-consumption stage is critical.\nLiterature review: Dimensions of consumer experience\nMethod and measures: A paper-and-pencil survey was conducted using the snowballing sampling technique. The initial \"seed\" sampling units were university students of several large Greek cities (i.e. Athens, Thessaloniki, etc). Snowball sampling is a \"chain referral approach\" where subjects recruit their friends, family members and acquaintances by using their social network contacts (Noy, 2008). Since the present study explores various social aspects of consumer behaviour such as feelings of socialisation and communitas and WOM communication, the use of snowball sampling is a welcome addition. Using a sample that consists of friends, family members and colleagues helps the easy retrieval of information regarding the social experiences of respondents and their interpersonal communications.\nResults: Confirmatory factor analysis, using Amos 8.0, was performed to verify the seven-factor structure of the consumption experience scale. The goodness-of-fit (GFI) measures of the 31-item scale suggested a reasonably good model fit [p = 0.000, kh2 = 1.770.42, GFI = 0.91, comparative-fit index (CFI) = 0.93, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.92] because the values of the above indices exceeded the 0.90 criterion. The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) value was smaller than the 0.07 threshold (RMSEA = 0.056). Table I shows the mean values and the standard deviations of the items that comprised the consumption experience scale. All the standardised coefficients of the 31 indicators were significant (critical ratios > 1.96, p = 0.000). However, one item from the escapism factor (\"I felt I played a different character here\") was eliminated because it had a standardized loading below the critical value of 0.60 (Chin, 1998). The revised experience scale also showed a satisfactory model fit (p = 0.000, kh2 = 1.642.37, GFI = 0.91, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.056).\nDiscussion: Consumption experiences are created in the minds of consumers, who in turn evaluate, engage in actions and form future intentions about the consumption activity. Delving inside the subjective nature of consumption experience and mapping the outcomes of such experiences is a critical task for researchers and marketers wishing to delight customers through the delivery of extraordinary and memorable experiences. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the consequences of the different consumption experience dimensions on consumers' satisfaction, nostalgia intensity, re-experience intentions and WOM communication. By doing so, the current research enhances the understanding of the complex experience mechanisms that drive consumer behaviour since it was found that not all consumption experience dimensions affect consumers in the same way at the post-consumption stage.\nManagerial implications: From a managerial standpoint, the present study contributes to the experiential marketing by providing an effective framework for the management of consumer experiences. Until now, most experiential marketing frameworks suggest that marketers should try to enhance all aspects and dimensions of experiences to gain a competitive advantage. For example, Pine and Gilmore (1998) highlighted the need for marketers to create entertaining, escapist, educational and aesthetic experiences to attract and win customers. However, the present study found that the key for positively influencing the post-consumption evaluations and decisions of consumers lies in the specific elements of experiences. Herein, an alternative approach to experiential marketing is proposed by focusing on particular aspects of experiences. Specifically, marketers should be aware of the consequences of the different experience factors on consumers and accordingly design their experiences so as to benefit from dimensions which exert positive influence (i.e. hedonism, learning, communitas and escapism), while simultaneously try to eliminate the effects of dimensions with negative impact on consumers (i.e. flow and challenge).\nLimitations and future research suggestions: The first limitation of the present study relates to the measurement of consumption experience. The study used a structured questionnaire in which participants rated their experience. Since consumer experience is highly subjective and personal in nature, other qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews could provide fruitful insights regarding other emotional aspects of experiences that were not addressed herein.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of the different aspects of consumption experience on various post-consumption variables (i.e. satisfaction, nostalgia intensity, word-of-mouth (WOM) communication and behavioural intentions).\nDesign/methodology/approach: A quantitative study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted. The sample comprised of 645 respondents and the snowball sampling technique was used. Consumption experience was measured using a seven-dimensional scale (dimensions: hedonic, flow, escapism, socialisation, personal challenge, learning and communitas).\nFindings: Not all experience dimensions affect consumers equally in the post-consumption stage. Hedonism was an important experiential dimension affecting positively most of the post-consumption variables. Other boosters of consumers' nostalgia, WOM communication and behavioural intentions were the feelings of escapism, knowledge and communitas. On the contrary, flow and personal challenge were negative predictors of consumers' evaluations.\nPractical implications: Marketers should co-create the experience with consumers by carefully managing their experiential offering. Companies should focus on designing pleasurable, social, educational and fantasy experiences while minimizing the feelings of immersion and risk that arise from intense activities.\nOriginality/value: A holistic conceptual model on the consequences of the different consumption experience dimensions is tested. Until now, most of the relevant studies on experiences have treated experience as a higher order construct without taking into consideration the different effects of the various experience dimensions. Hence, the present study contributes to research by identifying the most pertinent experience dimensions on post-consumption evaluations, behaviour and intentions of consumers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The development of multi-response experimental designs for process parameter optimization
|
[
"Quality",
"Surface fitting",
"Optimal process target",
"Multivariate normal distribution"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: It is widely accepted in the industrial manufacturing environment that higher product quality leads to more efficient production and greater profit. By reducing the tendency of a product to non-conform or deviate from optimal settings, more raw materials are conserved and less work stoppage is encountered. In most manufacturing processes, however, assignable causes can generate a shift or drift in the mean of a particular quality characteristic over time, resulting in expensive delays or excessive costs. Thus, the identification of the optimal setting for the process mean or target is a critical objective in maintaining the highest degree of product quality. Consequently, it has tremendous economic value for the manufacturer, as it can directly translate to a reduction in the overall cost to reprocess or reject product output. Finally, it can also have significant value to the customer as well, especially when the quality of a product is measured in terms of its ability to keep conforming products on-target rather than within some pre-defined specification interval or region. Frequently referred to as the \"process target problem\", it has received considerable attention from researchers over the past 60 years.1.1 Review of the literature\n2. Methodology development: 2.1 Phase I: experimentation\n3. Numerical example: 3.1 Example 1: a bivariate case (w=2)\n4. Conclusion: The identification of the optimal process target is vitally important to both the manufacturer and the consumer; it can lead to a significant reduction in manufacturing costs without sacrificing the overall quality of a particular product. Despite the fact that most products are evaluated according to multiple quality characteristics, very few researchers have sought to study the multi-response process target problem in depth. While there have been different models and algorithms proposed within the literature, they are based on assumed estimates of the process parameters and thus are not readily facilitated for use within most industrial practices. By incorporating a design of experiments approach into the methodology of the process target problem, it is more feasible for engineers to properly estimate optimal operating conditions and thereby achieve significant cost savings. The result is greater flexibility and increased accuracy in finding solutions that support both the manufacturer and the customer.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The selection of the optimal process target for a manufacturing process is critically important as it directly affects the defect rate, rejection and rework costs, and the loss to customers. A recent review of process target literature suggests that future work should incorporate models using multiple quality characteristics. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to create a more flexible and realistic approach to solving the multi-response process target problem.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A design of experiments methodology is proposed to provide estimates of process parameters and a nonlinear constrained optimization scheme is employed to identify optimal settings.\nFindings: - The approximation of cost savings undoubtedly has a higher degree of accuracy than in the case where the engineer assumes values for the process parameters. Furthermore, greater flexibility is obtained in finding solutions that support both the manufacturer and the customer.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This methodology relies on controlled experimentation and the replication of observations made on multiple nominal-the-best quality characteristics. Future research may include examining the effects of using smaller-the-better or larger-the-better type characteristics.\nOriginality/value: - Unlike traditional attempts at solving the process target problem where the process mean, variance, and covariance between characteristics are assumed known in advance, this paper uses an approach that removes these assumptions, thereby providing a more practical depiction of the overall system. Furthermore, this methodology broadens the scope of process target problem research by seeking the simultaneous optimization of process parameters and considering a loss in quality attributed to deviation from a target value.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Measuring the performance of knowledge resources using a value perspective: integrating BSC and ANP
|
[
"Balanced scorecard",
"ANP",
"BSC",
"Analytic network process",
"Knowledge resource",
"The performance of knowledge resources"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Fixed graphic\n1. Introduction: Knowledge is recognized as a durable and sustainable strategic resource that aids in the acquisition and maintenance of competitive advantages (Marr et al., 2004). It is one of the most vital resources for organizational competitiveness (Ahn and Chang, 2004; Hsieh et al., 2009; Witherspoon et al., 2013; van den Berg, 2013), particularly for R\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Knowledge and knowledge resources\n3. Theoretical framework: 3.1 General framework\n4. Methodology and case study: In the current paper, we propose a theoretical framework (Figure 1) that integrates the ANP and BSC to measure the performance of knowledge resources within an organization according to the value perspective. First, an experienced expert team was organized in the relevant area. Second, we utilized sufficient time and manpower to collect data. Finally, we adopted useful tools to calculate and form pairwise comparison matrices, which will be discussed in Section 4.2.\n5. Discussion and implications: The main contribution of this paper is the development of a comprehensive model that incorporates diverse issues regarding MPKR according to the value perspective. This paper examines four indicators, which were the CP, IBP, I\n6. Conclusions: This paper presents a comprehensive methodology based on the BSC and the ANP to determine the performance of knowledge resources according to the value perspective. The proposed methodology provides an accurate assessment of the performance of knowledge resources with regard to value within R\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to provide insight into how knowledge resources in R\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper proposes a theoretical framework integrating an analytic network process (ANP) with a balanced scorecard (BSC) to measure the performance of knowledge resources under value perspective. Four indicators and three knowledge value (KV) components including labor value, technology value and utilization value are discussed. The model construction, problem structuring and calculation procedure for measuring the performance of knowledge resources based on ANP and BSC are demonstrated.\nFindings: Despite a number of models to assess the performance of knowledge resources being proposed, they highlighted a need for separately measuring under value perspective. With the aim of filling this gap, the main finding of the paper is to clarify relevant issues, providing a better framework for assessment of the performance of knowledge resources.\nResearch limitations/implications: To handle the dynamic nature of knowledge, the research should take into account more advanced methods to measure the performance of knowledge resources. Both qualitative and quantitative methods should be utilized in future research.\nPractical implications: The consequences of measuring the performance of knowledge resources under value perspective may help managers to organize and arrange the separate knowledge resources, improving the knowledge resources exchange between different institutions in R\nOriginality/value: The main contribution of this paper lies in the development of a comprehensive model, which incorporates diversified issues for conducting the performance of knowledge resources under value perspective.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A potential generation gap: perspectives on female leadership
|
[
"Female leadership",
"Generations and leadership",
"Leadership and gender",
"Leadership stereotypes"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Americans would probably like to believe that the gender equality dialog currently taking place in this country is making an impact on how we view gender stereotypes. Nevertheless, men still make more money than women and men (particularly white men) are over-represented in top leadership positions (Catalyst, 2004). We may, however, be moving in the right direction. Affirmative action, for instance, attempted to address the over-representation of white males in the American workforce, including leadership positions (American Association for Affirmative Action, 2014). Furthermore, 89 per cent of Americans say they are comfortable with women as leaders across many fields, ranging from academia to the military (\nMethod: Participants\nResults: The data were analyzed using a factorial MANOVA (a = 0.05). The descriptive statistics for this study are included in Table I (more extensive data are included in Appendix 4). Responses did not vary significantly based on the gender condition, F(20, 150) = 1.157, Wilks' Lambda p = 0.300, ep2 = 0.134. There was also no interaction, F(20, 150) = 0.809, Wilks' Lambda p = 0.700, ep2 = 0.097.\nDiscussion: Gender differences\nConclusions: There were no significant differences for the gender condition or the interaction; however, there were differences in the generation condition. Generation Y members rated the words ambitious and determined as more admired than Generation X members rated them, and Generation X members rated the words competent and honest as more admired than Generation Y members rated them.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the potential relationship between generational membership and perspectives on female leadership.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Participants from Generation X (birth years from 1961 to 1980) and Generation Y (birth years from 1981 to 2000) rated 10 descriptor words, which came from Kouzes and Posner's ten most admired leadership characteristics. Participants were put into three gender conditions: rating a male leader, female leader or gender-neutral leader.\nFindings: Differences did not emerge for the gender conditions, probably due to the methodology implemented. However, findings indicated that Generation X members admired competency and honesty more than Generation Y members, while Generation Y members admired ambitiousness and determination more than Generation X members.\nSocial implications: By examining the perceptions of different generations, we can begin to track potential changes in this country's perspective on female leadership.\nOriginality/value: This study addresses how generation may be specifically linked to attitudes toward leadership; however, few empirical research projects have been done on the subject. Because this area of research has not been explored thoroughly, the present study has the potential to yield new and illuminating results. The present study may be one of the first steps in determining if our views on female leadership are changing.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A cross-cultural examination of presenteeism and supervisory support
|
[
"Job satisfaction",
"Cross-cultural comparison",
"Exhaustion",
"Presenteeism",
"Supervisory support"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Following the global economic depression and the financial crisis, a significant number of organisations have conducted downsizing or re-engineering, attempting to do more with less. The work environment has thus changed dramatically, giving rise to a new phenomenon dubbed \"presenteeism\". Presenteeism occurs when people are physically present in the workplace but are functionally absent (Cooper, 1996). Absenteeism has long been as seen a cost to employers; now some scholars claim that being excessively present could prove even costlier (Burton et al., 2006; Hemp, 2004; Robertson and Cooper, 2011). Though the significance of presenteeism as a fact of modern day work life has been established with large scale surveys in the developed economies such as the Scandinavia countries (e.g. Aronsson et al., 2000; Demerouti et al., 2009), related research in non-Western countries is non-existent. The thrust of the present study is to contrast an Eastern culture against a Western one in examining the prevalence of presenteeism and its consequences to the individual. Such an effort would generate valuable evidence supporting the universality of the phenomenon and generalizability of established Western findings to a vastly different socio-cultural-economic society.\nPresenteeism and its consequences on the individual: east vs west: In the present study, we focus on sickness presenteeism, designating the phenomenon of people who despite complaints and ill health that should prompt rest and absence from work, are still turning up at their jobs (Aronsson et al., 2000). This operationalisation of presenteeism is consistent with the typical definition and focus of the broader presenteeism literature (Johns, 2010). From the time that presenteeism was first identified, epidemiological and medical researchers have investigated the impact of health on productivity loss allegedly attributable to the act working while ill (e.g. Collins et al., 2005; Turpin et al., 2004). More recently organisational researchers have demonstrated that having controlled for health status, psychosocial (e.g. neuroticism) and organisational factors (e.g. ease of replacement) could account for substantial variances in participants' responses to self-reported presenteeism-related productivity loss (Johns, 2011). This fact highlights the necessity to expand the narrow focus on health to include psychosocial and organisational factors in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of presenteeism. We thus focused our measure of sickness presenteeism on its behavioural act, while separately assessing job satisfaction and exhaustion as two indicators of work outcomes (strains).\nThe role of supervisory support in the presenteeism process: As stated earlier, a few recent organisational studies have revealed that features in the work contexts (e.g. ease of job replacement) and personality traits (e.g. neuroticism, internal health locus of control) were related to the act of presenteeism (Johns, 2011; Love et al., 2010), their potential roles as buffers/vulnerability factors in mitigating/exacerbating the impact of presenteeism on employees have never been explored. We thus focused on perceived supervisory support as a vital pan-cultural work resource that may buffer the negative impact of presenteeism on work and well-being outcomes.\nMethod: Participants\nResults: Descriptive statistics\nDiscussion: The aim of the present study was two-fold: to examine the impact presenteeism had on employees' work well-being across the Eastern and Western work contexts, and to incorporate supervisory support as a stress buffer in the presenteeism process. For both the Chinese and British employees, we found a positive association between presenteeism and exhaustion. We also found that supervisory support attenuated the relationship between presenteeism and exhaustion. In addition, we discovered that the Chinese employees committed more frequent act of sickness presenteeism and suffered greater strains than their British counterparts. The following discussion will be organised around two themes, contrasting the darker side of presenteeism with potential protectors against its impact in today's working world.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The aim of this study was two-fold: first, to examine the noxious effects of presenteeism on employees' work well-being in a cross-cultural context involving Chinese and British employees; second, to explore the role of supervisory support as a pan-cultural stress buffer in the presenteeism process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using structured questionnaires, the authors compared data collected from samples of 245 Chinese and 128 British employees working in various organizations and industries.\nFindings: Cross-cultural comparison revealed that the act of presenteeism was more prevalent among Chinese and they reported higher levels of strains than their British counterparts. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that presenteeism had noxious effects on exhaustion for both Chinese and British employees. Moreover, supervisory support buffered the negative impact of presenteeism on exhaustion for both Chinese and British employees. Specifically, the negative relation between presenteeism and exhaustion was stronger for those with more supervisory support.\nPractical implications: Presenteeism may be used as a career-protecting or career-promoting tactic. However, the negative effects of this behavior on employees' work well-being across the culture divide should alert us to re-think its pros and cons as a career behavior. Employees in certain cultures (e.g. the hardworking Chinese) may exhibit more presenteeism behaviour, thus are in greater risk of ill-health.\nOriginality/value: This is the first cross-cultural study demonstrating the universality of the act of presenteeism and its damaging effects on employees' well-being. The authors' findings of the buffering role of supervisory support across cultural contexts highlight the necessity to incorporate resources in mitigating the harmful impact of presenteeism.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Inspirational leadership: involving senior leaders in developing the next generation
|
[
"Leadership",
"Leadership development",
"Training",
"Pharmaceuticals industry"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Developing the leaders who will create a company's future is very high on the priority list of any company's current leadership - in a perfect world, that is. In the real world, few senior leaders are able or willing to commit the time and energy required by this very important - but usually not urgent - activity. In this article, we will describe how Eli Lilly's Lilly Research Laboratories has encouraged and supported the deep engagement of senior leaders in leadership development. We will focus particularly on one of the programs, Inspirational Leadership.Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 in Indianapolis, Indiana. They employ 44,000 people worldwide; their products are sold in 130 countries. In 2003, sales were approximately US$13bn. Lilly spends about US$9m per day on R&D; thus LRL represents a significant investment in the future. Lilly's CEO, Sidney Taurel, has articulated the importance of leadership by saying, \"The connection between leadership and change is obvious. Leadership has no meaning in a steady-state environment. Only when we enter a new territory, when we don't know the way, do we need people to step forward and lead. So a leader, in essence, is someone who provides direction and supplies the motive power to change.\"Lilly's leadership development philosophy can be summarized as follows:* Successful leaders want to leave a successful legacy.* People are our most important asset.* Leadership is an art.* Leadership is crucial as the environment becomes more challenging.\nLeadership development at Lilly Research Laboratories: Leadership development is an important aspect of the work of the LRL Institute, guided by the Leadership Development Council. The Council is made up of about ten senior leaders plus the head of the LRL Institute. They meet on a regular basis in order to:* Shape strategy and focus on implementation.* Assess needs and gaps in the leadership pipeline and decide where to invest.* Use feedback from existing programs to enhance future offerings.* Conduct component meetings to convey key messages to top talent regarding participation.The authors of the article believe that commitment to leadership development begins with a deep involvement in shaping the direction of the Institute. The members of the Council are often called upon to participate in the development of new programs and to act as faculty members for the core programs. In addition, they:\nLeadership and storytelling: One of the themes of the program is the value of stories in communicating important messages to those who look to you as a leader. The senior leaders who co-lead the course model this by telling stories based on their own experiences and the lessons they learned on their journey. This is important because:* Self-disclosure through storytelling is a powerful method of engaging and inspiring others.* Coming from a respected and admired leader, a story disclosing a difficulty or failure can help build trust and encourage openness.* Stories get others to listen - really listen - to an important message with an impact on the success of an initiative or an organizational change process.* Leaders may be perceived as distant and unable to understand the issues and concerns of ordinary employees. A story that describes a familiar situation can provide the credibility that is vital to connecting with the audience.* Respected leaders can afford to take the first step in opening up an organization to learning from both successful and unsuccessful experiences through storytelling - when important lessons can be shared, others in the organization benefits from the gain in knowledge.One such story involved an opportunity for co-author Harris to provide constructive feedback to one of the top executives of the company. A few weeks earlier, the executive had made a comment during his component's town hall meeting in which he praised and prioritized the value of a particular department in his organization above other departments. This comment inadvertently offended employees who worked in a different department of the same organization. A few weeks later, Harris found himself in a leadership development exercise with this senior executive and serendipitously, both were working on an exercise to develop skills to administer and receive constructive feedback. Harris used this opportunity, with some trepidation, to deliver the feedback that a significant number of his employees felt unappreciated as a result of the comment the executive had made. The executive responded with genuine surprise, compassion, and some embarrassment that his comments had been received in such a way. He thanked Harris for delivering the feedback and at the next town hall meeting, made a specific point to apologize to the employees whom he had offended. This in itself was extraordinarily powerful as this rather edgy executive, through disclosure, revealed his fallibility and sensitivity to the members of his organization, which ultimately resulted in a better connection with his people. The lesson learned and shared by Harris, illustrated by this story, had to do with the importance of speaking truth to power in the organization: that senior leaders need feedback and that they can - or should - be able to handle it. By sharing his trepidation about speaking up, he also connected with the group in a more personal way himself.\nEncouraging senior leadership involvement: If you hope to involve senior leaders in leadership development, you will need to make a good business case for it. Develop a network of \"believers\" in senior management through:* Bringing data to the table to support the argument for why they should be involved.* Providing benchmarks that describe how other companies have used senior leaders in these roles with good results.* Being persuasive and persistent - emphasize the value to both the individual leader and to the organization.Once you have developed a network of believers, use them to pull others along. Ask them to challenge those who don't believe it is important. Ask them to declare publicly the importance of the role and to emphasize the value it brings to the organization.Jack Harris, MD, a Vice President of Medical at Lilly and a co-author of this article, has identified several factors that have motivated him to get and stay involved with leadership development in LRL:* The opportunity to stay connected with the business and the people and to influence both.* The opportunity to address cultural concerns, some of which are the result of rumor and misinformation.* The opportunity to meet new talent and broaden his network.* The opportunity to increase self-knowledge by telling stories and sharing lessons which have been important in his own career development.* The opportunity to work on listening skills and learn what high-performing future leaders are thinking about.* The opportunity to move some of these new ideas into action by sharing them with senior colleagues.* Most importantly, the opportunity to model the values and leadership behaviors.For many executives, the opportunity to influence tomorrow's leaders and to leave a legacy will be highly motivating. They have reached the stage in their careers where it is important to leave a stamp on the organization.\nKey learnings from the Inspirational Leadership experience: After two years, we can summarize the key learnings from this undertaking as follows (as derived from evaluation data and interviews with participants and leaders):* The commitment of 1.5 days of time to their development by respected senior leaders is a powerful message and model to participants.* The ability to interact in a deeply personal way with senior leaders is highly motivating to participants and enables \"best leadership practices\" to be shared in an intimate setting.* The involvement of senior leaders in the design and development of the project gave them a strong interest in later participation.* The experience of co-leading has been very satisfying and successful; being identified as an inspirational leader and having the opportunity to influence the next generation are personally rewarding.In summary, the way to get senior leaders involved in leadership development is to make them central to the process and to communicate the organizational value and the personal rewards that will result from their engagement.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to share the successful experience of Lilly Research Laboratories (LRL) in engaging senior leaders in developing the next generation of leaders.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper describes the principles and approach used by LRL. It provides a straightforward description of the major leadership development programs with a more detailed description of a course on inspirational leadership. One of the co-authors, a Vice President of Medical, describes his personal motivation for participating.\nFindings: - The commitment of a significant amount of time to their development by respected senior leaders is a powerful message and model to participants. The ability to interact in a deeply personal way with senior leaders is highly motivating to participants. The involvement of senior leaders in the design and development of programs gives them a strong interest in later participation. Being identified as an inspirational leader and having the opportunity to influence the next generation are personally rewarding to senior leaders.\nOriginality/value: - LRL is one of too few organizations that have succeeded in gaining a high level of commitment from senior leaders to developing future leaders; their methodology may be valuable to other large and medium-sized organizations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Value creation, innovation practice, and competitive advantage: Evidence from the FTSE MIB index
|
[
"Corporate finance",
"Value creation",
"Competitive advantage",
"Dividend policy",
"FTSE MIB index",
"Innovation practice",
"Open innovation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Corporate finance researchers generally agree that the main objective of a company is the maximisation of value (e.g. Berk and DeMarzo, 2016; Brealey et al., 2015; Damodaran, 2006; Guatri, 1991; Jensen, 2001). In particular, for listed companies, the concept of value refers to the maximisation of the stock price (Damodaran, 2006), which is affected by strategic and financial decisions.\nTheoretical foundation: Value creation\nMethodology: Research design\nAnalysis and discussion of the results: This section provides a brief profile for each of the 16 companies that have adopted at least one open innovation practice, and analyses the features of its model in comparison to information from the literature. All of these practices have a key role for the companies to continue to develop a sustainable competitive advantage that, as we shown in the theoretical part, is fundamental to generate value for the shareholder over time. We consider five open innovation practices (partnership and collaboration with external entities; M&As and alliances; investment in start-ups; hackathons and call for ideas; outsourcing R&D) which have been analysed in detail following the triangulation principle.\nConclusions and implications for future lines of research: This is among the first pioneer research works based on the potential relationship among value creation, innovation practice and competitive advantage. This study highlights the link among value creation, open innovation and competitive advantage through analysis of companies listed on the FTSE MIB Index.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse companies listed on the FTSE MIB, in order to investigate the introduction of different types of open innovation practice as a key factor to develop a competitive advantage to pursue value creation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research uses a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. A quantitative study was conducted to determine the firms listed on the FTSE MIB that for more than 10 years have paid dividends and beat the yield of the market. The qualitative analysis was designed to provide insights into the adoption of at least one open innovation practice by the listed companies selected in the quantitative phase.\nFindings: This work is based on an empirical analysis undertaken with 40 Italian companies listed on the FTSE MIB. In particular, the authors highlight 16 companies that for more than a decade have regularly paid dividends and, at the same time, have beat the FTSE MIB Index. All of these companies implemented at least one open innovation practice during the period investigated.\nOriginality/value: This is among the first pioneer research works based on the potential relationship among value creation, innovation practice and competitive advantage in the Italian market. This study highlights the fact that 16 out of 40 companies listed on the FTSE MIB create more value for shareholders over a long period, and all of these firms adopt different open innovation practices (e.g. partnership and collaboration with external entities; mergers and acquisitions and alliances; investment in start-ups; hackathons and call for ideas; outsourcing R&D) as a key factor to develop a sustainable competitive advantage.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Satisfaction, inertia, and customer loyalty in the varying levels of the zone of tolerance and alternative attractiveness
|
[
"Satisfaction",
"Inertia",
"Customer loyalty",
"Zone of tolerance",
"Alternative attractiveness",
"Consumer behaviour",
"Mobile communication systems",
"Taiwan"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.\nIntroduction: The development of customer loyalty has become an important focus for marketing strategy in recent years due to the benefits associated with retaining existing customers (Oliver, 1999). Empirical studies investigating the antecedents of customer loyalty typically focus on satisfaction. Obviously, satisfaction is not the only significant driver of customer loyalty (Mittal and Lassar, 1998). Customer loyalty may also result from inertia (Colgate and Lang, 2001). Dick and Basu (1994) argued that loyalty is determined by the strength of the relationship between relative attitude and repeat patronage. High relative attitude with high repeat patronage results in true loyalty, while low relative attitude with high repeat patronage indicates spurious loyalty. In their framework, attitude is a requirement for true loyalty to occur. In essence, satisfaction is viewed as an antecedent of relative attitude because without satisfaction customers will not hold a favorable attitude towards a brand (Dick and Basu, 1994). On the other hand, the high repeat patronage levels of spurious loyalty can be explained by inertial behaviors (Odin et al., 2001).It has been proposed that customers have a range of expectations regarding service performance, referred to as the zone of tolerance (ZOT) (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991; Johnston, 1995; Parasuraman et al., 1991; Zeithaml et al., 1993). Variations exist in different customers' ZOT. Some customers may have a narrower ZOT, whereas others may tolerate a greater range of service performance (Walker and Baker, 2000; Weun et al., 2004). Mittal and Kamakura (2001) posited that customers may have different widths of the ZOT with regard to repurchasing so that customers with the same satisfaction may have different levels of customer loyalty. In addition, within the ZOT, inertia exists and develops because customers are indifferent to small increases or decreases of service performance, and do not make significant changes to their behaviors (Egan, 2004; Liljander and Strandvik, 1993; Yap and Sweeney, 2007).This study aims to investigate whether the width of customers' ZOT alters the evaluation of satisfaction and the stability of inertia, hence, changing their loyalty to the service provider. Specifically, are customers with a wider ZOT more likely to rely on inertia in forming their customer loyalty? On the other hand, if customers have a narrower ZOT, does satisfaction, rather than inertia, become a major driver of customer loyalty? In other words, this study seeks to understand how the ZOT affects the relative importance of satisfaction and inertia in determining customer loyalty to a service provider.Jones and Sasser (1995) discovered that the strength of the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty depends upon the competitive structure of the industry. Ranaweera and Neely (2003) also proposed that the effect of inertia on customer retention could be determined by the competitive structure of the industry. In addition, the dynamics initiated by alternative attractiveness during the relationship also affect the ZOT (Parasuraman et al., 1991). As a result, customers use new information gathered from alternative attractiveness to change their desired and adequate levels of the ZOT. Specifically, the more perceived alternative attractiveness, the narrower the ZOT (Zeithaml et al., 1993). Therefore, this study aims to examine how the effects of satisfaction and inertia on customer loyalty vary with differing levels of the ZOT, and how these are likely to change due to customers' alternative attractiveness.The significance of this study is two-fold. First, this study contributes to the services marketing literature by incorporating the ZOT into the satisfaction-loyalty and inertia-loyalty relationships. Although the ZOT has verified to be a useful instrument in incorporating service performance, different levels of expectations, and customer loyalty (Parasuraman et al., 1991; Teas and DeCarlo, 2004; Walker and Baker, 2000), to date, few studies have examined the relative importance of satisfaction and inertia with varying levels of the ZOT within a single and simultaneous model. Second, this study advances prior studies by showing that the satisfaction-loyalty and inertia-loyalty relationships vary across different combinations of the ZOT and alternative attractiveness. In other words, any failure to incorporate the joint contingency relationships of the ZOT and alternative attractiveness may lead to a misunderstanding of the roles of satisfaction and inertia.The rest of the paper is organized as follows. First, previous conceptualizations of satisfaction, inertia, the ZOT, and alternative attractiveness are presented, along with the development of the hypotheses. Next, the methodology and hypotheses tests are described, with the results and managerial implications then outlined. Finally, the study's limitations and suggestions for future research are offered.\nLiterature review: Conceptual framework\nMethodology: Data collection and sampling\nAnalysis and results: Hierarchical moderated regression\nDiscussion: Theoretical contributions\nManagerial implications: The results of this study also have important managerial implications in the field of services marketing. Obviously, some customers may have a narrower ZOT, which may require a consistent level of service performance to satisfy them, whereas others may tolerate a greater range of service performance. Therefore, first of all, mobile telecommunication managers need to know the approximate level, between the desired and adequate service performance, that customers are currently receiving from them. Second, mobile telecommunication managers should determine the width of their customers' ZOT. On the basis of this study, understanding of the width of the ZOT would then allow managers to allocate their marketing resources accordingly, focusing on either satisfaction or inertia.For inert customers with a narrower ZOT, mobile telecommunication managers need to be alert in order to retain them, because a narrower ZOT dissolves the inertia-customer loyalty relationship. On the other hand, inert customers with a wider ZOT have lower levels of customer expectations, thus reducing their sensitivity to the level of satisfaction. In other words, inert customers with a wider ZOT are still loyal, even in the absence of satisfaction. Most importantly, it is necessary to understand that the ZOT is not a static concept. Therefore, undertaking continuous monitoring of the ZOT is an important strategic issue for mobile telecommunication managers. In particular, in the face of high alternative attractiveness and continually rising expectations, customers' ZOT becomes narrower (Parasuraman et al., 1991; Zeithaml et al., 1993). As such, managers need to realize that loyalty may erode, as increasing perceptions of alternative attractiveness may counteract the inertia of long-standing relationships. On the other hand, it is not surprising that the narrower the ZOT, the more attention needs to be paid to customer satisfaction (Kettinger and Lee, 2005) in order to maintain customer loyalty (Egan, 2004; Yap and Sweeney, 2007).\nLimitations and directions for future research: This study has the following limitations. First, this study may suffer from the fact that it only uses cross-sectional data, and thus cannot draw strong conclusions regarding the true dynamic effects. A longitudinal design would afford greater insights into these issues.Second, this study's focus on a single firm within a mobile telecommunication service context may also limit the extent to which the findings can be generalized. It is possible that the moderating effect of the ZOT would change with services that are high in credence or search properties. For example, in a health-care setting, customers are likely to have more stringent standards, and thus have a narrower ZOT that allows less room for service performance error (Corbin et al., 2001). In contrast, with regard to a context with greater search properties, financial bonds can enhance customer relationships through special price offers to loyal customers. In this context, the customers' priority may be financial incentives, and thus they will have a wider ZOT with regard service performance. However, to confirm this, future research needs to be conducted in other service industries.Another limitation might be the omission of important variables, such as commitment and trust. For example, based on Ahluwalia et al.'s (2000) study, customers with low commitment are more influenced by negative information. In contrast, committed customers tend to show a higher level of tolerance to negative information and their ZOT becomes wider. In addition, customer's ZOT becomes wider as trust matures (Wang and Huff, 2007). In such situations, it may require a much greater violation, or series of violations, to detach inertial purchasing patterns. Further research could investigate whether the moderating effect of the ZOT on the relationships between satisfaction, inertia, and customer loyalty will change as commitment and trust increase.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Empirical studies investigating the antecedents of customer loyalty typically focus on satisfaction. This study aims to develop and test a more comprehensive model of the antecedents of customer loyalty, including satisfaction and inertia. In addition, this study also considers how the effects of satisfaction and inertia on customer loyalty vary with differing levels of the zone of tolerance (ZOT), and how these are likely to change due to customers' alternative attractiveness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.\nFindings: - The results show that a wider level of the ZOT strengthens the positive effect of inertia on customer loyalty, while also reducing the positive effect of satisfaction. The results also indicate that the negative moderating effect of the ZOT on the relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty will reduce as alternative attractiveness increases. In contrast, the positive moderating effect of the ZOT on the relationship between inertia and customer loyalty will reduce as alternative attractiveness increases.\nOriginality/value: - This study is a first attempt to integrate the ZOT to determine the relative importance of satisfaction and inertia in determining customer loyalty. In addition, this study suggests that customers with higher perceptions of alternative attractiveness are more likely to experience changes in the influence of the ZOT on their loyalty decisions.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Consumer perceptions of food safety education sources: Implications for effective strategy development
|
[
"Food safety",
"Education",
"Risk management",
"Communication",
"Wales"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The increased incidence of foodborne disease over the past 20 years has generated a substantial social and economic burden on society. Research has identified significant microbiological risks associated with poor consumer food-handling behaviours (Redmond and Griffith, 2003; Redmond et al. 2004). Such risks are known to contribute to the incidence of foodborne disease. Therefore, effective consumer food safety education strategies are required to reduce the prevalence of unsafe behaviours used during food preparation in the home.Behavioural scientists have stated that \"human beings are not empty vessels in which correct information can simply be poured which in turn will eliminate undesirable customs\" (Foster and Kaferstein, 1985). For communication to have the desired impact a whole chain of responses needs to be elicited (McGuire, 1984). The development of community-based interventions for food safety initiatives is a complex process, requiring the provision of information for a variety of target audiences in different settings. Diverse strategies are required for different groups of consumers, each having their own related social and environmental influences and food preparation practices (Campbell et al., 1998).One of the most important determinants of consumer reactions to food risk information is the extent to which the public trusts the source from which the information originates (Frewer et al. 1995; Shepherd et al. 1996). People are unlikely to change their attitudes or behaviour if they do not trust the source of information (Frewer et al. 1996), and information from a credible source is more likely to influence the public (FAO/WHO, 1998). For example, a scientist or other health care worker may seem the ideal source of public health information, however, a community activist or layperson affected by the disease may carry more credibility and have a greater public impact (Freimuth et al., 2000). A source low in credibility may be discounted and have limited or no impact, whereas a highly credible source is likely to be more influential (Griffin et al., 1991).Better education depends on a better understanding of the modes and channels of communication that people actually use (Khare, 1988; WHO, 1988). Of importance for food safety education is the message and the manner in which the message is communicated to and received by the public (Griffith et al., 1994). Traditionally, approaches to food safety education have been mainly \"expert driven\" and largely based on the provision of standardised materials. Communication of messages has essentially involved widespread distribution of knowledge based information using the mass media directed at large numbers of people (Freimuth et al., 2000). Although knowledge of the consequences of unsafe food-handling practices can enhance consumer motivation to change behaviour (Bruhn, 1997), research has established that provision of knowledge does not necessarily translate into practice (Ackerley, 1994; Curtis et al., 1993; Nichols et al., 1988; Pinfold, 1999). To date, public communication campaigns to encourage adoption of safe food-handling practices have had minimal success (Kretzer and Larson, 1998) and it has been suggested that the future of hygiene promotion should be based on the analysis of the specific needs of the target audience (Rennie, 1995). A contemporary approach to structured behavioural change for health education initiatives has been the application of social marketing to a variety of public health-related disciplines (Andreason, 1995) including consumer food safety (Redmond et al., 2000; Redmond, 2002; FSES et al., 2001). Use of the social marketing approach facilitates the development of a consumer-oriented strategy whereby the needs and wants of consumers are actively sought and acted upon in programme planning, management and evaluation.Channels and sources generally used for public communication of food safety issues include a variety of formats such as television, radio, posters, leaflets, newspapers, cookery books, magazines and reminder aids. Although limited research has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of different intervention types the potential effectiveness of different media is reported to vary considerably, despite having common characteristics (Tones and Tilford, 1996). The production and distribution of leaflets is considered to be a mainstay of health education and promotion activities (Fraser and Smith, 1997) however, the effectiveness of communication using written information in the form of leaflets has been widely discussed (Paul and Redman, 1997). The effectiveness of other sources of food safety information utilised for health education purposes, such as posters, newsletters, recipes and reminder aids has not been as widely researched.Consumer perceptions of, and preferences for, different food safety interventions are likely to affect the potential effectiveness of a consumer food safety education strategy, however, to date, limited research has been undertaken. A review of 65 consumer food safety studies (from the UK, Ireland, the USA and Australia) found that less than 25 per cent of surveys evaluated source preference (Redmond, 2002). This paper aims to examine factors that influence the efficacy of food risk communication and investigate consumer preferences for sources and methods of food safety information.\nMethod: A self-complete questionnaire was designed to examine consumer preferences for different sources of food safety education interventions and assess the perceived credibility of organisations and spokespersons that are known to deliver and promote food safety information to consumers. In addition, the questionnaire was designed to be a precursor of a larger nationwide survey (n=2,000) which aimed to investigate consumer perceptions of food safety education in the UK and inform strategy development for future food safety initiatives. To facilitate the development of the questionnaire, health education and health promotion literature were reviewed. Common intervention materials, frequent providers of information and key concepts influencing the efficacy of food safety communication used in previous initiatives were identified and formed the basis of questions (Redmond, 2002).Questions included in the questionnaire rated perceptions of food safety leaflets, television documentaries and cookery programmes, preferable sources of food safety information, spokespersons who promote food safety advice in terms of believability and the credibility and trustworthiness of organisations and institutions who provide food safety information. Responses were assessed on a variation of a Likert-type visual analogue scale (VAS) (Bowling, 2000) which was bounded by adjectives (e.g. \"most preferable source\" and \"least preferable source\"). Numerical values (from 1 to 10) were displayed at both ends of the scale as well as regular intervals along each line. Respondents were required to circle a number along each line to indicate how strongly they felt about each of the given statements. During the developmental stages of the questionnaire, pilot testing was carried out using recommended procedures (Breakwell et al., 1995).The questionnaire was administered by post to 100 consumers recruited by a local Market Research Agency. Recruited consumers represented a linked demographic quota of adults aged >16 years from Cardiff, South Wales, UK, from all socio-economic groups (SEGs) based on UK Census data (ONS, 1997). The questionnaire was sent to respondents with a covering letter and prepaid addressed envelope. Respondents were offered a supermarket incentive to return a completed questionnaire within one month of administration. Follow-up telephone calls were made and reminder letters were sent to respondents at intervals after the initial survey had been distributed. A response rate of 61 per cent was attained, and responses were obtained from consumers from all SEGs and age groups. All responses were anonymous and findings were entered onto a specially constructed consumer food safety database (Microsoft Access '97).Data analysis was carried out using SPSS (Version 9.0) and Microsoft Excel '97 and responses were evaluated using descriptive and inferential statistics. For the descriptive analysis, proportions of respondents who indicated values 1 to 3 (representing, e.g. a high degree of preference) and values 8 to 10 (representing, e.g. a low degree of preference) were calculated. Median values were calculated to indicate central tendency and were used as the main determinants of rank. For the inferential statistical analysis, Spearmans rank correlation coefficient (rho) (two-tailed) was used to identify correlations between ranked responses. Similarly, correlations between ranked data, age group and SEG were also identified using Spearmans rho (r). Differences between male and female responses were identified using the Mann Whitney U test (Z score). Alpha levels determined for all multiple comparisons in the analyses to identify statistical significance were corrected using Bonferroni correction (Norman and Streiner, 2000; Bland, 2002).\nResults: Exposure to food safety information sources\nDiscussion: Consumer education concerning risks and correct domestic food-handling behaviours is important for the reduction of foodborne disease incidence, and the UK FSA is currently developing a consumer-oriented food safety education strategy to improve food hygiene in the home. Identification of consumer preferences for information may be of benefit for the development of effective communication strategies and raising risk awareness. The consumer-oriented approach of social marketing provides a framework for tailored communication strategies to be developed for specific consumer audiences. Previous research has suggested that different groups of consumers respond to food safety information in different ways (WHO, 2000) and targeted interventions can be more effective for bringing about desirable behavioural change (Andreason, 1995).The most preferred source of food safety information identified was food packaging and reported exposure to this source of advice also was widespread. However, previous research has suggested that food safety advice on packaging of raw meat in the USA is not an effective method for improving food safety behaviours in the home (Yang et al. 2000). Observations of domestic food-handling behaviours showed that consumers frequently touch the inside of raw chicken packaging (Redmond et al., 2004). Concerns have been expressed about the external contamination of packaging (Burgess et al., 2005) and more than one-third of internal raw meat packaging was found to be contaminated with pathogens such as Campylobacter and Salmonella (Harrison et al., 2001). The placement of instructions on the inside of raw meat packaging, as is often the case, could therefore increase the risk of microbial cross contamination during handling. Food safety advice on packaging should be easily visible before opening, simple and reading the instructions should require no additional handling actions.In this study, food safety advice from a medical doctor or health visitor was also considered to be a preferred source of information. However, reported exposure to food safety advice from a medical doctor or health visitor was limited. Given that medical doctors and health visitors were ranked as believable spokespersons for the promotion of food safety information, it may be beneficial for such sources to be more proactive regarding the provision of food safety advice to consumers in future educational strategies. Furthermore, placement of food safety information in medical waiting rooms may be of benefit as consumers may spend considerable time in them with little else to do (Redmond et al., 2001).Least preferred sources of food safety information included reminder aids such as fridge magnets and tea-towels; such sources had previously been encountered by only one respondent. This may reflect lack of use in the locality, rather than a general dislike for the type of educational aid. Perceived disfavour from this study does not correspond with previous focus group findings whereby targeted sub-groups of consumers have responded positively to visual presentation of reminder aids such as magnets used for promoting food safety information (Redmond et al. 2000; Redmond et al. 2001; Li-Cohen et al. 2002). Consumer responses in focus groups indicated that such reminder aids were novel and useful as a constant reminder to implement safe food preparation behaviours. Indeed, key interventions for the ongoing nationwide US Fight-Bac(r) food safety initiative are fridge magnets (Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2002) and previous research has shown that use of strategically placed reminders to aid hand-washing compliance in hospitals can help to improve behavioural compliance (Naikoba and Haywood, 2001).Research has shown that use of multiple channels and sources of information may increase potential effectiveness of educational initiatives (Bruhn and Schultz, 1999). Findings from this study showed that correlations between consumer perceptions of different sources of food safety information exist and such information should be used to aid effectual placement of interventions in strategies where multiple information sources are used.Credibility and trust of spokespersons and organisations that promote food safety information\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Consumers often use inappropriate food-handling practices and improving these could help to reduce the incidence of foodborne disease. However the development of an effective food safety education strategy is considered complex and could be improved by having a greater understanding of the consumer. This paper proposes investigating the modes and channels of communication that maybe used in education strategies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A self-complete postal questionnaire was distributed to a linked demographic quota of adults in South Wales. Responses were entered into a specially constructed food safety database.\nFindings: - Results indicated that the Environmental Health departments and UK Food Standards Agency were perceived to be the most trusted and credible organisations that can provide food safety information. The most believable spokespersons for promotion of food safety advice were determined as Environmental Health officers and the Chief Medical Officer. The most preferred source of food safety information identified were food packaging, followed by advice from a medical doctor.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Although only a relatively small sample size, many of the findings have been corroborated by qualitative data from nationwide focus groups. The data have been used as the precursor for a large nationwide study of over 2,000 consumers and this should further validate the data.\nOriginality/value: - The results will be of benefit to a range of organisations currently engaged in food safety education as well as identifying potentially underutilised channels of communication.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Why it pays to be old - and how to get old before your years: Companies capitalize on a lifetime of knowledge and experience
|
[
"Age discrimination",
"Experience",
"Diversity management",
"Employee development",
"Organizational performance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Many of my clients, in sectors ranging from telecoms to specialized consultancies, will typically spend anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of their revenue on salaries and wages. It is normally the single biggest item of cost. Little wonder then that organizations want to ensure they get value for money from their employees.\nTangible improvements in service and sales: \"Mature employees are a key part of the performance recipe,\" reported Professor Sparrow. The top three impacts the older workers had were found to be the ability to relate to customers, their extra dedication to service and their ability to mentor junior colleagues. These translated into tangible improvements in areas such as service levels, the number of customer visits and, most importantly for the financially orientated, sales.Do-it-yourself chain B&Q has also earned a reputation for employing older workers. The company often chooses older workers because it wants to let its customers tap into their lifetime of knowledge and experience. Both organizations happen to be among the 18 core members of the Employers' Forum on Age and clearly believe - and have evidence to back up - that older employees can have a significant impact on profitability.Viewed at the individual level, the value of experience can be hard to judge. The day-to-day benefits found by McDonald's and B&Q represent one type. However there are others. For example, people filling roles with more responsibility might find the job plain sailing most of the time, but what happens when something goes wrong and there is suddenly a crisis? You only know the true value of experience for sure when your employee faces a tough situation, and performs - or not.I was reminded of this while working on a project for an SME client recently that involved a significant rollout of product across the UK. Unsurprisingly, there were some challenges and I was able to draw on experience from my days in the auto industry, in particular about how to handle supplier-quality issues.The steps I developed back then were to first fix the problem, then clear up the fall-out and finally investigate why it happened. Without that, it is easy to get stuck in why it happened or who was to blame - which takes you away from the solution. So my experience allowed me to stay focused and systematically work through the issues.Without the right experience, it is easy to get oneself and others bogged down in the less important items. Looking back at one role I performed earlier in my career - as managing director of a car-component company - with hindsight I could see that I spread myself too thin. There were problems to be dealt with in virtually every area: behind on a multitude of new projects; high scrap levels; poor quality (and unhappy customers); lack of business in one overseas subsidiary; a problematic start-up of a new plant in another; cost overruns; no long-term strategy ... I was having to think hard on every move as I did not have the experience to just \"know\" what needed to be done, and in what sequence.In many situations, you can work your way through. Experience is less important as you have time to consider your next move, talk to experts and work out solutions as you go along. It is only in crisis situations, where there can be little margin for error, that experience is worth so much more than even its weight in gold.\nThe top five benefits of experience: So what are the benefits of experience? Here are my top five:1. Knowing what to do instinctively - picking the right things to focus on and what to leave out.2. Knowing how to do things - in particular handling a variety of people.3. Having a nose to sniff out whether something is a big issue or not.4. Having a big contact base - and having people you know and trust, who you can call for advice straight away.5. No - or at least few - surprises. You are less likely to be shocked by something, and better able to anticipate. It helps you to keep calm in crisis situations, with clearer thinking and lower risk of panic measures.It all adds up to the ability to focus effort more effectively and get results faster - exactly what is required in high-pressure situations and to deliver more value.\nHow to ensure that employees get old ahead of their years: So to the crunch question - how to ensure that your employees get it and get old ahead of their years?Extracting the learning points from my own experience, and from a mixture of training and consulting work, here are my suggestions:1. Being on the planet for longer helps, so ensure that older people really do get fair treatment in recruitment, redundancies and promotions to ensure that you have a balanced workforce.2. Monitor staff-retention rates by area. You can do all the right things for development but failure to tackle the reasons why people choose to leave will easily undermine that. Take note of the adage I heard again recently: \"People join companies, but leave managers.\"3. Ensure that employees get a good quality of experience. The things I most value now are having handled high-pressure situations - for instance, product launches, cash-flow problems, operational problems, presentations to boards of directors, preparing and delivering a major address to more than 1,700 people in German, and so on. Provide employees with challenges that will stretch them - whatever stage they are at in their career. Of course, there is a risk of failure - but if people stay in their comfort zones, they will never get the scar tissue that makes up truly valuable experience.4. Look to create a mixture of youth and experience in teams, as I have found it gives big benefits to both.5. Investigate opportunities for experience outside your own organization. For instance, I have seen secondments to customers used to great effect in SMEs to expand staff experience. Seek opportunities through the corporate social responsibility agenda for external projects in different fields, and check out organizations such as Toastmasters International (www.toastmasters.org), which provides highly cost-effective programs to develop leadership and communication skills in a supportive environment.6. Ensure there is a culture of reviews and performance management. Unless you are extremely lucky, it is unlikely that everything will go exactly to plan and learning for all parties is enhanced by giving and discussing feedback.7. If performance is not up to scratch, and does not respond to reasonable measures to improve it, tough decisions need to be made. I have come across too many organizations where some staff have been allowed to drift as successive managers have lacked the courage to have the right conversations. This can lead to situations where they are being paid more for doing the same - or perhaps less - work than younger employees. It can also happen with SMEs, although there tends to be less resource so issues tend to rise to the surface more quickly.8. Encourage employees to observe and learn from others. They will be in contact with people with more experience than them - perhaps in different fields - whether as customers, suppliers or high-profile business people through the media. This could also be through a formal mentoring scheme.9. Finally, do some research in your own organizations about added value, if you have not already done so. If the older, more experienced employees do not cut it on the value-for-money stakes, track back and deal with the true cause - most likely poor staff development and performance management - rather than just taking the conventional approach in the next redundancy program.For most people, it is inevitable that the older you get the more experience you have, so it really does pay for organizations to have older employees around (preferably mixed with younger ones), just as McDonald's has found. If you want your staff to have the experience of an older person, seek out opportunities to stretch them. If they are willing to learn from each experience, even ones that feel like disasters can add to the tools and knowledge in their capability box and ensure that they behave as someone with experience beyond their years - however old (or young) they are.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to challenge HR specialists to consider the value of experience, seek out older workers and ensure that younger staff are developed to give them experience beyond their years.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Recognizes that organizations need to ensure they get value for money from their employees, and that older workers are often perceived as expensive, less flexible and lacking technology skills. Gives examples from companies such as McDonald's, and from the author's own experience, which counter these perceptions. Concludes with practical actions to enhance employee value for money.\nFindings: - Argues that leading organizations such as McDonald's have found tangible bottom-line impact of employing older workers. Provides five key benefits of experience and suggests nine ways that HR managers could develop their staff so they get old ahead of their years.\nPractical implications: - The paper challenges HR managers to go beyond a compliance approach to ageism, recognize the potential of older workers and ensure that younger staff are developed in ways that enhance their experience. Contains information that will be increasingly relevant as the proportion of older people in the workforce rises.\nOriginality/value: - The paper is of benefit to HR specialists and line managers seeking ideas on how to ensure their employees provide value for money.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Status, stress and fit: comparing the faculty stress impact of university consolidations
|
[
"Merger",
"Higher education policy",
"Organization culture",
"Faculty productivity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Higher education is facing unprecedented challenges. A combination of reduced state funding, and increased demand (Mitchell et al., 2017), coupled with emerging technologies and pressure from stakeholders (Anderson and Whitford, 2016) has led to higher education institutions (HIEs) adopting radical reorganization strategies. State funding for higher education has been decreasing since 1980 in a trend often referred to as \"creeping privatization\" placing significant financial pressure on these institutions (Mortensen, 2012). The Great Recession starting 2008 accelerated this trend. For example in 2017, states spent 44% less per student than in 2008 after adjusting for inflation. In response to the continuing fiscal pressure, institutions have raised tuition by an average of $2,484 or 35%, accelerating the long-term trend of making college less affordable, contributing to significant increases in student debt (Mitchell et al., 2017).Public HIEs have embarked on major efforts to cut operating costs while attempting to maintain or improve organizational performance. Cost-cutting initiatives have included eliminating tenure-track faculty positions, course offerings and programs, reducing student services and even closing campuses (Mitchell et al., 2017). One related initiative undertaken in the University System of Georgia (USG) included a series of institutional consolidations or mergers. In each consolidation[1], two institutions were merged to create a new one with a distinctive organization and structure (USG, 2012; Boling et al., 2017).This research compares the results of two USG consolidations [1] involving four previously separate institutions. In both cases, a teaching-oriented institution was merged with a research-oriented institution. The research examines the impact of these mergers on a university's single-most important asset, the faculty. Attention is focused on the interplay between the pre-merger status of the institution (low status and high status), and the individual faculty member's sense of belonging (person-organization fit, or POFit), commitment to the organization, and levels of job-related stress that has been shown to have negative impacts on individual and organizational performance.\nBackground and theoretical framework: Mergers and acquisitions and their application to higher education\nData: Context and sample\nMethods: A series of regression models are presented with stress as the dependent variable on the university and status indicators with high status, GSU, and an interaction of high status and GSU as the reference groups. Three individual level controls related to the person's relationship to the organization (standardized values of POFit, affective commitment and continuance commitment), and three individual level controls representing pay satisfaction, time at the organization (time) and rank are included. Five models are presented and all ordinary least squares regression analyses are performed in Stata 15.1 using robust standard errors.\nFindings: Table 4 presents descriptive statistics for key variables in the study. Across institutions, lower levels of stress and higher values of POFit are found at the GSU campus merger sites as compared to the AU merger sites. Greater pay satisfaction and lower continuance commitment values are found at the high-status campuses, the GSU campus for the GSU merger and the GHSU medical campus for the AU merger, relative to the low status campuses participating in the mergers. The variables related to a person's relationship to the organization (POFit, affective commitment and continuance commitment) were standardized to ease interpretation. These variables were standardized to have a mean of zero and standard deviation of one on the pooled sample of respondents. Values above 1 indicate a POFit value that is higher than the average for all respondents and a one point difference in the reported values indicates a one standard deviation difference.Table 5 presents results from each of the five models used to analyze faculty stress across the four merger institutions included in the two AU and GSU consolidations. Model 1 estimates the difference in mean stress levels reported by faculty in high-status institutions (GSU and GHSU) relative to low status institutions (GPC and ASU) and finds a statistically significant difference in the reported levels of stress where faculty in high-status institutions report about 0.176 points lower levels of stress on average. The addition of a control variable for GSU in Model 2 suggests that stress levels for faculty involved in the GSU merger are, on average, about 0.56 points lower than faculty involved in the AU merger holding the pre-merger institution's status level constant. This suggests that there were likely other factors involved in the merger process that moderated the impact of status on faculty stress in the GSU merger.Model 3 introduces an interaction term to estimate the relationship between stress and pre-merger institution. The low status AU merger institution (ASU) represents the reference group as this campus has a zero value for both the high status and GSU variables. There are statistically significant associations between pre-merger institution and stress on all three coefficients. Model 3 predicts that the reference group, the low status pre-merger institution ASU, experiences the highest levels of predicted stress. Faculty members at the GHSU campus have stress levels predicted to be about 0.27 points lower than faculty at the low status AU campus. An interesting findings is that the faculty members involved in the GSU merger, on average, report stress levels about 0.7 points lower that AU for faculty members at both campuses (GSU = -0.27 + -0.7 + 0.26; perimeter = -0.704).Models 4 and 5 introduce control variables that may partially explain the association between the merger by pre-merger institution and stress. There is a consistent negative association between POFit and stress, where a one standard deviation (SD) increase in the POFit measure is associated with a reduction in stress of about 0.2 of a point on the stress measure holding the other modeled characteristics constant (Model 5; -0.22). A negative association is also found between pay satisfaction and stress where increased levels of pay satisfaction predicted decreasing levels of stress (-0.11). Higher levels of continuance commitment (or faculty staying because the likely have no better options) predict increased levels of stress where a one SD increase in continuance commitment predicts a 0.15 point increase in reported stress, holding other modeled characteristics constant.Returning to the variables of interest in Model 5, the association between high-status pre-merger institutions and stress is now near zero and is no longer statistically significant indicating that after controlling for the characteristics of faculty, there is no longer an association between higher stress and employment at a high-status pre-merger institution (0.04; not statistically significant). Lower levels of stress reported by participants in the GSU merger relative to the AU merger persist. Faculty involved in the GSU merger, with controls for faculty characteristics included and regardless of status, report about 0.4 points lower levels of stress, on average, holding the other modeled characteristics constant. The fifth and most extensive model shows an r-squared value of 0.432.\nDiscussion: Exploring the differences between the two mergers including faculty members from four pre-merger institutions require building fairly complex models. Despite the complexity of the models, support is found for previous research that has demonstrated that stress is an issue in mergers, including those in higher education (Moeller and Chung-Yan, 2013). Research in the business sector establishes that M&A success hinges on employee support and positive response to the merger (Cartwright et al., 2007: Sung et al., 2017). M&As have primarily negative impacts on employees, particularly in terms of job-related stress, contributing to their high failure rate (deJong et al., 2016). This seems to be true as well for higher education.This research was based on the premise that pre-merger institutional status would be an important predictor of faculty stress, along with other predictors such as commitment and POFit. It was confirmed that lower levels of POFit after an M&A do produce higher levels of faculty job-related stress. Similarly, higher levels of continuance commitment after an M&A do result in higher levels of job-related stress. Once a control was included that allowed comparison of merger institutions, it became clear, however, that institutional status differences did not impact faculty as expected. Instead, it seems that there was something different about the mergers themselves.It seems feasible that differences in how the mergers were managed may have played an important role in reducing faculty stress in the GSU merger. Two key differences stand out in this pair of mergers. First, the GSU leadership made a decision to retain separate promotion and tenure policies for faculty. In other words, faculty at GPC would continue to be governed by the promotion and tenure practices they were accustomed to prior to consolidation. In contrast, the AU leadership chose to create a consolidated promotion and tenure policy that used standards appropriate for a research-oriented university. Essentially, faculty at a previously teaching-oriented institution were told their performance standards had just been changed, and they had to immediately begin to meet the standards expected of a research-oriented institution, without benefit of a transitional period. This decision, as one of many key decisions, helps explain why the AU consolidation was more stressful for the faculty.In addition, there were important differences in how the consolidation was communicated. Leadership is widely believed to have a major impact on the success or failure of organizational change efforts) and communication is a key leadership responsibility (Bolman and Deal, 2013). Overall, the GSU consolidation was more broadly and thoroughly communicated and preceded at a slower and more deliberate pace than communication for the AU consolidation. The AU consolidation was announced in January of 2012 with consolidation expected to be completed by the following January. But little to no information was released by the Board of Regents to institutions involved in the consolidations until after the state legislative session ended in early April, 2012. This resulted in the AU institutions rushing through consolidation on a relatively short timeline, particularly for the pre-merger institutions like ASU where faculty typically have 10-months contracts and are off-campus during the summer months.In contrast, the GSU consolidation had the same timeline but did not have a break in communication. This consolidation was announced in January, 2015 and finalized the following January. Throughout the process, institutional leadership communicated regularly with faculty, staff and students about the consolidation and its progress through a variety of media including a webpage with up-to-date information and the opportunity to employees, including faculty, to pose questions or concerns. Frequent town hall meetings were scheduled and results were communicated on an ongoing basis. The slower pace and more effective communication of the GSU merger may have lowered the stress level for faculty, as they had more time and information to mentally and emotionally absorb the impact the consolidation could have on their careers (GSU, 2016).Limitations and direction for future research\nConclusion: This study highlights the importance of planning mergers well, particularly given the extensive and growing research concerning cultural integration, development and management of pre-, during- and post-merger (Supriyanto and Arifin. 2018). Consistent across this literature is the emphasis on creating open channels of communication, involving employees in the change process in a meaningful way, for leadership and for our study, paying appropriate respect to a pre-merger legacy institution status in an organizational merger (Bolman and Deal, 2013). Those considered to be \"low status\" will be the most seriously affected. In the particular ASU/GHSU merger case, options such as intensive coaching and some financial assistance to help faculty from the pre-merger low status institution start (or restart) research agendas could have been useful. In other settings, training or opportunities to help employees/faculty gain new job-related skills could be effective at helping employees adapt to new institutional expectations. If sufficient financial resources exist, other options such as early retirement packages could be offered to more senior faculty with continuance commitment and considered less likely to adapt to new expectations. Such initiatives are commonly, and successfully, used in private sector mergers.Finally, this research underlines the importance of effective communication and leadership during organizational change (Supriyanto and Arifin, 2018). The GPC/GSU approach seems to have had a positive impact on faculty stress. The timing also seemed to have important implications for faculty stress. In an increasingly connected, turbulent world, public sector agencies and programs, institutions of higher education in particular, will continue to face demands to evolve in ways that will enhance productivity and efficiency. Thus, leaders of institutions of higher education may use this research to appreciate the complexity of this transformational merger strategy and plan accordingly.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Institutions of higher education face challenges of fiscal responsibility and their value proposition for students and other stakeholders they serve. Strategies used in business sectors, such as merger and acquisition, are being increasingly adopted by higher education governing boards, especially for public institutions and systems. The purpose of this paper is to guide policy decisions related to university mergers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper focuses on the interplay between the pre-merger status of the institution, the individual faculty member's sense of belonging, and their commitment to the organization on levels of job-related stress, which has well-established negative impacts on individual and organizational performance. Using survey data collected at the same time post-merger from two different universities within the same state system, we explore regression models to identify similarities and differences between the faculty responses in terms of the impact of the merger on faculty stress.\nFindings: Differences are found between the two universities in terms of faculty stress with faculty of one low status institution pre-merger having significantly higher stress post-merger. A case is presented for differences in stress based on a part on differences in how the mergers were managed at the system and university levels.\nPractical implications: This research is instructive for higher education policy makers and university administrators as the institution of higher education continues this type of transformation.\nOriginality/value: This paper examines the impact of mergers on a university's single-most important asset, faculty. Comparative and timely faculty survey results from two related universities early post-merger provide valuable insights for leaders in higher education.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Systems and application development for portable maintenance aid (PMA) - a performance perspective
|
[
"Software tools",
"Performance measures",
"Productive maintenance",
"Information systems",
"Aircraft"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: This paper introduces a \"systems-application\" approach for mobile information system development for commercial aircraft maintenance and engineering (M&E) business in pursuance of the economic advantage of portable maintenance aid (PMA) systems for the production network players. M&E industry consists of the airlines' engineering divisions, maintenance service providers and multiple tiers of suppliers. This industry is characterised by intensive technical information managed tasks, dispersed operations in global scale and fast response time to the minutes. It is conceived suitable to snap on the productivity edges offered by mobile technology. If PMA is employed intelligently as exemplified by So (2004), Lee (2003) and Mennecke (2003) it should drive significant cost saving and effective process for maintenance, and better maintenance means better aircraft utilisation for revenue generation. However, comparing airliner's PMA with mobile successes in other business applications, e.g. speed post, warehouse, estate and entertainment management as their crucial process as depicted through case studies by Davies (2000), Nunn (2001), Quah (2002), Pahl (2003), McBratney (2003) and Zografos (2002), mobile data support for airline M&E is still rudimentary. Many attempts as reported by Fletcher (2002), Ogaji (2002), Rao (2003) and Greenough (2001) to develop maintenance PMA are reported but general adoptions to large-scale M&E operation is uncommon. We incline to explore a roadmap forward to deploy mobile technology in this industry.1.1 Stakeholders\n2 Literature review: System development projects usually commenced on a cost-effectiveness initiative as per Pahl (2003), thus to anchor on a revenue model. Once the systems spec are well defined that a user-centred design (Galer, 1996) is employed to ensure the application effectiveness. We start from Mennecke's (2003) concept for development agents and technology providers' understanding on specific application needs, with a support on highly specialised core competencies referring to Holloway's (2003) \"list of necessities\" for aircraft maintenance economics. The choice of developmental rules or particular paths refers to Phaal et al.'s (2001) technology roadmap with its effect on systems development and impact to the value generation configuration as per Afuah (2001). Then a search for the likelihood on systems-application insights from existing research gaps to create the model for data generation by user groups for this alternative concept as illustrated by Mennecke (2003).2.1 PMA applications dimension\n3 Methodology: The system-application approach adopted advanced use of the devices and systems in matching process with network. The suitable hardware-software couple would be provided either in partial prototype or narration. Since, no standard has been set for such nomadic applications (as oppose to a standalone lap-tops) data collected should be subject to correlation test (a priori analysis ref. Adamo (2001)) between the user preference and process performance parameters.Early adoption of Galer's (1996) list of user-centred design is a key feature for this methodology, i.e. without ask the stakeholders to define and freeze every features of the PMA application (it probably could not due to commercialised mobile products' rapid updating almost on quarterly basis). Mennecke's (2003) performance traits were then used as digital agent and process agent. Selected network users will be invited to test the nomadic computing device and for comment. Work process correlation to soft/hardware would feedback to design of the device, reshape it based on user appreciation levels. Finally, overall effectiveness towards business process, spec refinement, software programme refinement and de-bugging.As oppose to the classic IT performance dimensions (O'Brien, 2004) one could break down the huge block of back office operations into smaller chunks, and then conceptually reform them together to develop a model as shown in Figure 4. The prototype definition is reformed and clarified. It aims to:* successfully pass the user go/no-go gauge; and* establish the three-layers (and sub-layers) for correlation analysis.3.1 First layer - L1 generic maintenance value process\n4 Case study - PMA supported on-time performance: This case study captures selected critical network process (airline flight despatch) using the three layers of systems-application intelligence embracing various equipment and software couples to support fast response and sensitive maintenance tasks accomplishment.4.1 Background\n5 Discussion: Having completed the Crystal1 prototype using a three layers approach (Figure 6), L1 generic value process, L2 nomadic application and L3 users appreciation, sufficient data is collected for analysis on the effectiveness of this approach in capturing the intelligence need to design something workable in the CELS process. Even though nomadic is the environment enabler (or had been enabled) the first and third layers remain crucial to the early success. The knowledge collected for workstation constraints helps to overcome difficulties in updating work contents between remote sites and back office operation, of note, one remote site test for Crystal1 test extended to Osaka Kansai Airport with no difficulties reported.With Crytal1 solution as the datum, structured mobile XML/SGML information had been used to measure the following:* improved overall linkage of content management to core product/service measurement;* streamlined costs associated with content creation, management and delivery measurements; and* increased organisational agility and effectiveness by automating delivery measurements.These settings tested PMA/software support for flight despatch. More data from the overall maintenance review would be needed. This is not only for the despatch phase but also for all working phases and maximum extension to OEM PMA data sources in web or load-able configurations.5.1 Theatre management collaboration model\n6 Conclusion: This system-application approach has successfully demonstrated two basic levels of value configuration as suggested by Afuah (2001). That is, the first level value chain for the maintenance tasks accomplishment. The second level the value shop in which the remote workstation for aircraft despatch is managed by the engineer-in-charge through advanced wireless support concept so that the PMA configuration will achieve the usability performance margin. Whereas the third level of value transaction (data, information, knowledge and material) must occur in the extensive value network, as defined by Afuah that Airbus and Boeing should be joined to provide the necessary data to link up the value network between the suppliers, M&E suppliers and the airline operators.With the escalated aircraft asset utilisation, streamline the logistics concerning repair, overhaul and modification to global scale has come a strategic importance. Stakeholders, managers and the users/customers have to attain performance targets and demonstrate unwavering task accomplishment standards in dynamic real world scenarios. This PMA study studied a new paradigm to exploit the possibility how high resolution PMA maintenance data to support critical process, especial from process and system performance perspectives. Data is collected in a mobile-enabled workforce empowered environment in search of the mobile device to support:* optimised production network process;* seamless nomadic operation for the workshop/workstation with limited inter-firm level; and* tailored made hard/software to entice the user-centred design.We have generated a set of guided rules for PMA development especially in the complex network-nomadic-appreciation intelligence gathering for early success.It may take some time to put the ideal PMA platform (Figure 1) into practical service. Under this confined scope of mobile solutions research we instigated better linking the \"islander systems\" so that they could connect processes and to link up existing specialisation. It is conceivable that other dimensions of service such as aircraft interface, passenger or airport support can be instigated for further experimentation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to explore the theory of technology adoption using a system-application approach to facilitate PMA innovation span across multiple organisations to enhance overall production network effectiveness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The survey on technology available and forecast future trends, design a workable prototype for test in real-world airline operation under a three-layer analysis model. Data is taken to validate the concept and correlate performance factors in PMA adoption.\nFindings: - The findings highlight greater operational efficiency and higher process value maintenance to be achieved through communication paths. The value process-to-shop concept is validated, next to value network.\nPractical implications: - This research supports maintenance business, especially with high contents of information and knowledge driven tasks for outsource service providers, can make use of the wireless system adoption rules for assets and maintenance performance management.\nOriginality/value: - The paper presents organisations with a tool such that portable maintenance device can be identified as contribution in different levels, focus and functional effects. Within a critical process, airlines can better manage their dynamic operation process for higher revenue generation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Data rescue archive weather (DRAW): Preserving the complexity of historical climate data
|
[
"Metadata",
"Data repository",
"Climate data",
"Data rescue",
"Historical scientific data",
"Weather data"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Historical scientific records are unique and highly valued by historians, scientists, librarians, archivists and users. Historical scientific data have been accumulated over time and some of these data are at risk of being lost, often locked in heterogeneous formats. As a recent Nature article remarked, \"old photos, logbooks and papers are a goldmine for fields such as ecology and climatology\" hidden in the past (Kwok, 2017, p. 419); these data need to be rescued for preservation and research purposes. In order to be compiled into large, research-friendly data sets, the data must be reformatted, digitized, and then entered into a machine-readable form. Within the procedures of preserving the data, the creation of metadata is crucial to managing the conversion of hand written or typed data that are recorded in registers, logbooks and diaries.\nLiterature review: the digitization and preservation of historical climate data: Climate data are usually taken from observations of the weather at specific times and recorded manually or automatically on preprinted forms on paper or in software programs during specific observation periods (e.g. Tan et al., 2004; Jeffrey et al., 2001). Historical climate data refers to information on past weather or climate, and the definition of \"historical\" can depend on the context, ranging from records that are ten years old to those that are centuries old. According to the International Environmental Data Rescue Organization (2014), the world loses thousands of pieces of critical historical climate data and records every day. Some historical climate data from earlier times is at risk because of the careless storage practices by holding institutions or as a result of the old, deteriorating or obsolescent forms of media they are stored on. Natural and environmental hazards, theft or vicious destruction can also sometimes happen to the data (World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2017). Data rescue indicates \"the process of securing data at risk of being lost\" and \"ensuring that data can be easily accessed and used\" (WMO, 2017, DATA Rescue). To effectively preserve historical scientific data, WMO addressed the four key activities of data rescue: \"cataloguing and storing of paper media to minimize the deterioration; imaging paper records for improving preservation and accessibility; digitizing data into computer compatible form; and continuous updating of digital records to up-to-date media and formats\" (2017, DATA Rescue). According to WMO (2017), in the data rescue procedures, first, the storage of (original) paper media and producing descriptions of the data in metadata schema are important to minimize the deterioration of data until more effective measures can be taken. The next activities are scanning or imaging from original media to digital formats (i.e. computer readable formats) to improve preservation and guarantee accessibility to the data. Lastly, the data should be continuously updated to current media and formats so that it is accessible in the long term or permanently. Similarly, Paul Conway (2010) refers to the term digitization for preservation as \"activities that result in the creation of digital products worthy of long-term preservation\" (p. 65). The activities involved include conversion processes, selection, the creation of descriptions, and digital collection building. In managing scientific data, Karasti et al. (2006) explained that while data curation activities \"ingest, archive and [deliver]\" large-volume and more homogeneous collections, data stewardship activities include \"data planning to sampling, from data archive to use and reuse of data and information infrastructure\" for more specialized and heterogeneous collections (p. 352).\nBackground: the historical climate data of the McGill observatory: The McGill Observatory was first established at McGill University's downtown campus in 1863 and currently operates at McGill's Weather Radar Observatory in Ste. Anne, Quebec in Canada. It was one of the most important stations in North America for determining longitude and establishing geographical location in the nineteenth century in Canada. It was also Canada's timekeeper, using astronomical observations to send time signals across the West, for use in navigation and surveys. The McGill Observatory has played a significant role in recording weather observations for over a century. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Observatory has monitored and produced manual recordkeeping data on daily observations (approximately eight times a day) of the weather, climate and other environmental observations. The data were meticulously and painstakingly recorded and kept in paper format and it currently amounts to thousands of pages of weather logbooks (hereafter referred to as \"registers\"). At the observatory, and now in the archival collections, there are many materials in addition to the registers, such as journals, letters, official reports, photographs, artifacts, historical documents related to important figures who were responsible for overseeing the Observatory during the late nineteenth century (e.g. Charles Smallwood, a founder of McGill's Observatory and William Dawson, the Principal of McGill, etc.). These records represent an important part of the legacy of Canadian cultural and scientific heritage for the University, the City of Montreal and the history of Canadian science. The Observatory contains information useful to the history of science, historical climatology, and the social impacts of climate and environmental changes. The scientific value of the collections is substantial for understanding long-term climate change over the past 150 years, the environmental history of nineteenth century Canada, and improvements in weather forecasting.\nDRAW project: The DRAW (Data Rescue: Archives and Weather) project is a multi-disciplinary initiative that promotes the preservation and accessibility of the historical climate data from the McGill Observatory. The objectives of the project are to implement a repository and develop a protocol to rescue the historical scientific data contained in the McGill Observatory and make the data available to research communities and the public. The interdisciplinary team for the project was composed of researchers from information studies, geography, computer science, environmental science, university library, archives, and the interdisciplinary research center at McGill University. The website for this project is presented in Figure 1.\nProcedures: To organize the data in the registers, the following procedures have been conducted. The DRAW project adopts an open archive information system (OAIS) compliant model as a conceptual framework for building a digital repository, as it provides the reference model with common entities and functions (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, 2012). The model consists of: data collection, conversion, data capture, arrangement, description (metadata schema design), data extraction, database design and repository setup. For the repository architecture, the DRAW project is hosted on NGINX, which is free and open-source, and hosted in a HTTP server in the Roger Tomlinson Lab. The web development program is based on Ubuntu, a Linux operating system that also provides free, open source multi-platform support.\nDiscussion and conclusion: As old weather registers of the McGill Observatory deteriorate, with the possibility that the data will become obscure or even lost to the context in which they were created 100 years ago, the DRAW project has been launched to: rescue the climate data buried in Observatory registers; develop a protocol by setting up a repository to preserve historical scientific data; and make the data usable for research and accessible to the next generation. Based on the OAIS compliant model, the DRAW project has been conducted to capture and organize the historical climate data of the Observatory. The procedures of the project include activities related to digitization, transcription, symbol decoding, metadata schema design, entity relationship diagram, repository setup and quality assurance. The DRAW project has motivating features in managing and organizing the data sets where we faced both challenges and opportunities. Most of all, the weather registers of the McGill Observatory contain unique and rich data sets, including specific scientific data elements that are needed by scientists for climate analysis and environmental research. The data set of this project has the issues related to the multiplicity of data, ranging from numerical value fields on numerous scientific elements (based on minimum and maximum values) to symbols. The features of the data sets have a direct impact on how the records are captured, described and organized and how the accuracy and consistency of the data should be kept. A free text recording of observers at the Observatory was tied with the complex use of certain symbols from the specific time period. The records generated by the McGill Observatory are an interesting example of how the context of historical scientific documents evolves over time. Those changes occurred in response to alterations in the policies of data gathering institutions, or as a result of the evolution of scientific thinking and gathering measurements. In the second page of the 140 type, Ozone was one such example of historical changes in data gathering and measurement methods and tools. This element was collected at the ground level because it was thought to be a harbinger of potential epidemics at the time. Later, after the year 1900, this element was replaced with measures related to snow sleighing conditions. To recognize the historical context of the element, it is necessary to understand that sleighs were a common mode of transportation in Montreal before the 1920s and the snowfall amount had a direct impact on the viability of sleigh transport.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: To rescue at-risk historical scientific data stored at the McGill Observatory, the objectives of the Data Rescue Archive Weather (DRAW) project are: to build a repository; to develop a protocol to preserve the data in weather registers; and to make the data available to research communities and the public. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The DRAW project adopts an open archive information system compliant model as a conceptual framework for building a digital repository. The model consists of data collection, conversion, data capture, transcription, arrangement, description, data extraction, database design and repository setup.\nFindings: A climate data repository, as the final product, is set up for digital images of registers and a database is designed for data storage. The repository provides dissemination of and access to the data for researchers, information professionals and the public.\nResearch limitations/implications: Doing a quality check is the most important aspect of rescuing historical scientific data to ensure the accuracy, reliability and consistency of data.\nPractical implications: The DRAW project shows how the use of historical scientific data has become a key element in research analysis on scientific fields, such as climatology and environmental protection.\nOriginality/value: The historical climate data set of the McGill Observatory is by nature unique and complex for preservation and research purposes. The management of historical scientific data is a challenge to rescue and describe as a result of its heterogeneous and non-standardized form.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Arbitration of intra-corporate disputes
|
[
"Corporate governance",
"Arbitration",
"Comparative law",
"Liability of directors",
"Shareholders and stakeholders"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: As part of the increasing popularity of arbitration as a method of dispute resolution, recent years have seen the increased inclusion of some form of arbitration clause in corporate governance documents. The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Fulham Football Club [1987] Ltd v. Richards and Others[1] has confirmed the possibility of arbitration as a method of resolving intra-company disputes in England and Wales, and has been hailed as demonstrating the pro-arbitration stance of the English courts.\nI. Contrasting approaches to corporate governance: (i) Defining \"good\" corporate governance\nII. The extent to which litigation/arbitration functions as a mechanism of corporate governance: Given the variety of different types of company law regulation, the potential for shareholder claims against directors is very variable as between jurisdictions. Thus, Ahlering and Deakin (2007) note that in an outsider system the risk of being subject to managerial opportunism is spread through diversified shareholdings, and hostile takeovers function as a major tool for holding management to account. But they also observe that in the US shareholder litigation is an important mechanism for protecting minority shareholder interests (Coffee, 1989). However, in other jurisdictions litigation may play a distinctly less prominent role, for two different reasons:1. On the one hand differences in the allocation of power as between shareholders and directors may enable shareholders to exert more influence at the decision-making stage - rather than mounting a later challenge to the actions of directors.2. On the other hand, public regulatory bodies may provide a level of supervision and control of directors that is sufficient to reduce instances of malpractice.(i) Shareholder power\nIII. Permissibility of arbitration as a method of dispute resolution: It is apparent from the foregoing that access to courts or arbitral tribunals to assert the liability of directors, or of other shareholders, will vary significantly across jurisdictions to these extent that disputes can effectively be dealt with through internal mechanisms or via a complaint to a regulatory body.Where resort to an external body such as a court or arbitral tribunal becomes necessary, the further question arises as to whether the matter is arbitrable, or can only be resolved by a court. The nature of the relationships involved in corporate disputes - between the company, the directors and the shareholders - complicate the investigation of whether there is agreement on arbitration of any disputes arising. But there is also a more general question of whether there is a public interest in corporate dispute resolution that means that a reference to arbitration, as a private dispute resolution mechanism, is not appropriate.A brief comparative survey suggests that there is a general trend towards permitting the arbitration of intra-corporate disputes, and notably in recent years as arbitration has become a better known and more uniformly regulated institution. But arbitration of such disputes is clearly more readily accepted and has a longer history in some jurisdictions than others. Thus, in the early nineteenth century arbitration was the exclusive permissible method of dispute resolution for disputes between shareholders in France and Belgium. The bar on court access was removed later in the century, and agreement on arbitration became necessary, but arbitration has remained an accepted option for the resolution of intra-corporate disputes. By contrast, there has been a long history of judicial suspicion of arbitration in the UK and the USA which has only slowly given way to the acceptance - and even embracing - of arbitration as an appropriate means of dealing with intra-corporate disputes.(i) Public policy/structure of corporate law\nIV. Arbitration: an option, not a panacea: The fundamental question for those involved, or who may potentially be involved, in a dispute is whether arbitration will offer them a better method of dispute resolution than litigation. Arbitration practitioners have been inclined to stress the potential advantages of the system - speed, efficiency, the opportunity to select legal or technical specialists as arbitrators and to organise location and scheduling in a convenient matter, confidentiality and so forth. But some of these advantages are seriously disputed. In particular, speed and efficiency (and the associated lower costs) vary with the skill of the arbitrator and the complexity of the subject matter. A technical expert entrusted to make a decision on facts within their area of expertise is likely to operate with much greater rapidity than a court. But if the case turns on complex legal arguments, or the facts are difficult to ascertain, the arbitration advantage can easily disappear.On the basis of empirical research, Drahozal and Ware (2010) suggest various reasons why parties may agree to arbitrate. To considerations of speed, cost, confidentiality and arbitrator skill and knowledge they add the greater scope offered by arbitration for a non-confrontational approach that may help to preserve relationships. They also highlight certain factors which have a particular significance for the USA: arbitration may lessen the risk of punitive damages awards or aberrational jury verdicts; and it may decrease exposure to class actions or other forms of aggregate litigation.In the light of this analysis, Drahozal and Ware then seek to identify on a systematic basis the types of contracts that are less likely to include arbitration clauses. They argue that, since by agreeing to arbitration the parties trade the procedural protections and opportunity for appeal that are associated with litigation, arbitration will be preferred for routine, relatively \"low-dollar\" contracts, rather than for ones where a vital corporate interest or a huge sum of money is at stake. The lack of any appeal procedure, is considered likely to deter parties from arbitrating high stakes cases, where an erroneous decision could jeopardize the continued existence of the company. It is also thought to be a deterrent to the arbitration of cases where the law and the facts are likely to be clear, in order to avoid the possible imposition of a compromise solution by an arbitrator. A further factor is whether it is anticipated that interim relief may be required, since this will be more readily available from a court than an arbitrator.Other findings from the study of transaction cost economics reinforce the idea that there may be structural reasons for the choice between litigation and arbitration. Arbitration is used in contexts where continuity of the contractual relationship is valued more highly than the right to seek immediate enforcement in court (Shell, 1988-1989). Litigation is evidence of the death of the relationship. To the extent that the corporation is perceived as a form of \"relational\" contract, one might therefore expect arbitration to be the preferred dispute resolution mechanism. However, Shell notes that \"[p]ublic and close corporations differ, however, along a critical axis posited by transaction cost theory: asset specificity\" (p. 569). Since shareholders in a private company are unable to transfer their ownership interests easily, they have a greater interest in relationship preservation. By contrast, shareholders in a public company have the benefit of the liquidity of their investment. This exit option reduces their dependence on a stable relationship. Nevertheless:[...] [a]s a functional matter, the holder of a very large block of stock in a public corporation is not free to sell it at will any more than the holder of restricted stock in a close corporation. The transaction cost model might predict, therefore, that corporations with such concentrated ownership would seek arbitration for some of the same reasons as close corporation shareholders (p. 571).It is clear, therefore, that arbitration is more suited to certain types of intra-corporate matters than others. On the positive side, it may be preferred as an approach which is more likely to preserve relationships and therefore be beneficial to a long-term enterprise. If the objective of shareholders is to resolve a problem that has occurred and continue the operations of the company, arbitration may be particularly suitable. It may also be helpful to have specialist expertise represented on the arbitral tribunal - although where there are courts with particular company law expertise, as is the case in Delaware, the incentive to have recourse to a \"specialist\" arbitrator may be reduced.On the other hand, in the types of public company case that dominate intra-corporate disputes in the USA, the incentives to use arbitration are less evident. They are high-stakes cases in which the objective is not to resolve a dispute and continue the operations of the company, but to realise as much value from a shareholding as possible. Until recently, the interests of directors and shareholders have been aligned in retaining such disputes in court. From the point of view of the company, the dispute is too high value to risk an erroneous decision by an arbitrator. From the point of view of the shareholder, it may only be through the mechanism of a class action that a claim becomes viable. But the position is changing. The risk of litigation is sufficiently high for public companies that avoidance strategies have become more pressing. If this can be done through arbitration, arbitration looks increasingly attractive (Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, 2006; Black, 2012; Ravanides, 2007). From this perspective, the recent decision of the US Supreme Court in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion[36] is particularly significant. After its ruling in Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle[37] promoted a decade of class arbitrations, the Supreme Court has revised its position and concluded that to the extent that class arbitration is non-consensual it is inconsistent with the FAA. As a consequence, and pre-empting any state rule to the contrary, a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement is enforceable. The inclusion of arbitration clauses in corporate governance documents may thus be a way of achieving a significant reduction in shareholder actions (see Gilles and Friedman (2012) for an alternative way of asserting the public interest in good corporate governance).Nevertheless, bearing in mind Drahozal's (2012) warning about widespread arbitration innumeracy, the above observations can only form a starting point for further research. The comparative information acquired provides very little in terms of numbers of claims, the relative use of external rather than internal mechanisms for conflict resolutions, and the choices actually made between arbitration and litigation in most of the jurisdictions under consideration. Ready acceptance of the possibility of arbitration in France or in Germany, combined with an exploration of the factors that may influence the methods of dispute resolution in each jurisdiction, does not necessarily mean that resort to arbitration is commonplace[38].\nV. And back to the Fulham case [...]: Turning full circle in this examination of the arbitrability of intra-corporate disputes, it is apparent that the Fulham case falls into the class of case in which arbitration may be seen as advantageous. The defendants to the action were the Football Association Premier League Ltd (FAPL) - a private limited company - and its chairman. Although the FAPL is hardly a typical private company, it does have a relatively small number of shareholders (20), and restrictions on the transfer of shares. Relational considerations are therefore comparatively high. Fulham Football Club was seeking an injunction or order to terminate conduct of the chairman that it considered to be contrary to the rules of the Football Association, so that it could ensure that it was treated fairly in comparison with other clubs.However, it is less clear that the factors favouring arbitration are present in more typical minority shareholder disputes. In the majority of cases the relationship between the shareholders has completely broken down, the case multiplies accusations, and the principal remedy is a buy-out. What is sought is compensation and catharsis - not preservation of a relationship. Furthermore, the specialist determination required, in terms of share valuation to facilitate a buy-out, can be done by means of expert determination rather than arbitration.In point of fact, the recognition of arbitration as a suitable form of dispute resolution in minority shareholder disputes has been debated for a number of years. The difficulties of case management that such disputes present have long been notorious: such \"sprawling litigation\"[39] consumes large amounts of court time and becomes excessively expensive. The Law Commission (1996), in its Consultation on Shareholder Remedies proposed that a new regulation on arbitration be introduced into the table of default rules to be included in the Articles of Association of new companies - to encourage shareholders to provide for a means of dispute resolution other than the courts. The rule could be disapplied by those who did not want to make use of it, but its existence would draw the attention of those setting up a company to the need to make some provision for dispute resolution (Company Law Review Steering Group, 2000).The arbitration option was not, however, popular with those who responded to the Consultation Paper. Five principal objections are recorded by the Law Commission (1997) in its final report. First, the proposal for an arbitration article stressed that arbitration would only be available if the dispute was one in respect of which a member could maintain legal proceedings[40], and that definition of scope might itself give rise to disputes. Second, ancillary proceedings and enforcement would be dealt with in the Commercial Court rather than the Chancery Division, which would not be a suitable forum. Third, disputes might affect the interests of shareholders other than the immediate parties to the dispute and it was unclear how those interests could be represented. Fourth, procedural remedies to thwart abusive actions by disaffected members were less robust in arbitration. And finally, legal aid would not be available in such cases. The proposal to include an arbitration provision as a default rule was therefore abandoned.Nevertheless, the fundamental desire to reduce the burden of litigation in shareholder disputes has remained. The issue was taken up again by the Company Law Review Steering Group. The Final Report of the Review (Company Law Review Steering Group, 2001, para. 2.27) suggested that reforms to the law on minority rights and on directors' duties would reduce the complexity of cases and, therefore, make disputes more amenable to ADR. It invited the government to \"increase awareness of and accessibility to ADR through publicity and the establishment of referral mechanisms\" and to \"work with arbitration providers in order to establish an arbitration scheme designed specifically for shareholder disputes.\"The Fulham case is thus consistent with, and perhaps reflects, an official view that arbitration of shareholder disputes is desirable, not least in order to reduce the burden on the courts. It remains to be seen whether shareholders themselves have been persuaded of the merits of arbitration.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible use of arbitration in disputes involving claims against directors. It takes as its starting point a recent decision of the English Court of Appeal, Fulham Football Club [1987] Ltd v. Richards, in which the Court confirmed the enforceability of an arbitration agreement in proceedings where one of the defendants was the company chairman, and asks how far this case is representative of a general trend.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The methodology adopted is comparative, with particular but not exclusive reference to laws in the USA, the UK, France and Germany. The paper examines case law and literature in three intersecting areas. First, it notes the existence of distinctive approaches to corporate governance which broadly correspond to those of common law and civil law (outsider and insider) jurisdictions. Second, it reviews the relative significance in different jurisdictions of public and private law mechanisms for enforcing compliance with the rules designed to ensure good governance. Finally, to the extent that private enforcement is relevant, it explores how far intra-corporate disputes are considered arbitrable in the selected jurisdictions.\nFindings: - It is apparent that the function performed by claims against directors in some jurisdictions - notably the USA and to a lesser extent the UK - is performed by other mechanisms elsewhere. In Germany, for example, actions for the annulment of company resolutions are a common form of intra-corporate dispute. A trend towards the use of arbitration to resolve intra-corporate disputes can be observed, but this may be limited to cases where there is a desire to preserve the relationship between the parties - which is frequently not the case where claims against directors are involved. Where that relationship is already damaged beyond repair, litigation may offer greater advantages.\nResearch limitations/implications: - There is, nevertheless, a lack of empirical data as to the actual use of arbitration - as compared to litigation - in intra-corporate disputes in the jurisdictions under consideration.\nOriginality/value: - The main value of this paper is thus to clarify the parameters of a field for further investigation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Gender and ethics: Ethical judgments, ethical intentions, and altruism among healthcare professionals
|
[
"Gender",
"Ethics",
"Individual behavior",
"Health services sector"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Business ethics has remained an important research issue in the wake of the major scandals that adversely impacted the USA as the new century unfolded. Increased attention to individual and corporate ethics has followed appeals from sources as diverse as political and religious leaders, public interest groups, and the general public. At the same time, women comprise an unprecedented percentage of the workforce. As the question of individual and organizational ethics remains at the forefront of business research, it is therefore important to examine how gender influences the comprehension and evaluation of ethical workplace issues.Ethical decision making lies within the broader field of workplace ethics and represents how individuals react to ethical dilemmas on the job. Rest (1986) identified a four-stage model of ethical decision making: moral recognition, moral evaluation, moral intentions, and moral behavior. The first stage reflects the identification of a situation by the moral agent as containing a moral issue (Jones, 1991; Rest, 1986). The second stage entails the ethical evaluations individuals make when attempting to deal with the issue identified (Hunt and Vitell, 1986; Jones, 1991). The establishment of moral intent in the third stage follows the evaluation process (Dubinsky and Loken, 1989; Hunt and Vitell, 1986; Jones, 1991; Rest, 1986). Finally, intentions are good predictors of future conduct (Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), so ethical intentions often lead to positive action in the final stage of ethical reasoning (Ferrell and Gresham, 1985; Rest, 1986; Trevino, 1986).Ethical decision making is affected by many individual factors, and in particular, many studies report sex differences in ethicality (Loe et al., 2000; O'Fallon and Butterfield, 2005). Gilligan (1982) argued that women's moral development and ways of reasoning are fundamentally different from those of men. A subsequent research stream supports the notion that women are more likely than men to view certain questionable acts as unethical, as well as less willing to behave unethically (Beu et al., 2003; Dawson, 1997; Mason and Mudrack, 1996; Smith and Oakley, 1997; Thoursie, 2007). Other studies suggest that there are no ethical differences between males and females (Davis and Welton, 1991; McCabe et al., 2006; McNichols and Zimmerer, 1985; Roxas and Stoneback, 2004; Sikula and Costa, 1994). These varying findings have generated considerable debate and speculation.Gender differences have also been widely studied in the realm of altruism, which involves an individual's selfless interest in the prosperity of other people (for an excellent review, see Eckel and Grossman, 1998). Indeed, many studies suggest that women are more altruistic than are men. For example, a natural experiment occurred during the 1991 recession, when women increased their philanthropic giving by 2.4 percent, while men decreased their contributions by just over 20 percent (Mixer, 1993). Other studies, however, have been mixed. For example, consistent with Mixer's empirical findings, though not conclusions, Andreoni and Vesterlund (2001) found in their controlled experiment that men were basically more altruistic when helping was considered economical, but women are more altruistic when helping was considered costly. While the relationship between gender and altruism has received some interest in the context of charitable giving, it has not been explored extensively in organizations.In this study, we combine these perspectives to evaluate whether, in healthcare organizations, there are apparent differences in men and women with respect to their ethical judgments, ethical intentions, and, ultimately, organization-based altruism, or helping behaviors. We posit that women should display higher ethical judgments, ethical intentions, and altruism (Figure 1). The following section provides a review of literature and our research hypotheses.\nReview of literature and hypotheses: Ethical judgment and ethical intention\nMethod: Data collection\nResults: The descriptive statistics and correlations for the focal variables are summarized in Table II. Mean scores for ethical judgment, ethical intention, and altruism implied that the professionals thought and behaved relatively well from an ethical standpoint. The correlations indicated that being a woman was positively related to ethical judgment and marginally related to ethical intention and altruism. These results when evaluated as a whole imply that women might be consistently more ethical than are men. Further, ethical judgment was positively related to ethical intention and altruism, suggesting that ethical evaluations lead to enhanced intentions to behave and helping behaviors on the job. Age was also positively related to ethical intention and altruism, indicating that age is a key factor in individual ethicality. Finally, \"position tenure\" and \"being a supervisor\" were associated with increased altruism, suggesting that altruism is more common in seasoned, supervisory personnel. Finally, altruism was the only variable related to social desirability, and this result shows that bias was likely not a problem in this research.Table III provides a summary of the results associated with the MANCOVA model. The findings showed that age, supervisor classification, and sex were related to the dependent variables from a multivariate perspective, with partial e2 values of 0.042, 0.015, 0.020, respectively. The univariate findings showed that being a woman was related to increased ethical judgment (partial e2=0.011), that being a woman and older were associated with increased ethical intention (partial e2=0.010 and 0.026), and that being a woman and a supervisor were related to higher altruism (partial e2=0.007 and 0.011). Altruism was also positively related to the social desirability measure (partial e2=0.009). Taken as a whole, these results provided adequate statistical support for the notion discussed in the study's hypotheses that women tend to be more ethically sensitive than are men; however, the identified relationships generated only modest explanatory power, so the development of broad-based conclusions should be performed with some caution. The following section covers the managerial implications of these results, as well as the limitations of the research and suggestions for future inquiry.\nDiscussion: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of gender on healthcare professionals' ethical judgments, ethical intentions, and altruism. These results are consistent with past studies that have found women's ethical judgments to be at a higher level than men's ethical evaluations (Barnett et al., 1994; Ruegger and King, 1992; Valentine and Page, 2006). The results also provide some additional support for the notion that women have more ethical intentions than do men (Singhapakdi, 1999, 2004; Singhapakdi et al., 1999; Valentine and Rittenburg, 2007), but with the refinement that being a woman and older are associated with increased ethical intention. This finding helps to provide a more complete understanding of the differences between men's and women's ethical decision making. The finding that women are likely more ethically sensitive than are men is not surprising based on the previous stream of research. Nonetheless, since the results of past studies have been mixed, the current research adds to this body of knowledge. Perhaps, more interesting is the \"older supervisory female employee,\" who might offer the strongest combination of ethical judgments, ethical intentions, and altruism.With respect to altruism, female supervisors might be marginally more altruistic than are male supervisors, although identifying the nature of such altruism was limited in this study. However, it does appear that females with longer position tenure serving in supervisory roles show more altruism than do men. There may be important practical implications for healthcare companies stemming from such patterns as gender diversity increases.Managerial implications\nConclusions: Whereas business and society might not always treat women fairly, our findings suggest that experienced women working in positions of authority should assist companies in the promotion of ethical behavior and altruism. Companies would do well to make use of these vital human resources by eliminating glass ceilings, encouraging mentoring, including women on ethics training teams, and asking them to spearhead philanthropic initiatives. In short, women should be treated like the valuable employees they are.With respect to research, a great deal of attention has been dedicated to the differences between men's and women's workplace ethics. The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate specific gender differences in ethical judgments, ethical intentions, and organization-based altruism, within the context of the healthcare industry. Our findings reinforce those of a number of past studies that suggest women generally exhibit higher ethicality, but these differences were investigated to explicate increased ethical judgment among women, increased ethical intention among older women, and greater altruism among women supervisors. These findings add weight to the evidence that women are indeed more ethical than are men in a variety of work roles, but greater insight into the complexities of these gender differences is also provided. While this study was able to untangle a few more threads in the knot that is \"gender and ethics,\" it leads us to conclude that we need to delve even deeper to gain a more complete understanding of this complicated issue.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Previous research indicates that women often perform more ethically on the job than do men. However, the results have been mixed, suggesting that further inquiry is needed. The purpose of this paper is to explore this important topic in a large healthcare organization. A field study sought to identify gender differences in ethical judgment, ethical intention, and organization-based altruism in a healthcare organization, thereby providing some insight into the individual differences that influence ethical reasoning in the healthcare industry.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The investigation was based on survey data returned from a large sample of faculty and staff employed by a multiple-campus health science center. Multivariate and univariate statistical modeling was used to evaluate the relationship between gender and ethical reasoning/conduct.\nFindings: - The findings suggest that women are generally more ethical than men. Being a woman was related to increased ethical judgment, being a woman and older was associated with increased ethical intention, and being a woman and a supervisor was related to higher altruism.\nPractical implications: - The results suggest that women should play a key role in the ethical role modeling of newly hired employees, as well as the development and management of organizational ethical values and codes of conduct. Healthcare organizations might also consider encouraging women to accept supervisory roles and become opinion leaders to foster organizational ethicality.\nOriginality/value: - The findings add weight to the evidence that women are indeed more ethical than men in a variety of work roles, but greater insight into the complexities of these gender differences is also provided.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Corporate governance ratings and the dividend payout decisions of Australian corporate firms
|
[
"Corporate governance",
"Payout policy",
"Panel data"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Although the disciplinary role of dividends has been recognized in the prior literature for over two decades, the interactions between corporate governance and financial policies did not receive the attention that they deserve. Theories such as stewardship theory (Donaldson, 1990) and stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1994) have highlighted the positive role that governance mechanisms play in reducing agency costs. It is clear from these theories that different governance mechanisms, institutions and players contribute to the successful organization of a firm. In addition, dividend and debt policies provide important monitoring and disciplinary roles and so are boards and their sub-committees, ownership interests of insiders as well as outsiders and auditing arrangements. Jiraporn and Chintrakarn (2009), Jiraporn et al. (2011), Jiraporn and Ning (2006) find evidence of the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on dividend payout policies.\n2. Institutional framework: The Australian institutional context differs from other developed markets mainly in terms of its tax system. Australia adopted the tax imputation system in 1987. Many loopholes relating to the schemes involving temporary transfer of shares from non-resident investors to domestic investors were plugged in subsequent changes in 1997. Further tax changes in 2000 allowed both retail and institutional resident investors to claim a tax offset or refund based on their total taxable income including the grossed up dividends. Investors in Australia do not pay separate capital gains or dividend taxes. Capital gains income is combined with other income and investors are charged a tax on this combined income. Capital losses may be offset with capital gains in the current year or may be carried forward. Shareholders in Australia receive franking credits when firms pay franked dividends under the tax imputation system. Investors use franking credits as an offset and lower the amount of total tax paid. Investors may seek a refund from the Australian Tax Office for the unused franking credits following the changes made in 2000.\n3. Sample description and descriptive statistics: The sample consists of firms included in the All Ordinaries Index (AOI) during the period 2004-2009. Diversified financials, banks, insurance and real estate firms are excluded from the sample as they are highly regulated. The total market capitalization of all listed firms on the ASX in 2009 was $1.083 trillion (author's estimate). Non-financial firms included in the AOI account for 60 per cent market capitalization of all firms traded on the ASX in 2009. The sample period chosen for the study is 2004-2009. The main reason for the choice of the study period is the adoption of ASX Corporate Governance Guidelines in 2003. The period prior to 2004 represents corporate governance practices that are voluntary in nature and are not based on any specific governance framework. The period of 2004-2009 represents a period of economic stability and growth despite the concerns relating to Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in the later part of the study period.\n4. Empirical analyses: 4.1. Methodological approaches\n5. Conclusion: This study examines the influence of governance ratings on the decision to pay dividends as well as the factors influencing the average dividend payout of a sample of Australian firms. The study finds a significant positive influence of governance on the decision to pay dividends as well as the average dividend payout. These results are consistent with the view that corporate governance and the role of dividends are complementary and not substitutes. Firms paying dividends need to approach capital markets to meet their funding needs and financial markets in turn provide monitoring and firms that lack good investment prospects are disciplined. This finding supports the \"outcome model\" of the agency cost theory as postulated by La Porta et al. (2000). This study also finds a significant positive influence of profitability on the decision to pay dividends as well as on the average dividend payout thus supporting the signalling hypothesis. The study also finds evidence of a statistically significant negative influence of growth on average dividend payout. This result is consistent with Farinha (2003), Rozeff (1982) and supports the life cycle hypothesis. This study finds no conclusive evidence on the dividend tax clientele and thus contradicts the findings of earlier studies (Bellamy, 1994; Francis et al., 2011; Henry, 2011; Jun et al., 2011; Pattenden and Twite, 2008).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of corporate governance on the dividend payout decisions of Australian firms by considering two related objectives. First, it considers the role of corporate governance ratings (CGRs) on the decision to pay or not to pay dividends. Second, it considers the influence of CGRs on the average dividend payout level of Australian firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The sample consists of 413 non-financial firms included in the All Ordinaries Index for the period 2004-2009. A logit model is employed to analyse the decision to pay or omit dividends. Similarly, tobit method is employed to analyse the factors influencing the dividend payout level of Australian firms. To control for unobserved heterogeneity, this study employs random effects panel logit and panel tobit models.\nFindings: This study finds that CGRs have a significant positive influence on the decision to pay dividends and on the average dividend payout level of Australian firms. Similarly, the present study finds support for signalling hypothesis as profitability has a significant positive influence and a loss dummy has a significant negative influence on the dividend payout decisions of Australian firms. The study also finds support for the life cycle hypothesis as growth opportunities have a significant negative impact on the average dividend payout level of Australian firms. This study finds no conclusive evidence of the existence of dividend tax clientele in Australia.\nResearch limitations/implications: Dividends provide a complementary governance role consistent with the \"outcomes model\" of the agency cost theory as proposed by La Port et al. (2000).\nPractical implications: The findings have implications for corporate governance policies. Principle-based governance mechanisms work as well as the rule-based governance mechanisms in an environment characterized by high levels of investor protection and well-developed stock markets. Companies that are well governed may limit the opportunities for managers to expropriate shareholders and thus governance may reduce the contracting costs associated with compensation policies.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study that examines the influence of governance on dividend policy using the CGRs developed by the WHK Horwath/University of Newcastle. Findings are robust and account for unobserved heterogeneity as random effects panel models are employed.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Reflections on interdisciplinary accounting research: the state of the art of intellectual capital
|
[
"Reliability",
"Technology",
"Knowledge",
"Validity",
"Interdisciplinary accounting research",
"State of the art"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This aim of this paper is to offer my reflections, critique and future directions on the state of the art of intellectual capital research (ICR) as part of the interdisciplinary accounting research (IAR) project. If we consider \"state of the art\" as \"the most advanced level of knowledge and technology currently achieved in any field at any given time\"[1], then what is the state of the art IC research? I argue that most IC research is falling short of achieving \"the most advanced level of knowledge and technology\" of the art because it inherits flaws from prior research, thus threatening its legitimacy and impact. I identify three research shortcuts that are preventing ICR projects from being state of the art. As a result, I argue that researchers need to go back to the methodological drawing board when designing IAR so future research can achieve its full potential (see, Parker and Roffey, 1997, p. 212).\nCopycat research: The first shortcut is the number of research projects that are a variation on a previous study, which I call copycat research. Copycat research does not truly advance knowledge because the results of these studies are incremental at best (Alvesson and Deetz, 2000, p. 50). For example, in ICR, two popular research methodologies are the value added intellectual capital (VAIC(tm)) model to determine the link between IC and economic value creation, and content analysis (CA) for understanding IC disclosure (see, Dumay, 2014, p. 14). When VAIC(tm) (Pulic, 2000) and CA (Guthrie and Petty, 2000) were first introduced into IC research a decade and a half ago, they were important advances because they provided the ability to uncover new knowledge by addressing previously unanswered questions. When introduced these methodologies represented state of the art IC research because they represented the latest advances in developing new IC knowledge (see, Iazzolino and Laise, 2013; Dumay and Cai, 2014).\nFurphy research: The second shortcut relates to researchers being lazy or inconsiderate of data reliability in their research, which I label \"Furphy research\". The term Furphy comes from the name of Australian manufactured water carts used extensively in Europe and the Middle East to carry water to Australian and Allied troops in First World War. The cart drivers, who went from camp to camp, were a dubious source of information and gossip for the soldiers. Because some of the Furphy drivers' news was unreliable, the term Furphy became synonymous with misleading information or rumour (Barnes and Furphy, 1998).\nTechnophobic research: The third shortcut stems from my observation that many IC researchers are avoiding the use of leading edge technologies to achieve \"state of the art\" status. By technology, I refer to tools such as analytical processes and software applied to reliably analyse data. However, in contrast to our positivist research cousins who utilise the latest versions of SPSS, Minitab and AMOS software to reliably crunch their numbers, there seems to be reluctance by most IAR researchers to utilise technology to reliably analyse the growing availability and volume of qualitative data. Thus, I classify this as \"technophobic research\".\nGoing back to the methodological drawing board: When critically reflecting on current ICR it reminds me of the children's game of whispers or telephone, where the sender whispers a message to another child and then another until the message returns to the sender. Often the message differs significantly (and hilariously) from the original because of noise, misunderstanding or even a deliberately changed message. Unfortunately, the same game contributes to the shortcuts I have identified above. For example, most researchers continue to use annual reports as a data source when conducting ICR because other researchers have done the same, without even critiquing their validity as a data source for state of the art ICR (see, Dumay and Cai, 2014, pp. 267-268). Over the last two decades companies have used additional communication channels to engage with and disclose information to stakeholders, especially via the internet and corporate websites. Therefore, just because another researcher used annual reports as a data source their future use in a research project cannot be justified unless the researcher(s) can argue convincingly why it is the best data source for revealing new IC knowledge.\nConclusion: lesson learned as future opportunities: Having the opportunity to reflect on the state of the art of ICR allows me to become a critically reflective learner (see, Brookfield, 1995). As such I want to offer insights into two lessons I have learned during the writing this and other articles critical of ICR (see, Guthrie et al., 2012; Dumay and Garanina, 2013; Dumay, 2014; Dumay and Cai, 2014, forthcoming). Lesson one is to ensure ICR is transformational which means researchers need to ensure they engender change in their research projects and not just blindly repeat previous studies. For example, Guthrie et al. (2012) advocate research examining IC in practice which takes a performative perspective and requires researchers to change their approach by getting their \"hands dirty\" inside organisations working with IC, as opposed to examining whether or not organisations report on IC. The former is action and/or interventionist research allowing researchers to interact with rather than observe IC in practice (see, Dumay, 2010; Chiucchi, 2013a, b). The latter provides opportunities for \"emerging scholars [...] because the methods are well established\" while \"for all researchers, the method is not overly time consuming, mainly consisting of desk-bound activities, with relatively easy access to materials\" (Guthrie, 2014, p. 291). However, continuously using these methods as shortcuts without major changes to the data sources, research methods or technology leads to research which adds little more than incremental insights and has little impact on future research and practice (Dumay and Cai, 2014).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer reflections and critique not only on the current state of the art for intellectual capital research (ICR) from an interdisciplinary accounting research (IAR) perspective, but also its future directions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper offers a critical reflection based on the author's observations as an IC researcher, reviewer and editor. The author also supports the arguments with some evidence from the research about IC research.\nFindings: The author argues that most ICR is falling short of achieving \"the most advanced level of knowledge and technology\" of the art because it inherits flaws from prior research, thus threatening its legitimacy and impact.\nResearch limitations/implications: The author argues that researchers need to go back to the methodological drawing board when designing IAR so future research can achieve its full potential. To do so researchers also need their research to be transformational to engender change, and to be transdisciplinary, which encompasses research beyond the current boundaries of accounting and management.\nOriginality/value: The author identifies and introduces three research shortcuts that prevent ICR projects from being state of the art being copycat, Furphy and technophobic research which provide insights into why not all ICR research is not \"state of the art\".\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Longitudinal patterns of unmet needs during Texas floods, May-June 2015: 2-1-1 disaster-related calls for housing, utilities, food, and medical care
|
[
"Longitudinal study",
"Emergency management",
"Community unmet basic needs",
"Flood disaster",
"Texas 2-1-1"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Floods are one of the most costly hazards in the USA (Remo et al., 2016). According to Spatial Hazard Events and Losses Database for the US (SHELDUS), floods claimed 4,115 lives and had losses of $169 billion from 1960-2015 (HVRI, 2015). In the SHELDUS report for 2015, US flood events caused 188 deaths and $2,991 million in damages (HVRI, 2015). The Associated Press (2015) reported at least 27 killed in Texas' record-breaking 2015 spring floods. The National Weather Service proclaimed this disaster a 150- to 200-year flood event (Gallucci, 2015). Flooding damaged at least $27 million of infrastructure and two-thirds of Texas' 254 counties' roadways, with these amounts expected to increase as longer term effects were being evaluated (Gallucci, 2015).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Texas 2-1-1's role in disasters\n3. Methods: 3.1 Study period\n4. Findings: A total of 4,880 disaster-related calls were handled by the Texas 2-1-1 Network during May-June 2015. Up to five needs were coded per call, totaling 7,109 unmet needs recorded during this disaster period (Table II). In all, 90 percent of disaster-related calls had one (69 percent) or two (21 percent) unmet needs. The remaining 10 percent of callers requested help for 3-5 unmet needs. There were 750 disaster-related unique needs logged. These were aggregated into 20 unmet need-categories (Table III). Most callers sought access to disaster/emergency organization(s) (77 percent), often without indicating specific type of help needed. Two other disaster/emergency services, 9-1-1 (13 percent) and 2-1-1 (4 percent), were tallied separately when no other specific need was recorded. The remaining empirical categories encompassed all specific needs, and when recorded, enumerated age group of person(s) needing help. It is important to note that these 20 need categories were not mutually exclusive as callers requested help fitting any one or combination of these categories (e.g. medical transportation, rent assistance). Also note that the \"Other\" category aggregated unique requests not fitting any other conceptual grouping. Hence, summing need-categories' call volume added to more than total calls and percentages added to more than 100 percent.\n5. Discussion: Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Texas 2-1-1 Network has continued its key role in Texas' disaster management and recovery as a communication hub for non-emergency disaster needs. Texas' 2-1-1 caller-database is a unique source of real-time documentation of unmet needs for help overcoming access barriers to available and affordable services during evacuation, disaster management and recovery. This study's description of four unmet basic disaster needs (housing, utility, food, medical) provided enumeration of the specific nature of these unmet needs and their patterns over time throughout Texas' 2015 spring flooding. Hence, the findings reflected timing and types of access barriers encountered by vulnerable populations during this widespread flood disaster.\n6. Practical implications and conclusions: Examination of this case study about unmet needs during extensive flooding over time across a large geographic area may serve as a template for disaster planners, managers, and researchers to develop methods using 2-1-1 data for real-time monitoring of vulnerable populations by location when combined with mapping caller location. Ongoing monitoring of 2-1-1 calls could enable identification of unmet disaster needs by type and location for timely reduction of access barriers and allocation of disaster support services and supplies targeted to the types of unmet needs peaking at disaster locations and along evacuation routes and destinations. Existing 2-1-1 telephone networks along with an accreditation system for staff's consistent documentation of unmet needs throughout the USA would allow for reliable databases for use with minor adaptations. In hindsight, the findings of this study would not seem surprising for disaster managers and community leaders who have been involved with flooding or other types of disasters. However, examination of unmet needs in real-time would not only help to identify a surge in demand for help, but also portray when disaster management and community leadership are doing well, with 2-1-1 call rates at or below baseline patterns. Hence, the benefits of this approach would be to bring evidence of type and volume of demand for help with unmet needs for timelier, effective, and efficient disaster management and community recovery.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: In Spring 2015, Texas experienced record-breaking floods, causing deaths, injuries, and widespread property and infrastructure damage. However, little is known about those who encountered access barriers to disaster support in Texas. The purpose of this paper is to examine the unmet disaster-related needs from 2-1-1 calls during evacuation, flooding, and early recovery phases.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The 2-1-1 Texas Information and Referral Network's caller database was used to identify real time, non-emergency, unmet disaster-related caller needs longitudinally. The two-month study period included a baseline week before flashflood (05/01/2015) into early recovery (06/30/2015). Caller unmet needs were categorized and graphed by type daily throughout the study period.\nFindings: Of the 4,880 disaster-related 2-1-1 calls from Texas' 254 counties, 1,183 callers needed housing help, compared to 442 utilities, 409 food and 109 medically related assistance. Total calls quickly peaked at 405 calls/day during Memorial Day weekend when Greater Houston flooded. Despite total calls decreasing gradually during recovery, they remained four times higher than baseline. Unmet needs varied by type, especially during early recovery. Housing, food, and medical unmet needs surged when Houston flooded. Although medical calls were lowest volume than other basic needs, demand for medical assistance had a higher threshold throughout early recovery.\nPractical implications: Examination of unmet needs over disaster phases identified longitudinal patterns of demand and effectiveness of disaster management efforts.\nOriginality/value: Using real-time 2-1-1 data to monitor types of unmet demand is valuable to tailor timely and effective disaster support, reduce access barriers, and allocate disaster support services and supplies to the vulnerable communities.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Failure to unify Australia's leading accounting professional bodies
|
[
"Accounting history",
"Mergers",
"Accounting profession"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There remains an unfortunate habit among business and management academics to associate management simply with four attributes, namely, planning, organizing, leading and controlling. By this gauge, modern management is indistinguishable from that undertaken in time immemorial. This, however, is not one that bears serious scrutiny. In his classic study, The Genesis of Modern Management, Sidney Pollard argued that the primary difference between modern and pre-modern management was that the former was guided by not only understandings of costs but also a knowledge of accounting. Unlike \"the builders of the pyramids\", Pollard (1965, p. 7) noted, the managers of the early industrial age had to relate production efforts \"to costs\", selling their output into competitive markets. To achieve this end, managers pioneered \"cost accounting\". \"In the most advanced works\" such as Boulton and Watts's Soho engineering work, \"departmental accounts would attempt to keep the returns of departments separate, down to elaborate schemes for allocating overheads fairly and proportionately\" (Pollard, 1965, p. 222). Often these early attempts at cost accounting were crude, if not misleading. Despite these difficulties, Pollard (1965, p. 209) nevertheless argued that, \"the development of accounting for industry [...] was one of the two main responses of large firms to the problems of management in the industrial revolution\". Alfred Chandler (1977, p. 109) in his The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business, also argued that management only became an \"art and a science\" when \"it brought about a revolution in accounting\" that allowed accurate understandings of costs. More recently, Bowden (2017, p. 310) made a similar point in a comparative study of American and Australian railroads, where he observed that \"economic coordination\" by management cannot occur separately from accounting and a knowledge of costs.\nLiterature review and contributions to literature: This study is informed by two key branches of the accounting literature, being historical studies of the Australian accounting profession and of the mergers of professional accounting bodies internationally.\nMethodology: This study adopts a qualitative approach using a historical research methodology to source surviving business records from public archives and other data gathered from oral history. The project is constituted by multiple historical case studies (Carnegie and Napier, 1996; Eisenhardt, 1989; Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007; Yin, 2009). Primary sources and oral evidence were drawn upon, supplemented by secondary sources. The relevant archival records were largely sourced from the Jill Bright Archives of CPA Australia. The collection of merger-related archival records available from CPA Australia was augmented by oral history interviews.\nAnalysis: The data collected from the written documents and oral histories was subject to \"critical examination in pursuit of enhanced understanding\" (West, 2003, p. 10). In the analysis phase, the first step was to understand the context of Australian merger attempts from archival sources and draw out relevant themes. Following this, through oral history interviews, contextual themes were further identified and analysed. The evidence and the researchers' analysis were combined to elucidate an interpretation of the findings. The process of interpretation involved attaching significance to what was found in the descriptive and narrative sources. This process involved making sense of findings, offering explanations, drawing conclusions, making inferences, considering meanings (Tosh, 2010). Historical studies can combine three forms of literary techniques, namely, description, narrative and analysis. The first two recreate the past, while analysis adds interpretation to the findings (Tosh, 2010). This study attempted to justify all three forms of literary techniques by recreating detailed accounts of the four merger attempts and adding interpretation and analysis to historical information about them.\nChronology of four merger attempts: This paper now proceeds to consider each merger attempt in detail.\nSecond merger attempt: Although the first attempt failed, the spirit of cooperation between the two bodies remained alive and discussions on matters of mutual interest continued (ASA, 1970). These discussions assumed greater significance in the face of another series of corporate collapses that occurred in the early to mid-1970s, which saw the accounting and auditing professions once again facing public scrutiny (Henderson, 1997). For both the Institute and the Society, state registration and statutory recognition became priorities as a means of strengthening the image of public accountants (The Australian Accountant, 1974). This provided impetus for both bodies to restart merger discussions. A joint standing committee comprising members of the respective executive committees of each body had been formed soon after the failure of the first merger attempt (ASA, 1970). The joint committee specifically examined ways to achieve statutory recognition of the profession, while changes were also made to the bodies' qualifying examinations (ASA, 1970).\nThird merger attempt: The circumstances that led to the mounting of the third merger attempt had commonalities with those of the previous attempts in that external pressures and developments had once again created favourable conditions. These included a further round of corporate collapses, rising unemployment, economic recession and one of the biggest stock market crashes (McMahon, 2007). The economic recession and associated financial crisis placed the accounting profession under an unwelcome spotlight once again, with the accounting treatments of failed companies and financial institutions brought into question (Gottliebsen, 1990).\nFourth merger attempt: In the wake of the third failed merger attempt, both the Institute and Society worked on progressing their individual agendas, while continuing their mutual efforts regarding matters affecting the accounting profession (Taylor, 1991). The joint standing committee, which included the full executive committees of both bodies, met every three months (ICAA, 1993). This committee was responsible for ensuring the adoption of a common approach on matters of importance to the profession, including areas such as accounting standards, international affairs, limitation of auditors' liability, quality control, accounting education and many other technical matters (ICAA, 1993).\nDiscussion of findings and analysis: Table 1 presents a comparison of the voting patterns by the members of the two professional bodies for all four merger attempts. It also provides the membership numbers. Evidence that the Institute had begun to relax its emphasis on exclusivity was found in the almost six-fold increase in membership (from 5,488 to 30,868) that occurred between 1969 and 1998 (Table 1). Over the same period, members of the Society increased from 31,793 to 86,881 - an increase of 2.7 times.\nConclusions: This paper has provided a historical record of the four unsuccessful merger attempts mounted by Australia's two pre-eminent professional accounting associations and documented these attempts using historical archives before they are lost in time and context (Tosh, 2010). The research context includes professionalisation characteristics, internal and external pressures to merge, failed associational consolidations and the influence of \"elite\" participants in the decision-making process. Themes identified in this study include joint efforts on issues of common interest, declining MIPP in the Institute and reinforcement of \"exclusivity\" of the Institute by its members. The study's overall conclusion is that members of the \"elite\" organisation (the Institute) placed significant emphasis on their associational brand name, resulting in conflict in achieving control over the profession between MIPP and MNIPP, a finding consistent with SIT. As a consequence, despite four merger attempts in which the key actors and circumstances changed each time, the traditional organisational strategies of both bodies prevailed.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of four unsuccessful merger attempts between Australia's two major professional accounting bodies over a 30-year period (1969 to 1998), each of which ultimately failed. An analysis of the commonalities and differences across the four attempts is provided and social identity theory is used to explain the differences between members level of support for these merger bids.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study adopts a qualitative approach using a historical research methodology to source surviving business records from public archives and other data gathered from oral history interviews.\nFindings: The study found that, across all four merger attempts between Australia's two professional accounting bodies, there was strong support from society members (the perceived lower-status group) and opposition exhibited by institute members (the perceived higher-status group). This study also found that the perceived higher-status organisation always initiated merger discussions, while its members rejected the proposals in the members' vote.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper focusses on the Australian accounting profession, considering a historical account of merger attempts. Further research is required that includes interviews and surveys of those involved in making decisions regarding merger attempts.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first to examine in detail these four unsuccessful merger attempts between the largest accounting organisations in Australia.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Why interest-rate cannot benchmark for Islamic financial product pricing?
|
[
"Benchmark",
"Banking",
"Interbank rate",
"Interest rate",
"Islamic product"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Islamic finance is the popular concept of finance to cater the needs of Muslim population worldwide. Islamic banking concept became popular in Muslim countries after its origin 40 years ago. Some of the countries like Iran and Sudan have adopted Islamic financial system completely while some of the countries like Bahrain, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, etc. have adopted stepwise roadmap to replace the conventional banking system, and have converted more than 10 percent financial and banking assets to Islamic mode. Islamic financial concept emerged in 1963 in Egypt and evolved banking form in 1974 through establishment of Dubai Islamic Bank in UAE, now Malaysia and UAE provide variety of Islamic financial products. Western and European countries like Germany, UK, USA, etc. are also adopting Islamic finance. Some of these countries like France and UK have made legislative changes for convenient growth of Islamic finance (Khan and Bhatti, 2008). Islamic banking provides almost complete alternate range of products and services as provided by conventional banks. Some of the Islamic financial products are criticized for their similarity with conventional products, but product owners of these products claim that these are different in conceptual and accounting framework and abide by Islamic jurisprudence (Ghauri and Qambar, 2012). Risk management study explains that Islamic finance faces all similar risks like conventional financial system, but an additional risk of shariyah supervision. Shariyah supervision translates the controlling of all financial products and services under the teachings of Islamic jurisprudence (Hussain et al., 2012). Islamic banking leads a step ahead of conventional banking in perspective of bank spread, growth rate, etc. (Ghauri and Qambar, 2012; Ghauri et al., 2012).\nArchive review: Though, Islamic banking is differ from conventional banks on the basis of shariyah risk, conceptual and legal framework of product structures, and contractual obligations (Ghauri and Qambar, 2012) but face operational, credit and market risks identically (Rosly, 2011). Even, Basel accord implementation seems similar against facing risks whereas Islamic banking follows an additional risk of shariyah governance (Ghauri et al., 2012). Apparently Islamic banking characteristics are identical to conventional banking like taking deposits, offering advances, making provisions against bad contracts and tax payment to government. Bank earns through the spread or margin between earnings from financing and payment for deposits (Ghauri and Qambar, 2012). Murabaha agreement sales pricing cost includes rate of return to depositors, operating costs (tax and administrative costs), profit margin, probability of default (credit risk premium), opportunity cost, inflation risk premium and it leads to targeted rate of return (Rosly, 2011). Key pillars of Islamic finance include underlying assets-backing in which its existence and physical transfer of ownership is vital for financial agreements maturity under shariyah instructions, so it should not be interlinked with conventional interest rates mere because of market and interest rate risks involved in these contracts. A study conducted by Cheung (2003) for the relationship of house rental prices and interest rates for the period of 1981-2001 in Hong Kong, it was determined that these were negatively related pre-1997 era but have positive relation post-1997 era (Yusof et al., 2011). Various researchers have identified number of demographical, societal, political, economic and ground ingredients to determine the rent prices which strengthens our question that why conventional interest rates are benchmarked for Islamic financial contracts?\nEmpirical design: Islamic finance is based on commodities instead of money so it is linked with real time assets or ventures. Therefore, base of Islamic finance is linked with real time economic activities so this paper discusses the real time economic indicators as growth factors for financial activities. Various studies have been conducted to determine the relationship of existing product prices with economic variables. But most of these studies are limited to specific product or contract. Cheung (2003) analyzed relationship of interest rate and house rentals in Hong Kong during 1981-2001, where he found a negative relation pre-1997 era but positive relation after wards. A similar study for mortgage finance prices conducted by Yusof et al. (2011) in Malaysian context for a period of 1996-2006, where he determined a significant relation of interest rate and income level with rental prices, significant relation of interest rate and exchange rate with lending rates (Yusof et al., 2011).\nData collection: For the first part of study, key economic indicators are observed that are related to real economic activities. These indicators are related to various sectors of economy like agriculture, financial sector (represented by interest rate spread), manufacturing sector, investments (represented by market capitalization), monetary activities (represented by M2 supply), services sector and trading activities. This study is conducted in different countries to observe factual picture of these activities in the economy. All of these sample countries belong to the group of countries where Islamic finance is under development. These sample countries include Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Oman and Pakistan. Data for this research is taken from World Bank data catalogue for 15 years starting from 1997 to 2011. Agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors are represented by value added annual growth rate in respective sector, financial sector is represented by interest rate spread, investment is represented by market capitalization in terms of percentage of GDP, money supply (M2) is represented through its annual growth rate and trading activities are represented in terms of percentage of GDP.\nAnalysis and empirical findings: We have used the line charts to represent the comparative analysis for the economic indicators of our sample. First of all, we have taken Bangladesh as our study sample. Figure 1 represents the line chart of economic indicators related to Bangladesh.\nKIBOR as benchmark: Coming to our second hypothesis for using KIBOR as benchmark for pricing of Islamic financial products, we seek its comparative analysis of trend line with other variables of real economic activities. Essence of this method is that Islamic finance is based on real economic activities. So, we have compared KIBOR with economic variables of real sectors. We have also included conventional lending interest rate and real interest rate for deep analysis. This analysis is conducted with the data extracted from world data indicators from data sets of World Bank and KIBOR is extracted from State Bank of Pakistan. This trend is reflected through Figure 6.\nConclusion: Above analysis based on different countries of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Oman and Pakistan, it is reflected that none of the real economic activity represent overall trend of economy so overall economic activity or trend cannot be represented by any one economic variable the real economic activity. Economic activity of the country can be represented through composite bunch of real economic indicators. Therefore, we can conclude that Islamic financial world should adopt different benchmarks for different economic sectors. Since, Islamic finance is based on real economic activities so different benchmarks should be adopted for different real sectors of the economy.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to emphasize that interest-rate benchmark cannot be used for pricing of Islamic financial products. This paper will help in pricing basis for Islamic financial products, which are currently based on interest-rate benchmarks. Shariyah perspective and ground realities are considered as evident to the viewpoint.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Viewpoint has been evident through comparison of conventional and Islamic financial product pricing, and through comparison of interest rate with macroeconomic indicators to analyze whether interest really represent economy, since Islamic finance based on real economic activities.\nFindings: It has been analyzed that interest based benchmarks do not represent real economic activities.\nOriginality/value: This paper brings new light to the product development in Islamic financial instruments and institutions. Islamic finance should have its own footings in terms of product development.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Management of radical innovation and environmental challenges: Development of the DryQ capacitor at ABB
|
[
"Innovation",
"Environmental management",
"Product design",
"Operations and production management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: If they are to develop competitive products and be progressive, companies must develop innovative products. In society today, it is becoming increasingly important that these products also show improved environmental performance. Unfortunately, however, companies sometime produce a number of products that represent radical innovations without improving their environmental performance. Yet there are often opportunities to do so, and it is important to understand how companies can work so that they can take advantage of these environmental possibilities.When it comes to the integration of environmental considerations, it is important to understand the product development process and to be able to relate it to traditional theories of innovation and product development (Berchicci and Bodewes, 2005; Magnusson, 2003; Ritzen, 2000). An understanding of how companies work to improve their products is needed in order to understand the mechanisms required to achieve substantial environmental benefits.This paper describes the development of a new capacitor, the DryQ project, at ABB Power Technology. The DryQ project involves the development of high-voltage power capacitors that operate without oil.\nResearch on ecodesign and innovation: Research on ecodesign has largely focused on the systematic integration of environmental considerations into product development (Simon et al., 2000; Boks and Pascual, 2004). Because the field of ecodesign is still evolving, researchers are constantly redefining what ecodesign is. One commonly used definition is that of Sherwin and Ewans (2000):[...] the design of a product, service or system with the aim of minimising the overall impact on the environment.One important goal of ecodesign is the integration of environmental considerations at all stages of the product development process. In order to control the total environmental impact of a product, that product's effect on the environment should be considered over its entire life cycle, from production through use and up to the end of its life (Brezet and van Hemel, 1997; Simon et al., 2000).Research on the integration of environmental concerns in product development is often very general, concentrating on how to achieve successful ecodesign (Ritzen, 2000; Cramer and Stevels, 1997; and Simon et al., 2000). Ecodesign activities in manufacturing companies tend to be primarily corrective (Sherwin and Bhamra, 1999). In other words, ecodesign is often used to ensure that legal requirements are met by having environmental checkpoints in the development process. In this context, ecodesign activities are more suited to dealing with incremental improvements than with innovative development processes (Sherwin and Bhamra, 1999). However, work procedures have to be differentiated and adjusted to fit radical product development projects as well as incremental product development projects. Ecodesign activities should also promote and co-exist with innovative development processes.Ecodesign is also concerned with strategic issues. It is argued that environmental considerations must be integrated into the very early stages of product development, right from the idea stage before product targets are defined (Cramer, 2000; Olundh and Ritzen, 2004). Simon et al. (2000) state that setting early priorities is the most critical factor for successful ecodesign. Sherwin and Bhamra (1999) also argue that in order to get maximum environmental benefit from products, we must integrate environmental considerations into design as early as possible, that is, when developing the project specification or generating ideas. Such an approach might enable ecodesign to move from being corrective in character to encouraging more innovative solutions and active environmental work in companies.Ecodesign must have a clear direction, and environmental targets should be set early in the product development process, before targets have been specified. The underlying assumption here is that if environmental considerations are only taken into account once the specification for a product has already been set, the design possibilities will be limited (Simon et al., 2000). In the later stages of a project, there is less freedom of design and the cost of making changes is higher (Ullman, 1997).Despite the stress on the need to set environmental targets early in the design process and the importance of a high level of innovation, there have been few studies of cases where this has been done and few attempts to combine ecodesign and radical innovation theory.Innovation\nMethod: The DryQ project described in this paper can be characterised as a radical innovation and ecoinnovation project. It was a high-risk project with a high degree of technological uncertainty. The technology was new both to the company and to the customers, and it involved a technology leap.The project was studied using a qualitative case study and an inductive approach. The data were collected through interviews with ten respondents still employed by ABB and by reading project documentation. The interviews were semi-structured and lasted from one to two hours. The interviewer and interviewee were alone, but the interviews were recorded. The authors have transcribed all the interviews, with some minor correction of language errors. The transcribed material was then coded for the purposes of analysis. The authors initially coded the material separately, looking for themes and subjects in the interviews. The results of this individual coding were then compared and discussed. In order to clarify certain points during the analysis, there was phone and e-mail correspondence with the respondents. They were also given access to the project documentation that was stored in folders.The study of the product development process was undertaken retrospectively. The DryQ project was carried out at the beginning of 1998 and the first unit was produced in 2001, but the decisions and actions that affected the final result had begun as early as the 1970s. Retrospective studies have certain disadvantages resulting particularly from the passage of time. For example, respondents may not remember past incidents or events as accurately as a more recent event. There may also be a tendency for respondents to be more positive when looking back on a project than when they were still in the middle of it. In this study, an attempt was made to validate some of the respondent's answers by comparing them with descriptions in the project documentation.On the other hand, one advantage of performing retrospective research on a product development project is that the whole process can be studied, including the results. In this study, it was possible to study an entire project from idea to final product. The authors also had the opportunity to interview both the staff and their customers, since they were all in the same organisation.Johansson (2001) published a state-of-the-art review of the factors required for successful integration of ecodesign into product development. The review is interesting since it is not only an extensive review of factors for successful ecodesign, but also connects them to the five factors that are crucial for successful product development. These factors are management, consumer relationships, supplier relationship, development process, competence and motivation. Johansson's review was used for analysis of the environmental work in the project reported on in this article.\nThe case of DryQ - results and analysis: The DryQ project was not labelled as an ecodesign project in the organisation. Cost and safety considerations were the main reasons for developing a dry capacitor. This point is worth noting since several cases presented in the literature are special ecodesign pilot projects or projects performed outside ordinary product development. The most important aim of this project was to develop a new technology for high voltage applications.ABB had a long history of developing capacitors, and had been working on developing a dry one for decades. Various possible solutions had been explored. Now, however, the time was ripe from a customer point of view and a development point of view to accept the challenge of making the technological leap to a dry capacitor.A comparative LCA study shows that overall, the environmental load of the new capacitor is only 20 per cent of that of the old capacitor. The difference is attributable to the fact that the new capacitor can store twice the energy in half the size, and that the oil has been removed. To be able to meet the technical requirements for the product, all the materials in the capacitor have to be of a very high electrical grade. They must thus be exceptionally pure, and the quality control is very strict. Most of the weight of the new capacitors derives from common types of partly cross-linked polymers. Since the new capacitor is made of plastic, it weighs 80 per cent less than the old metal-housing capacitor.Technology development and organisation\nDistributing new technology: An environmentally improved product can give competitive advantages and improve market position (Van Hemel, 1998; Johansson, 2001). In the case of DryQ, however, the consumers have been conservative and cautious. The electric grid industry is a conservative business, and needs to be convinced that the technology used for the last 50 to 100 years can be replaced with a totally new technology that will be reliable for decades. Before buying it, they need to be convinced about the value of the new technology and the performance of the new product.ABB, however, had an advantage in that their customers were part of the same parent company. The product was developed in close cooperation with the customers (see King et al., 2004). In fact, the first project leader came from their largest customer (another ABB company). External pressures are usually required to make companies consider environmental issues as important as other product requirements (Vercalsteren and Jansen, 2001). ABB thus had an advantage in that their market was \"in-house\".Respondents talked about the customer's need to be able to trust their products and that lack of trust could be a hindrance to the acceptance of new solutions by the market. As Dannels and Kleinschmidt (2001) point out, the customer's adoption risk and change of behaviour must be considered. Customers usually need to have several suppliers to choose from, in case one supplier cannot meet delivery dates and so that they can be assured of obtaining spare parts. The situation today is that only ABB has a DryQ capacitor. Some of their competitors even claim that it is impossible to develop such a capacitor, a claim that contributes to mistrust of the new product.\nConclusions and managerial implications: This paper has examined the process involved in developing an innovative product with high environmental performance. The case is interesting because the organisation managed to accomplish a high-risk innovation project involving high-ranking environmental performance. The results suggest that theories from both ecodesign and radical product innovation should be used when determining how best to handle environmental performance issues in innovative product development.The characteristics of radical innovative projects ought to be acknowledged when deciding how environmental issues are to be handled. Ecodesign research is often general in character, though it does stress that the opportunities for achieving environmental improvements are higher in radical product development than when making only incremental changes.The possibility of making environmental improvements in companies certainly exists. However, in order to take advantage of these possibilities, the company must explore its need and set clear environmental goals. The possibilities can be realised when developing new products and these possibilities can be used as a carrot to attract new customers.Ecodesign researchers have concentrated on developing ecodesign tools as an important way of integrating environmental considerations into the product development process. As shown in this paper, these tools are important when it comes to evaluating various possible designs. These tools are, however, only useful when the organisation has made a commitment to improve its environmental performance. In the particular case presented in this paper, the management team had a strong commitment to environmental issues and viewed the environmental challenges as a great opportunity to be innovative.A traditional, rigid stage-gate process is not always suitable for radical projects. This fact must be acknowledged when addressing environmental issues, for most large companies try to incorporate environmental considerations into a formal development process.New networks and new partners are often found in innovative development projects. The environmental commitment must then be communicated to these new partners in the project. There is a need to develop an understanding of how environmental aspects are worked on so that flexible and radical projects can be handled.The development process is innovative, iterative and exploratory. Both environmental and technical targets are very useful for guiding the environmental direction of a project. Consequently, environmental targets and considerations must be set very early in the project.To achieve large environmental improvements in radical projects, the environmental potential of solutions must be evaluated and embraced from the start of the project, from the managerial level down to the designer's level. Challenging environmental and performance targets should be set. Managers should also encourage environmentally beneficial solutions by giving positive feedback. The environmental performance of different solutions must be actively evaluated during the development process so that solutions fulfilling environmental targets are developed.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explore the driving forces for taking environmental considerations to a higher level in a project involving radical innovation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This qualitative case study is based on ten in-depth interviews with respondents from the development team for the DryQ project at ABB.\nFindings: - In order to achieve substantial environmental benefits, radical product development is essential. Radical product development has attributes that differ from those of incremental product development. It is important that these differences be acknowledged when preparing to manage environmental challenges in development projects. In radical product development, environmental considerations should be taken into account very early on, at the strategic level of the design process. Setting challenging environmental targets and rewarding environmental improvements was crucial to the outcome of the project presented in this paper.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research presented here describes one case in one manufacturing company. Readers can, however, learn from this case and apply the insights gained to their own research or use the findings to promote new thinking in their own organisation.\nPractical implications: - Suggestions are made about how to manage environmental considerations in radical product development.\nOriginality/value: - Few studies combine ecodesign and radical innovation theories, as is done here. Yet this is not a theoretical paper but an industry-based study of eco-innovation, from which researchers and practitioners can learn.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Case-based modeling: fostering expertise development and small group learning
|
[
"Adult learning",
"Problem-based learning",
"Situated learning",
"Constructivism",
"Case-based learning",
"Learning in small groups"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This article proposes that a combination of the elements of current trends in organizations, specific theoretical bases, and the value of learning in groups suggests the need for the development of new instruction and training approaches. Offered here is a detailed explication of a multi-faceted instructional approach for adult learners labeled case-based modeling (CBM). The approach is an example of integrative pedagogy aimed at expertise development and is an extension of other instructional approaches, namely, problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL). Further, as a functional set of practices/activities, CBM also helps to create a community of practice (COP) among learners.\nBackground organizations and adult learners: Changes in organizational life influencing employee education and training\nExpectations and phases of the case-based modeling approach: Expectations\nCase-based modeling and performance: With regard to the efficacy of the CBM approach to learning there is little empirical research available that addresses the effectiveness of the method. The first published study of CBM was in 2004 and we summarize here the findings of two studies. In the first study (Lyons, 2004), a population of supervisors (n = 66) of customer service representatives from a large US financial services company were randomly assigned to one of two trainee groups: CBM training or traditional training. All trainees had in common the first nine weeks of the 12 weeks training period. In the last three weeks of the training, the traditional group (T) continued with the format of the initial training, including some problem solving and lectures. The CBM group made use of the CBM approach (see phases, above) per a case on using influence tactics.\nThe present study: Recognizing that linking training effects to actual job performance is a shortcoming of CBM research and of many other studies of training outcomes, we decided to create a study of the effects of CBM training on the job performance of a group of governmental agricultural agents. These individuals had made use of their CBM training over multiple trials of problem-solving over the course of the training period. That is, they were guided through the phases of the entire process three times and developed scripts, action plans, and the like to use with specific case-grounded problems typically found in their regular work activities. The agents, participants in this study, work for a state government in the southern region of the USA. State officials did not want the state or the specific agency identified in this work.\nImplications for training, theory and research: The extant body of empirical research on CBM that makes use of on-the-job performance indicators contrasted with CBM performance does not provide a particularly robust endorsement of the approach. However, the studies positively support the approach as a training model. As an instructional approach CBM can be an efficient tool because learners in a small group setting are likely highly engaged, participate in the critical dialog and generate products that may be refined and improved in relatively short time spans. In training activities the repetitious use of CBM in problem-focused situations may efficiently contribute to the development of expertise in some if not all learners.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to present a detailed explication of a learner-centered instructional approach for adults labeled case-based modeling (CBM). The approach is an example of integrative pedagogy aimed at expertise development and is an extension of other instructional approaches, namely, problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The design of the paper contains several integrated components to include: an explanation of the needs and characteristics of the adult learner, comparisons of CBM with both PBL and CBL, a complete theory grounding of the method, a detailed expression of the entire CBM method (phases and steps) for explanation and replication purposes, linkages of CBM with performance, and an empirical test of the CBM method with a sample of employees.\nFindings: First, the CBM method is an extension of the well-researched methods of CBL and PBL. The script preparation and implementation phases of CBM easily could be appended to either CBL or PBL. Second, the empirical test of the CBM method demonstrates that it may be a positive, efficient tool for education/training with employees, although no significant differences were found in work performance comparisons of CBM-trained employees with traditionally trained employees.\nResearch limitations/implications: The empirical examination has some limitations to include: relatively small sample sizes, lack of demonstration of clear linkage between measures of training performance and measures of job performance, and variations in working conditions of participants.\nOriginality/value: The CBM approach offers to HR practitioners and persons involved with training an efficient yet comprehensive method. The method makes use of script development for the implementation of various interventions, which stimulate performance improvement and development of expertise.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Do we really understand business marketing? Getting beyond the RM and BM matrimony
|
[
"Configuration management",
"Business‐to‐business marketing",
"Relationship marketing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Marketing scholars have used many theoretical approaches to examine business marketing which, despite its maturity, remains a diverse and complex domain. In order to identify the contributions and limitations of the current research approaches to business marketing what is needed is a metatheoretical analysis which, as yet, does not exist. It is within this gap that our paper is positioned. We aim to evaluate the insights and tools that the various research traditions contribute to business marketing and, specifically, to focus on how they address the context or environment where firms operate and what they present and assume about the relationship between a firm and its environment. The key question is whether business marketing (BM) and relationship marketing (RM), when broadly-defined to include all relational-interaction perspectives, are necessarily wedded to each other: i.e. does BM=RM? We argue that different research schools have diverse readings of the business marketing environment, and that each definition of the environment leads to a specific suggestion in terms of marketing practice and that the relationship marketing approach is only one possibility. By focusing business marketing predominantly on the relationship marketing option we have voluntarily put blinkers on our theory development.Going all the way back Wroe Alderson's (1957) seminal work, which led to the so-called \"marketing management\" school, marketing organisations were conceptualised as \"the entities which operate in the marketing environment\". Although the various authors in the managerial school of marketing recognised the presence of exogenous variables - typically as macro or micro environmental factors - they treated them as uncontrollable factors, within which marketing functions and practices must operate. This view is not restricted to the marketing management school, in their Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science article \"Revisiting marketing's lawlike generalizations\", Sheth and Sisodia (1999, p. 72) state, \"...more than most other fields of scientific inquiry, marketing is context dependant.\"A brief historical review shows a clear trend of addressing business marketing from a relationship perspective. During the late 1980's and early 1990's the marketing management school dominant position in business marketing was challenged by the relationship marketing approach, which drew heavily from services marketing research and the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Group (Anderson et al., 1994; Hakansson, 1982). They all suggested that the relationship between an active buyer and an active seller should form the key focus of analysis. Understanding the dynamics of relationships and advocating mutually rewarding relationships, often invoking a marriage metaphor, became the core of the normative programme of the Relationship School (Gronroos, 1997; Gummesson, 1997; Christopher et al., 1991, 2002). This is confirmed by recent content analysis of the major business marketing journals (Dant and Lapuka, 2008; LaPlaca, 2008) shows that the share of articles dealing with relationships (and to a considerably lesser degree of networks) has increased consistently since 2000 whereas the relative number of articles on buying behavior, selling and sales management, and segmentation declined since the early 1990s.On the other hand, the contemporary marketing practices (CMP)[1] studies provide clear evidence that over 30 per cent of companies operating in business markets are practicing \"transactional marketing\" and another 30 per cent a combination of \"transactional\" and some form of \"relational marketing\" (Coviello et al., 2002; Pels et al., 2004). Additionally, a series of independent studies (i.e. Pels and Snehota, 1995; Binks and Ennew, 1996; Benson-Rea, 2005; Lefaix-Durand, 2008) also show that, in many industries, the process that actually takes place is one of coexistence of various marketing practices.In the remainder of this paper we interrogate and critique the assumptions behind the BM=RM matrimony from both empirical and theoretical perspectives. We offer an alternative: the configurational approach, which we argue is robust in theory and more consistent with the empirical evidence of firms' practice.Because of the many implications related to this alternative conceptualization, two are of interest to this paper. First, it recognizes that managers might not \"just adapt to\" but might enact their environments. This opens the way to understanding why the empirical studies find a plurality of marketing practices (for example, Coviello et al., 2002). Second, it also helps understand why academics belonging to diverse research traditions describe the environment differently.The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. First, we carry out a comparison of the major research traditions in business marketing which shows that that there are multiple interpretations of how these environments operate. This is summarized in Table I. Next we introduce the configurational approach which is based organization and strategy literature. We explain how this approach helps us understand that the relational-interactive perspective is not a response to the business marketing environment but, rather, one of several possible strategic types or configurations. Finally we briefly explore the implications of this beyond the BM=RM matrimony debate.\nPrimary research approaches to business marketing: How to carry out a comparison of research traditions?\nA configurational approach: From the previous section's comparative analysis, of the diverse research approaches to the understanding of business marketing, it is clear that there are multiple interpretations of how business marketing environments operate. For example, the Marketing Management School views business marketing environments as markets in which transactions occur, whereas the relationship marketing scholars see markets as the environment for relationships. The Channel Research and Industrial Network approach both challenge the market notion and develop theories of channel systems and \"markets as networks\". It is important to note that the view on environment influences considerably how the schools treat the managerial action and decision making. Another significant point from the previous section is that each research approach shows consistency between its disciplinary background and theoretical emphasis, goals and driving force, view of the nature of the environment, and the level and unit of analysis. That is, they are relatively logical given their goals and premises. As such it is futile to argue which one is more \"correct\" in its view of the business marketing environment.On the other hand, as discussed in the introduction, even though each research tradition seems a valid alternative, recent content analysis of the major business marketing journals show that there is an increase in relationship related articles (Dant and Lapuka, 2008; LaPlaca, 2008). This notion contains a problem, however. The relationship marketing practices seem to vary from \"near transactional\", through the \"market-based relationship marketing\" to \"networks-based relationship marketing\".Last but not least, empirical studies in the business marketing indicate that firms employ a combination of classical transactional marketing and a range of relational practices (Pels and Snehota, 1995; Binks and Ennew, 1996; Coviello et al., 2002; Pels et al., 2004; Benson-Rea, 2005; Lefaix-Durand, 2008).In short, so far we have shown that there is a set of valid alternative research traditions having varied views and understanding of the business marketing environment. Our analysis also revealed that the generic or \"received\" view of relationship marketing is misleading. The content and meaning of RM varies considerably across the channels research, market-based relationship marketing, and the interaction and network approach. Moreover, empirical studies indicate that companies are using several modes of marketing. We address the puzzle by developing a conceptual framework that helps to understand the diverse ways firms relate to their markets (Day and Montgomery, 1999) and allows for all marketing modes to co-exist. For this we propose the configurational approach for marketing, drawing on the configurational approach from organization theory and the Neo-contingent perspective from the strategy literature.The emergence of the configurational approach and the Neo-contingency perspective\nDeveloping a configurational approach for marketing (CAM): This section will introduce the configurational approach for marketing (CAM). CAM is a conceptual framework that helps identifying possible configurational profiles (i.e. identifying different equivalently valid ways of relating to a business environment). As a consequence, CAM helps understand why firms relate to the business marketing environment with a multiplicity of marketing modes. Furthermore, it will show that the BM-RM matrimony is but one possible configuration.Approaches towards developing configurations: typology versus taxonomy\nConclusion: From our analysis and typology of the major research traditions we can see that each one is useful for specific purposes, domains and activities and that furthermore the mainstream approaches of marketing management and relationship marketing schools do not have any articulated theories of the context or environment of business marketing activities but assume and rely on the notion of working markets. We have also seen from our review of the major research traditions that this environmental view is challenged by both the channels research and the network approach which offer well-articulated theories of the environment and also address the interactive relationship between actors and \"environment\" through the structurization concept and the social construction view of networks.By taking an overview of the research traditions, as we have in this paper, it has been shown that research into business marketing relationships is not monolith but is actually examined through three interrelated but distinctive schools: CRT, RM, and Network. Furthermore, although each of the research traditions provides some insight into specific managerial and firm behaviors in relation to their market contexts, none of these approaches help understand why there are multiple ways firms relate to their markets.In order to address the question why particular firms engage in certain marketing modes we have constructed a contingency approach for marketing framework. Sceptics might ask \"what is the use of it?\" and be answered by Snow and Miles (1983, p. 256), who asked and answered the question: \"so what -where will this (configuration) approach lead us?\". In their view, even a rudimentary general framework, employing no more than their three overlays is of great value: for managers it provides a powerful diagnostic tool and for academics it is particularly helpful in theory construction.From a managerial perspective The CAM frame suggests that managers should carefully examine the internal logic of their marketing-related configuration. Performance should be enhanced if the three elements - managerial frame of reference, organization/environment relationship, marketing mode - are coherent.From an academic point of view, we contend that our configuration approach for marketing presents a -holistic framework, which suggests interplay-coherence - between strategic choice, understanding of the organization-environment relationship and marketing decisions. It permits other configurations to co-exist beyond the relational-interaction configuration and thus allows for other marketing approaches to the business marketing environment beyond the RM-BM matrimony. CAM provides a conceptual framework that can host the \"puzzling\" empirical results of the CMP and other studies quoted in the introduction of this paper which all shows that there are multiple ways that firms relate to their business marketing environment.\nFuture research: The CAM framework also offers important guidelines for future research. First, we have limited ourselves to identify the FoR, EOR and MP typologies from existing literature and used these to construct the CAM framework. More empirical studies are called for in order to provide stronger grounds for the postulated FoR, EoR and MP typologies. Moreover, we need programmatic research addressing the existence of various marketing practice profiles to understand more fully why these occur and how effective are they in their own contexts.One way to proceed is to expand the contemporary marketing practices research. The CAM configurations, could be sampled, once operationalized the underlying dimensions, and their root conditions could then be examined to explain why specific profiles emerge. By complementing this with the performance measures we could pursue the relative effectiveness of different marketing practices profiles in their context.The briefly sketched approach follows the logic of quantitative analysis and does not capture the dynamics of constructing different marketing practice profiles. This could be addressed with carefully designed longitudinal case-study designs. One should try to identify firms operating in a same field but pursuing different marketing practices and analyze the processes through which their marketing profiles are created and potentially changed. This approach would provide a deeper understanding not only of the processes through which the CAM profiles are created but also of the complex interplay between the management's frame of reference (FoR), organization's environmental relationship (EOR), and organization's relation to customers (MP) in the CAM profile construction. These efforts would bring the theory development within business marketing to closer contact with research in organization theory and strategy.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - A large number of researchers and marketing textbooks see business marketing dominantly from the relationship marketing perspective. One can even talk about a \"matrimony\" of these domains; \"RM=BM\". The Contemporary Marketing Practices studies, however, provide clear evidence of the coexistence of various marketing practices but offer no supporting theoretical rationale for these findings. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question whether business marketing and relationship marketing, when broadly defined to include all relational-interactional perspectives, are necessarily wedded to each other.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A metatheoretical analysis was conducted to identify the contributions and limitations of the current research approaches to business marketing and a configurational approach for marketing (CAM) was developed, providing theoretical explanation for the empirical findings versus relationship dominance dilemma.\nFindings: - The metatheoretical analysis showed that research into business marketing relationships is not monolithic; that each tradition is useful for specific purposes, domains and activities; and that none helps understand why there are multiple ways in which firms relate to their markets. A conceptual CAM framework was developed that allows one to identify possible configurational marketing profiles (i.e. identifying different equivalently valid ways of relating to a business environment).\nResearch limitations/implications: - It is contended that the configuration approach for marketing permits other configurations to co-exist beyond the RM-BM matrimony. CAM provides a conceptual framework that can host the \"puzzling\" empirical results of the contemporary marketing practices studies.\nPractical implications: - The CAM frame suggests that managers should carefully examine the internal logic of their marketing-related configuration. Performance should be enhanced if the three elements - managerial frame of reference, organization/environment relationship, marketing mode - are coherent.\nOriginality/value: - The configurational approach for marketing helps one to understand why firms relate to the business marketing environment with a multiplicity of marketing modes, showing that the BM-RM matrimony is but one possible configuration.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Triggering and tempering brand advocacy by frontline employees: vendor and customer-related influences
|
[
"Emotions",
"Frontline employees",
"Affect theory on social exchange",
"Brand advocacy",
"Curvilinear effect"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In the context of marketing channels, significant research attention has focused on the initiatives used by vendors targeted at ensuring the success of their brands among both resellers and customers (Anderson and Weitz, 1992; Ganesan, 1994; Narus and Anderson, 1986). It is well-accepted that in the triadic relationship involving vendors, resellers and customers, each entity depends on and requires the support of the other two entities (Webster, 2000). For instance, vendors depend on resellers to make their brands available to customers and on customers to evince interest in and loyalty toward their brands. Consequently, vendors integrate elements of both \"push\" (i.e. targeted at generating trade support) and \"pull\" (i.e. targeted at creating demand among end customers) strategies as \"a strong brand without strong trade support is an impossibility as is a strong retailer relationship that is not supported by a brand valued by end users\" (Webster, 2000, p. 22).\nBackground: Frontline employees and brand advocacy\nHypotheses: Vendor evaluations\nMethod: Sample\nDiscussion: In retail transactions, such as those involving technology goods, there typically is a high degree of customer involvement needed to make the transaction a success (Hartman and Lindgren, 1993; Zeithaml et al., 1985). The inseparable nature of this face-to-face encounter suggests that there is interdependence between customers and FLEs (Solomon et al., 1985). Here, for example, the FLE relies on the customer to explain precisely their technology needs, whereas the customer is dependent on the FLE to provide the necessary service and offer the quintessential information to ensure a successful transaction. In this regard, the FLE's role is central for creating a successful exchange, but the part of the customer cannot be overlooked. As customers play cardinal roles in creating successful/unsuccessful transaction outcomes, they enhance or diminish their own satisfaction and value received (Baron et al., 2001).\nManagerial implications: The data indicate that FLE relationship quality with vendors and FLE perceptions of vendors' product quality favorably influence FLE brand advocacy. These results point toward the importance of supply chain efficiencies among partners pertaining to emotional engagement, communicative effort, trustworthy relationships, product specifications and compensatory packages. As these factors (or an amalgam of them) improve between the vendor and FLE specifically, FLE brand advocacy also, is likely to ameliorate. Leaning on the shared responsibility mantra, vendors and their constituents should work closely with FLEs in pursuit of transaction success and brand growth.\nDirections for future research: This research is not limitation-free. As cross-sectional data were collected from FLEs used with technology-selling retailers, additional data from other retailers and products types are needed to establish model generalizability (Winer, 1999). In addition, the seven multi-item scales may not be equally valid across high-involvement purchase contexts where the FLE/customer dyad requires shared responsibility for transaction success, which could affect measurement properties and their interrelationships.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Lawler (2001) posits that social exchanges create a sense of shared responsibility for outcome success. The purpose of this study is to apply this framework to the vendor/frontline employee/customer triad to examine the underlying role of emotions in how frontline employees' evaluations of vendors and customers trigger and temper brand advocacy efforts, respectively.\nDesign/methodology/approach: With cross-sectional data from 168 frontline employees working at a leading national retailer of electronic goods, path analysis is used to evaluate the hypotheses.\nFindings: Frontline employees' relationship quality with the vendor and perceptions of vendors' product quality positively influence brand advocacy. Also, customers' brand affinity and recommendation preference both demonstrate a significant, negative curvilinear relationship with brand advocacy.\nResearch limitations/implications: Frontline employees' emotion-laden evaluations of vendors and customer influence brand advocacy in different ways. Vendor relationship quality and brand quality perceptions \"trigger\" brand advocacy. However, customer's affinity toward a vendor's brand and willingness to seek recommendations \"temper\" brand advocacy. Specifically, brand advocacy effort is low when customers possess very low and very high affinity toward a focal brand - moderate affinity spurs high advocacy; likewise, advocacy is low when customers demonstrate very low and very high interest in seeking the frontline employees' opinion - moderate interest spurs high advocacy. Although ideal to examine vendor and customer emotional exchanges, using only frontline employee data from a technology-selling retailer may constrain generalizability.\nPractical implications: Frontline employee training programs should emphasize the customer's role in the transaction to increase perceptions of shared responsibility, as a means to create a favorable emotional experience, and accentuate timing strategies on when to pursue heightened or diminished emotionally charged brand advocacy efforts.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the frontline employee behavior literature by viewing shared responsibility in transactions as a source of emotional value, explaining variance in frontline employee brand advocacy through relationship and product quality dimensions, and uncovering curvilinear effects for customers' brand affinity and recommendation preference in elucidating brand advocacy.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Older employees' desired retirement age: a JD-R perspective
|
[
"Emotional exhaustion",
"Dedication",
"Conservation of resources theory",
"Desired retirement age",
"Job demands-resources model"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The combination of declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy is one of the most important challenges of the labor markets in most Western countries (Wang and Shi, 2014). While a large part of the workforce is well over 50 years old (Walker, 2009) and their retirement within the next 10-15 years will cause a considerable need for personnel replacement, the expectation is that the proportion of people younger than 25 will decline from 30 percent in 2000 to 23 percent in 2050 (Eurostat, 2008).\nResearch goals and contribution: Because longitudinal research examining how work-related factors affect employees' retirement intention is scarce, there is limited information about the processes underlying employee retirement decision making. The present study aimed to fill this gap by examining longitudinally how work-related factors affect employees' desired retirement age using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti et al., 2001) as our primary theoretical framework. The JD-R model differentiates between two fundamental psychological processes, i.e. an energy-depletion process and a motivational process (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007) resulting in either burnout complaints or work engagement. These processes might be involved in older employees' desire to retire. Additionally, the longitudinal design of our study enables us to study the dynamic nature of the JD-R model in terms of gain and loss cycles, i.e. patterns of reciprocal causation (Schaufeli et al., 2009). With this approach, we emphasize the dynamic nature of work-related processes generally and those underlying retirement decisions specifically. The findings of this study might instigate the development of job redesign interventions aimed at the sustainable prolongation of working life by developing motivating and healthy workplaces. The findings might also help to complement measures already taken by governments that are directed at extending employees' working life, such as raising legal retirement age and impeding options for early retirement. In relating older employees' early retirement desires to both the energy-depletion process and the motivational process, we respond to an urgent call of Schaufeli and Taris (2013) to study these processes jointly, because one process cannot be reduced to the other. The research model is graphically depicted in Figure 1.\nMethod: Participants and procedure\nResults: Means, standard deviations, correlations and reliabilities are presented in Table I. Using the AMOS 18.0 software package, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was applied to investigate the measurement model and the research model, respectively. Following Kline (2005) different fit indices were used: the comparative-fit-index (CFI), the normed-fit-index (NFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) and the root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA). Adequate fit is indicated when CFI, NFI and TLI exceed 0.90 and RMSEA is lower than 0.08. Table II presents the fit indices for all model tests.\nDiscussion: The main objective of this longitudinal study was to investigate whether job demands and job resources affect older employees' desire to retire through an energy-depletion and a motivational process. Using the JD-R model (Demerouti et al., 2001) and Hobfoll's (1989) COR theory as our theoretical framework, we additionally hypothesized that reciprocal relationships would exist between job demands and resources on the one hand and exhaustion and dedication on the other hand, resulting in gain and loss cycles that in the end would affect employees' desired retirement age. As far as we know, this is the first longitudinal study applying these theoretical frameworks in the context of employee retirement intentions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how job demands and job resources affect older employees' desired retirement age, through an energy-depletion and a motivational process. Furthermore, the importance of gain and loss cycles (i.e. recursive effects) for the desired retirement age was investigated.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A two wave full panel design with 2,897 older employees (\nFindings: Results from cross-lagged analyses based on two waves over a one-year period indicated the presence of both a gain and a loss cycle that affected the desired retirement age.\nResearch limitations/implications: This is the first longitudinal study applying the JD-R model to a retirement context. Limitations relate to employing only two waves for establishing mediation, and using self-reports.\nPractical implications: Because work conditions can create a cycle of motivation as well as a cycle of depletion, organizations should pay special attention to the job resources and demands of older workers. The findings can inspire organizations when developing active aging policies, and contribute to interventions aimed at maintaining older employees within the workforce until - or even beyond - their official retirement age in a motivated and healthy way.\nOriginality/value: This is the first longitudinal study applying the JD-R model to a retirement context and finding evidence for gain and loss cycles.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Organisational culture, environmental management control systems, environmental performance of Pakistani manufacturing industry
|
[
"Organizational culture",
"Environmental management control system",
"Environmental performance",
"Manufacturing industry",
"Contingency theory"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The increasing practical interest in environmental management control systems (EMCSs) and their growth have importantly fueled recent research. However, researchers have examined selective EMCSs and their impact on environmental performance (EP). Researchers have emphasized on measurement systems, including planning and administrative controls, but they have rarely examined the relationship of EMCS with organizational culture (OC) (Guenther et al., 2016), management commitment (Adams and Larrinaga-Gonzalez, 2007; Parisi, 2013; Yang Spencer et al., 2013) and strategy (Christ and Burritt, 2013; Ferreira et al., 2010; Gates and Germain, 2010). In this research, we focus on OC that encompasses the shared values and norms of a collective organization, which is an important building block and a key determinant of an organization's success (Schein, 1990), and also an important tool to improve the understanding and implementation of sustainability practices in the organization (Morsing and Oswald, 2009). This research measures the effects of OC (stable and flexible values) on EP via the mediating variable of EMCSs. In doing so, the research sheds light on the mechanism that translates an environmentally supportive OC into EP.\n2. Literature review: As organizations work through the changes required regarding to increase environmental awareness, OC plays a fundamental part in shifting toward sustainability and environmental practices. Implementation of sustainable practices needs proper implementation of values in the OC (Bertels et al., 2010). Research in management accounting is essentially contingent as it decides which particular frameworks may be most appropriate for specific firms in particular circumstances (Otley, 2016). Based on Otley's (2016) view of contingency theory, the current study argues that improved industrial EP is essential if the manufacturing industry is becoming more competitive in international markets.\n3. Theoretical development and hypotheses: Figure 1 presents the overall theoretical model for this research. The theoretical model portrays that the flexible/stable values of OC influence the nature of the EMCS which in turn affects EP. In the model, the flexible values of OC are associated with the informal EMCS while stable values are associated with the formal EMCS. Referring to contingency theory, a superior match between the EMCS and contextual factors helps to enhance a firm's performance and contributes to competitive advantage (Dent, 1991; Fisher, 1998; Langfield-Smith, 2007).\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Sample\n5. Results: 5.1 Measurement model\n6. Discussion and conclusion: This study examined the impact of flexible and stable values of OC on EMCSs; and EMCSs as mechanisms that translate OC into EP. Data from top managers working in Pakistan's manufacturing industry were analyzed using PLS-SEM to test the hypotheses. The analysis revealed that flexible and stable values of OC directly and significantly affect informal and formal EMCSs, respectively. The more positive the values than the more effective the control systems.\n7. Limitations and future research directions: Similar to most empirical studies, this research has several limitations. The sample included 314 manufacturing firms, while tests of the data show that there is no reason to doubt the sample reliability. Nevertheless, generalizations from the results to outside the population (i.e. to other regions or to different industry sectors) should be made with caution. This study is based on cross-sectional data collected with a survey, and because of this, the authors were not able to investigate feedback loops, such as those stemming from EP in a developing environmental culture. Better EP in a newly developed environmental culture may allow organizations to focus more on environmental issues and further enhance their environmental strategies. Future field research could use longitudinal data to investigate feedback loops between environmental strategy and managerial performance more closely. Moreover, the current study focuses on EP and does not analyze other aspects of performance, such as economic and social performance. Authors believe that a triple bottom (environmental, social and economic) analysis of EMCS would be particularly interesting. Thus, further research might consider the consequences of EMCS for all three aspects of sustainability.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of organizational culture (OC) on a firm's environmental performance (EP) via the mediating variable of environmental management control systems (EMCS).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 314 Pakistani manufacturing firms via the questionnaire survey, and the structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships.\nFindings: The stable and flexible values of OC affect the effectiveness of formal and informal EMCS. Informal EMCS mediates the relationship between flexible values and EP, whereas formal EMCS mediates the stable values and EP. Overall, the data reveal that the integration of environmental culture within an organization's culture and control systems leads to improve EP.\nOriginality/value: The study is one of the first, to the author's knowledge, that links OC, EMCS, and EP in a developing economy, in this case Pakistan.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Linking education and mental health - a European priority
|
[
"Mental health services",
"Health education"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe mental health issues which education can help address: In Europe at present strenuous efforts are being made to improve the mental health of citizens - the European Union, for example, has brought out a green paper, Improving the Mental Health of the Population: Towards a Strategy on Mental Health for the European Union (see http://europa.eu.int.pitt.idm.oclc.org/comm/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/green_paper/consultation_en.htm).In this effort, education is seen as having has a key role to play, alongside other central areas for intervention such as the mental health services, the workplace and for care for the elderly. This editorial summarises some current thinking on the links between education and mental health in Europe - the basic principles of which may well be relevant in many other parts of the world.It is all too easy to think first of mental illness when we talk of mental health. However one of the key ways in which work on mental health is developing in Europe is to start from a positive, salutogenic perspective. Mental health is a basic human right, and is fundamental to all human and social progress. It is a basic requirement for a happy and fulfilled life for individual citizens, for effectively functioning families and for social cohesion. It is important to start from the basis that, in Europe at least, around 80 per cent of young people in general report a high level of mental wellbeing. There is a growing evidence base on the promotion of positive mental health, for example through the shaping of early childhood experience, through positive parenting, more effective educational services, well managed workplaces and effective and empowering care for the elderly, and good education can hope to contribute to increasing levels of positive wellbeing, happiness, fulfilment and enjoyment.The other side of the coin is of course the need to reduce mental health problems, and education is central to that enterprise. The most immediate problems we have to address are those of children themselves. Exact estimates vary, but it would appear that in Europe about one fifth of teenagers under the age of 18 years suffer from developmental, emotional or behavioural problems, one in eight have a mental disorder - most commonly depression - and many young people have problems with alcohol and drugs. Actions taken in childhood can help prevent adult problems too - for example, one third of people who are clinically depressed as adults experienced the first episode before the age of 21. So by starting early we can hope to break into this dismal cycle and help reduce all the vast associated personal misery, and the social and economic burdens that mental health problems bring, and increase the numbers of people who experience positive mental health.Education is in itself good for our mental health. School involvement is associated with good high levels of emotional and social wellbeing, sound social and emotional development, increased employment and earnings, and access to health, social, and community resources, while low educational attainment and low literacy are associated with poverty, social exclusion and deprivation, which are in turn are strong predictors of mental health problems. For example, in Europe, 17 per cent of children whose parent/s have no educational qualifications have a mental disorder compared with 4 per cent of children where the parent/s have a degree level qualification. The link goes both ways, and children who have mental health problems are more likely to do badly at school.\nWhat can education do?: We need to do as much as we can to increase access to good education for all parts of the community. We need to provide access to affordable and good quality pre-school or nursery schooling for all parents and carers. Some parts of the community are both at risk of mental health and likely to marginalized with in the education process, these include the poor, immigrant communities, children in the care system, children with disabilities, and children with emotional and behavioural problems - all such vulnerable people need special targeting to ensure they receive the good quality education they deserve. Efforts need to be made to help schools open up and become genuine centres of community life, acceptant of all parts of the community, schools need to be given the resources and training they need to help them work with pupils and parents they may find challenging. Working with adults who have missed out on their education, with literacy programmes, and continuing education can help break the cycle of disadvantage. Parenting education is vital and can be very effective, especially for parents of children with emotional and behavioural problems, who may, perhaps unwittingly, be contributing to their children's problems through emotional neglect, with chaotic, overindulgent or punitive parenting styles.Schools also can address mental health issues directly, and there is a growing number of effective school based programmes which aim at enhancing emotional wellbeing, and helping pupils and staff learn the emotional and social skills that reduce specific mental health problems, such as depression, reduce commonly accepted risk factors associated with mental health problems such as impulsivity, and promote emotional and social wellbeing, such as self esteem and resilience.By no means all programmes are effective, so programmes need to be evidence-based. Several international reviews have identified the characteristics of effective programmes. They:*take a whole-school approach, integrating mental health programmes into all aspects of school life and work;*create appropriate climates that foster warm relationships, encourage participation, allow people to think for themselves, and provide clear rules and positive expectations;*include explicit teaching and learning to develop key skills, attitudes and behaviours, in all pupils and staff;*involve pupils, parents and the community;*are supported by outside agencies, working together in a coordinated and coherent way and are themselves coherent and well planned;*start early, in the primary or even infant school, last for many years, and do not expect instant results;*identify and target vulnerable and at-risk groups and tackle mental health problems when they first show themselves; and*promote staff teachers' emotional and social competence and wellbeing.\nChallenges and opportunities: Mental health services and schools need to do more to understand one another. Mental health needs to understand that schools are essentially places of learning and emphasise not only the role of programmes to promote emotional and social wellbeing but also the growing and strong evidence base for the links between good mental health and learning, educational attainment, and behaviour for learning. Schools in turn need help to understand mental health issues. In the UK, half of parents of children with emotional disorders sought help or advice from a teacher as their first port of call. Schools are therefore vital referral agencies, and need help to understand their role and know what options are available. Some EU member states are attempting to help authorities engage in more \"joined up\" work, for example England with its \"Every Child Matters\" agenda (see www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/).Outside of the USA, evaluation is generally poor - almost all of the school programmes to promote mental health in schools which systematic reviews judge \"effective\" are from the USA - there is clearly a need for more rigorous research in Europe in this area and the development of links and networks between programmes, as with the US network Casel to encourage the growth of the evidence base and the dissemination of knowledge.\nKey action points: So what are the key areas we need to address if we want to mobilize education to:*Increase access to good education for all members of the community, support schools to be more inclusive, target at risk groups with educational interventions (e.g. parenting, literacy)?*Develop better communication between the education and mental health services?*Develop explicit, planned and evaluated whole school programmes to promote mental health, develop the kind of climates and practices that are conducive to emotional wellbeing and develop emotional and social competences in staff and pupils?*Put more resources into developing a European evidence base and networks between programmes, research and policy makers?\nSome examples of effective school based programmes to promote mental health in Europe: PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies)\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper seeks to clarify the links between education and mental health in European policy and practice.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper provides an overview of the literature and clarification of what it shows.\nFindings: - Education has a major role in promoting mental health by enhancing positive wellbeing and tackling mental health problems. Education is in itself protective of mental health - so we need to increase access support inclusively and target at-risk groups. Mental health and education need to improve their mutual communication between them. More needs to be done to develop evidence-based, explicit, planned and evaluated whole-school programmes to promote mental health, which develop the kind of climates and practices that are conducive to emotional wellbeing and help staff and pupils learn key skills. The European evidence base is poor and we need to put more resources into developing it, and networks between programmes, research and policy makers.\nOriginality/value: - Bringing together the key elements in the arguments and evidence on how mental health and education could and do link together.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Tools of accountability: protecting microfinance clients in South Africa?
|
[
"Microfinance",
"Consumer protection",
"Accountability",
"Financial inclusion",
"Non-governmental organization (NGO)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since the nineteenth century economists have questioned the concentration of income[1] and wealth, and they have attempted to study the evolution of inequalities at both the global and national level (Piketty, 2014). In general, balanced economic growth is believed to be needed to build a meritocratic society and to limit the negative impact of social injustice (Piketty, 2014). As a consequence, international and national policymakers along with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) often intervene to address inequalities, including efforts to alleviate poverty. For over 30 years, microfinance organisations have played an important part in this fight against poverty in many developing and less developed nations. Despite this, their role and effectiveness has continued to be the source of considerable international debate.\n2. Tools of accountability: the view from the field: While much has been written about accountability within the accounting literature, it is constantly being reworked and reimagined in practice, making it an important ongoing site of inquiry. It is generally accepted that accountability refers to the capacity and the responsibility of someone, a person or an institution, to give an account (Roberts and Scapens, 1985). By extension, it also implies that the person or organisation receiving the account will hold the account giver \"accountable\" for their actions. This requires considerable skill, both to construct an account that reflects the activities being accounted for, and to scrutinise that account to ensure the outcomes are acceptable and expected (Cooper and Owen, 2007; Messner, 2009; Roberts and Scapens, 1985).\n3. Research method: In order to support our research aims, this study was undertaken using a qualitative interpretive approach by means of a single in-depth case study. For the most part, an in-depth interpretative case study requires the researcher to be in the field for an extended period of time, undertaking interviews, generating field notes and observing actions. The researcher attempts the \"difficult task of accessing other people's interpretations\" to shed light on real world phenomena as it is experienced in situ (Walsham, 1995, p. 77). While the complexities of this approach have been well documented (Walsham, 1995), our methodological choices enabled us to observe patterns, constraints and tensions within the social world in action (Patton, 2002). This allowed us to pay attention to the context surrounding the participants in our study and provide rich descriptions of the real life settings in which microlending takes place. Moreover, this approach ensured that attention was given to the individual's point of view, and that this drove our understanding of social experiences of microlending as they are created and given meaning (Denzin and Lincoln, 1998; Creswell, 2007; Eisenhardt, 1989; Gephart, 2004; Yin, 2003; Silverman, 2011).\n4. The case study: implementing a new tool of accountablity at SEF: In the remainder of this paper we explore the introduction of the Client Protection Card (CPC) at SEF, focussing on the experiences of both the clients and fieldworkers. We use the CPC as an example of a \"tool of accountability\", a device designed to enable a specific form of accountability to be fostered between actors within an organisation. In this case, the CPC was designed to meet both the expectations of the national regulator and international community and also to encourage new methods to ensure the well-being of SEFs clients. In order to understand the importance of the CPC, we provide some background to consumer protection practices at SEF.\n5. Conclusion: While most research into MFIs has focussed on organisations, the local focus of the research undertaken within this paper sheds new light on the experiences of clients and beneficiaries of these services. In doing this, our work is aligned with the recent focus of policymakers on the local socioeconomic development of the beneficiaries of financial inclusion policies. To deliver on these ambitions, it is clear that policymakers and MFIs will need to generate a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the needs of beneficiaries (Banerjee and Duflo, 2011) and our paper goes some way towards doing this.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which accountability is operationalised within the context of a South African microfinance institution (MFI). In particular, the authors consider the introduction of a tool to enhance consumer protection, the Client Protection Card (CPC), to deliver accountability within the case organisation. In contrast to prior research, the authors focus on accountability from the perspective of clients and fieldworkers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A single in-depth case study of the introduction and implementation of a CPC in an MFI operating within South Africa was conducted. The case study and timing afforded an opportunity to gather unique data, given the MFI's client-centred philosophy and the recent introduction of the CPC. The qualitative approach adopted for this research allowed collection of data through direct observations, interviews, a fieldwork diary and documentation. The theoretical framing for this paper views accountability as involving social practices, allowing us to foreground the existence of interdependencies among people interacting within the same organisation or system (Roberts, 1996).\nFindings: The case study demonstrates that three aspects are critical to the success of the card: the design, which requires sensitivity to the local culture; the distribution, which demands for significant \"sensemaking\" work to be undertaken by fieldworkers; and the drivers for introducing the card, which need to be responsive to the clients' perspective. The paper illustrates how well-intended tools of accountability can fail to deliver effectively, both for the organisation and the users, if they are not tailored appropriately to the needs of clients.\nOriginality/value: This paper differs from prior research as it explores the ways in which fieldworkers and MFI clients make sense of a tool of accountability, the CPC. Given that the CPC was designed to meet guidelines produced by international policymakers and domestic legislators, the paper provides a grassroots analysis of the effectiveness of the implementation of such tools from the perspective of clients and fieldworkers. This local focus allows the authors to examine the ways in which mounting global expectations for increased accountability of MFIs are being operationalised in practice.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Polarisation of the society: a possible outcome of the economic crisis? Hungarian citizens' purchases of food and household items in retail stores in the present economic crisis
|
[
"Crisis",
"Retail stores",
"Social polarization",
"Behaviour",
"Psychographics",
"Expenses",
"Segmentation",
"Positioning",
"Consumer behaviour",
"Hungary"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The impact of the economic and financial crisis on consumer behaviour has been analysed sporadically in the world, however most of the works concentrated only on one aspect of consumer behaviour, on one county or on short-run crises, and looked at the citizens of one country as one homogeneous market of consumers. The aim of this paper is twofold: it demonstrates the most important publications which dealt with the question of how economic crises can make the consumers' behaviour change with a special focus on the surveys implemented in the European and more specifically in the Central and Eastern European market. The paper also intends to analyse how the expectations, preferences and attitudes of consumers toward the purchase of food and household items in retail stores changed after the crisis in Hungary. An empirical research was conducted at the very end of 2011 whose findings clearly show that the market of one country cannot be looked at as one homogeneous unit as different segments of citizens created on the basis of \"expectations\", \"psychographic\" and \"behavioural\" variables react differently to the new conditions of the macroenvironment. The results also show a certain polarisation of the population: while the group of the poor and the rich people augment, the group of the middle class is becoming small.\nTheoretical background: The world had to face several economic crises during the last century. There were 435 small and major economic crises in 195 countries of the world between 1960 and 2006 (Pandelica and Pandelica, 2011). During most of these crises the growth of world economy has only slowed down. The world however was introduced to a new type of crisis in 2008, which resulted in a long lasting downturn with the reduction of the entire world's gross domestic product (GDP).Although some of the world's greater economic regions suffered from lasting depressions in the last decades of the twentieth century (e.g. Latin-America in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, or East-Asia after 1997), Europe was virtually free from economic crises after the Second World War. Even if the economic performance of the post-Soviet Eastern European countries declined after 1988, this could not be interpreted as a typical economic crisis. Instead it could be looked at as a kind of a transition crisis of the failed socialist economies. Europe had to face first a classical economic crisis in 2008 together with the other countries of the world.Economic crisis and consumer behaviour\nThe empirical research: In an empirical study which was conducted at the very end of 2011 the new ways of shopping food and household items in retail stores and the modified behaviour of the citizens in stores were investigated in order to see whether the economic crisis hit the retail stores and if so how they have to react to this situation from a strategic point of view. Also, segments of citizens were tried to be created on the basis of their different shopping habits and their store type selection criteria.At the beginning of the empirical study two hypotheses were formulated:H1. All of the customers had to cut back on their expenses on food and household items after the beginning of the economic crisis.H2. On the basis of their expectations and preferences about the purchase of food and household items in retail stores homogeneous segments of the Hungarian population can be created.The primary research was performed with a pre-tested questionnaire which consisted of four parts. In the first part the changes of the people's shopping behaviour and their choice of the type of the stores during the last three years were analysed. The questions in the second part aimed at identifying the criteria on the basis of which the people make a decision about where they do their shopping. The third part of the questionnaire contained psychographic and behavioural questions about the respondents' purchases of food and household items. The fourth part of the questionnaire was devoted for the demographic questions. Most of the questions were closed questions and were evaluated by validated Likert scales. In order, however, to understand the reasons for the changed behaviour and modified decision criteria open-ended questions were also added to the questionnaire where the answers were coded straightaway.For the data collection a random sample of 1,000 people was taken and the citizens were asked to answer the questions of the questionnaire by trained data collectors. Respondents were selected with the simple random sampling technique in 42 big and small cities in different regions of the country as well as in the capital. At the end of the process - due to technical faults - only 988 answers could be used for processing.A total of 48 per cent of the respondents were men and 52 per cent of them were women. Most of the people in the sample were of the age of 24-60 and only 11 per cent of the respondents were either between 18 and 23 of age or older than 61 years.The majority (84 per cent) of the people had a baccalaureate, a bachelor or a master's degree, and 2 per cent of the respondents had a PhD degree. A total of 14 per cent of the people finished only a primary school or a technical school without a baccalaureate.The monthly net income per person of the respondents showed a much wider distribution: 25 per cent of the respondents accounted for a higher than 1,290 Euros net monthly income per person, and 20 per cent of the people admitted that they only had a less than 300 Euros net monthly income per person. The net monthly income of the remaining part of the people fell either in the range of 322 Euros-644 Euros (40 per cent) or in the range of 644 Euros-1,288 Euros (15 per cent).A relatively equal distribution of the respondents' place of living could be observed: 20 per cent live in central Hungary; 18 per cent in the southern part of Hungary; 21 per cent in the northern part of the country; 23 per cent in the east of Hungary; and 18 per cent in west Hungary.First, the changes of the general aspects of consumers' behaviour were analysed in relation with the people's purchases of food and household items. The majority of the people felt that their expenses of the items in question slightly (35 per cent) or significantly (30 per cent) increased during the last three years (Figure 1). The reasons they gave for this increase were either the (incredible) price increases/higher inflation, or the higher prices they had to pay to get the items (fuel, bus ticket, fee paying bags, etc.), or the decrease of the relative purchase value of their income. Of the people, 15 per cent did not see any changes in their expenses of food and household products, however nearly all of the people who belonged to this group admitted that they did not really look at the prices they paid for the goods in question. A total of 20 per cent of the respondents felt that their expenses slightly decreased during the last three years. The reason for the latter opinion was that people in this category tried to spend less on food and other products they use at home and purchased the cheap brands and goods on sale in order to be able to pay for their bills. They explained that they could always chose the cheapest products in the stores while they could not chose a cheaper electricity or gas.The frequency of the respondents' visit to the stores with the objective of buying food or household products as well as the number of items they purchased during one visit changed in line with the expenses of the people: a strong correlation was identified between the questions. For those whose spending increased during the last three years the frequency of the visit and the number of purchased items slightly increased and for those whose expenses decreased, the frequency of the visits and the number of bought items became less as well.A total of 83 per cent of the respondents mentioned that in 2011 they visited different types of stores than what they visited three years ago. While in 2008 (Figure 2) the people implemented their purchases in separate supermarkets (78 per cent), in separate hypermarkets (40 per cent), in supermarkets located in shopping malls (24 per cent), in moms and pops (43 per cent) and only 14 per cent of the people was shopping in discount stores, in 2011 the picture looks quite differently.In 2011 65 per cent of the respondents admitted that they did their purchases in discount stores, 51 per cent purchased food and household items in separate supermarkets, 10 per cent in separate hypermarkets, 37 per cent in supermarkets located in shopping malls and 27 per cent in moms and pops (see Figure 3). What is really new in the 2011 results is the addition of the \"Chinese markets (markets and retail stores)\" to the predetermined list by the respondents: 32 per cent of the people asked the data collectors to add these shops to the list which operate next to the other retail stores.This result shows a certain polarisation of the people: there is a lot more people who try to buy cheap and there are more people who turn their attention to the relatively more expensive stores than three years ago. In case a conclusion would be drawn only from the above results it could be said that while there are much more poor people and more rich people in the country, the middle class is melting and oriented either towards the rich Pole or towards the poor Pole. However, there is more evidence to prove this statement; therefore it will be used as a third hypothesis in the empirical study:H3. In the actual financial and economic crisis there is more and more poor people and more and more rich people in Hungary while the classical middle class is melting and oriented either towards the rich pole or towards the poor pole.The second part of the questionnaire contained questions about the criteria people take into account when making a decision about the type of the store and the store itself when buying food and household items. There were 19 predetermined criteria and the respondents were asked to identify on a five point Likert scale whether they agree that the given criteria is important in their decision.By using main component analysis, with varimax rotation, in three steps we identified six main components, which are the following:1. price oriented;2. environment oriented;3. product oriented;4. specialities;5. sales promotion hunter; and6. payment term oriented (see Table II).The empirical research also investigated some of those psychographic and behavioural characteristics of the Hungarian people which determine their buying of food and household items in retail stores. A total of 26 pre-determined statements were offered to the respondents and on a five-point Likert scale they had to indicate whether they agreed with the statements or not.By using a main component analysis, with varimax rotation, we managed to identify main components in five steps, which are the following:1. quality awareness;2. health awareness;3. human values/family and friends oriented;4. status awareness;5. practical; and6. survival oriented (see Table III).On the basis of the identified 12 main components a k-component cluster analysis was implemented. After a thorough analysis of the created options which offered different numbers of groups we accepted the one which offered five segments (see Table IV).After the evaluation of the segments the following names were attributed to them:1. New rich;2. Enriching middle class;3. Classical middle class;4. Approaching the poor; and5. Poor.Looking at the results (see Figure 4) it is possible to evaluate the previously formulated hypothesis.On the basis of the results of the empirical research the first hypothesis had to be refused as it became clear that there are two segments whose members do not have to worry about the prices of the food and household items. The \"new rich\" and the \"enriching middle class\" which represent 36 per cent of the Hungarian population, have enough money to pay for goods they wish to purchase.The second hypothesis was proven as by main component analysis 12 main components (six \"expectations\" and six \"psychographic and behavioural\") could be created by which five homogeneous segments of the Hungarian population could be formulated. The members of the formulated new segments have different shopping behaviour, practice and expectations therefore the retail stores will have to rethink their operative strategy in order to meet best the need of the clients. The findings confirm the results of Pandelica and Pandelica (2011) who described that the reaction of the consumers to crisis varied significantly in function of their psychographic and demographic characteristics, or the conclusion of Epure and Vasilescu (2009) related to the complexity of the behaviour of customers during economic crises.The third hypothesis was also proven as in the actual financial and economic crisis there is more and more poor people (31 per cent + 23 per cent) and more and more rich people (36 per cent) in Hungary while the classical middle class is melting and oriented either towards the rich pole or towards the poor pole.The correlation between the formulated segments and the demographic variables was checked next. Out of the six demographic characteristics only four showed correlation with the segments, and neither age nor gender had any relationship with the respondents' belonging to a certain segment. Those variables which correlated with the peoples' belonging to the segments were the level of degree, their monthly net income per person, the size of their place of living and the region they live in.Clusters\nManagerial implications: The detailed analysis of the segments makes it evident that instead of the preferred \"onion\" shape of the Hungarian society, the actually formulating shape of it is a sand glass - there is only 10 per cent of the people in the centre! The retail managers therefore need to look at their offer and have to determine on which end they wish to be. In light of the positioning of their store they might have to change the structure of their offer (product lines, product types, etc.), the proposed services as well as their promotion strategy.They might decide on positioning themselves on the central 10 per cent of the population however this is a relatively small segment which does not offer profitability to many companies. Instead, most of the enterprises should select their \"end\" and by capturing the new needs, expectations and attitude of the members of their segment they should tailor-make their offer accordingly. There is already a fierce competition in the market however there is still room for retailers who can offer exactly what the chosen segments' members wish to get under the new conditions.They might need to rethink their suppliers' chain (quality, price, bargaining power, etc.), and also their partners. This seems to be the only path to an acceptable return on investment in the period of the economic downturn.\nLimitations: The empirical research was conducted in 2011 and gave a detailed and up-to-date picture of how the Hungarian citizens reacted to the financial crisis in terms of their purchases of food and household items in retail stores. The crisis, however, continues and reveals more and more uncertainties in many different dimensions of people's life. Their behaviour therefore can further change and modify their purchases. Thus, it would be important to launch a longitudinal study which would show whether there is further polarisation of the people and whether the shopping decisions and considerations of the buyers further change.It would also be interesting and important to see whether other Central and Eastern European countries show the same tendencies as Hungary do. A cross-cultural comparative study would give a clear picture of this likely phenomenon.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to evaluate the results of an empirical research whose objective was the analysis of the impact of the actual economic crisis on the expectations, preferences and attitudes of the Hungarian people towards the purchase of food and household items in retail stores.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A review of literature is followed by the description and evaluation of an empirical research. A sample of 1,000 people was randomly selected and data were collected by a pre-tested questionnaire. By main component analyses 12 main components were identified and a k-component cluster analysis was performed.\nFindings: - The findings of the empirical research show that people of the same country react entirely differently to the crisis from a behavioural point of view and that in Hungary the economic crisis resulted in the social polarisation of the citizens.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper provides evidence for the social polarisation of the Hungarian people which has a serious impact on their purchases in retail stores and which makes the retail store managers rethink their actual strategy and positioning. As the crisis continues there is room for a longitudinal study in the country and for a comparative cross cultural study in the region.\nOriginality/value: - The paper shows an original approach of analysing how the Hungarian people's purchases of food and household items changed after the break-out of the economic crises by using behavioural and psychographic variables as the basis of evaluations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Strangers on the train: The relationship of the IT department with the rest of the business
|
[
"Employee relations",
"Working practices",
"Communication technologies",
"United Kingdom"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The importance of relationships\nThe research approach: Identifying theoretical perspectives\nStrangers on the train?: Before the journey can begin the passengers must board the right train. That is, the nascent relationship must be perceived as being the right way of enabling the parties to reach their organisational goals. The question then is: Why should the ISO and the rest of the business make this journey together? There is no definitive answer: it depends upon the operating climate, in the sense of the prevailing environment that dictates the \"normal\" way providers and customers work together to deliver IT services. The passengers travel together because external economics, corporate policy, tradition and politics say the journey should be done this way. However, the passengers must also wish it to be so, because they want to share the journey's trials and pleasures. Nowadays, the ISO must also be properly dressed for this trip. Perhaps by taking on the mantle of a pseudo-commercial organization, to fend off outsourcers, who are also eager to accompany the business staff. An IS quality assurance manager explained the existing situation within his company:Our General Manager is trying to give us more support to develop the role as it was intended: to provide a service to our customers at both the operational level and with their future IT strategy. Now we are no longer a monopoly supplier of IT services and we've seen that internal customers will go outside for their IT provision. So we have to think about being competitive and giving that extra value.The relationship between our passengers is the vehicle (the train) by which they will make their journey together. The travellers work for the same company, so why should there be any doubt about their relationship? The reasons advanced by some informants included the history of IT, the nature of the work and the personalities of IT professionals but others could not explain why there was continuing discord or even antagonism.What happened in the past is of less importance to the travellers than ensuring that their train does not breakdown in the future. To avoid this happening, they must continuously work on developing a sense that they really do have need for each other and be loyal to that feeling.However, this does not always happen. A product-marketing manager was sceptical:In the environment we operate in I have difficulty with the idea that the business and IT share the risk. I don't necessarily see that they share the risk. Our IT department is a \"must use\" resource and because they charge out their costs I really don't see what risk they face!The speed of the journey will be affected by power of the train: particularly, the extent to which a work group can demonstrate it can do the job as promised. Respect will be earned through mutual recognition of specialist knowledge and proven competencies. Whilst the ISO's reputation is built slowly, it is quickly destroyed by the supposed inability of IT professionals to address \"simple\" demands of the customers. The marketing manager continued his personal analysis of IT professionals:Most people could provide anecdotal evidence or opinion that whatever you get is late, over budget and is under-specified. This perception although unfair in many ways is quite general. It's the common areas where they might damage their image. It's a perception rather than reality. There is a view that they don't deliver on time or if they met the target date it has been done by de-scoping the project.Initially, the attitudes of the travellers toward each other differs because they start off seeing the world differently but through an exchange of knowledge, the passengers will agree to sit together or change seats. The affinity between the passengers grows when they feel \"in tune\", or are \"on the same wavelength\". In other words: \"they think like we think\". An IT account manager (who had recently transferred from a business operations department) gave a rather poignant example of what this meant for her in her new role:I like to think some of the business still see me as one of \"them\" it's very helpful for some of the things that we are striving for that I am seen as one of them. I'm amused by being introduced as the, \"human face of IS\". This is interesting about what they are thinking about me and about IT as a department of the company. I was happy about that description and also a little sad - why can't we all be \"human faces?\"On the journey, the travellers will often have to rearrange their emotional baggage by responding to each other in an equitable way. It helps therefore, if the passengers grow to be tolerant of each other so that one group feels it understands another workgroup; to the extent it can predict its likely response. This view is not about official roles or corporate mechanisms for co-operative working but the general \"personality\" of the other group, in the sense that the parties are comfortable, open and honest with each other. Harmony is reflected in the language used and other clues that influence impressions. IT professionals often have to work hard to overcome a view that they do not understand the bigger picture and what the organisation is trying to achieve. They have to positively demonstrate cultural sensitivity for their value-adding capabilities to be properly acknowledged by their fellow passengers, such as this insurance underwriter:They (IT) have the same guidelines as the rest of us but I think like many deeply technical areas you get the \"weirdoes\". They dress as they feel like and if they have that sort of job they seem to get away with it. I suspect there is probably less than you think but you just notice it!The journey may be delayed by unforeseen circumstances. In the most extreme cases, if the train breaks down and the fault is so serious it cannot be repaired, the trip will have to be abandoned. A train (relationship) will sometimes fail because it is not been designed to cope well with the demands of the journey - particularly where there is a need to do it faster or with an extra heavy burden of fears, misapprehensions and prejudices. Other causes of damage lie within specific IT service encounters and activities that gradually wear away the fabric of the vehicle. Two particular stress points include the political conflict associated with the prioritisation of new or improved IT service and frequent failure to honour commitments. For example, the multi-relational dimension is often overlooked in the negotiation of internal contracts, such as a Project Charter or Service Level Agreement.The train will be not work properly if it's purely about the obligation of one group (the IT professionals) to deliver. For IT professionals, availability of business staff to work on a project was often mentioned as a particular bone of contention. Thus the IT Account Manager was frequently asked to use her connections and political influence to \"oil the wheels\" of the train:I step in because projects should not be started unless we are getting the commitment. The developers will come to me and say: \"We are not getting anywhere\". That's when I will use my relationship with my customers and tell them: \"you are going to fail - you may as well stop this project! Yes, understand their needs but they also should understand your objectives\".The sharing of knowledge about procedures, roles, problems, as well as longer-term goals and plans helps to form sensible expectations of an IT service. Indeed, expectations (of the journey) are recurring topic of conversation between the passengers as they track their progress. Unrealistic promises can lead to false expectations and these can undermine confidence and can even breed hostility between the travellers. The comment of this senior life assurance executive shows how the experience with some troublesome workflow management technology became internalised as a view of the ISO itself:... There are some who are careful about setting expectations. There are others who don't think about it. It's a generalisation but there are those in IS who tend to be quite arrogant but they are also demanding of themselves. The downside of this is unrealistic estimating: \"We should be able to deliver this in two days\", for example, when they know that it just can't be done in anything like that time-scale.Although, the travellers may feel well disposed to each other and their train is seen to be going forward there can still be differing ideas about the progress made. Although \"satisfaction\" is well-known signifier of success, it is not universally accepted, because it depends upon who is being satisfied. So, before the journey begins, the social mile posts and stations along the way need to be identified so that achievements can be jointly recognised and celebrated.\nThe conceptual framework: The narrative, individual category definitions, memos and a set of conditional matrices were used to integrate all the axial coded categories. The composition process followed an \"inside-outside\" approach: by first linking the categories for individuals and then joining these to the organisational level categories to form the conceptual framework shown as Figure 1. The framework demonstrates the interplay of personal work place situation, experiences, knowledge, agendas and attitudes, with the social processes associated with the development and operation of IT services. Both intended and unplanned consequences of the processes create within an individual, perceptions about other people involved in the service. Within a particular organisational environment, these perceptions trigger integrative behaviours, which over time; engender a set of beliefs held collectively by members of a work group.The framework shows both static and dynamic aspects of ISO-business relations. Although the groups differ in terms of structural elements such as mission, role, goal attainment style (leadership) and resource management, the relationship itself is emergent. That is, it is given its identity, meaning and significance by the convergence of the beliefs the parties hold about each other. The framework has therefore been called the Congruent Beliefs Theory (CBT). Thus the simple answer to the research question posed earlier is articulated by this name:Relations between the ISO and other parts of the business are characterised by the extent to which their beliefs are similar (see Table II).\nTheory evaluation: Limitations\nConclusion: The main case studies were insurance companies, so what conclusions may be drawn about relationships within this particular sector? The contrast case was helpful by highlighting innovation as an issue of importance. Within the airline company, the part played by proactive relationship management in supporting creativity and innovation had been explicitly recognised as a core competency expected of all executives and work group leaders.The comparison with the insurance companies was quite stark. Dysfunctional relationships had damaged innovation so that IT professionals were not even recognised as knowledge agents of the organisation. Indeed, an example was found of lower level managers blocking the sharing of experiences with IT. In another insurance company, business executives were inordinately influenced by the opinions of consultants, in preference to the advice offered by the in-house team, who consequently had almost given up researching the opportunities offered by new technologies.The CBT contributes to understanding by showing what the ISO-business relationship is: a set of beliefs that one party holds about the other and how these beliefs are formed from the interactions of the individuals as they engage in tasks associated with an IT service. The climate for service, as the general setting for individual perceptions and work group beliefs, provides an explanation of why the relationships are as they are. This study is also an example of how theory can be discovered within empirical data, providing a framework (the CBT) that has relevance to a real world situation. By doing this, the work adds to the growing legitimacy of the qualitative approach for gaining insights into the management of IT services. More specifically, the research helps to address a particular methodological gap, since as Urquhart, 2002 (p. 51) rightly observes, there is:... very little discussion in the IS literature of how theory might actually be generated by the Grounded Theory Method and still not much in the way of practical examples of coding.Finally, although a high-level relationship strategy has been outlined earlier, ultimately, it is the actions of individuals that make the difference. In a marketing sense, the IT value proposition has historically been framed in terms of its transactional utility and not relational worth. So what can the project manager or insurance underwriting clerk do about this? To grow the social bonds between the ISO and the business, each and every critical IT service incident and event must be considered, not only for its immediate instrumental effect but also for its longer-term influence upon the perceptions and beliefs of others. If attitudes and ideas can be changed, our travellers will no longer be strangers and the vital union between technology and people strengthened to the benefit of all within the organisation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to provide and develop a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the working relationship between the in-house IT department and other parts of the business.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In this paper, IT professionals and internal customers at five medium-large UK-based companies were interviewed about how they work together for the development and operation of IT services. A grounded theory approach was followed to develop the theoretical framework from the empirical evidence.\nFindings: - In the paper the framework shows how the organisational setting, the attitudes of individuals, social processes and outcomes affect the emergence of collective beliefs that characterise the relationship. The strength of the relationship reflects the degree of congruence between the common beliefs of the parties.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper shows that, within the context of IT services, this study shows the emergence of a larger scale social structure from interactions between individual social actors. Proposals are made for the operationalisation of the theoretical framework and its use for designing an instrument to evaluate working relationships. The work also shows how Grounded Theory Methodology can be used for IS/IT management research.\nPractical implications: - In the paper management interventions designed to strengthen the bonds between the workgroups are identified.\nOriginality/value: - This paper may help individuals concerned with the development, support and operation of IT services to look beyond the confines of their day-to day activities to consider the effect of their actions on enduring work group relationships.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Research output on terrorism by India and Pakistan: a bibliometric study
|
[
"Pakistan",
"India",
"Bibliometrics",
"Terrorism",
"Research output",
"Research productivity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Terrorism is a buzzword in the present unstable world. There is no universally accepted definition of Terrorism. Terrorism is defined as \"acts of violence committed against innocent persons or non-combatants that are intended to achieve political ends through fear and intimidation\" (Deutch, 1997). According to Laqueur (1986):\nLiterature review: Research on Terrorism has expanded dramatically all over the world; however, the number of bibliometric studies is surprisingly limited. In 1988, Schmid and Jongman (1988) identified more than 6,000 published works on Terrorism research and 90 percent of the literature on Terrorism had been written since 1969. Reid revealed that 1166 publications on Terrorism were produced for the period 1960-1990 (cited by Ranstorp, 2007). Silke cataloged 490 articles published during the entire 1990s in the two major specialized Terrorism journals and found that majority of the articles were published on contemporary Terrorism, only 13 articles focused on \"non-contemporary Terrorism and only seven of these look at Terrorism prior to 1960\" (cited by Ranstorp, 2007). The field of Terrorism studies has been largely confined to a small nucleus of scholars. In 1988, Schmid and Jongman (1988) identified only 32 prominent Terrorism researchers in the world. Reid's inventory found 24 prominent scholars conducting research on Terrorism, having contributed at least 10 to 34 or more articles or books (cited by Ranstorp, 2007). Lum et al. (2006) reviewed more than 20,000 articles on Terrorism published between 1971 and 2004 and found that only seven articles were based on rigorous evaluation studies. Silke (2008) focused on research studies published in the first five years after the 9/11 attacks and revealed that research on Terrorism and Terrorism-related issues has increased dramatically in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The research depicted that more researchers are working on the subject than before and there has been a real increase in collaborative studies as well. The author argued that the five years since 9/11 have probably seen more books published on Terrorism than appeared in the previous 50 years. The number of articles on Terrorism in the academic journals has also increased hugely. The journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism brought out four issues per year prior to 9/11. Now it is published on a monthly basis. Beyond the core Terrorism studies journals; articles on the subject in other journals have also increased hugely across the board. Czwarno (2006) reviewed 12 journals in her survey from 1993-2001 and reported that only 1 per cent to 3 per cent of the articles were on Terrorism. More recently, Loan (2012) conducted a study to identify the full text e-books in Google Books on Terrorism. The scholar revealed that the total number of full text books available in Google Books on Terrorism was 130, dealing with political, business, economical, technological and religious aspects of Terrorism. Scanlon (2011) conducted a study to identify book collection on the Taliban in academic and public libraries of New York and New Jersey. He revealed that 83 titles were retrieved using the WorldCat search on Taliban. Loan (2012) revealed that the prominent authors of Terrorism books available in Google are corporate bodies instead of individual authors. In a rapidly changing global situation, the Terrorism study has become a vital field of research. More interdisciplinary research is needed that captures the dynamics of the relationship between Terrorism and counterterrorism. The problem needs to be studied in many angles for providing new or continuous research inventories to move the field forward. The present study is a step forward to develop a critical knowledge base in Terrorism research.\nResearch design/methodology/approach: Data for the study was harvested from the \"Web of Science\" one of the widely used and trusted indexing and abstracting service used by research scholars all over the world. The Web of Science is an online subscription-based scientific citation indexing service originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), now maintained by the Clarivate Analytics that provides a comprehensive citation search. The Web of Science Core Collection is indisputably the largest citation database available, with over one billion cited reference connections indexed from 33,000 high-quality peer-reviewed journals. The Web of Science includes:\nObjectives: The present study aims to explore the literature published on \"Terrorism\" by India and Pakistan and have an in-depth bibliometric analysis of its various facets like:\nData analysis: Contribution of India and Pakistan\nDiscussion: India and Pakistan have not contributed good number of articles on \"Terrorism\" as it is the most serious problem faced by both of the countries. The researchers of both the countries need to gear up the speed to conduct on \"Terrorism\" to combat the problem. Moreover, both the countries need to establish the \"National Institutes of Terrorism Studies\" to study various facets of \"Terrorism\" thoroughly. Further, there is no journal, specifically publishing articles on \"Terrorism\" in India and Pakistan and nor contribute significantly in other international journals. India and Pakistan need to start journals that exclusively publish research articles on \"Terrorism\". Moreover, the existing journals should also accommodate the research papers on \"Terrorism\" and publish special issues on Terrorism as well. At International level, two journals namely- Perspectives on Terrorism (PT) and Journal of Terrorism Research (JTR) are listed in the Ulrich's Periodical Directory on Terrorism. The journal - Perspectives on Terrorism (PT) is the peer-reviewed online journal of the Terrorism Research Initiative (TRI) and is published six times per year. The journal seeks to provide a unique platform for established scholars as well as academics and professionals entering the field of terrorism, political violence, religious extremism, racism and conflict studies. The Journal of Terrorism Research (JTR) is the online journal of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence launched in 2010. The aim of this Journal is to provide a space for academics and counter-terrorism professionals to publish work focused on the study of Terrorism. Furthermore, majority of the articles were contributed by the individual researchers without any financial support from the concerned agencies. The government and non-governmental organizations should fully support the research on \"Terrorism\" to eradicate the problem. India and Pakistan spend a good percentage of their budgets on defense but failed to provide financial support to scholars conducting research on \"Terrorism\". Both the countries should understand that \"War against Terrorism\" cannot be won with more weapons but having more information and knowledge on the problem. Further, foreign aid has been promoted as one of the preferred strategies to fight Terrorism by world powers especially the USA (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2011). Foreign aid can be used to fight Terrorism as well as reducing acts and effects of Terrorism worldwide. Young and Findley (2011) reveal that foreign aid decreases Terrorism especially when targeted toward sectors, such as education, health, civil society and conflict prevention. These sector-level results indicate that foreign aid can be an effective instrument in fighting Terrorism if allocated in appropriate ways. Besides, there is no collaboration among the researchers of Indian and Pakistani authors and little collaboration with scholars of other nations. All the countries including India and Pakistan need to collaborate with each other in Terrorism research to successfully won the \"Global War on Terrorism\". The Middle East is presently the hub of the terrorist activities and it is crossing the geographical and political boundaries rapidly. India and Pakistan are close neighbors of the Middle East; therefore, need to play a positive role in curbing the Terrorism. This is only possible when India and Pakistan will take sincere steps to resolve all outstanding issues including Jammu and Kashmir, which is considered as the bone of contention between both the countries and the major hurdle in enforcing the peace in the region. Besides many public uprisings in J and K, India and Pakistan have fought three full-fledged wars over the Jammu and Kashmir issue, which has badly deteriorated the relations between the two countries. The friendly relations between India and Pakistan are essential for the sustainable development of the South Asia. India and Pakistan need to understand that they are the two branches of the same tree; rooted in the same soil and cannot effort to encourage \"Terrorism\" against one another. Further, India and Pakistan have to understand that they can change their friends but not neighbors.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to explore the scholarly literature published on \"Terrorism\" by India and Pakistan and has an in-depth bibliometric analysis of its various facets.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data for the study were harvested from the \"Web of Science\" one of the widely used and trusted indexing and abstracting source used by research scholars all over the world. The search was confined to the literature published on \"Terrorism\" by India and Pakistan. A total of 125 results were retrieved and out of them 105 were found relevant. The data were later analyzed on different parameters.\nFindings: India and Pakistan have started to conduct and publish research on \"Terrorism\" since 1990. However, only five articles were published till 2000. Presently, out of total 105 publications, India contributed 57 (54 per cent) and Pakistan contributed 48 (46 per cent) articles on Terrorism. Majority of the articles (93 per cent) were contributed by the individual researchers without any financial support from the funding agencies. The authorship pattern of the articles revealed that 40.95 per cent (43) articles were contributed by single author, whereas 59.05 per cent (62) were authored in collaboration. In terms of research collaboration, Pakistani authors collaborated with authors of six nations of the world, whereas Indian authors collaborated only with researchers of three countries. Most of the research articles were published from the authors affiliated with universities and other higher educational institutions (64.76 per cent), followed by colleges (12.38 per cent) and other government departments. Most of the articles were published during last five years from 2011-2015 (52.38 per cent), followed by 2006-2010 (28.57 per cent). These articles were published in more than 80 journals and the majority were published from England (36, 34.29 per cent) followed by United States of America (26, 24.76 per cent) and Netherlands (13, 12.38 per cent) simultaneously.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings of the study need to be cautioned as the data were harvested from \"Web of Science\" only.\nPractical implications: The paper is useful for politicians, defense ministries, academicians, researchers and many other interested agencies such as human rights organizations or activists.\nOriginality/value: This is the first paper providing information on research output of India and Pakistan on Terrorism and will serve as bed rock for future research in the field.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Conflict: trends and forms of collective action
|
[
"Collective action",
"Trade unions",
"Coalition building",
"General strikes",
"Strike ballots",
"Strikes"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Just under 50 years ago, in the wake of the 1968-1974 world strike wave, labour-management conflict became a major topic of research both in Britain and elsewhere. Since then levels of industrial conflict have declined dramatically and so too has academic interest in the subject. Despite the widespread persistence of what Shalev (1992) described as \"labour quiescence\", workers' collective action remains a vital topic of study for three reasons. First, strikes have both economic and political ramifications, disrupting revenue flows to employers and, in the case of political strikes, challenging government policies. Second, both strikes and other forms of disruptive collective action reflect the fundamental antagonism at the heart of the employment relationship and their study therefore provides a glimpse into the ongoing conduct of employment relations. Third, the patterns of collective action and their forms of organization provide invaluable information about the labour movement and about the shifting contours of class relations within society (Vandaele, 2011).\nWhat we know about strike activity: Trends in strikes and other forms of collective action\nShifting repertoires of contention?: Dwindling union density represents a decline in the organizational capacity of trade unions, principally membership and finance. This means unions have fewer resources with which to organize both strikes and actions short of a strike, such as overtime bans or working to rule. In countries such as the UK, the USA and Canada (often described as the liberal market economies), reduced collective bargaining coverage means a contraction in the \"opportunity structures\" through which unions can seek to influence employers. Even in some of the coordinated market economies such as Germany there is evidence of reduced bargaining coverage and a decline in the coverage of works councils (Behrens in Frege and Kelly, 2013). But as Gall and Hebdon (2008) have pointed out, declining conflict at work does not entail declining conflict about work. Three questions can therefore be asked about contemporary conflict around work and employment: Are there signs of a significant shift in the types of actors involved in collective action; in the forms of collective action; and in the targets of collective action?\nThe outcomes of collective action: Finally we turn to an issue that has been seriously neglected in the strikes literature and that is their outcomes. The UK Ministry of Labour recorded the outcomes of strikes between 1888 and 1939, categorizing them as \"worker victories, employer victories or compromises\" (Cronin, 1979, pp. 220-221). The only recent study of this issue analysed British strike data 1979-1989 and reported a small positive impact of strikes on pay (Metcalf et al., 1993). However it would make sense for researchers to broaden the focus of enquiry and include the two dimensions of union performance identified by Weil (1997) as key to their effectiveness: leverage (or bargaining power); and organizational capacity. The first category is familiar enough, although it should be analysed in both union-employer relations and union-government relations. Theoretically, there is no reason to assume that union economic power in relation to employers, especially large multinational employers, will necessarily correlate with political power in relation to central or local government. Organizational capacity refers to the internal organization, membership and financial resources and the culture of the union. If we broaden our focus still further, from the union movement to the labour movement, we may also want to explore the impact of strikes on the structure and policies of leftist political parties.\nConclusions: Our knowledge of strike trends and patterns across the advanced capitalist world is detailed and comprehensive. Strike activity, measured by frequency, days lost or workers involved, has declined significantly in most countries during the past 50 years although the rates of decline differ between countries and sectors. Evidence on the use of other forms of collective action in the UK suggests they too have declined, and not increased, as some scholars had suggested. The main correlates of declining strike activity, increased international product market competition, capital mobility and declining union membership, are well understood. Research into collective action will doubtless continue to map the patterns of strike action over time and across sectors but this intellectual agenda is of diminishing interest to employment relations scholars. It therefore seems an appropriate time to refocus research on collective action and ask different kinds of questions. First, what forms of action, in conjunction with, or instead of strikes, are being used by unions to pursue worker interests? Such actions might include demonstrations, petitions, campaigns, both actual and online and lobbying. Second, given the increased use by trade unions of general strikes directed against government, we need to know more about the processes and outcomes of these strikes, particularly in the face of neoliberal governments. Third, we know relatively little about the pattern of outcomes of collective action, both strikes and non-strikes, and their explanation. The term \"outcomes\" should be used broadly to refer to the impact of collective action on substantive union goals, on the organizational capacity of the trade unions, such as membership and finances, and on the labour movement more generally, both trade unions and political parties. These questions are methodologically and theoretically challenging but they are also vitally important, not least for the organizers and advocates of collective action.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the state of knowledge on strikes and collective action.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Review of theoretical and empirical literature, including comparative literature.\nFindings: Both strike activity and other forms of collective action have declined in many advanced capitalist countries. There has been a rise in the number of strike ballots and in tribunal claims but these trends do not constitute a straightforward vindication of the displacement hypothesis. However there is evidence of an increase in general strikes in parts of Western Europe and of protest campaigns involving coalitions of unions and civil society organizations.\nOriginality/value: The paper tries to summarize the current state of knowledge and to map out directions for future research.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Improving hospital care: are learning organizations the answer?
|
[
"Hospitals",
"Leadership",
"Organizational theory",
"Medical professions",
"Methodology",
"Management theory"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Hospitals are subject to reform and ongoing change as funding and government bodies seek better value from health funds, and as consumer expectations rise (Joiner et al., 2011). Hospital leaders are being challenged to become more consumer-oriented, more interprofessional in their approach to care and more focused on outcome measures and continuous quality improvement.\nThe concept of a learning organization: Although some have argued that the learning organization is not a new concept and to describe it as such does not appropriately recognized the learning that occurred in organizations in the 1800-1950s (Gronhaug and Stone, 2012), the learning organization, as a phenomenon, was popularized by Senge (1990, 1991, 1996).\nThe hospital as a learning organization: A scan of the literature reveals that the concept of the learning organization has been applied to hospitals and other health care institutions (Bell et al., 2013; Birleson, 1998, 1999; Rowley, 2006). However, it is not known to what extent this concept has been linked to hospitals and with what outcomes. Consolidating, mapping and synthesizing the literature on hospitals as learning organizations could be used to develop a preliminary conceptual framework. This exercise would assist in extracting common themes from the findings into three key areas of particular importance to hospitals: implementation of best practices, improving interprofessional care and continuous quality improvement that could serve as potential benchmark indicators for measuring continuous quality improvement.\nLearning organizations in practice: The development of a conceptual framework could include the characteristics of hospitals as learning organizations; the key elements of success, including the culture of success; how the term \"learning organization\" is used, by whom and for what purpose; and case examples of hospitals as learning organizations. For example, Birleson (1998) describes how the Maroondah Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services took steps to becoming a learning organization. Becoming a learning organization was deemed as a solution to the problem of continual change and increasing consumer expectations. Through the use of a case study methodology, the author described how the principles of learning organizations have been applied within their hospital. An action research approach to change was used to support the process of aligning the structure and culture of the hospital with the concept of the learning organization. Although the findings are still preliminary, several positive outcomes emerged as a result of implementing learning organization principles, such as: newly implemented workload benchmarks have increased output, a patient satisfaction study has established a baseline for quality improvement, healthcare providers receive monthly feedback about workload activities, student placements are evaluated, external research grant funding increased, and team meetings have been altered to increase dialogue and sharing among team members. The author concludes that the concept of the learning organization seems to be appropriate for improving their mental health service.\nConclusion: Hospitals are structured to provide opportunities for clinical care and education for patients, along with clinical education and training of future and current health care providers (Aston et al., 2012) within an environment in which research and innovation are core activities. Hospital administrators are expected to encourage and support knowledge translation and exchange activities, such as translating new knowledge into cost-effective best practices, developing new frameworks for delivering optimal care and innovating interventions and medications to improve treatments and health outcomes (Oborn et al., 2013; Sox, 2011). This viewpoint paper considered whether the concept of learning organizations can provide a framework for measuring these activities to improve hospital care.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Hospital leaders are being challenged to become more consumer-oriented, more interprofessional in their approach to care and more focused on outcome measures and continuous quality improvement. The concept of the learning organization could provide the conceptual framework necessary for understanding and addressing these various challenges in a systematic way. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A scan of the literature reveals that this concept has been applied to hospitals and other health care institutions, but it is not known to what extent this concept has been linked to hospitals and with what outcomes. To bridge this gap, the question of whether learning organizations are the answer to improving hospital care needs to be considered. Hospitals are knowledge-intensive organizations in that there is a need for constant updating of the best available evidence and the latest medical techniques. It is widely acknowledged that learning may become the only sustainable competitive advantage for organizations, including hospitals.\nFindings: With the increased demand for accountability for quality care, fiscal responsibility and positive patient outcomes, exploring hospitals as learning organizations is timely and highly relevant to senior hospital administrators responsible for integrating best practices, interprofessional care and quality improvement as a primary means of achieving these outcomes.\nOriginality/value: To date, there is a dearth of research on hospitals as learning organizations as it relates to improving hospital care.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Exploring the adoption of mobile internet services by socioeconomically disadvantaged people: A qualitative user study
|
[
"Enablers",
"Digital inequality",
"Technology acceptance",
"Inhibitors",
"Disadvantaged people",
"Mobile internet services"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Individuals have increasingly used smartphones in recent years (Source Digit, 2012); worldwide, mobile phones have overtaken personal computers (PCs) as the most common device for accessing the internet (Gartner Inc., 2010). Resultantly, a variety of mobile applications have been launched in domains including social media, finance, education, entertainment, health, and government (Mosa et al., 2012; Zarmpou et al., 2012; Hoehle et al., 2015). The Android market featured over one million apps and 50 million downloads in 2013; in 2014, smartphone users accessed an average 26.7 mobile apps, on which they spent an average of 37 hours and 28 minutes per month (Nielsen, 2015). Mobile internet applications - small programs that run on a mobile device (such as smartphones and tablets) and perform services ranging from banking to gaming and web browsing - have clearly become a common channel for individuals to access multiple self-services (Adipat et al., 2011; Liu and Li, 2011; Zhou, 2012); indeed, they have become both pervasive and integral to modern life.\n2. Related studies: This section reviews the literature in two areas: disadvantaged people's interactions with smartphones in the information behavior community, and individual acceptance of information technology in the information system (IS) adoption community.\n3. Research method: Quantitative modeling approaches have dominated research in IS acceptance. In contrast, a qualitative methodology commonly used by information behavior community is employed here, utilizing semi-structured interviews to generate detailed data on disadvantaged people's perceptions of mobile internet services (Table II). This approach is particularly valuable for research with socioeconomically disadvantaged and \"vulnerable\" groups because it gives a \"voice\" to participants, allowing them to define what is relevant and important to understanding their experiences (Dickson-Swift et al., 2007).\n4. Results: 4.1 Demographic and socioeconomic profiles of participants\n5. Discussion: This qualitative study used interviews to explore socioeconomically disadvantaged people's decisions whether (or not) to adopt mobile internet services. It added to the existing knowledge base on mobile internet adoption by focusing on disadvantaged potential users and non-users. This topic is worthy of study because the majority of socioeconomically disadvantaged people are non-users of such services, and because the motivations and inhibitors of the \"late majority\" and \"laggards\" may differ from those of the \"early adopters\" and \"early majority,\" which currently dominate the field of information technology adoption. We identified enabling and inhibiting factors in four key categories: smartphone-related characteristics, service system-related factors, user-related factors, and factors relating to social surroundings (Table VI).\n6. Conclusion: Given the increasingly important role of the mobile internet in education, healthcare, entertainment, and other essential services, it is important that we develop an understanding of disadvantaged people's interactions with mobile internet services. The results highlight that because of the characteristics of escaping spatiotemporal constraints and lower cost, smartphones have great potential for bridging the digital divide for this under-served demographic. Most of the study's participants held a positive attitude toward mobile internet services, with high levels of PU and relative advantage. However, they also expressed some concerns about mobile internet connection, service system quality, and psychological barriers. Mobile data providers could consider reducing the cost of mobile data packages, providing cheaper home Wi-Fi for socioeconomically disadvantaged people, or offering free Wi-Fi internet access at more public institutions and places. Mobile app designers could improve their services by simplifying online help tutorials; providing winning records and communication features; reducing irrelevant advertisements; and offering font magnifiers and voice services for elderly people. The results also revealed some enablers that could be leveraged. A positive initial experience is very important for combating technophobia. As such, service providers should offer a supportive and comfortable learning environment and give new users essential guidance. Family members, friends, and colleagues play a significant role in users' acceptance intention. These social influence mechanisms could be leveraged to motivate socioeconomically disadvantaged people's use of mobile internet services.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify enablers and inhibitors to the adoption of mobile internet services by socioeconomically disadvantaged people: an understudied population adversely affected by digital inequality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative study combining a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. In total, 32 socioeconomically disadvantaged people explored mobile lottery services and subsequently were asked a series of semi-structured questions about their perceptions of the technology.\nFindings: Users' attitudes toward mobile internet services were ambivalent. They experienced some advantages of smartphones (including escaping spatiotemporal constrains, fashionableness, privacy, and cost-effectiveness) and conceived of mobile internet services in terms of social advantages (including their ubiquitous nature, fitting in socially and fear of being \"left behind\"). However, they also experienced barriers and concerns, such as limited mobile data packages, external barriers from mobile services (including security concerns, complex online help tutorials, irrelevant pop-ups, and a lack of personalized services) and internal psychological barriers (including technophobia, self-concept, and habitus).\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings are of limited generalizability due to the small size of the sample. However, the study has implications for understanding the acceptance of technology among socioeconomically disadvantaged people.\nSocial implications: The study has social implications for bridging digital inequality in terms of socioeconomic status.\nOriginality/value: While previous studies have primarily focused on enablers of adopting mobile internet services by active users, this study reveals both the promise of and the barriers to the use of such services by inactive users who comprise an under-served population.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Performance management of the public healthcare services in Ireland: a review
|
[
"Performance management",
"Ireland",
"Hospital performance indicators",
"Irish healthcare",
"The HSE strategy",
"Health service executive"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Healthcare managers and teams around the world - particularly those working in public healthcare systems - are facing ever more complicated challenges when it comes to decisions about effectiveness and efficiency. Public healthcare organisations in many developed countries are striving to manage the widening gap between increasing service demands and their constrained resources, at the same time as seeking to improve their quality of care and public health generally. A variety of studies have highlighted the alarming range of challenges facing healthcare systems, including increasing costs and patient demands. The Irish population is growing: life expectancy is improving and mortality is decreasing (HSE, 2005a): if trends continue as expected, the population will increase by at least 20 per cent over the coming decade (HSE, 2005b), and the percentage of people over 65 will double in the next 20 years (Gannon et al., 2007). At the same time, current recessionary pressures have led to more budget cuts and more people became entitled to a general medical services card (entitles the holder to many healthcare services free of charge) and/or healthcare allowances. Irish healthcare leaders are working hard to enhance the levels of communication and trust between management and clinicians, aiming to encourage them to work successfully together to improve and rationalise the Irish healthcare system (Collins and Joyce, 2008). Managing these challenges requires the continual implementation of healthcare system reforms, using performance management (PM) approaches to define strategies and objectives, and developing reliable ways to measure, monitor, and analyse the performance of those systems.\n2. Literature review: 2.1. PM development\n3. Methodology: Reviewing the operation of PM in public healthcare organisations to enhance our understanding of how BSC theory has been integrated into such frameworks is not an easy task, and needs in-depth qualitative analyses of their PM processes over a reasonable time-period. The aim of this paper is to review how PM is practiced in public healthcare organisations so as to aid our understanding of how BSC is integrated into their frameworks, with a particular focus on the HSE in Ireland. This study is based on a qualitative approach via a single-case study (Yin, 2009), a methodology that aims to facilitate the understanding of a phenomenon embedded in its context by allowing for \"how\" and \"why\" type questions to be addressed using various data sources, including documents and archival records (Baxter and Jack, 2008). Our case study research examines healthcare in Ireland at the national level over an eight-year period from 2005 to 2013. The Irish HSE adopted a PM framework based on BSC in 2008, and used this framework as a central device for communicating and deploying its strategies. We use the relevant HSE's publications from 2005 to 2013 as our secondary data source for review purposes. Our main focus while selecting these data were on the publications related to the HSE national strategy plans that were released every three years, along with the annual plans that set out its annual agendas based on those overall strategies. We also collected additional data about some PM components identified in these publications, such as HealthStat and CompStat.\n4. Findings of the review of HSE PM: 4.1. Strategy development\n5. Discussion: Over the last decade, healthcare reforms in Ireland have been through three main strategies, which have focused on the major factors that challenge healthcare provision (e.g. economic pressures and population health challenges). The first strategy (2005-2008) was structured into goals that were broken down into sub-goals, each of which were associated with a number of key actions and deliverables, and PIs were included in annual plans. The second strategy (2008-2011) came in the form of goals and KRAs, each of which were associated with KPIs, key actions, and key outcomes. The third phase - the Future Health strategy (2012-2015) - was built around four pillars, three of which focused on achieving significant changes in the current forms of service, structure and financial factors, while the fourth concerned general societal health and wellbeing.\n6. Conclusions: There is a limited research effort that addresses the PM of Irish healthcare system since the HSE institution (Byrne, 2006; Carrick et al., 2013). This study, which draws on an analysis of relevant HSE's publications from 2005 to 2013 and data from annual national service/operational plans, constitutes a review of PM practices in Irish healthcare, with a main focus on national hospitals' PM processes.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Performance Management (PM) processes have become a potent part of strategic and service quality decisions in healthcare organisations. In 2005, the management of public healthcare in Ireland was amalgamated into a single integrated management body, named the Health Service Executive (HSE). Since then, the HSE has come up with a range of strategies for healthcare developments and reforms, and has developed a PM system as part of its strategic planning. The purpose of this paper is to review the application of PM in the Irish Healthcare system, with a particular focus on Irish Hospitals and Emergency Services.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An extensive review of relevant HSE's publications from 2005 to 2013 is conducted. Studies of the relevant literature related to the application of PM and of international best practices in healthcare performance systems are also presented.\nFindings: PM and performance measurement systems used by the HSE include many performance reports designed to monitor performance trends and strategic goals. Issues in the current PM system include inconsistency of measures and performance reporting, unclear strategy alignment, and deficiencies in reporting (e.g. feedback and corrective actions). Furthermore, PM processes have not been linked adequately into Irish public hospitals' management systems.\nResearch limitations/implications: The HSE delivers several services such as mental health, social inclusion, etc. This study focuses on the HSE's PM framework, with a particular interest in acute hospitals and emergency services.\nOriginality/value: This is the first comprehensive review of Irish healthcare PM since the introduction of the HSE. A critical analysis of the HSE reports identifies the shortcomings in its current PM system.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Gender differentials and implicit feedback on online video content: enhancing user interest evaluation
|
[
"Online video",
"User experience",
"Gender differentials",
"Implicit feedback",
"User interest"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Online video delivers content on demand to inform and entertain an ever-growing number of viewers, with improved internet accessibility further extending the reach of these videos. A near unlimited bank of videos exists for every niche market, and that bank is continuously increasing (Shehu et al., 2016). However, attempts to understand the appeal of this content to its viewers predominantly focus on the reviews provided by individuals who take the time to supply comments. Inherently, this divests the opinion from the viewing, and produces many biases (Claypool et al., 2001). Implicit feedback attains the opinion of viewers as they view digital content, thereby accurately collecting reaction data for conversion into opinions (Tian et al., 2015). This paper contributes to the process of converting implicit data into the interest measure that is needed by content providers, host websites and other video users to inform their future designs, site contents and viewing choices. It delivers this through a comprehensive analysis of implicit feedback measures, evaluating the power of these measures as indicators of interest. This paper also reviews the role of gender as a mediator in the evaluation (Baker et al., 2007; Liu and Huang, 2008; Liu, 2016), as this is a predominantly ignored area, yet an area that is essential if the captured implicit feedback is to be correctly understood.\n2. Background: 2.1 Measures of implicit feedback\n3. Data: This paper's data were taken from online observations of 44 college students at a southern Chinese public university. Chinese industry data (CNSA, 2015) indicate that the 26 male and 18 female respondents were typical of the 18- to 29-year-old individuals who comprise one-third of China's viewers. Almost half of these are college students, which renders this a research-accessible and representative sample. This study used Youku.com because it is one of the largest video-hosting website in China. In January 2018, Youku.com was ranked the highest among Chinese online video service providers, followed by qq.com and iqiyi.com (Statista, 2018a, b). Consequently, it was highly likely that the students would know the site and be familiar with its operation; this control ensured that dwell time was not due to uncertainty about site layout. Janiszewski (1998) contended that search behaviour falls broadly into two categories: goal-directed and exploratory. This study considered the latter, as it aimed to be sure that the users were offering their first reaction to a video.\n4. Logistic regression analysis: Given that the interest measure was a dummy, it followed that this study should employ a binary dependent variable specification. The researchers selected logistic regression for its simple interpretation and ability to cope with small samples. Logistic regression is also quick to compute, compared with other probabilistic models, meaning that it can be implemented with real-time data if forming the base of selective content display algorithms in the way that other feedback structures often do. An alternative approach would be to employ structural equation modelling and partial least squares estimation (Chin, 1998). While this is effective when relationships between variables are to be imposed, the researchers did not wish to force structure and had sufficient observations for the interest probability to be well specified.\n5. Discussion: The results demonstrated gender differentials in cursor movement behaviour, explainable via well-studied splits in personality, biological factors and cognitive strategies. Consequently, the implicit feedback gleaned must be presented by controlling for gender in a way that previous works did not. Males are more impatient and self-focussed, and less sensitive to environmental and differentiating factors (Meyers-Levy and Loken, 2015); thus, they are more likely to drag the cursor to the progress bar at the bottom of the AOI to fast-forward a video when they find the video uninteresting, thereby resulting in a lower minimum value for the y coordinate. In contrast, female sensitivity to detail and environmental factors enables them to focus more on the pursuit of a perfect viewing experience (Rodgers and Harris, 2003; Berney-Reddish and Areni, 2006; Meyers-Levy and Loken, 2015); thus, if they are attracted by a video, they may make a few adjustments to the control options at the bottom of the AOI to obtain the optimal experience. For example, they may turn off subtitles or adjust volume levels, which also contribute to the minimum value of the y coordinate, and its significance in this study's regressions supports this.\n6. Limitations of the study: While selection of college students ensures coverage of the largest video site usership demographic, there are other major groups - such as people aged 30-39 years - whose behaviour would be of significant interest to the industry. Future studies should consider other groups to gain an objective understanding of the role of implicit feedback in predicting video users' interest in a more robust fashion.\n7. Conclusions and implications: This study has demonstrated that recognising gender differentials when interpreting implicit feedback can deliver great value to all who seek to understand user interest in video content. This work offers a solution to the sparsity of work on implicit feedback, thereby contributing to the literature that combines explicit and implicit feedback. It also contributes to the examination of gender differences in user interactions with video websites. The findings demonstrate that gender differences in personality, biological factors, primitive behaviour and emotion management can all lead to behavioural differences between males and females in web video viewing. The differences are represented by different types of implicit feedback; thus, each specific mode of implicit feedback plays a different role in predicting males' and females' interest. Therefore, this study proves the necessity of video user segmentation based on demographic characteristics. It establishes the foundation for better designed video recommendation algorithms based on implicit feedback and readily observed user characteristics.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Exponential growth in online video content makes viewing choice and video promotion increasingly challenging. While explicit recommendation systems have value, they inherently distract the user from normal behaviour and are open to numerous biases. To enhance user interest evaluation accuracy, the purpose of this paper is to comprehensively examine the relationship between implicit feedback and online video content, and reviews gender differentials in the interest indicated by a comprehensive set of viewer responses.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper includes 200 useable observations based on an experiment of user interaction with the Youku platform (one of the largest video-hosting websites in China). Logistic regression was employed for its simple interpretation to test the proposed hypotheses.\nFindings: The findings demonstrate gender differentials in cursor movement behaviour, explainable via well-studied splits in personality, biological factors, primitive behaviour and emotion management. This work offers a solution to the sparsity of work on implicit feedback, contributing to the literature that combines explicit and implicit feedback.\nPractical implications: This study offers a launch point for further work on human-computer interaction, and highlights the importance of looking beyond individual metrics to embrace wider human traits in video site design and implementation.\nOriginality/value: This paper links implicit feedback to online video content for the first time, and demonstrates its value as an interest capturing tool. By reviewing gender differentials in the interest indicated by a comprehensive set of viewer responses, this paper indicates how user characteristics remain critical. Consequently, this work signposts highly fruitful directions for both practitioners and researchers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Social media: key tools for the future of work-based learning
|
[
"Work‐based learning",
"Web 2.0 tools",
"Distance learning",
"Remote access",
"Practical work",
"Training"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe world of vocational education and training is changing: The internet offers significant operational and cost advantages\nWeb 2.0 technologies and cloud computing: the business case: A new way of building online learning environments\nWeb 2.0 in work-based learning: case studies: Where we are now with online work-based learning\n1. Remote access to practical work for work-based distance learners: The problem\n2. Training the trainers: using web 2.0 in work-based learning: The problem\nSummary and conclusions: This paper has made the case that online distance learning makes complete sense for the future delivery of work-based learning, both from an operational and a financial point of view. It indicates the current state of development in education, which is still at a very early stage, but it also shows that there is a growing consensus in the community of practice about the importance of the internet in the future of education generally and of work-based learning in particular.Social media are becoming increasingly useful in supporting online learners and are much more flexible and adaptable than the learning management systems currently in use by institutions. It is suggested that the online learning environments of the future will be assembled by teaching staff with just the competent desktop computer skills any academic would be expected to have.It may be concluded that the support and management of work-based learning using web 2.0 technologies and cloud computing is likely to become widely adopted to the mutual benefit of all stakeholders.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to demonstrate the potential of web 2.0 tools in the online support of work-based learners.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper provides an overview of the current use and benefits of web 2.0 tools in the support of work-based learners. It includes two case studies that demonstrate, first, how action research is testing the boundaries of online technologies as new tools and functionality emerge and, second, how work-based learning support staff are being trained to use such tools. These case studies are illustrations of how institutions in South Wales, UK are seeking to exploit the benefits of web 2.0 technologies in their drive to improve the support of work-based learners.\nFindings: - The outcomes of the work described in this paper showed that the use of web 2.0 tools enabled online support of work-based learners to include remote access to practical work. It also describes how work-based learning support staff are being trained in the use of the new technologies.\nPractical implications: - There are significant practical implications in this paper. It shows how online distance learning support for work-based learners can include remote access to practical work through the use of web 2.0 tools. This has always been a problem for the distance learning support of vocational subjects and indicates that such support will continue to improve as new web 2.0 functionality emerges.\nOriginality/value: - The original value in the paper is: the remote access to practical work for work-based learners using web 2.0 tools; and the online support of WBL trainers in their use of web 2.0 tools\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Rethinking the marginalisation thesis: An evaluation of the socio-spatial variations in undeclared work in the European Union
|
[
"European Union",
"Employee relations",
"Unemployment",
"Shadow economy",
"Taxes",
"Informal economy",
"Informal sector"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For several decades, the dominant view has been that marginalised populations disproportionately participate in undeclared work (Ahmad, 2008; Castree et al., 2004; Katungi et al., 2006). This marginalisation thesis views not only people living in marginalised areas, such as less affluent countries and peripheral rural areas, as more likely to engage in undeclared work (ILO, 2012, 2014), but also marginalised socio-economic groups, such as women, unemployed people and immigrants (Brill, 2011; Slavnic, 2010; Taiwo, 2013). Until now, however, the only evidence supporting this marginalisation thesis is small-scale surveys in particular localities or populations (Kesteloot and Meert, 1999; Leonard, 1994; Stanculescu, 2005). The aim of this paper therefore, is to evaluate critically this marginalisation thesis for the first time using an extensive cross-national survey involving 26,659 face-to-face interviews across the 27 member states of the European Union (EU-27).\nExplaining socio-economic and spatial variations in undeclared work: Two contrasting views prevail regarding the socio-economic and spatial variations in undeclared work, namely the marginalisation and reinforcement theses. Here, we review each in turn.\nMethodology: To evaluate critically the dominant marginalisation thesis and the counter-narrative of the reinforcement thesis, we here use the Special Eurobarometer No. 284 (\"Undeclared work in the European Union\"), conducted as part of wave 67.3 of Eurobarometer, in all 27 EU member states. Employing the same sampling methodology as other Eurobarometer surveys, 26,659 interviews were conducted during May and June 2007 on a face-to-face basis, with some 500 conducted in smaller countries and 1,500 in larger nations. In every country, a multi-stage random (probability) sampling methodology was used. The weighting process used ensures that on the issues of gender, age, region and locality size, the sample was proportionate to the universe in each country. For the univariate analysis therefore, we employed the sampling weighting scheme as the literature suggests (Solon et al., 2013; Winship and Radbill, 1994; Sharon and Liu, 1994). For the multivariate analysis, however, there is a debate over whether such a weighting scheme should be used (Solon et al., 2013; Winship and Radbill, 1994; Sharon and Liu, 1994; Pfeffermann, 1993). Given that the vast majority of this literature specifies that weighting is not recommended, we here decided not to use the weighting scheme for the multivariate analysis.\nFindings: socio-spatial variations in undeclared work: Of the 26,659 face-to-face interviews conducted, and as Table I displays, 4.45 per cent of participants reported engaging in undeclared work during the past 12 months. A further 3.3 per cent refused to answer or said that they did not know. Even if undeclared work is a sensitive issue and differences between the reported and real situation of undeclared work might be significant, meaning that these may be under-estimates, some 1 in 22 citizens of the EU self-reported that they had participated in undeclared work in the past year. Of those doing so, 81 per cent had received money, 11 per cent had been remunerated in-kind and 6 per cent had been remunerated both in money and in-kind. Some 16 per cent of those engaging in undeclared work had carried out this activity only once, 50 per cent a few times and 32 per cent regularly. The majority of undeclared work therefore, is not a one-off odd job but undertaken on a more regular basis.\nWhich socio-spatial factors are related to undeclared work?: We here analyse the hypothesis that participation in undeclared work varies according to socio-demographic variables (gender, age, political views, marital status, age when stopped full time education, birthplace, parent's birthplace, people 15+ years in own household, number of children, tax morality index), socio-economic variables (employment status) and spatial characteristics (region, area respondent lives). Given the hierarchical structure of the data (individuals nested within countries), for the multivariate analysis, we employ a multilevel model. As the dependent variable is dichotomous, we use a multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression (Snijders and Bosker, 2012). Indeed, the likelihood-ratio test for the null hypothesis that there are no cross-country variations in undeclared work reports that this hypothesis can be safely rejected. Therefore, the multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression should be the one used.\nDiscussion and conclusions: To evaluate the marginalisation thesis, this paper has reported the results of a 2007 survey involving 26,659 face-to-face interviews in the 27 member states of the EU. Using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis, this has revealed some support for the marginalisation thesis, especially when considering the socio-demographic characteristics of undeclared workers. Younger age groups are significantly more likely to engage in undeclared work as are those not married and those more tolerant of undeclared work (who are marginalised in the sense that their values and attitudes do not conform to those of the codes, regulations and laws of the formal institutions). The fact that those living in the peripheral rural areas conduct more undeclared work than those in urban areas also supports the marginalisation thesis. No evidence is found to support the marginalisation (or reinforcement) thesis, however, so far as migrant populations being more likely to participate in undeclared work are concerned. Contrary to the marginalisation thesis and in support of the reinforcement thesis nevertheless, men are found to be significantly more likely to conduct undeclared work than women, as are younger age groups. So too are those in declared employment more likely to engage in undeclared work than the unemployed and those living in more affluent EU region of the Nordic nations.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate critically the \"marginalisation\" thesis, which holds that marginalised populations disproportionately participate in undeclared work. Until now, the evidence that participation in undeclared work is higher in marginalised areas (e.g. peripheral rural localities) and marginalised socio-economic groups (e.g. the unemployed, immigrant populations and women) has come from mostly small-scale surveys of particular localities and population groups. There have been no extensive quantitative surveys. Here, the intention is to fill this gap.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To do this, we report a 2007 survey of participation in undeclared work involving 26,659 face-to-face interviews conducted in 27 European Union (EU) member states.\nFindings: The finding is that the marginalisation thesis is valid when discussing younger people and those living in peripheral rural areas; they are more likely to participate in undeclared work. However, there is no significant association between immigrant populations and participation in undeclared work. Moreover, a reinforcement thesis, which holds that the undeclared economy reinforces the spatial and socio-economic disparities produced by the declared economy, applies when considering those with fewer years in education, women, the unemployed and less affluent European regions; they have lower participation rates than higher educated people, men, the employed and affluent European regions.\nResearch limitations/implications: The outcome is a call for a more nuanced understanding of the marginalisation thesis as valid for some marginalised populations but not others. Whether similar findings prevail at other spatial scales and in other global regions now needs investigating.\nPractical implications: This survey displays that although it is appropriate to target some marginalised populations when tackling undeclared work, this is not valid for others (e.g. immigrant populations, the unemployed, those living in less affluent EU regions).\nOriginality/value: The first extensive evaluation of whether marginalised populations are more likely to participate in undeclared work.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Determinants of organizational performance: a proposed framework
|
[
"Organizational performance",
"Employee performance",
"Leadership competencies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The potential success of a business depends on its organizational performance, which means its ability to effectively implement strategies to achieve institutional objectives (Randeree and Al Youha, 2009). Several variables constitute organizational performance, such as business model effectiveness, efficiency, and outcomes (Deshpande et al., 1997; Boyatzis and Ratti, 2009; Ryan et al., 2009). The performance of any organization depends in large part on the level of skill its leaders possess when it comes to implementing strategies. Silva (2014) described the essence of leadership as a conditional relationship that exists between a manager and his or her followers. Given that there are always hurdles to achieving organizational goals, it is important that the techniques that leaders use be flexible enough to accommodate change. The performance of an organization also depends on its employees, who are a key part of the organization and form the team that works toward achieving the organization's goals. The concept of leadership is often incorporated within the context of a virtual team (Mukherjee et al., 2012). Virtual teams are established by leaders to ensure achievement of a specific goal. Notably, research indicates that virtual teams cannot succeed without effective leadership (Pech, 2003). Cognitive competencies of both teams and leaders are also considered vital for effective organizational performance.\n2. Literature review: This paper uses a systematic review of articles on the factors that influence organizational performance. We conducted a systematic review to collect and summarize all empirical evidence from the literature that fits the context of this study. This approach was used because it does not consider statistical data analysis and findings summarization as it is with meta-analysis (Transfield et al., 2003). Two key steps were followed: selecting studies and databases and setting inclusion (Alderson et al., 2004; McLean and Antony, 2014). Peer-reviewed literature, book chapters, and journals were the key sources of data and information about the determinants of organizational performance. We used two steps to select the relevant literature. The first step involved searching articles using databases such as EBSCOhost, Elsevier's Science Direct, and Emerald in the fields of business and strategic management and managerial, industrial, and organizational psychology. We selected documents that discussed organizational performance, leadership and employee competencies. The second step, citations of the identified sources from the first step were used to define the literature scope. Through this approach, we found 243 articles to be relevant to this research. After screening the articles depending on their title and abstract, we excluded 120 of the articles. We then conducted a detailed study on the remaining 123 articles; 48 articles did not satisfy the study's inclusion criteria. The remaining 75 articles satisfied our inclusion criteria; we chose them for this research and discuss them further in the sections below.\n3. A proposed framework: This section of the paper presents a proposed framework that includes all the themes covered in the review of the literature, which concluded that cognitive, social, and EI competencies influence overall leadership competencies. Moreover, leadership competencies have a significant influence on employees' performance, which influences the overall performance of any given organization (Figure 1).\n4. Implications of the study: 4.1. Theoretical implications\n5. Conclusions: The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework that represents the determinants of organizational performance. This study concludes that leadership competency is an important variable in the success of any organization. Based on the proposed framework, leadership competency can be improved through the application of cognitive, social, and EI. In combination, these determine the effectiveness of the leader; they also provide measures that might more easily identify effective leaders.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on determinants that influence organizational performance and to develop a framework that could be beneficial for leaders.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper uses a systematic review of articles on the factors that influence organizational performance. The purpose of this systematic review is to collect and summarize all empirical evidence from literature that fits the context of this study.\nFindings: The findings of the study have been weaved together in a proposed framework for the role of cognitive, emotional, and social competencies on leadership competencies that in turn influence both employee and organizational performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper is a literature review, a framework on the determinants of organizational performance has been proposed but has not yet been tested empirically.\nPractical implications: Leaders can leverage the results of this study to enhance their leadership competencies for the purpose of improving the performance on both individual employee and organizational levels.\nOriginality/value: There are few research-based studies on the determinants of organizational performance. This paper has identified key variables that play a significant role in helping organizations perform effectively.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Exploring the relationship between service orientation, employee engagement and perceived leadership style: a study of managers in the private service sector organizations in India
|
[
"Leadership",
"Customer service",
"Service orientation",
"Employee engagement",
"MLQ",
"Service sector India"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The growth of the Indian economy and its rise in a global context owes in a large way to the emergence and contributions of the services sector. Triggered by policy reforms, globalization, greater integration into the World Trade Organization, inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) and a gradual decline of the traditionally strong agriculture and manufacturing sectors, the services sector has become the key driver of the Indian economy. The sector grew by 6.6 per cent past year, had a 56.5 per cent share in gross domestic product, provided a quarter of the total employment, accounted for a high share of FDI inflows and over one-third of total exports accrued from it (Economic Survey, 2012/2013).\nLiterature review: Service orientation\nMethodology: Design and sample\nResults and Discussion: The demographic profile of the respondents is captured in Table I. It presents the distribution of respondents in terms of gender, education, age, department, years of experience and location. Among the respondents, the sample has 90 per cent participants with a postgraduate qualification and 77 per cent of them are from the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The sample has a significantly higher number of men (61 per cent) as compared to women. The age profile of the respondents indicates that 74.1 per cent of them are in the age group of less than 35 years and 72.3 per cent of the sample had work experience ranging between 2 to 15 years.\nImplications: It may be concluded from the findings that perceived leadership style has a direct bearing on employee engagement, which in turn has a significant impact on service orientation. Employees who perceive their superior's leadership style as transformational are more engaged and thus are more service oriented. Therefore, an organization and its leaders need to invest in building employee engagement in case they intend to inculcate employees with higher service orientation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between leadership, employee engagement and service orientation, specific to the private service sector organizations in India. The paper also explores the ability of leadership style and engagement to predict service orientation in the given cross section.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper has used a single cross-sectional descriptive design. Purposive sampling has been used to identify respondents who are managers in the private service sector organisations in India. A valid sample size of 106 has been used for the analysis. Instruments used for perceived leadership style are as follows: Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X short form); Employee Engagement E3 (DDI) and Service Orientation (Frimpong and Wilson, 2012).\nFindings: Service orientation is found to be strongly correlated to employee engagement and employee engagement is a strong predictor of service orientation. The other relationships which are significant and moderately correlated are that of transformational leadership and employee engagement and also of transformational leadership and service orientation.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study highlights the importance and significant role of leadership and employee engagement for higher service orientation in the given cross section. The mediating impact of employee engagement of the leadership style and service orientation relationship could be further explored through path analysis or structured equation modeling techniques.\nPractical implications: The research emphasizes that organizations need to focus on employee engagement as much as they focus on customers. The differential advantage to organizations will come through the employees and their behaviors towards customers. Appropriate leadership styles that drive engagement and service-oriented behaviors can be fostered in organizations to drive service performance. The mediating impact of employee engagement of the leadership style and service orientation relationship could be further explored through path analysis or structured equation modeling techniques.\nOriginality/value: The research is focused in the private service sector organizations in India and data and results support the need to focus on employees for higher scores on customer parameters. The respondents are from a cross section of service organizations and, hence, emphasizing the interplay of the three variables across organizations. The paper supports the critical role of leadership and employees in creating a higher service orientation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
How an organization's ethical climate contributes to customer satisfaction and financial performance : Perceived organizational innovation perspective
|
[
"Organizational culture",
"Organizational innovation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: It is well recognized that unethical business conduct is detrimental not only to organizations' performance but also to their survival (Evans et al., 2012; Ramsey et al., 2007). Researchers have posited that a substantial portion of organizations' unethical behavior is caused by an organization's ethical climate (Peterson, 2004). Ethical climate is generally defined as the prevailing perceptions of typical organizational practices and procedures that have ethical content (Martin and Cullen, 2006; Victor and Cullen, 1988). In other words, an ethical climate refers to employees' collective perception of how their organizations are ethical, and provides employees with information on what are ethically right or wrong behaviors within organizations (Barnett and Vaicys, 2000; Martin and Cullen, 2006).\n2. Literature review and hypotheses development: 2.1 An organization's ethical climate, customer satisfaction, and financial performance\n3. Methods: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Results: Table II and III indicates the overall results of our testing hypotheses. First, H1a and H1b predicted that an organization's ethical climate would be positively related to customer satisfaction and financial performance. As seen in Model 2 of Table I, an organization's ethical climate was positively related to both customer satisfaction (b=0.56, p<0.001) and ROI (b=0.55, p<0.001). Additionally, the Cohen's f\n5. Discussion: Drawing on stakeholder theory, organizational innovation, and organizational behavior-related theory, the present study aimed to theoretically explain and empirically test why an ethical climate increases organizational performance. We found that employees' perceived innovation mediated the positive influence of an organization's ethical climate on customer satisfaction and financial performance. In addition, employees' organizational commitment and climate for innovation played linking roles in the relationship between an ethical climate and perceived organizational innovation. In summary, our study has contributed to the ethical climate literature by examining how an ethical climate leads to higher customer satisfaction and financial performance through identifying the mediating mechanism of perceived organizational innovation, and conducting empirical tests at the organizational level by utilizing the aggregated perception of an ethical climate as well as objective performance data. In this section, we further specifically highlight the theoretical and practical implications of the current study along with directions for future research.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Researchers in the field of business ethics have posited that an organization's ethical climate can benefit for employees as well as organizations. However, most of the prior research has been conducted at the level of the individual, not organization. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine how an organization's ethical climate has a positive influence on two its performance indicators - customer satisfaction and financial performance - with a perspective of organizational innovation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data were collected from 29 subsidiaries of a conglomerate in South Korea. Hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares (PLS).\nFindings: The result showed that an organization's ethical climate was positively related to customer satisfaction as well as financial performance, and this relationship was mediated by perceived organizational innovation. Additionally, the positive influence of an ethical climate on employees' perceived organizational innovation was mediated by their organizational commitment and the climate for innovation.\nOriginality/value: With a focus on innovation, the study explained how an organization's ethical climate influences customer satisfaction and financial performance. Furthermore, as was the case in studies conducted in other developed countries, the results derived from South Korea sample demonstrated that an ethical climate is critical for organizational performances in developing countries.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Missed opportunities: two case studies of digitalization of FM in hospitals
|
[
"Scandinavia",
"Facilities management",
"BIM",
"Hospitals",
"Digitalization",
"FM software"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: A new wave of optimism for information and communication technology (ICT) is targeting contemporary organizations and facilities management (FM) organizations under the banner of digitization (Atkin and Bildsten, 2017). Yet, throughout almost four decades of ICT implementation and use in organizations, unsuccessful, complicated or even scandalous cases have been reported (Flyvbjerg and Budzier, 2011; Hastie and Wojewoda, 2015; Landauer, 1996; Sauer and Willcocks, 2007). Often, ICT implementation has turned into protracted processes of internal excessive consumption of resources, be they financial, or often worse, hours of employees' time spent learning and modifying systems and practices (Hastie and Wojewoda, 2015). From this perspective, a sceptical question mark is well placed as to whether digitalization is a panacea for FM organizations (Cordon and Echeveste, 2018). An organization makes an apparently simple purchase of software and ends up spending most on everything else: organizational endorsement, internal processes, responsibility issues, consultancy hours, training, etc. (Flyvbjerg and Budzier, 2011) An implementation of new digital solutions should therefore be done carefully and with proper resources.\nLiterature review: First, digitalization opportunities are identified and then, how the literature deals with contributions to digitalization in FM is discussed. This together constitute our framework of understanding of digitalization of FM.\nMethod: To match the aim of the research, an overall interpretive qualitative approach is adopted. A document and literature study is followed by two qualitative case studies of newly built hospitals in Scandinavia.\nCase A: transformation and extension of a university hospital: Case A is a 22,000 m2 transformation and extension of an existing university hospital in Scandinavia. An area of 13,000 m2 will house polyclinics; test laboratories; day surgical departments, including operating rooms and day care centres; an intensive care department; a rehabilitation department; and clinical-medical laboratories. An area of 8,000 m2 will be demolished and reconstructed. In addition, the existing emergency reception will be improved. In connection with the construction, several renovations will be carried out in the adjacent parts of the building to ensure effective functional relationships between the new building and the existing hospital. The total budgeted cost is EUR170m.\nCase B: a Greenfield regional hospital in Denmark: Case B is part of a 140,000 m2 design of a new regional university hospital in Denmark at 29,200 m2. The total budget is EUR0.5bn, and the overall design and construction project is divided into several associated subprojects. This case mainly covers subproject 2, which includes design of two buildings: a multi-storey rectangular building, which will accommodate the somatic departments, including cancer, neurology and day surgery, and a two-storey building for a service centre, including kitchen and laundry, which will support the entire hospital. The construction of the buildings is on-going until 2020.\nDiscussion: Below, the two cases are first discussed separately and then compared.\nRecommendations: The most important takeaway from the two cases is that the client must play an active role to succeed. There is a need to prepare management, organization and competences for digitalization.\nConclusions: missed opportunities: This paper investigates the enabling and constraining elements of digital FM in new hospital projects in Scandinavia. Drawing on recent research, it was observed that creating new buildings appeared to be an important opportunity for hospital O&M functions to leverage their digitalization level. A framework of understanding was developed through literature study, finding a range of technologies supporting digitalization of FM. This includes state-of-the-art CAFM systems, BIM, other software that support operations, big data technologies, the IoT, augmented reality, digital twins, blockchains and building information standards. However, there is a strong need to commence realizing digitalizations by creating digitalization strategies and operational hybrid practices in which competences, organization and management are developed, which, together with the technologies, can create digitalization that performs in practice. The two cases show that many opportunities related to new built are not taken up, i.e. the opportunities are missed. BIM models are not integrated sufficiently, and classification is not done fully, even if the development of national standards for classification of building systems, elements and components has progressed over recent years, and the different systems also are more aligned and consistent than earlier. One big challenge is that if the systems used in the design and construction phase are not aligned to the CAFM system used in the hospital, all the information collected either will not be used or will have to be imported using unnecessary time and resources. In the end, this can be interpreted as a question of lack of structure and coherence. The two cases demonstrated on the one hand the state-of-the-art CAFM system in operation, and on the other hand, digitalization in the sense of our framework has yet to really commence. The transformation of these solutions into workable support for FM will be a long process.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Digital practices of facility management (FM) are undergoing transformation. Several Nordic countries have ambitious hospital-building projects, driven by large public clients with long-term experience of operating complex building campuses. There is thus an opportunity for creating state-of-the-art digital FM. This paper aims to investigate the role of digital FM in new hospital projects in Scandinavia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on a literature review, a framework of understanding of digital FM in hospital operation is established. Two longitudinal cases are presented and analysed, one for a greenfield hospital and the other for an extension of an existing hospital.\nFindings: The literature highlights the importance of integration between technical digitalization, competences, organization and management of digital FM. The projects are in different phases and represent quite advanced preparations for digital FM. State-of-the-art computer-aided FM systems are prepared before operation. External consultants are involved, posing a dilemma of in-house/outsourced human resources in the future digital FM operation.\nResearch limitations/implications: Two case studies provide insights, but they have limited generalizability.\nPractical implications: The study underscores the importance of preparation of management, organization and competences for digitalization.\nOriginality/value: Documented research on building information modelling (BIM) integrations in FM is still scarce. This article adds to the few empirical studies in the area. The findings illustrate that real estate administrators investing in FM software for new hospital buildings face challenges of aligning BIM models from design and construction to the FM system.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A tutorial on the use of PLS path modeling in longitudinal studies
|
[
"PLS",
"Panel data",
"Acceptance",
"Battery electric vehicles",
"Longitudinal study",
"Multigroup analyses"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, partial least squares (PLS) path modeling has become increasingly attractive in different disciplines (Hair et al., 2012a, b; Hair et al., 2012a, b; Henseler et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2011; Ringle et al., 2012; Sosik et al., 2009). Despite the increasing number of publications (Hair et al., 2014), relatively few researchers have used PLS in longitudinal studies so far. Some notable exceptions are, for example, Jacobs et al. (2011), Johnson et al. (2006) or Jones et al. (2002).\n2. An overview of PLS model types in longitudinal studies: This paper proposes that PLS path models in longitudinal studies can be distinguished according to two criteria: the research objective and the data basis that is available. In a first step, PLS users should ask themselves, whether their main research objective is to investigate the evolution of effects (path coefficients) between the constructs over time or rather to investigate the change in the constructs from one point in time to another point in time and their causal effects. In a second step, the question is whether the data basis consists of panel data, for which the same group of individuals is surveyed repeatedly at different points in time, or of repeated cross-sectional data, for which different groups of individuals are surveyed at different points in time (Frees, 2004).\n3. Methods: 3.1 Questionnaire Development\n4. The analysis of the evolution model with panel data - model type A.1: 4.1 Model type A.1: Stage 1 - create one PLS model with constructs at different times\n5. The analysis of the evolution model with repeated cross-sectional data - model type A.2: 5.1 Model type A.2: Stage 1 - create separate PLS models with constructs at different times\n6. The analysis of the change model - model type B: 6.1 Model type B: Stage 1 - paired samples t-test of the indicators as preliminary analysis\n7. Conclusions, limitations and future research: The aim of this paper was to provide an overview of how data from longitudinal studies can be used in PLS path modeling. Depending on the research question and the structure of the data, three different types of models were identified such as \"evolution models\" (model type A.1 for panel data and model type A.2 for repeated cross-sectional data), in which an evolution of path coefficients is investigated for sequential points in time, as well as \"change models\" (model type B), in which change constructs are used in a PLS model. Additional analyses have been recommended to complement PLS path modeling. Practical examples from a study on users' acceptance of BEVs have demonstrated the application of the three different model types. Methods for multigroup analyses, in particular the non-parametric confidence set approach, have been suggested and to test for the difference in the evolution of path coefficients.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic overview with guidelines how to use partial least squares (PLS) path modeling in longitudinal studies. Practical examples from a study of the acceptance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in corporate fleets are used for demonstration purposes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this study, data at three points in time were collected: before the initial use of a BEV, after three and after six months of extensive usage of BEVs.\nFindings: Three different models are identified depending on the research objective and on the data basis. Multigroup analyses are suggested to test the difference between the path coefficients of latent variables at different points in time. Limitations for the use of repeated cross-sectional data have to be observed.\nOriginality/value: Academics and practitioners will benefit from this paper by receiving an overview of the different PLS path models in longitudinal studies. A decision-tree enables them to make a choice regarding the most appropriate model and suggests a sequence of complementary analyses. So far, there is a lack of a tutorial type paper delivering such guidance.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Creating social value within the delivery of construction projects: the role of lean approach
|
[
"Value management",
"Supply chain"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The crux of most human endeavours is to create or add value to a system or a process. Value has been understood as the satisfaction or quality derived by the customer from a product or service received. Sweeney and Geoffrey (2001) classified value into three major dimensions. These are emotional, social and functional. Emotional value is the feeling or pleasure driven by using a product or service (Sweeney and Geoffrey, 2001). While there is evidence that supports the construction industry's attention to the creation of functional value from its operations (Kelly John and Drummond, 2014), there is less evidence to support its consideration for emotional and social value (SV) (Arroyo and Gonzalez, 2016; Pavez and Luis, 2007). However, in recent times, there have been calls to different sectors including the construction industry to deliver SV from their operations (Arroyo and Gonzalez, 2016; Choi et al., 2014). This could be due to the impact of the construction industry's activities on social as well as the economic and environmental well-being of people and communities.\nResearch method: The use of literature review in understanding current knowledge and creating new insight for future research agenda is growing in medical sciences, management sciences and more importantly in construction management research (Naoum and Egbu, 2016; Tranfield et al., 2003; Grant and Booth, 2009). In order to explore the current knowledge around SV and provide an insight into the on-going debate from construction management and lean construction perspectives, a critical literature review approach was adopted. Grant and Booth (2009) confirmed that critical literature review allows for the synthesis of materials from different sources, allows for a degree of analysis and conceptual innovations, provides a conceptual contribution to existing body of knowledge and serves as a launch pad for new research. These attributes of critical review align with the focus of the current study.\nCurrent knowledge surrounding social value: The concept of social value\nThe relationship between social value, corporate social responsibility and shared value: While these three concepts show a strong relationship with each other, they are not exactly the same. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) defines CSR as \"a continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the community and the society at large\" (WBCSD, 1999, p. 3). Shared value is defined as \"Policies and operating practice that enhances the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates\" (Porter and Kramer, 2011). Both definitions show the intention to contribute to the economic and social conditions of the communities of their operations.\nExamining the role of lean approach in social value delivery on construction projects: Search in lean production approach\nSummary of findings: The aim of this paper is to explore the existing knowledge around SV and to evaluate how lean production philosophy could support the realisation of SV in construction project delivery. The study found that:\nConclusions: The purpose of this study was to determine the current knowledge surrounding SV and to evaluate the role of lean production philosophy in achieving SV objectives in construction project delivery. The study establishes that the current level of awareness on SV is still low and there is a dearth of scholarly publications on SV, especially in the construction management literature. The study found that there is still no clear or single criterion for measuring SV delivered. This means the criteria to be used in measuring or identifying SV could differ for different contexts and audiences.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the current knowledge surrounding social value (SV) and show how lean approach supports SV realisation in the delivery of construction projects.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A critical literature review was adopted, to gather the current knowledge surrounding SV from mainstream management sciences, construction management and lean literature. A total of 70 studies were critically reviewed.\nFindings: The study establishes that the current level of awareness on SV is still low and there is a dearth of scholarly publications on SV especially in the construction management literature. The investigation reveals the potentials of lean approach in supporting the delivery of SV on construction projects.\nSocial implications: This study conceptualises the community and the physical environment around where the construction project is executed as customers using lean production approach. It shows that the transformation, flow and value view supports smooth workflow, which enhances the achievement of SV objectives. This creates a new insight into how SV can be realised in construction project delivery.\nOriginality/value: This study extends the on-going debate around the need for SV in construction project delivery and contributes to construction management and lean construction literature on SV. Future studies could build on this to obtain empirical data and develop an approach/method that would support the evidencing of SV delivery on construction projects.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Sustainability of digital information services
|
[
"Sustainable development",
"Digital information services",
"Sustainability",
"Social sustainability",
"Economic sustainability",
"Environmental sustainability"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Although the term sustainability is not new, it has gained a significant amount of importance and attention over the past few years in every major international and national policy document having implications on almost every modern day business, institution and activity. Arguably the simplest and yet the most appealing definition of sustainability was developed at the 1987 UN conference where it was recognized that sustainable development means \"meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs\" (UN, 1987). A similar definition that emphasizes on maintaining a balance between nature, productivity and business has been provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency:\nSustainability of digital information: The importance of information for sustainable development has been recognized and mentioned by several international bodies. Terms like information society, knowledge economy etc., have become a common phrase over the past decade, and they have been used in many high-level discussion and policy documents. Yet, there have not been any systematic studies nor there has been a research agenda to address the economic, environmental and social sustainability of information services with special reference to digital information services that form the backbone of a knowledge society and digital economy.\nPast research related to the sustainability of information services: Although the issue of sustainability was not their main focus, some past research have indirectly touched upon different forms of sustainability of digital information services. For example, some economic aspects and alternative business models for information have been studied in the context of e-books and e-journal subscription models in libraries, and also in the context of open access models. Similarly, there have been many evaluation studies focusing on the traditional library and information services, and more recently there have been some studies on the impact of digital library services. However, very few of these studies tried to address all the three forms of sustainability of digital information systems and services (for further discussions, see the next section). Similarly, a significant amount of research has taken place in the broad area of user studies and human information behavior producing over 10,000 research papers (Wilson, 2009; Bawden, 2009). A large volume of research literature has also been produced in related areas like information and digital literacy, social inclusion, etc. However, very few researchers have focused on the issue of social sustainability of digital information per se. The environmental sustainability of digital information systems and services has remained an unexplored area of research until very recently (Chowdhury, 2010, 2012a, b, c).\nBusiness models and economic sustainability of information: A variety of business models are now available in the information sector providing a multitude of options to libraries and individual users for accessing print and digital information. Some of these models have been reviewed in literature discussing their strengths and weaknesses, and it was noted that the prevailing models are not entirely suitable for the digital information world and there is a market failure (JISC, 2009; Content Complete, 2009; Nicholas et al., 2010; Bunkell and Dyas-Correia, 2009; Pool, 2010). Several studies have also taken place exploring various alternative business models for digital information services, especially in the context of various open access models. The most notable among these are the various JISC funded research in the UK that studied the open access business models for books and journals (Houghton et al., 2009; Content Complete, 2009).\nUsers, community and social sustainability: One of the major requirements of social sustainability, for information services, is equitable access and use of information in every sphere of life. Access is a rather broad term here that includes all the activities related to discovery, access and use/re-use of information for day-to-day business, pleasure, well-being, knowledge and understanding, and so on. Thus, a variety of research fields in information studies including human information behavior, information seeking and retrieval, usability and accessibility of information vis-a-vis many related issues such as digital divide - manifested by economic, social and technological divide, literacy including digital and information literacy, social inclusion, and use and impact of information on various sectors and activities, can contribute to achieving social sustainability of information services.\nTechnology, infrastructure and environmental sustainability: Technological infrastructure for digital information systems and services may be characterized by the ICT infrastructure running various information systems and services; design, accessibility and usability of different information systems and services; and the overall technological developments such as the search engines, Web 2.0 and social networking technologies, mobile technologies, and so on. All these have a profound impact on information access as well as user information behavior in today's digital world. Technology infrastructure and usability of digital information systems and services are also closely linked to social challenges like digital divide and social inclusion. Digital divide can be manifested by (Chowdhury and Chowdhury, 2011):\nResearch issues and challenges for sustainable digital information: As discussed so far in this paper a variety of factors are associated with the sustainability of digital information services, and while some aspects of economic and social sustainability of information have been studied implicitly in course of research in other areas such as in HIB, evaluation and usability studies, etc., the environmental sustainability of information services has remained a rather unexplored area of research.\nConclusion: As discussed in this paper, sustainability is an extremely important issue for any institution and business, and since information forms an integral part of every development and innovation, sustainability should become a mainstream research topic within information studies. The model proposed in Figure 1 illustrates the different aspects of sustainability of digital information systems and services. The model also illustrates that integrated research approaches need to be undertaken in order to find ways and means for achieving all the three forms of sustainability of information services. Figure 2 provides a model for understanding the issues, and for undertaking systematic and coordinated research in sustainability of digital information. It illustrates how the various emerging research topics are interrelated, and how together they can help us build sustainable digital information services.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to propose a model which serves to illustrate that a number of factors are responsible for, and contribute to, the different forms of sustainability of digital information services. It also seeks to identify some areas of information research and their interrelationship in the context of sustainability of digital information services.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research is based on critical analysis of a range of research and policy documents, and an environment scan, in different aspects of sustainability of information systems and services. Recent and relevant past research studies as well as some relevant government policies and initiatives have been critically analyzed in order to identify various factors that are said to contribute to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of information services.\nFindings: It is noted that the sustainability of information has not been studied within the mainstream information science research. However, several previous research studies have produced findings and models that can be used to achieve some aspects of sustainability of information. It is also noted that various parameters of sustainability are inter-related and hence a proper research agenda has to be prepared, and concerted research efforts are needed in order to be able to develop and manage sustainable digital information services.\nPractical implications: A model has been proposed showing the various factors to be studied for achieving the economic, social and environmental sustainability of information services. Interrelations among the different factors and their implications for sustainability of digital information systems services are also discussed.\nOriginality/value: The model is expected to open new vistas for research in the economic, social and environmental sustainability of digital information systems and services. It will develop new tools, technologies and applications for building sustainable information systems and services appropriate for the digital era.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Mahalanobis Taguchi system: a review
|
[
"Multivariate analysis",
"Mahalanobis-Taguchi system",
"Signal-to-noise ratio",
"Design of experiments",
"Mahalanobis distance",
"Orthogonal arrays"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Taguchi's design of experiment (DOE), which is also called robust design, is one of the most successful methods of experiment in practice. It is cost effective and it causes increase efficiency in producing a product or in a process. The DOEs method was first proposed by Dr Genichi Taguchi, and uses orthogonal arrays (OA) and signal-to-noise ratios (SN). Additional to operational procedures using these experiments, Taguchi's method has valuable and significant concepts in quality control that are different from traditional definitions on quality. Taguchi defines the quality equal to a specified value and the loss is proportional to the deviation from this specified value; which is the basis of the quality loss function.\n2. MTS: In this section a detailed definition of the Mahalanobis-Taguchi strategy is presented. This method is a combination of the MD and Taguchi's DOEs. In MTS, the MD corresponding to the data is measured and a measurement scale is constructed, then OA and signal to noise ratios are used to optimize the system with the minimum number of variables.\n3. Classification scheme: In this part, we classified articles in the literature to give an overview on the MTS strategy. Articles were classified on the basis of the following properties:\n4. Analytical view of the literature: In this section we provide an analytical view on the MTS to illustrate the trends in the literature. Figure 2 shows the number of published papers on MTS has increased in recent years. This shows the importance of the method and also it shows researcher's interest in this method for various applications. Table I indicates that researchers have found a broad range of new and interesting applications of MTS in recent years. It represents high knowledge and interest of researchers as well as numerous applications of the MTS strategy.\n5. Results and future research: In this paper we provided a review on the concepts and operations of the MTS as a new method in the field of pattern recognition, multivariable diagnosis, and forecasting. Moreover we reviewed the articles related to MTS and presented an analytical view of the current literature. A large number of studies were performed in recent years consisting of developing MTS and MTS case studies. The analysis of the articles showed the fields of MTS which had more potential for future studies and developing. The comparison of the MTS to other methods and the selection of the normal group for constructing the Mahalanobis space have received the most attention by researchers. In addition, several studies concentrated on the use of other methods instead of DOEs, finding applications for multiclass MTS and finding an alternative for the SN ratio.\nGlossary: BPSO Binary particle swarm optimization\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze the current literature related to developing and improving the Mahalanobis-Taguchi system (MTS) and to present the shortcomings related to this method for future research.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this paper, articles in the literature are classified to give an overview on the MT strategy. For this purpose, 46 articles are considered for classification from 2000 to 2013 on the basis of: MTS contribution area, description of the issue, and results.\nFindings: In this paper a review on the concepts and operations of the MTS was provided as a new method in the field of pattern recognition, multivariable diagnosis, and forecasting. A large number of studies were performed in recent years consisting of developing MTS and MTS case studies. The analysis of the articles showed the fields of MTS which had more potential for future studies and developing. The comparison of the MTS to other methods and the selection of the normal group for constructing the Mahalanobis space have received the most attention by researchers. In addition, several studies concentrated on the use of other methods instead of design of experiments, finding applications for multiclass MTS and finding an alternative for the SN ratio.\nOriginality/value: This paper contains the publications in the field of MTS chronologically and shows different areas for developing and case studies. It will be useful to researchers and professionals who are interested in pattern recognition, multivariate analysis, and forecasting.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Individual differences in job-related relocation readiness: The impact of personality dispositions and social orientations
|
[
"Labour mobility",
"Geographic mobility",
"Relocation",
"Uncertainty management",
"Big five",
"Career development",
"Multi‐sample study",
"Resistance to change",
"Conservation‐of‐resources theory",
"Protean career"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Modern careers are said to be \"protean\" (Briscoe and Finkelstein, 2009), meaning that they are driven by the individuals rather than by organizations, as was previously the case (Clarke, 2009). Jobs are no longer for life; rather, people tend to work for a series of organizations during their careers, often in different locations. Employees seeking to improve their career prospects within a company may also be expected to relocate, and they are often offered higher positions and better salaries as rewards for their mobility (Stroh et al., 1992). In fact, individuals who relocate not only achieve higher \"objective\" career success (Arthur et al., 2005), they also report higher job satisfaction and believe that their lives are more interesting overall (e.g. Brett, 1982; Van der Velde and Feij, 1995). Accordingly, \"successful\" protean careers have been characterized as involving more mobility (Hall, 1996).\nRelocation readiness: defining the construct: Scientists from different fields define the term mobility in different ways. In the present context, a distinction needs to be made between short-term and long-term mobility. An employee may be mobile on the short term - for example, if a contract involves traveling or working away on a construction job (Otto and Dalbert, 2010). In such cases, mobility is only a temporary (job) requirement; a permanent change of residence is not necessary. Relocation mobility, in contrast, is defined as an actual move to another city or country and thus implies long-term relocation, migration, or expatriation. In this article, we focus on (job-related) relocation readiness, which reflects a person's attitude toward relocation mobility and hence toward possible future moves. Unsurprisingly, relocation readiness is an important predictor of relocation mobility, as several longitudinal studies have shown (e.g. Brett and Reilly, 1988; Cotton and Majchrzak, 1990).\nPotential antecedents of relocation readiness: Based on conservation-of-resources theory, individuals strive to gain, conserve, and protect resources (see Hobfoll, 1989). One such resource may be a secure and stable place of residence. Accordingly, it might be assumed that a change in location, irrespective of its consequences, will necessarily be perceived as stressful. However, people differ in their personality dispositions, in their attitudes to change, their commitment to change, and their ability to cope with change (e.g. Ashford, 1988; Cunningham, 2006; Oreg, 2006). Most researchers in the field of career development also acknowledge the role of individual differences in career choices (e.g. Holland, 1985; Schein, 1990), and mobility decisions can clearly be regarded as an important aspect of career development (Ng et al., 2007).According to Oreg (2006), \"potential sources of resistance [to change] lie both within the individual as well as in the individual's environment\" (p. 74). Indeed, the empirical evidence indicates that not only personality traits but also social influences impact people's resistance to change: individuals surrounded by people who opposed a change reported lower change readiness (Oreg, 2006). In the present study, in contrast to previous research, we focus on individual rather than on organizational change, and we focus on the role of personality dispositions and social orientations in explaining readiness for a particular change - i.e. relocation readiness.Personality dispositions\nMethods: The present studies were designed to explore relocation readiness and its potential antecedents, focusing on personality dispositions and social orientations. In the empirical section that follows, we describe three cross-sectional studies - one with employees, one with unemployed individuals, one with apprentices - and one longitudinal study, which were conducted to test our hypotheses across various career situations. Our rationale for selecting three different labor market groups was as follows: employees generally only have to consider changing their location for job-related reasons if their company moves or if they are dispatched abroad. In contrast, unemployed people may be expected to show relocation mobility as a means of getting back into work. Likewise, only 64 percent of apprentices in western Germany and 46 percent in eastern Germany secure jobs in the companies that trained them; more than one fifth become unemployed after completing their apprenticeship (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2010). Hence, apprentices are generally expected to show a high level of flexibility in the current economic climate.Employees\nGeneral discussion: Taking conservation-of-resources theory and resistance to change models as conceptual frameworks, this research examined personality dispositions and social orientations as potential antecedents of relocation readiness in samples of employed and unemployed individuals and in apprentices soon to enter the labor market. Whereas previous research drawing on resistance to change models has focused on organizational change, we were the first to examine individual readiness for change. This approach is in line with the trend toward protean careers, in which individuals manage their careers themselves. In the wake of the structural changes in labor markets caused by globalization, many people feel compelled to relocate in order to advance their careers or to find a (new) job. Overall, our findings indicated that personality dispositions and social orientations far outweigh demographic factors such as age, sex, and educational level or prior mobility experiences such as frequency of moves or residence abroad when it comes to explaining relocation readiness.According to conservation-of-resources theory, people value stability in life and do everything possible to conserve this resource. However, our findings reveal that personality dispositions make a difference to relocation readiness. In particular, uncertainty tolerance proved to be important for both employees and unemployed individuals. The more uncertainty tolerant they were, the more likely they were to view a change in location as a welcome challenge, and the more ready they were to relocate (see also Dette and Dalbert, 2005). A mixed pattern of results emerged for the other two personality dispositions: neuroticism was negatively associated with the relocation readiness of employed people (study 1) and in fact weakened their relocation readiness over time (study 4), whereas openness to experience was positively correlated with the relocation readiness of unemployed people (study 2). Schmit et al. (1993) showed openness to be positively correlated with efficient job search behavior. Hence, this personality disposition may be particularly relevant for the career development of job seekers.With regard to social orientations, and replicating previous research (e.g. Brett and Reilly, 1988; Eby and Russel, 2000; Otto and Dalbert, 2010), a collectivist orientation and perceived social endorsement of relocation mobility emerged as important predictors, irrespective of employment status or career stage. Perceived social norms proved to be the only predictor relevant in all four studies, highlighting their relevance for people's attitudes and behaviors (Ajzen, 1991). This finding is not surprising, as there are few job-related demands that affect the partner or the family as a whole to such an extent as a change in location.Although the pattern of findings was generally similar across studies, differences did emerge with respect to career stage: whereas both personality dispositions and social orientations were important for employees and unemployed individuals, only social orientations contributed to explaining relocation readiness in apprentices. In his seasons of life theory, Levinson (1986) described the age period between 17 and 22 years as the \"early adult transition,\" representing \"the full maturity of preadulthood and the infancy of a new area [...] [in which] [...] one is at best off to a shaky start [...]\" (p. 5). Against this background, there are several possible explanations for our findings: First, social networks may be more important for young people, and their early career decisions therefore driven more strongly by social orientations than by personality dispositions. Second, young people may be less adept at analyzing the actual work situation and gauging their future career chances. Instead, they might derive their attitudes from their peers as important socialization agents. Third, personality dispositions are not as stable and immanent at this age as in later adulthood.Strengths, weaknesses, and directions for future research\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Previous research has demonstrated the positive impact of relocation mobility on career success. Based on conservation-of-resources theory and knowledge about resistance to change, this study aims to explore the role of personality dispositions and social orientations in explaining job-related relocation readiness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A total of 380 German employees (study 1), unemployed individuals (study 2), and apprentices (study 3) were surveyed on their relocation readiness, personality dispositions (neuroticism, openness to experience, uncertainty tolerance), and social orientations (individualism, collectivism, social norms -i.e. the perceived social endorsement of relocation mobility) in three cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study (study 4).\nFindings: - Findings show that high levels of neuroticism (study 1) and collectivism (studies 1-3) made individuals less ready to relocate, whereas high levels of openness to experience (study 2), uncertainty tolerance (studies 1-2), and individualism (study 3) were positively associated with relocation readiness, as was the perceived social endorsement of relocation mobility (studies 1-4).\nResearch limitations/implications: - Personality dispositions and social orientations should be considered when relocation decisions are at stake. The research focused on relocation readiness and did not investigate actual relocation mobility.\nPractical implications: - Human resources management and career counseling aiming to foster relocation readiness should take account of the social environment. Moreover, uncertainty-intolerant individuals should be offered systematic, step-by-step guidance on how best to deal with relocation.\nOriginality/value: - The study is the first to show that personality dispositions and social orientations by far outweigh socio-demographic factors in explaining relocation readiness.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Supply chain myopia and overlapping supply chains
|
[
"Supply chain management",
"Integration",
"Change management",
"Business development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.\nBackground: Increasing integration and the growing variety of products and services, along with changing technologies, are influencing the design, number and variety of supply chains.The integration of supply chains in terms of collaboration between firms and the coordination of logistical flows is often seen as a prerequisite for supply chain development (Mentzer et al., 2001). Increasing integration has often been discussed as a way of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of supply chains. Outsourcing, focus on core competence, internationalization and international competition are common underlying driving forces. Shorter lead times and reduced inventory levels are other changes that have been driving the need for increasing integration in supply chains during the last decade. This has been enhanced by waves of alliances, mergers and acquisitions. At the same time, the stronger focus on customer orientation and customer order production has increased the variety of products and services, causing growth in the number and type of supply chains. Changing technology is another factor leading to even more changes in supply chains. Thus, the divergence or convergence of technologies is expected to have direct effects on the design, number and overlap of supply chains.Although changes are seen as taking place within a single supply chain, most firms have many products and services and customers, and will seldom be part of just one supply chain. Supply chains may compete for resources within a firm, and resources between chains may be coordinated and combined. Being a part of several supply chains means that these supply chains overlap in the sense that one actor and its resources are shared between chains. From a network point of view, the firm is seen as being embedded within a dynamic network of firms and supply chains. With the growing number and variety of supply chains, the overlapping of supply chains is likely to become increasingly prevalent.Since an increase in efficiency and effectiveness is often seen as a result of increasing integration of supply chains, the integration process within a specific supply chain has been the focus of much research. For that reason, little research has been directed towards the problems and risks and lost opportunities involved in focusing on only one specific supply chain.In this paper, firms are seen as being embedded in a wider context and as normally being part of more than one supply chain. This paper seeks to determine whether the adoption of a wider perspective gives a better understanding of how changes in one supply chain are influenced by the interaction and interconnectedness between supply chains. More specifically, the paper seeks to analyze the effects of integration on one supply chain caused by the overlap of another supply chain. A theoretical framework is developed based on a combination of network management and supply chain management theory. Empirically, examples are taken from the automotive, construction and transportation industries.\nTheoretical approach: Within the bounds of network management and supply chain management, the focus of this paper is on integration, inter-organizational collaboration, the co-ordination of activities and resources, and overlapping networks. We begin with a short definition of supply chain concepts and how to depict them. This is followed by a definition and discussion of the three concepts of the total network of the firm, and overlap and integration of supply chains. With these definitions and discussions as a basis, different types of supply chain networks are studied and different ways of integrating supply chains are formulated.Defining and depicting the supply chain and supply chain network\nEmpirical examples: We have three examples that illustrate how different integration changes in one supply chain have effects on another. The three cases are based on more than 70 interviews over a long period of time with firms in different fields.The first example is from the automotive industry, when Volvo Car and Volvo Trucks were separate firms within the same group. The supply chain networks of the two firms overlapped in several places upstream. Volvo Car was going through a process of narrowing the supply chain upstream in order to provide lower costs, shorter lead times and to encourage adaptation between firms in the chain.The second case is from the construction industry, which is about a wholesaler and its attempt to shorten the supply chain. In the process, an import agent was cut from the supply chain.The third is a case of diverging technologies between air freight and trucking services. Specialization of air freight services led to closer relationships with many of the existing actors, but also a narrowing of the system.Volvo case\nResults: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of integration from a change in the focal supply chain via effects and reactions on overlapping supply chains and to then re-examine integration in the focal chain. Our belief is that this will contribute to a greater understanding as to whether SCM myopia actually causes problems of misjudging the effects of the intended integration process, since overlaps with other supply chains are seldom taken into account.We analyze the three cases studies from different perspectives. First, we discuss what effects the integration process of the focal supply chain really had on the overlapping supply chains in terms of actors, activities and resources. Then we discuss the extent to which the effects differ with the three different ways of integrating the supply chain networks. Then we discuss the effects caused by the overlapping chain on the focal chain. Finally, the role of the total firm network and the overlapping effects are discussed.Effects on actors, activities and resources by focal integration on the overlapping chain\nConclusion: The purpose of this paper was to analyze the effects on integration of one supply chain caused by the overlap of another supply chain. The intention was to see whether supply chain myopia, reflected in the process of integration in one supply chain, had any direct effects on overlapping supply chains.As we have seen, the overlapping of supply chains forced important trade-offs between integration within and integration between supply chain networks. Increased integration within one supply chain seemed to decrease integration between the chains. Vertical integration in one supply chain caused the reverse effect horizontally and vice versa.The total degree of overlap between the chains played an important role on the effects of the focal process. It seemed important to study not only actor overlap, but also the overlap in resources and activities. The more supply chains overlap with actors, activities and resources, the larger these effects may be.Narrowing a supply chain seemed to cause the overlapping chain to increase its integration as well. The crossing points and number of levels in common between the chains played an important role in the size of these effects. Therefore, how we define and organize business units and set up supply chains is very important, since this will govern the degree of overlap between supply chains.Furthermore, the resistance to change in the overlapping chain was found to be greater when the actor was still part of both chains (i.e. narrowing). This seems natural, since the actor can still influence both chains. However, when cut out of the chain, as in shortening, the actor can only indirectly influence the chain. The result of resistance was to delay change in the focal chain as well as to increase costs. However, in none of the cases did it stop the integration process.There were short-term and long-term effects. In the long term, the change may cause a lack of trust between the firms that will grow over time and lead to an actor breaking away from the total network. An important organization might try to hinder the integration of another chain by threatening to leave or at the same time demanding a similar integration process for itself.In another case, as in the air freight case, some firms reacted by refusing to change. As the market demanded improved effectiveness, the chain grew stronger. Consequently, it became necessary to dissolve relationships and to create new firms or choose a new firm for service delivery.How seriously the reactions will be taken and what effects they may cause on the focal chain are influenced by the size and dependence of the focal chain on the overlapping chain. In the air freight case, the dependence on trucking was high since they lacked their own resources.However, there are positive and negative sides of overlap. Overlap seems to be a positive factor during at a certain stage for a new business, since it makes it possible to co-use resources and coordinate activities with other products or services. When the same resources and activities can be used for a new product or service, the costs can be reduced and knowledge transferred. On the other hand, developing new and more specialized supply chains over time is often necessary, due to changes in customer demands or technology. Such specialization often results in decreased overlap and resistance to change from the overlapping chain.Since increased integration is vital in developing competitive advantage among the firms in the supply chain, it seems necessary to reflect upon how the division of activities and resources between supply chains is comprised. When we define and depict a supply chain, we should also depict those chains that are overlapping rather than to focus on just one specific chain.We find that calculating the effect of change for only the focal chain can be very costly. Failure to consider the negative effects and the resistance caused by delays and dissolving relationships within overlapping supply chains can be detrimental. Thus, there is a trade-off between the costs of integration in the focal chain and increasing costs arising from decreased integration in overlapping supply chains. Since we know that a decrease in overlap may cause increased costs, changes in routines, or the need for new competencies and new investments, it seems entirely logical that firms will hesitate to make a move unless it seems absolutely necessary. Effects have to be calculated for both the short term and the long term since changing trust and commitment between the firms may, in the long term, lead to even larger negative effects.Competition is an important driver of increased integration within supply chains by demanding greater efficiency and effectiveness. The pressure for higher integration in one chain can cause greater integration in other chains. This will have effects on the integration of supply chains not only in one market, but also between markets.Finally, overlap can exist between several chains, and thereby the total effects can be even larger than the ones discussed in this paper.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper seeks to understand and analyse how integration changes in one supply chain are influenced by the overlap between chains\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper discusses the concepts of supply chain, firm network, overlap and integration. It takes a dynamic perspective focusing on continuing processes of change in the degree of integration within and between networks. The three examples are based on more than 70 interviews over a long period of time of firms involved in the transportation, automotive and construction industries.\nFindings: - The paper finds that the overlap between supply chains in terms of actors, resources and activities could seriously delay, hinder and increase costs to the process when changing the degree of integration in one chain. Therefore, supply chain myopia might lead to an increase in the total costs of a firm. Further, there is a trade-off between the costs of integration in the focal chain and increasing costs arising from decreased integration in overlapping supply chains. Failure to consider the negative effects and the resistance caused by delays and dissolving relationships within overlapping supply chains can be detrimental. The overlap between chains can be both positive and negative, and can be reversed over time.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research is limited to three examples and the interaction between two supply chains in each case. Since interdependencies might exist between several supply chains, the effects of change could have implications for more than one other supply chain.\nPractical implications: - When changing existing or developing supply chains for new businesses, firms need to take into consideration the effects and reactions of other chains. Integration between two chains might facilitate the development of business but may also actually hinder its future development.\nOriginality/value: - The interdependencies between supply chains imply that strong pressure towards supply chain integration focusing on one chain, in literature and practice, has to be questioned for the single firm. Another specific value is the importance of existing chains for the development of new businesses.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Critical success factors for Lean implementation in IT outsourcing relationships: A multiple case study
|
[
"Critical success factors",
"Multiple case studies",
"Management practices",
"Inter-organizational change"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Present day's knowledge and service-oriented economy offers opportunities for organizations to increase their profits through strategic outsourcing. An example of the latter is information technology (IT) outsourcing, a widespread development in meeting an organization's IT needs (Dibbern et al., 2004). IT outsourcing refers to a strategic decision taken by an organization to delegate IT functions and activities such as operations, support, development and maintenance to external professional suppliers (Lacity and Hirschheim, 1993). Despite the rapid development of IT outsourcing over the last two decades, many IT outsourcing clients remain dissatisfied and search for more effective approaches to maintain or increase the quality and effectiveness of their outsourcing relationships. Among main challenges experienced are degradations of service over time, lacking vendor commitment, delayed deliveries or slow implementations, leading to low satisfaction rates, a high number of backsourcing decisions and vendor switching (Bahli and Rivard, 2013; Gorla and Somers, 2014; Whitten et al. 2010).\n2. Research approach: A multiple case study research design was developed to identify CSFs for Lean implementation in IT outsourcing relationships. Case studies are empirical enquiries that investigate a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, and are well suited for exploratory and theory-building research (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2013). As a research method, case studies, in particular when limited in number, demonstrate limited generalizability of results. However, their richness of data lends themselves well for the inductive process of theory building, and was deemed most appropriate to fulfill the objectives of the research project. A similar way of identifying CSFs through case studies can be found in existing literature (Borman and Janssen, 2013; Jefferies et al., 2014; Suarez-Barraza and Ramis-Pujol, 2010; Trkman, 2010).\n3. Case studies: This section provides an overview of the cases studied, including motivations indicated by interviewees to implement Lean in IT outsourcing relationships as well as the identified CSFs including explanations.\n4. Discussion and conclusion: Following favorable results of Lean implementation in manufacturing and later on in service industries, Lean has recently emerged as a philosophy for clients and suppliers of IT services as well. However, literature falls short on how to implement Lean in IT outsourcing relationships. To address this scarcity, this paper provides insight and guidance into the novel phenomenon of Lean implementation in IT outsourcing relationships by providing 16 CSFs. These CSFs have been distilled from empirical data gathered by means of six case studies in which 36 interviews were held at the strategic, tactical and operational levels at both the client and supplier sides (six interviews per case). Initially, 30 success factors for Lean IT outsourcing were identified of which each success factor, after having been subject to a rigorous selection procedure with the assistance of multiple experts (see Table II), could be labeled as either critical or non-critical. In total, 16 success factors could be labeled as critical and have been described in this paper. Among these CSFs are co-location, having internal Lean experience prior to implementing Lean on a relationship-wide basis, management leadership, adequately measuring the performance of the IT outsourcing relationship and utilizing Lean tools and techniques.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Following positive results of Lean implementation in manufacturing environments, Lean has become an emerging philosophy for clients and suppliers of information technology (IT) services. However, how to implement Lean in IT outsourcing relationships has been addressed sparsely in academic literature. The purpose of this paper is to investigate critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing Lean in IT outsourcing relationships. Key findings, implications and avenues for future research are discussed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Six IT outsourcing relationships were qualitatively investigated by means of 36 semi-structured interviews. CSFs were identified based on interview transcription analyses, selection techniques and expert reviews.\nFindings: In total, 16 CSFs for Lean implementation in IT outsourcing relationships are identified and described.\nPractical implications: The CSFs presented in this paper indicate key areas that deserve managerial attention to steer Lean implementation efforts in IT outsourcing relationships in a favorable direction.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first to describe the phenomenon of \"Lean IT outsourcing\" and provides researchers and practitioners with a foundation to further examine Lean implementation in IT outsourcing relationships.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Measuring the performance efficiency of Turkish electrical machinery manufacturing SMEs with frontier method
|
[
"Performance measurement",
"Data envelopment analysis",
"Turkish SMEs",
"Electrical machinery industry"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The Turkish electrical machinery industry has become more powerful after 1990s by product variety and/with being flexible in manufacturing. The portion of this sector is about 4.61 percent of total exports with a value of $6.99 billion in 2013. There are various electrical products which are produced by Turkish companies involving: isolated cables and wires; domestic electrical appliances; AC motors; power generators and electrical equipment. The Turkish electrical machinery manufacturing industry includes more than 5,000 companies with large percentage of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The number of employer in this sector is more than 50,000 and manufacturing facilities are distributed to significant regions in Turkey which are Marmara, Central Anatolia and Aegean (Turkey Ministry of Economy Electrical Machinery and Cable Industry Report, 2014).\n2. Concept of competitive priorities for SMEs: For a successful business, competitive strategy paves the way for a company to competitive priorities, policies, determination and applications. The main objective is to achieve the optimum production capability by introducing manufacturing strategy to support competitive strategy (Hayes and Wheelwright, 1984).\n3. DEA: DEA is an advanced methodology using linear programming technique that provides dynamic collective comparative results for evaluating the performance of organizations based on multiple performance measures. DEA technique was first introduced by Charnes et al. (1978) upon the seminal work by Farrell (1957) based on the measurement of productive efficiency, and called as CCR (Charnes et al., 1978) model in the literature. In that model, the objective function was to build efficient frontier formed by compiling the best effective organizations called as decision-making units and allot an efficiency index to each non-frontier unit according to their gap to the efficient frontier (Liu et al., 2016). DEA works as peer group comparison that efficient elements will yield the efficient frontiers and inefficient elements will be enveloped according to efficient frontiers. DEA models have been used effectively to get the efficient results of a wide variety of goods and services including agriculture, transport, employment generation, waste management and in particular the energy sector (Sarkis and Weinrach, 2001; Sharma and Sharma, 2010; Bevilacqua and Braglia, 2002). Since 1980s DEA has been used in electrical sector to analyze the relative performance of electricity utilities. The adoption of DEA to electricity power systems has been extensive as it accommodates the efficiency measurement of multiple outputs and multiple inputs without pre-assigned weights and where no functional form is pre-established but one is calculated from the sample observations in an empirical way (Murillo, 2004). Few current applications of DEA on performance measurement analysis in different fields are given below in Table I.\n4. Model proposition: In the literature, provided in Table II, the relationship between competitive priorities and firm performance has studied with different models. Previous studies in this field analyzed the relationship between core competitive priorities (e.g. cost, quality, flexibility and delivery) and firm's performance while more recent studies have added up some new set of priorities (e.g. innovation, new product, environment, etc.) into the model (Prester, 2013; Peng et al., 2011; Jenssen, 2003). Most of the work has been done on the effects of each competitive priority on performance measures. For instance, by improving the capability of controlling the cost, it improves the efficiencies, in the results price decreases which leads to an increase in profit margin, sales growth and market share. Focussing quality leads better customer satisfaction and image in market place, quality-related cost reduction, sales growth and increased market share. In the same way, flexibility in term of volume, product mix, capital, pricing policy, labor and machinery has effect on firms ability to bring required changes to meet market demand and higher performance. In the last, efficient delivery strategy can lead to increased customer expectations, satisfaction and loyalty that will also have positive effects on financial and non-financial performance of the firm (Gyampah and Acquaah, 2008; Kim and Arnold, 1996).\n5. Methodology: 5.1 Research methodology and data collection\n6. Conclusions and implications: In this study, based on the previous research model (Bulak and Turkyilmaz, 2014) strategic competitive priorities of the electrical machinery manufacturing firms have been taken into account and it is concentrated for facilitating the view of how the development of internal resources and capabilities in SMEs can contribute competitive advantages and improve their business performance in the competitive areas. To be able to reach this aim, the output-oriented DEA model was utilized.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on measuring and evaluating the performance efficiency of electrical machinery manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey. The industry-based efficiency evaluation provides management with information including the relatively best practice firms in the observation sets and locates the relatively inefficient firms by comparing with the frontiers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this study, an evaluation model, based on previous literature and recent industry SWOT analysis, is proposed to carry out efficiency analysis for electrical machinery manufacturing SMEs and output-oriented CCR data envelopment analysis methodology is used to find out frontier SMEs. The proposed efficiency measurement model is used for 93 SMEs from electrical machinery manufacturing sector.\nFindings: Rely on the model results, efficiency score of the firms are compared and enhancements required for becoming an efficient unit are denoted. This study is based on previous research model that was carried out for ten different industries. The results indicated that 39 out of 93 companies efficiently performed in general perspective. The analysis also resulted that firms have significant resource excesses and shortages on outputs.\nOriginality/value: The distinguished way of this study is to evaluate Turkish electrical machinery manufacturing companies' resources relying on performance efficiency model that compromises of strategic competitive priorities and also the model provides enhancement opportunities to SMEs for being more competitive in the sector. The characteristics features of the firms are offered with respect to demographic, financial and quality perspectives.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The international e-marketing framework (IEMF): Identifying the building blocks for future global e-marketing research
|
[
"Internet",
"Marketing",
"International marketing",
"Electronic commerce"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The internet, web and related information technologies have proven to be transformational. While these technologies have impacted all parts of the corporation, the marketing function has perhaps been most affected. E-marketing is now a significant part of every global corporation's marketing arsenal. As international acceptance of the internet and web increases, the scope of international e-marketing now transitions from possibility to reality.International marketing scholars have followed the transformational impact of the internet/web closely. Several studies in the international e-marketing context have already emerged at the individual consumer (Callow and Lerman, 2003; Dou et al., 2003; Kucuk, 2002; Sing et al., 2004; Waller et al., 2005; papers by Sugai and Gong and McMillan, in this issue) and firm levels (Javalgi et al., 2004; Singh and Kundu, 2002; and papers by Kaynak et al. and Javalgi et al. in this issue).Recognizing the contribution of the work thus far, in this paper, we introduce the international e-marketing framework (IEMF) as a guiding template for future research in international e-marketing. The IEMF should help the global marketing community shape scholarly inquiry in the domain of international e-marketing, classify current intellectual contributions in this area and delineate the gaps in the literature to focus future research. Moreover, the IEMF should help global e-marketing scholars address the question - \"How is International E-Marketing different from International Marketing?\" The IEMF is an extension of the framework first introduced in Krishnamurthy (2006) to the international context.\nAn overview of IEMF: The IEMF has seven components - actors (i.e. those who take e-marketing actions), spaces (i.e. online theaters of engagement), technology form factors (i.e. the idiosyncrasies of information technologies that affect the user experience), country-level cultural factors (i.e. the Hofstedian framework), access to information technologies (or the \"digital divide\"), actions and outcomes (behavioral outcomes at firm-level). We now briefly introduce the seven components.Actors\nPotential linkages between framework components: It may be too early to conceptually identify the linkages among the different components of the IEMF. We briefly discuss potential linkages here.Naturally, in any given space, actions by one marketing actor positively affect its own outcomes and negatively affect the outcomes of its competitors. Thus, advertisements by one actor will positively affect its sales and negatively affect the sales of its competitors. Some marketing actions will be more effective than others.Extensive empirical investigation is needed to understand how spaces interact online. For instance, there is a need to understand actions in one space might reinforce the outcomes in another space. Some of these actions may be complementary and others may be harmful. For instance, an innovative banner ad might enhance the effectiveness of a promotional e-mail. Actions by competitors in one space might negatively impact the effectiveness of actions in other spaces.When access to information technology is limited at a country level, there is an influence gap between the elites and the \"have-nots\". We have a limited understanding of who occupies these segments and what drives their behavior. Are these segments across countries and geographical regions? Interestingly, some countries have overcome these problems by leapfrogging generations of technology, e.g. adopting wireless technology (SMS, WAP) over PC-based technology. Limited access to information technology may leave only a few spaces for marketers to operate in. Once again, it is not clear if these spaces are the same across nations.Today, two users situated in different corners of the globe may be accessing the same page using entirely different technologies and computing environments. One user may be transacting on her cell phone while another may be sitting in a kiosk in a mall checking e-mail. The research on the impact of technology form factors on marketing outcomes is very limited at this point. It is also fascinating to see how the two users discussed above may communicate with one another either in a direct way (e.g. e-mail) or in an indirect way (e.g. in a community).Country-level cultural factors may moderate the impact of certain actions on outcomes. Just as in other forms of advertising, some communicative messages may be more effective in some countries and not others. Cultural factors might also limit the set of available actions.\nAn application of the IEMF: We analyze the diverse collection of papers in this special issue using this framework below:*The Seth and Sharma paper focuses on the access to information technology component of the IEMF. It analyzes the impact of country's technology infrastructure and marketing institutions on the type of e-marketing strategy to be used within that market.*The study by Kaynak, Tatoglu and Kula analyzes the determinants of e-commerce and internet applications adoption by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey. It falls under the technology form factors of the IEMF as it specifically explores what kind of e-commerce technology applications are adopted by SMEs and what factors influence their adoption.*The paper by Philip Sugai focuses on mental maps of Indonesian and Japanese consumers with respect to the mobile internet. He concludes that \"the main barriers to widespread consumer adoption of the mobile internet were not found to lie in cognitive structures unique to a specific market, but appeared instead to be caused by inefficiencies in specific aspects of the wireless ecosystem\". In other words, he was able to identify infrastructural effects in these mental maps.*The paper by Javalgi, Radulovich, Pendleton and Scherer explores the role of customer behavior and customer relationship management in developing sustainable competitive advantage for internet based firms. Thus, it studies how marketing actors can build sustainable competitive advantage for firms through relevant customer-oriented actions.*The paper by Wen Gong and Lynda Maddox studies the impact of inserting web URLs in traditional advertising. Their research suggests that marketing actors must establish an early online presence for long-term success.*The paper by Luo, Zhao, and Du, explores the role of e-commerce companies as actors. This study explores both firm-level and national-level factors that impact the internationalization speed of e-commerce corporations.\nResearch questions: Using this framework as the backdrop, we identify five compelling sets of research questions to motivate future research in the area of international e-marketing:1. How does one identify the relevant market actors in a given country when the online medium is global? This is an issue that may be particularly germane for market actors involved in non-price transactions, e.g. content, news. Is NYTimes.com a market actor in the UK? Is BBC.co.uk an important player in the US market? While marketers glibly talk of the universal set, identifying such a set in the online environment is very tricky for a given country.2. Are some online spaces more effective from a marketing standpoint when the levels of access to information technologies are low and are others more effective when the level of access is higher? Are some market dynamics to be expected with low levels of access and others are higher levels of access to information technologies? What happens when the access to information technologies within a country is low, but a significant immigrant population lives in countries with high internet penetration rates?3. How does the impact of actions in a particular space vary across countries with different cultural factors and varying levels of access to information technologies? For instance, permission-based e-mail might be an effective communication device in some countries, but not others. What are the factors that impact the acceptance of location-based advertising within a country?4. How does space get demarcated on the web and how does this affect the enactment of marketing online? How does space interact with country-level cultural factors to affect cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes such as attitude, choice and preference?5. Does knowledge of online actions in a space affect physical marketplaces in multiple global locations? For instance, how does participation of consumers across countries affect brand identity in various cities around the world.\nConclusion: In this paper, the IEMF is provided as a means to identify the building blocks of research in global e-marketing. Using the IEMF, we have classified the papers in this issue and provided five sets of compelling research questions for the future. The IEMF should help us understand the relative scholarly contributions of comparative empirical studies and help us identify gaps in the literature. We believe that the area of global e-marketing is a burgeoning domain with rich opportunities for research. It is our hope that the IEMF streamlines the evolutionary path of this domain by identifying the key building blocks.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - International e-marketing is emerging as an important area for marketers, as global online markets expand. This special issue is an attempt to encourage, showcase, and guide research in the area of international e-marketing.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In the editorial, Introduces the international e-marketing framework (IEMF) as a guiding template for future research in international e-marketing.\nFindings: - The IEMF should help shape scholarly inquiry in the domain of international e-marketing, classify current intellectual contributions in this area and delineate the gaps in the literature.\nOriginality/value: - The editorial presents the IEMF and classifies various papers in this issue using this framework. Finally, concludes with several compelling research questions to motivate future research in this area.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The truth (as I see it): philosophical considerations influencing a typology of fake news
|
[
"Marketing communications",
"Fake news"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: How sweet was information in the days of truth! How sweet was science in the days of the real! How sweet was objectivity in the time of the object! (Baudrillard, 1990, p. 89).\nPhilosophical considerations on truth and disinformation: To establish a typology of brand disinformation, one needs to come to a deeper understanding of the binary that accepted notions of 'fakeness' derive from. Any understanding of an event, representation or entity as constructed and somehow 'unreal' is simultaneously embedded in perceptions of the other side of this dichotomy - 'reality'. This is, as French cultural theorist Baudrillard (1983) highlights, where definitions of both sides of the binary are troubled, as 'reality' and its implications of 'truth' and 'objectivity' cannot be taken for granted. In the novel, Atonement, the author describes his protagonists' comprehension of transforming events that unfold around her, events that she would later subjectively interpret and rewrite, as that \"the truth instructed her eyes\" (McEwan, 2002, p. 169). Baudrillard (1983, p. 1) maintains a similar narrative by arguing that \"the territory no longer precedes the map, nor survives it. Henceforth, it is the map that precedes the territory\".\nA typology of fake news: While fake news, at its heart, relates to disinformation of any kind, it would appear that fake news exists on a continuum (Kim, 2018), both with regards to the truthiness (Berthon et al., 2018) and intent (Levi, 2018). Based on this understanding, it would appear that some fake news could be more fake than others. Levi (2018) suggests that while some disinformation is wholly fabricated without any basis for support, other disinformation may contain 'kernels of information' but may falsify inferences from facts. In light of this, the first attribute utilized in the typology classification refers to the 'degree of fakeness' of the content itself. At one extreme of the continuum, as proposed by Levi (2018), we have disinformation that is entirely fabricated with no substance behind the false claims. On the opposing extreme, there exists disinformation that is rooted in a truthful reality, despite being distorted to the point that the core facts of the disinformation are no longer factual. The second attribute used to categorize different types of fake news refers to the source of construction of the disinformation.\nPractical and theoretical implications: This research has a number of implications for the classification and subsequent treatment of fake news. The research provides a typology that concerns the source of construction of disinformation, the first of its kind in the literature. These distinctions are useful for a number of reasons; in particular, it allows brands to differentiate between types of misinformation based on ethical boundaries. Furthermore, being able to identify specific characteristics of fake news helps brands identify solutions for combatting the misinformation (Verstraete et al., 2017) and reducing threats to the brand. Enhancing marketing practitioners' understanding of fake news and the subsequent brand implications, is furthermore of vital importance in a market of informed and increasingly fickle consumers. The literature consistently states that the mere association of a brand with disinformation could result in a number of negative consequences for the brand (Berthon et al., 2018; Berthon and Pitt, 2018; Levi, 2018). Research is clear that fake news greatly undermines both the credibility and the trustworthiness of brands and brand communication (Berthon and Pitt, 2018). It is thus of interest to understand circumstances in which a brand would willingly propagate false information about themselves, most importantly, evaluating the reasons for the falsification and the potential payoffs.\nConclusion: This paper sought to further explicate existing notions of the nature of truth, disinformation and fake news, in particular the binary nature of information, which assumes that all information is either categorized as being truthful or fake. Philosophical considerations of fake news suggest that existing conceptualizations of fake news in literature may be inadequate, in that they tend to suggest a binary nature of fake news. This suggests that an objective truthful reality exists, juxtaposed with the fake.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the philosophical considerations of fake news and provide an alternative view to current conceptualizations of its binary nature. Through an evaluation of existing research, a typology of fake news is presented that considers the possibility that the propagation of fake news about a brand, may be stemming from the brand itself, a previously unexplored field in the literature.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper based on extensive literature review on the fields of fake news and knowledge creation, resulting in the creation of a synthesized typology.\nFindings: The role of power structures greatly influences the ability for a brand to respond to fake news. Externally constructed disinformation is seemingly more difficult for a brand to address, as a result of having limited control over the message. Internally constructed information, while stemming from the brand itself provides the brand with more control, but a greater public distrust as the source of the fake news seems to confirm the disinformation.\nPractical implications: This paper presents a typology that contrasts the source of the construction of disinformation and the extent to which the facts have been fabricated. Furthermore, this paper provides future researchers with an alternate understanding of the conceptualization of fake news.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first of its kind to establish a typology of fake news on the basis of the source of construction of disinformation. The source plays an important role when assessing the associated brand risks and developing an approach to combat potential negative implications.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Succeeding with open innovation: Knowledge sharing platforms are significant
|
[
"Open innovation",
"Knowledge sharing platform",
"New product development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe growth of open innovation: In the highly competitive business world of today, creativity is a huge asset for any firm. Recognition of this has led to an increase in the practice of open innovation (OI) whereby input from different internal and external sources can significantly aid new product development. For instance, many companies have significantly enhanced their R&D capabilities through developing associations with universities and commercial enterprises.\nSharing knowledge to enhance new product development: Any idea of collaborating with others to help secure a competitive edge without doubt merits serious consideration. But collaboration should ideally originate early on in the process in the shape of knowledge sharing (KS). It is somewhat surprising that many operators seem to overlook the importance of KS and instead focus almost exclusively of knowledge creation and acquisition. Such thinking prevents them from fully exploiting this most critical organizational resource that enables the firm to evolve in accordance with changes to the operating environment.\nWhy success can remain elusive: However, simply launching a KSP is no guarantee of success. It would be rather misguided to suggest otherwise. Dynamics between different platform members need to first be established and then closely monitored to ensure that interaction remains productive.\nCase study in Tunisia's dairy sector: Ascertaining reasons for initial failure proved key to the eventual success of a joint venture between a local SME operating within the Tunisian dairy sector and a leading French company. Lack of domestic innovation prompted the formation of an alliance with this overseas partner. That close links are evident between Tunisia and France rendered the choice a logical one.\nComment: The review is based on: \"The significance of knowledge sharing platforms for open innovation success: A tale of two companies in the dairy industry\" by Ben Arfi et al. (2019), published in Journal of Organizational Change Management. Firms can use a knowledge sharing platform (KSP) as a means of boosting the open innovation (OI) activities that can facilitate successful development and introduction of new products. Involving key stakeholders in the process and engaging in effective collaboration are among factors that will increase the likelihood of desired outcomes being achieved.\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: Companies engaging in new product development (NPD) might utilize a knowledge sharing platform (KSP) as part of the open innovation (OI) activities that can lead to successful project completion. The process benefits considerably when key stakeholders participate and effective collaboration among all parties involved can likewise help positive outcomes to be achieved.\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"
}
] |
Parents' and teachers' critique of nutrition education in Indian secondary schools
|
[
"Curriculum",
"Questionnaires",
"Food and nutrition",
"Education",
"Qualitative methods",
"School health promotion"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The World Health Organisation (2014) identifies adolescence as a significant phase of transition in human life, spanning from 10 to 19 years of age. Adolescence is characterised by a growth spurt (UNICEF, 2011; World Health Organisation, 2014), which is associated with augmented nutritional demands (UNICEF, 2011). Therefore, adequate intake of nutrients and energy are vital for achieving maximum growth potential (National Institute of Nutrition, 2010).\nMethods: Sampling\nResults: Socio-demographics of the sample\nDiscussion: The present survey reports novel findings on food and nutrition education and food skills acquisition by adolescents in the Indian context. There were seven main findings: food and nutrition education was seen as essential for inculcating healthy eating habits in secondary school students; while the curriculum was viewed as interesting and easy to understand, improvements were suggested; food and nutrition education should be available to both boys and girls; there is a current lack of practical skills training; there is a need for disseminating food skills either through compulsory food and nutrition curriculum or co-curricular activities; there is currently a lack of synchrony between the curriculum and the canteen; and there is the motivation for making changes in the curriculum among the stakeholders.\nConclusion: Collectively, both teachers and parents recognised food and nutrition as an important curricular and co-curricular subject with the potential to enhance a healthy lifestyle through the implementation of healthy eating habits. Nevertheless, they also outlined certain drawbacks associated with food and nutrition learning. These mainly included gendered nature of the curriculum, excessive rote learning and the contradiction between curriculum messages and canteen sales practices. Overall, both teachers and parents expressed similar ideas of improving food and nutrition learning in Indians schools, i.e., dissemination of food skills either through compulsory food and nutrition curriculum or through co-curricular school activities. These ideas were suggestive of strong support and motivation for modification in the current curriculum. It is anticipated that these findings will provide a guide to curriculum and education policy developers to create school-based food and nutrition programmes which will enhance the nutrition knowledge and food skills of 238m Indian adolescents. This in turn will assist them in overcoming the challenges of the rapidly burgeoning obesogenic food environment.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Nutrition education plays a significant role in inculcating lifelong healthy dietary behaviours among adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to understand the opinions of parents and teachers regarding nutrition education in private Indian secondary schools.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional, self-administered, paper-based survey comprising both closed- and open-ended questions was completed by 32 teachers and 280 parents who were recruited from five private English-speaking secondary schools in Kolkata, India. Descriptive and cross-tabulation analyses were conducted to compare the responses of teachers and parents. Thematic data analysis informed by template analysis technique was performed to evaluate the qualitative data.\nFindings: While the curriculum was considered interesting and easy to understand, the gendered nature of the curriculum, excessive rote learning and lack of synchrony between the curriculum and school food services were highlighted as shortcomings of the existing curriculum. The need for the dissemination of food skills either through a compulsory food and nutrition curriculum or through extra-mural activities was expressed by most respondents. Both these ideas were indicative of strong support and motivation for modification in the current curriculum.\nPractical implications: These findings emphasise the support for a skills-focussed food and nutrition curriculum to inculcate experiential culinary skills and comprehensive nutrition knowledge in Indian adolescents, thus improving their nutritional and health profiles.\nOriginality/value: This is the first cross-sectional survey to investigate the views of parents and teachers about the status of food and nutrition education in private Indian secondary schools.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The good company
|
[
"Decision theory",
"Human capital",
"Economics",
"Education",
"Local economies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Mainstream economics, instructed by Smith's Wealth of Nations (Smith, 1976a) and strengthened by Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom (Friedman, 1962), represents the economic agent as homo economicus, a strictly individual human being, and the firm as a profit-making enterprise serving the needs of its shareholders only. Everyone else is excluded on grounds that the shareholders alone own the firm. From this perspective, all existence is individual existence.\nEight characteristics: Subsidiarity and decision making in economic affairs\nConcluding remarks: Strict individualists argue that making a profit is the firm's only purpose (Friedman, 1962). All other economic agents are effectively excluded. The good company is one that turns a profit.The firm must make a profit in order to continue operating. But to Catholic social teaching making a profit is not the firm's only purpose. Rather, it is a necessary condition. Other economic agents - employees, suppliers, customers - contribute to and depend on the firm's success as a profit-making enterprise. Excluding them in effect uses them as means to the profit-making end. Catholic social teaching instructs the firm that human beings are persons with a sacred dignity and as economic agents may not be reduced to the means by which the firm makes its profits.Stakeholder needs and concerns are addressed in the eight characteristics and are embodied in a personalist economics that is still a work in progress. These eight characteristics allow the profit-making firm to examine its own practices to evaluate the extent and quality of its response to those needs and concerns. In the end we are hopeful that they will discover that the good company is able to compete successfully with its strictly profit-making rivals because its profits flow directly from economic agents acting virtuously.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present the argument that in principle any company can become a good company by adopting certain characteristics which define the good in enterprise affairs and affirm and reinforce everyone with a stake in the company - managers, workers, suppliers, customers, and communities where it operates - in addition to its owners.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - To identify the characteristics of the good company the paper turns to Catholic social teaching, with its traditional emphasis on the importance of practising virtue in worldly affairs. In this regard, the paper relies heavily on the writings and public statements of Pope John Paul II, who addressed these matters with great clarity and insight.\nFindings: - In its research the paper finds eight characteristics by which the good company can be identified and which, if embraced by the leadership of a willing and committed enterprise, can help to transform it into a good company. Each of the eight is addressed in some detail.\nOriginality/value: - The paper examines a vast body of writings that, according to Catholic social teaching, identify the good in enterprise affairs. One of the eight characteristics, personalist capital, advances the proposal that the good company routinely maximizes virtue among its stakeholders and thereby enhances its own profitability because the virtuous person is the more effective economic agent.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Determinants of speed to market in the context of the emerging Indian market
|
[
"Speed to market",
"Creation of collective mind",
"Organizational environment",
"Organizational infrastructure",
"Project complexity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The notion of first mover advantage has been well entrenched in the classical strategy literature (Fang, 2008; Lieberman and Montgomery, 1998; MacMillan, 1983; Nakata and Sivakumar, 1997; Robinson, 1988; Urban et al., 1986). The first mover traditionally has been the first to draw the attention of, and attend to the basic needs of, the customer (Lieberman and Montgomery, 1998; Robinson, 1988). Thus, first movers are ostensibly the best positioned to cater to the perception of the evolving basic needs of customers, and to modify products in the successive versions (MacMillan, 1983; Robinson, 1988). The evolution of the product in the market can be tracked by way of the first mover, right from the product's inception (Agarwal and Gort, 2001), and especially with respect to the quality dimension (McNally et al., 2011). By being the first mover, such a firm might drive and define the subsequent customer requirements, and the firm itself will benefit from what it learns (Patterson, 1993). Speed to market (SM) is not about being the first mover, but being one of the first movers (also a fast second or third mover) (Nakata and Sivakumar, 1997). SM has been an important concept in the fast growing product segment, being at the evolutionary level of the technological base (Ali et al., 1995; Nakata and Sivakumar, 1997; Zahra et al., 2000). According to the work of Song and Montoya-Weiss (2001) and that of Swink and Song (2007), SM is seen as a concept indicating the employee perception that their firm's products are developed with a thorough product market conceptualization, and a plan for commercialization (Zhang et al., 2015). SM has also been the reflection of a belief by employees that their firm's products are among the first available in the industry, and that they have been developed faster than those of their competitors (Cankurtaran et al., 2013; Pelham and Wilson, 1995; Schuler and Jackson, 1987). Some researchers have seen that it is important to explore the antecedents of SM (McNally et al., 2011; Talukdar et al., 2002; Wagner, 2004; Zhang et al., 2015).\n2. Literature review: 2.1. EOE\n3. Research methodology: In this research, the model comprising the five variables - EOE, OI, PC, CCM and SM - was studied in order to measure and understand the underlying relationships between these variables. Variables in this research were measured by the use of a close-ended structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was derived and chosen with the help of the literature review, and the relevance of items was assessed by the conceptual understanding. The scale responses were captured using a seven point Likert scale:\n4. Data collection: The data for research was collected from 415 managers. These respondents from various departments such as marketing, supply chain, manufacturing and operations, all had a general management perspective. The structured questionnaire was administered in person to the managers. The sample of the study comprised managers working in private and public manufacturing and services organizations in India. The average work experience of the respondents was 77 months. 214 managers came from the manufacturing sector, whereas 201 managers came from the services sector. The average age of respondents was 32 years and one month. The numbers of responses were 233 from the public sector, 103 from the private sector and 79 from multinational firms.\n5. Analysis and results: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was undertaken for the data analysis using Amos 18 (Byrne, 2001). Causal relationships between the five variables - EOE, OI, PC, CCM and SM - for path analysis and model fit were ascertained by SEM (Byrne, 2001; Arbuckle and Wothke, 1999) (Table I).\n6. Discussion: This section emphasizes that SM is influenced by PC and CCM, while EOE and OI influence both PC and CCM. In the competitive context, it is important for firms to reach the market before its competitors; this is in terms of both product and service development, as well as the delivery of the product. A firm must be conversant with the efforts of its nearest competitors in the market. In the temporal dimension, a winning firm must deliver in a shorter time frame than its nearest competitors. In literature, this has been conceptualized as SM. The notion of SM encompasses not only a performance relative to that of the competitors, but also what a firm must deliver in order to comply with the expectations of its managers. In one sense, SM reflects firm performance in competition with firm manager's performance. The dimensions of SM feature the following: testing of the product in the market, production, distribution and promotion and sales, all to be completed in a shorter span of time than anticipated. The next paragraph will deliberate on the building of SM by means of various contributing variables.\n7. Conclusion, implications and future scope: In a competitive world in emerging economies, it has been important to develop products that are appropriate for such markets (Nakata and Sivakumar, 1997). The mental model used to cater to emerging markets has been different from that used for other markets (Dhanaraj and Khanna, 2011). In an emerging market, it is not only important that the right products are developed and marketed at the right time, but the product should also be placed over the right temporal demand horizon. In emerging markets, the market size is large and characterized by the presence of many competitors. It is important that any firm that aims to secure the competitive advantage should not be a late entrant to such markets.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the antecedents of speed to market (SM). Further, a model was established on SM with the organizational variables of enacting organizational environment (EOE), organizational infrastructure (OI), project complexity (PC) and creation of collective mind (CCM).\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research was based on structured survey questionnaire data of 415 managers from private and public sector firms in India. The data analysis was carried out with SPSS 20 and AMOS 18 for structural equation modeling.\nFindings: Research results indicated that the exogenous factors were EOE and OI. PC and CCM were the intervening variables and SM was the endogenous variables. The result indicated that there was significant positive relationship between EOE and PC, EOE and CCM. There was also a significant positive relationship between the variables EOE with PC, OI with PC and CCM with PC. Finally there existed a significant positive relationship between PC and SM and CCM and SM.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research study was one of the first research studies developing a model on SM with the exogenous variables of EOE and OI and the intervening variables of PC and CCM.\nPractical implications: The managers in both public and private sector organizations looking to create and sustain competitive advantage by providing a fast and apt response to market demand by product development can use the inputs from the study. Organizations should be developed in such a manner to enrich the EOE and have a agile and flexible OI. This would help organizations in having CCM and undertake PC. A well-coordinated effort encompassing all these would help the organization to have a fast and steady SM.\nOriginality/value: This research was one of the very first studies relating SM with EOE, OI, PC and CCM in an emerging market context.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Reminding customers to be loyal: does message framing matter?
|
[
"Customer retention",
"Message framing",
"Persuasion",
"Loyalty programes"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Customer loyalty programs are among the most popular formalized and relationship-based marketing tools used by companies today to create, develop and maintain relationships with their customers. By establishing a stronger bond between customers and their brand, firms hope to maintain their customer base and/or increase sales revenues by raising purchase/usage levels (Uncles et al., 2003). Numerous different business sectors - including airlines, hotels and retail - widely use loyalty programs based on accumulative purchases. Customers are offered incentives in exchange for their repeat business (Dowling and Uncles, 1997). These membership-based marketing activities deliver added benefits (e.g. financial advantages and added convenience) to selected customer groups and are designed to enhance continued firm-customer exchanges (Meyer-Waarden, 2007). Because loyalty programs in retailing are so ubiquitous, especially from a customer's point of view, firms proactively communicate with customers, giving notice of membership information to directly attract customers' attention to reward schemes and thereby encourage their purchasing activities.\nTheoretical background and hypotheses: Loyalty programs that seek to bond customers to a company have attracted widespread interest. With the broad diffusion and prevalence of loyalty marketing, however, firms are now assessing loyalty marketing practices more critically and in a more sophisticated manner. To stand the best chance of success in tough market conditions, firms should carry out loyalty marketing with due diligence and check the acceptance of these practices by customers before their implementation.\nStudy 1a: Method\nStudy 1b: Method\nStudy 2a: Method\nStudy 2b: Method\nStudy 3: Method\nGeneral discussion: To determine the efficacy of a message, a retailer must quantify the message's influence on future purchase behavior. As reciprocity-based ongoing exchanges can strengthen the relationship between two parties (Palmatier et al., 2009): the norm of reciprocity may offer insight on how to make messages more persuasive. This paper, with its focus on how framing may interact with important variables, including individual customer's previous purchases and relationship benefits, in determining the impact on persuasion, provides empirical support for drawing on the concept of reciprocity as the theoretical underpinning.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Marketers may proactively give customers personalized notices regarding their progress toward certain rewards as a means to stimulate ongoing behaviors. This paper aims to investigate the effect on customer repatronage intention by framed messages concerning either goal-distance or consequences of an action and it also seeks to identify important variables moderating those responses.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Five between-subjects experiments examined how participants' repatronage intentions, in response to the framing of goal-distance (Study 1a) and consequences of an action (Study 2a), varied as a function of their level of progress toward goal completion and also tested if the framing effects might be attenuated when relationship benefit was high rather than low (Studies 1b and 2b). They further adopted perceived reciprocity as an underlying mechanism for examining the interplay between these two kinds of framing in stimulating ongoing behavior (Study 3).\nFindings: Although messages which emphasized what individuals need to spend more to attain a reward (versus how short they are from earning a reward) or loss following inaction (versus gain following action) were likely to erode intention, such effects were confined to individuals with a moderate level of progress. This intention-eroding effect was further attenuated by attractive reward. The persuasive advantages of short-from-the-end framing of goal-distance over more-to-the-end counterparts were found to be diminished when paired with a loss-framed message concerning consequences of an action. Furthermore, the observed effects on intention were mediated by perceived reciprocity.\nOriginality/value: The studies add to the current understanding of how the way in which information is presented might enhance loyalty or fail to do so.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Beyond being proactive: what (else) matters for career self-management behaviors?
|
[
"Career development",
"Job mobility",
"Personality"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Career self-management is defined by scholars as the degree to which employees regularly gather information and plan for career problem-solving and decision-making (Kossek et al., 1998). Research on self-directed career behaviors and on career self-management has grown substantially in prominence over the past decade (Briscoe et al., 2006; King, 2004). Although Baruch (2006) noted that organizational influence is not to be underestimated in the career landscape, individual initiative (i.e. career self-management) continues to hold primary theoretical and practical interest in the study of careers due to the ever-changing nature of the field. One key to broadening our understanding of career self-management is through the examination of the individual factors that are likely to influence it (King, 2004).\nIndividual differences and career self-management: Prior research has linked proactive personality to objective and subjective criteria of career success (Erdogan and Bauer, 2005; Ng et al., 2005; Seibert et al., 1999) and with an agentic, self-directed orientation toward one's career (Briscoe et al., 2006). The question remains, however, whether proactive individuals engage in career self-management and life-long learning efforts (Jackson et al., 1996). One's proactive disposition is likely to result in behaviors such as job mobility preparedness and developmental feedback-seeking, which are crucial for creating career networks, coping with work stress and challenges, and adjusting to changes in the organization and environment (Mirvis and Hall, 1994). While previous studies indicate that interventions related to enhancing career self-management behavior are not always successful (Kossek et al., 1998), an important question remains whether these agentic behaviors are influenced by individual factors, and if so, which factors. In what follows, we elaborate on individual-level predictors and their relationship to career self-management.Proactive personality is a stable disposition (Bateman and Crant, 1993; Crant, 2000), characterizing \"one who is relatively unconstrained by situational forces and who effects environmental change\" (Crant, 1995, p. 532). Research has shown that proactive individuals engage in life-long learning and are therefore more likely to identify and capitalize on opportunities that bring about meaningful change (Seibert et al., 1999). Individuals who do not exhibit proactive personality are much more reactive and content with maintaining status quo within a career context. Proactive personality is related to objective job performance (Crant, 1995) and influences one's ability to adjust to ever-changing work conditions by taking responsibility for career progression and the development of personal networks (Hall and Mirvis, 1995). Finally, researchers also found proactive personality to be positively related to career satisfaction and success (Erdogan and Bauer, 2005). Consequently, we examine the extent to which a disposition towards proactive behaviors, such as being aware of possible opportunities, enjoying overcoming obstacles, and turning problems into opportunities, influences career self-management behaviors.What are the possible intervening mechanisms of this relationship? Prior research indicated that, in order to obtain important career outcomes (e.g. promotion, salary increase, satisfaction), individuals with a proactive disposition will need to engage in specific behaviors and cognitions such as career initiative and innovation (Seibert et al., 2001). We extend this logic by suggesting that proactive personality alone may be insufficient for explaining why individuals engage in career self-management behaviors. Thus, we assert that career resilience might be an important intervening factor. As noted by Sutcliffe and Vogus (2003), a resilience perspective provides insight into organizational and individual adjustment and adaptation in an increasingly complex, ever-evolving, and hypercompetitive environment. Resilience therefore becomes a necessary coping mechanism that will further support and enable a proactive individual's career self-management efforts.Importantly, some of the career self-management activities target preparation for and changes in skills and professional image (Roberts, 2005). As many of these actions are either public or related to one's public self, we focus on a second intervening factor, public self-consciousness. Public self-consciousness is defined as a tendency to see oneself as a social object, which results in one being susceptible to negative feelings when observed in social situations (Marquis and Filiatrault, 2003; Fenigstein et al., 1975). Prior theoretical work shows that public self-consciousness is important for career management behaviors (London and Smither, 1999), and we argue that public self-consciousness is likely to influence the proactive personality - career self-management relationship, particularly during career transitions. Individuals engaged in career self-management expose themselves to public scrutiny, especially by individuals who are in hierarchically superior positions and who are likely to have more experience. In other words, individuals in career transition are \"at the mercy\" of superiors who are called upon to critique the merits of the individuals in transition. Because public self-consciousness has been found to be related to public social costs, London et al. (1999) suggested that individuals with high levels of this trait are likely to be more responsive to others' views.\nTheory development and hypotheses: As we indicated earlier, extant career research has linked proactive personality to career outcomes (Erdogan and Bauer, 2005; Ng et al., 2005). Indeed, proactive individuals take on more responsibility at work by increasing their role breadth, self-efficacy and production ownership (Parker and Sprigg, 1999), and have increased levels of performance (McCarthy, 2002; Thompson, 2005). Additionally, proactive individuals are more adept in understanding organizational and environmental nuances and, therefore, they are more proficient in anticipating changes than less proactive individuals (Seibert et al., 1999). Crant (1995) found that proactive individuals were likely to select or create situations that supported high levels of job performance. In addition, such individuals are also more likely to seek out professional and organizational information, and career support, which lead to higher salary, promotions and career satisfaction (Ng et al., 2005; Seibert et al., 1999). Improvements such as the ones just described (in both objective and subjective career outcomes) are obtained mainly through intervening mechanisms such as voice, innovation, political knowledge and career initiative (Seibert et al., 2001).Proactive personality along with other individual factors positively influence one's motivation to learn, the extent to which employees engage in developmental activities, and their career management strategies (Guthrie et al., 1998; Major et al., 2006). However, little research to date has examined the relationship between proactive personality and career self-management behaviors. Proactive individuals describe themselves as always looking for better ways of completing tasks, as being excited by turning their ideas into reality, and believing that they are a force for constructive change, including personal change. Thus, we argue that career self-management is a logical extension of these individuals' proactive tendencies into a behavioral domain including career-specific behaviors (e.g. initiating feedback, preparing for a new job, and seeking development). We therefore expect that employees who are proactive also engage in career self-management behaviors, in order to enhance valued career outcomes.H1. Proactive personality will be positively related to career self-management behaviors such as (a) job mobility preparedness, and (b) developmental feedback-seeking.\nMethod: Setting and procedure\nResults: Table I provides the means, standard deviations, zero-order correlations and Cronbach alphas for the variables in the study. We tested H1 using zero-order correlations. We used Sobel's test (1982) for H2, based on research indicating that it provides a more powerful and precise test of mediation (MacKinnon et al., 2002). Multiple regressions were used for H3.As indicated in Table I, proactive personality is positively correlated with job mobility preparedness (r=0.40, p < 0.001) and developmental feedback-seeking (r=0.62, p < 0.001), thus providing support for H1. Support for H2 is presented in Table II. The indirect paths from proactive personality to career resilience and then to the two respective outcomes were both significant (t=4.10, p < 0.001, for developmental feedback-seeking behaviors, and t=2.59, p < 0.001, for job mobility preparedness).Finally, according to H3, we proposed that proactive personality will interact with public self-consciousness and influence developmental feedback-seeking behaviors. We tested the hypothesis using hierarchical regression with standardized predictors in order to minimize effects of multicollinearity (Cohen et al., 2003). After entering proactive personality and public self-consciousness in the first step of the regression, the interaction term introduced in the second step was significant (B=-0.28, p < 0.05), and explained an additional three percent of the total variance of developmental feedback-seeking behaviors. We plotted the relationship at high and low levels of public self-consciousness (one standard deviation above and below the mean). The interaction is in the hypothesized direction (see Figure 1). More importantly, the interaction effect size (DR2 =0.03) is within the typical range of 0.01 to 0.03 found in non-experimental studies (Chaplin, 1991; Champoux and Peters, 1987). Specific values for the direct and moderated models can be obtained from the first author upon request.\nDiscussion: The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between proactive personality and career self-management behaviors, and to explore intervening factors such as career resilience and public self-consciousness. Overall, we found support for our hypothesized relationships. As anticipated, proactive personality predicts career self-management behaviors, and we found support for differential relationships - the predictors interacted in influencing developmental feedback seeking. Specifically, we found that employees with high levels of proactive personality and low public self-consciousness engage more in developmental feedback-seeking behaviors than employees with high levels of proactive personality and high public self-consciousness (Figure 2). Furthermore, the relationship between proactive personality and career self-management behaviors was mediated by career resilience. This indicates that although proactive employees are more likely to engage in career self-management behaviors, career resilience is also an important factor. Given that career resilience can be enhanced through contingent rewards (London, 1993), our study uncovered an important mechanism that can enhance and direct the impact of proactive behaviors on career self-management initiatives.The above findings should be regarded in light of the study's limitations. First, the cross-sectional nature of the data restricts our ability to make causal inferences. We, therefore, recommend that future studies test these relationships in models designed to capture cause and effect. Second, collecting data from a single source could result in single-source bias. Such inflation is less likely, however, in the case of complex relationships such as interactions (Evans, 1985). In addition, given the focus of the study on information related to individual-directed variables (proactive personality and public self-consciousness) and career self-management behaviors that are most accurately reported by the focal employees (job mobility preparedness and developmental feedback-seeking), these individuals were the most reliable source of information, as in other similar studies (Kossek et al., 1998). More importantly, the results of several studies suggest that common method effects are less of a threat than researchers think, or are a threat only in specific situations (Podsakoff and Organ, 1986; Spector, 1994). Similarly, Crampton and Wagner's (1994) meta-analysis indicated that percept-percept inflation might be an exceptional occurrence rather than the norm. Finally, this study was conducted in one organization; therefore generalizability of the present findings should be treated with appropriate caution until confirmed by other studies based on data obtained in other settings. This study might also provide an impetus for future research, for which several directions are outlined as follows, along with theoretical and practical implications.Theoretical implications\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This study aims to investigate the relationship between proactive personality and career self-management behaviors (job mobility preparedness and developmental feedback-seeking behaviors), providing evidence for one mediator (career resilience) and one moderator (public self-consciousness) on this relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Data from 127 employees in one work organization, analyzed using regression analysis.\nFindings: - Proactive personality is positively related to career self-management behaviors. Career resilience mediates this relationship. In addition, proactive personality and public self-consciousness have an interactive effect, with developmental feedback-seeking behaviors as the outcome.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Despite the cross-sectional nature of the study, the findings uncover mechanisms through which proactive personality is related to career self-management behaviors. According to the findings, this relationship is subject to important intervening (career resilience) and boundary (public self-consciousness) conditions.\nPractical implications: - The findings serve as a resource for practitioners interested in interventions. Specifically, practitioners in organizations where the results generalize can design interventions directed at enhancing the direct effect of proactive personality on career self-management. These interventions can be directed to managing employees' career resilience and cognitively restructuring their public self-consciousness perceptions.\nOriginality/value: - This study adds to the literatures on career self-management behaviors and proactive personality and explicates important intervening mechanisms in this relationship.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Farmer knowledge and willingness to pay for soil testing in Haiti
|
[
"Structural equation model",
"Theory of planned behaviour",
"WTP",
"MIMIC model",
"Hybrid choice model",
"Soil testing benefits"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Agricultural production in the developing world needs innovative technologies that will help to boost food production and feed the growing population. However, the adoption process and farmer's involvement in the process of diffusion have not been an easy task for developers. Many factors such as environmental, culture and socio-economics play a major role in the success of integrating innovation or novel input in agricultural production. Soil testing is considered as a new input that helps farmers to gather information on the nutrient status of their farm soils and have appropriate recommendations on how to improve the soil quality. Soil testing is extensively used in developed countries to advance agricultural production. Soil testing services to farmers have recently emerged in developing countries as a mean to improve soil quality with the prospect of increasing agricultural productivity. In Haiti, few laboratories have been installed to help farmers to test their soils and provide proper fertilizer recommendations, where recommendations are non-existent and application is done at random. More recently the US Agency for International Development (USAID) intends to install a soil testing laboratory in Northern Haiti. We believe that to achieve a desirable goal of providing soil testing services to Haitian farmers, it is important to consider the knowledge and perception of farmers who are the potential users of these new inputs and how this guides their decision to pay for the services.\n2. Theoretical framework: In this study we hypothesize that farmers' decision to pay for soil testing is guided by psychological and socio-economic factors. The effects of the psychological factors are described by the theory of planned action (TPA) in Figure 1. This theory was proposed by Ajzen (1991) and stipulates that the intention to perform a given behavior indicates people's readiness to perform the behavior, and it is a direct predictor of actual behavior (Urban et al., 2012). According to the TPA the behavioral intention is influenced by three components, namely: attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (PBC) (Figure 1).\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Study area and data collection\n4. Results and discussions: 4.1 Farmers' socio-economic characteristics\n5. Conclusions: The goal of this study is to find out whether psychological factors such as attitude toward soil testing benefits and fertilizers knowledge affect farmers' willingness to pay for soil testing services. The results suggest that various factors guide farmers' attitudes and knowledge of soil testing benefits and fertilizers' knowledge. These factors include: educational level, gender, Rice growers, Slope on the land, experience in agriculture, participation in soil testing program, participation in AVANSE/USAID program. The attitudinal factors are not significant but appear to be positive and have positive impact on soil testing payment.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors affecting farmers' perceptions and knowledge of soil testing benefits and fertilizers use in Northern Haiti.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 452 farmers within 17 localities in Northern Haiti. The findings reveal that farmers currently have little or no knowledge of soil testing benefits and but know better about fertilizer use. The soil testing benefits and knowledge on fertilizers use were collected using Likert scale. Analyses were done using structural equations model and choice model.\nFindings: Factors such as farm size, participation in project, rice, banana and cocoa growers, affect farmers' perceptions and knowledge of soil testing benefits. Factors affecting willingness to pay include group membership, type of crops grown, whether farmer' land is on the slope, his farm size and whether he participates in the US Agency for International Development (USAID) project. Knowledge on fertilizer use is influenced by rice and banana growers, fertilizer use, participation in soil testing program and AVANSE/USAID. The effects of both latent variables are found to be positive but non-significant.\nPractical implications: As policy implication; farmers need training module to be better informed on soil testing benefits.\nOriginality/value: Soil testing is a novel agricultural input that is being popularized in developing countries. For sustainability of the laboratory to be installed, this study is needed to fill the gap in research on farmers' behaviors toward and demand of soil testing in Northern Haiti.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Carbon audit: a literature review and an empirical study on a hotel
|
[
"Carbon audit",
"Empirical study",
"Energy",
"Greenhouse gas",
"Hotels",
"Literature review",
"Environmental management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Nowadays, global warming is not only an environmental issue but also one of the biggest challenges to the international community. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expected, the global temperatures would rise between 1 and 6oC by the end of this century (Marsh et al., 2010). Central to this global warming problem is the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), in particular the emissions of carbon dioxide due to energy generation.Between 1984 and 2004, carbon dioxide emissions in the whole world have increased by 43 percent, with an average annual increase of 1.8 percent (Perez-Lombard et al., 2008). In Hong Kong, the total amount of GHG emissions in 2007 was about 46,700 kilotonnes of CO2-equivalent (CO2-e), or 6.7 tonnes per capita (Environmental Protection Department, 2009), which is comparable to the statistic (6.26 tonnes per capita) announced by the International Energy Agency (International Energy Agency, 2009). Though being lower than those recorded in developed countries such as the USA (19.1), Australia (18.75), Singapore (9.8), Japan (9.68) and the UK (8.6), this level was still higher than that of the whole world (4.38).Realizing the dominant energy consumption by buildings in developed and developing countries, IPCC recognized that the building sector has the greatest economic mitigation potential for reduction of GHG emissions (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007). Carbon audit, which can be used for revealing the major sources and amounts of GHG emissions, is a life cycle assessment tool that can identify appropriate targets and opportunities for reducing the emissions from buildings (European Commission, 2009). Worldwide many guidelines have been developed for promoting carbon audits, but a comprehensive review of their key features is not available yet. Without understanding their bases and methodologies, it is not sure whether fair comparisons can be made between the results obtained from following these guidelines.Lately, more and more efforts have been devoted to studying carbon emissions. Examples include: determination of carbon emissions based on simulated building energy consumptions (Kneifel, 2010); a modeling approach described by (Pekala et al., 2010) for optimal planning of energy systems subject to carbon and land footprint constraints; and a preliminary comparison of the carbon footprints of 12 metropolitan areas (Sovacool and Brown, 2010). Studies which investigate into carbon emissions based on in-depth field data of individual buildings, on the other hand, could not be found from the open literature.In popular tourist destinations, e.g. Singapore and Hong Kong, hotels are among the energy-intensive building categories (Deng and Burnett, 2000; Lai and Yik, 2008; Priyadarsini et al., 2009). The predicted amount of carbon emissions due to energy use in the hotel industry is significant (Chan and Lam, 2002). Without performing empirical investigations into the hotels, however, their sources of carbon emissions and the actual extents to which they have contributed to such emissions remain unknown. Lacking such information, facilities managers could hardly determine if the carbon emissions from their facilities are acceptable or not.Driven by the desire to filling the previous knowledge gaps, a two-stage study was carried out. In Stage 1, the relevant legislations and carbon audit guidelines of Australia, the UK and Hong Kong were reviewed. In Stage 2, an empirical carbon audit was conducted based on the record data of a typical hotel in Hong Kong. The first of the following two parts will present the findings of the review, including the similarities and differences between the key features of the guidelines. The second part, which is drawn from the empirical audit, will report on its data collection process, how the collected data were processed, and the analyzed findings. Further to identifying the problems encountered during the audit, suggestions for how they may be overcome are also given.\nLiterature review: The 2009 RICS Global Zero Carbon Capacity Index (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, 2010), which aimed at highlighting countries that are developing the capacity to make progress towards the goal of a zero-carbon built environment, showed that Australia and the UK were the top two performing countries in terms of policy frameworks. As such, the following section will present a review of the legislations and guidelines in respect of carbon audits in these two countries. Then, a review of the local (Hong Kong) guidelines will be reported, followed by a comparison between the key features of the guidelines of these three places.Australia\nEmpirical audit: The hotel selected for this in-depth empirical study was a typical four-star hotel in Hong Kong. With a gross floor area of about 40,700m2, the hotel was 19-storey high, accommodating over 600 guestrooms, four restaurants, one bar, and some retail shops. The monthly average occupancy rate of the hotel exceeded 87 percent and the daily average number of its direct staff was about 400.A questionnaire, which contained a data template designed according to the Guidelines and a series of questions devised for identifying the characteristics of the hotel's facilities, was prepared for use in interviewing the responsible staff. Since this was the first ever carbon audit for the hotel, a kick-off briefing was held to explain to the staff about the purpose of the study, its methodology, the tasks to be carried out and the data to be collected. Afterwards, the study team walked through the main areas of the hotel to comprehend the natures and operations of its major facilities.With the support given by the senior management including the Director of Engineering of the hotel, the relevant staff was asked to fill in the data template. But because no such audits had been conducted before, most of the required data were not readily available. As a result, the study team re-visited the hotel in an attempt to collect the relevant data records. Through three more visits, the documentary records collected include the electricity bills, water bills, operation and maintenance (O&M) log sheets of the facilities, and orders placed for purchase of paper and collection of paper for recycling over a period of one year. After entering the data retrieved from these documentations into the template, a final meeting was held with the responsible staff to clarify the queries found during the retrieval process.In accordance with the Guidelines and the equations summarized in the Appendix, a GHG emissions calculator was developed under this study. The calculator, in the form of an electronic spreadsheet, is applicable to commercial, residential or institutional buildings in Hong Kong. The collected data were inputted to this calculator and the computed results, which are in tonnes of CO2 equivalent, are shown in Table III.Direct emissions and removals by sinks\nProblems and suggestions: For complying with the statutory fire services requirements (Fire Services Department, 2005), the emergency power generator must be tested to run for a period of not less than 30 minutes in each month. Even though the amount of diesel oil so consumed may be small, it should be recorded for the purpose of carbon audit. Moreover, the generator might have consumed additional diesel oil during the reporting period if there were emergency situations where the generator was activated. Without a proper record of the diesel oil consumption, the corresponding amount of GHG emission could not be identified.Under the Guidelines, the reporting party may choose to report GHG emissions associated with mobile combustion sources (e.g. transport provided for the hotel's guests) under scope 3. While the transport services (i.e. calling for taxi and vans) were arranged but not controlled by the hotel and so their emissions were not taken into account in the preceding calculation, this unaccounted element should be noted especially when the audit result of this hotel is compared with that of another whose emissions due to provision of guest shuttle bus service has been accounted.The record kept by the hotel on the amounts of paper consumed and paper collected for recycling was not complete. While the data required for completing such a record spread over different departments (e.g. administration, engineering, etc.) of the hotel, cooperation among these departments is essential in order to maintain a proper record for use in carbon audits.Data pertaining to the shop tenants of the hotel could not be made available for this study. Without such data including utilities consumptions and amounts of paper used and collected for recycling, the corresponding carbon emissions and removals were not included in the audit. When carbon audits become commonplace, hopefully, the culture may change and the shop tenants would provide the required data. Alternatively, consideration should be made to incorporate an appropriate contract term into the future leases, making it an obligation for the tenants to provide the relevant data for carbon audit purpose.Reporting of GHG emissions in scope 3 is optional. Even though the Guidelines have listed out some examples of emissions (e.g. emissions from outsourced activities, waste disposal other than those covered in the prescribed scopes) that the reporting party may consider to include in a carbon audit, which of them would be included is at the sole discretion of that party. This flexibility leads to some potential problems. First, the total GHG emissions of the building may be underestimated if the audit does not cover the scope 3 emissions. Second, the sources and the extents of the unreported scope 3 emissions could not be unveiled, which is not in line with the aim of the Guidelines. Third, the scope 3 emissions from different buildings may be reported to different extents, meaning that their audit results are obtained on different bases. When interpreting the carbon audit results of different buildings, therefore, care should be exercised to observe any difference in the bases or scopes of their audits.\nConclusions: Hong Kong is behind Australia and UK in that no legislations have been in place or in the pipeline requiring mandatory reporting of carbon emissions from corporations or buildings. The current setting of its carbon audit guidelines is similar to those overseas but reporting of scope 3 emissions is entirely optional. The problems that may arise from this flexibility should be observed especially when making comparisons between audit results which are obtained from adopting different degrees of the flexibility.The empirical audit on the hotel, covering in-depth investigations into the carbon emissions over a period of one year, is a pilot demonstration for the hotel industry in Hong Kong. Despite the difficulties encountered during the data collection process, the result of this audit showed that the purchased electricity was the dominant source of carbon emissions. Among the problems identified, the lack of complete record data were a major obstacle to the audit.The experience gained from the audit and the suggestions given on how the problems may be overcome can help conduct smoother and more proper audits in future. When more audit results are made available, a database of carbon emission benchmarks can be established. Carbon emissions from buildings, which can serve as a key performance indicator of facilities management, can be compared against the benchmarks. This will enable facilities managers to identify which areas of carbon emissions should be minimized in order to make their buildings green and sustainable.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Worldwide, many carbon audit guidelines have been developed, but comparative reviews of these guidelines and empirical findings of carbon emissions from hotels remain limited. The aim of the study reported here was to bridge these knowledge gaps.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A comparative review of the legislations and guidelines for carbon audits in Australia, the UK and Hong Kong was made. An empirical audit, which entailed a series of site visits and interviews for collecting the record data of a typical hotel in Hong Kong, was conducted to identify the sources and amounts of carbon emissions from the hotel.\nFindings: - Conducting carbon audits for buildings in Hong Kong is entirely voluntary. Reporting of certain scopes of carbon emissions is at the sole discretion of the reporting party. Purchased electricity for the hotel is the dominant source of carbon emissions.\nResearch implications: - Audits in future may follow the reported audit process to identify carbon emissions from other hotels to enlarge the pool of empirical findings, which is a prerequisite to developing carbon emission benchmarks and carbon footprint analyses.\nPractical implications: - The suggestions made for overcoming the obstacles found from the audit are crucial for performing smoother and more complete audits in future.\nOriginality/value: - The review findings and the practical problems identified are useful information for the stakeholders of carbon audits, including policy makers and facilities management practitioners.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Exploratory case studies on manufacturing decision areas in the job production system
|
[
"India",
"Job production systems",
"Decision making",
"Manufacturing systems",
"Manufacturing strategy",
"Manufacturing decision areas",
"Case studies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Skinner (1969) characterized manufacturing strategy as consisting of a pattern of many individual decisions that provide the required competence for a firm. The competence is an ability of the firm to excel in competitive priorities such as cost, quality, delivery, flexibility and innovation (Safizadeh et al., 2000). Providing the required competence in the marketplace is the job of a production system and it depends upon the configuration of many individual decisions. These decisions are organized into a framework called \"decision areas\". Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) have classified the decision areas into two groups: structural and infrastructural. Decision areas include human resources, organization structure and control; and production planning and control (PPC) as infrastructural decisions whereas sourcing, process technology and facilities as structural decisions.Most widely used generic production systems in literature are job, batch, line and continuous flow (Hayes and Wheelwright, 1979a, b). This classification of production system is related to product volume and varieties. Manufacturing literature cites studies in decision areas (Skinner, 1969; Wheelwright, 1984; Fine and Hax, 1985; Garrido et al., 2007); but these do not differentiate studies based on process choice. Few authors (Woodward, 1965; Hull and Collins, 1987) have studied composition of production system on a limited number of elements of decision areas. However, Miller (1981) states that the same relationship between variables may not generally hold in different contexts (e.g. process choice, market). Thus, it is desirable to control the process choice in such studies. Safizadeh et al. (2000) argue that controlling the process choice offers a new perspective on alternative manufacturing paradigms and that tradeoffs are implicit in the process choice itself.Manufacturing strategy literature cites studies that provide description of decisions made under each process choice based on conceptual or empirical research (Ashton and Cook, 1989; Safizadeh and Ritzman, 1997; Olhager and Rudbergy, 2002; Olhager et al., 2001; Hill and Hill, 2009; Miltenburg, 2005). However, the list of decisions considered in these studies is not comprehensive.Various studies in manufacturing decision areas suggest that decision choices are not always process specific but are influenced by several other factors. Some studies (Bhattacharya and Coleman, 1994; Spring and Dalrymple, 2000; Garrido et al., 2007) point out that decision such as planning strategy and master planning schedule are related to product complexity. A four-stage model (H-W model) proposed by Wheelwright and Hayes (1985) states that companies in different stages of strategic orientation of manufacturing, exhibit different preferences in their decision choices. A research on manufacturing performance suggests that decision choices are related to the competitive priorities of the firms (Safizadeh and Ritzman, 1997; Vickery et al., 1999; Narasimhan and Das, 1999; Olhager et al., 2001). In some companies, decisions are made by top management for reasons such as convenience in location decision and ability to invest in deciding the size of operation (Schmenner, 1979; Slack and Lewis, 2009). Once these decisions are made, they may influence other decisions. For instance, the size of the company is also found to influence many other decisions in production system (Cagliano and Spina, 2000; Swamidass and Kotha, 1998; Spring and Dalrymple, 2000). It is essential to understand how these factors affect decision choices in order to develop a sound manufacturing strategy. There is paucity of empirical research in this area. It is worth knowing decisions that are specific to process choice and decisions that are contingent on other factors discussed above. Research in this line will also lead to the possibility of some competent configurations in any type of production system that might be useful in practice. The present work is a first attempt of this kind and it focuses on job shop production system.This research paper aims to investigate the decision choices made in job production system by exploring five case studies. The following are the explicit research objectives of the study. The first objective is to explore process specific decisions with respect to job production system. The second objective is to identify non-process specific decision choices that are influenced by other factors. The factors considered in this study are product complexity, competitive priorities (order winner), strategic orientation of manufacturing (stages in H-W model), top management and size of the company.The paper is structured in six sections. Section 2 briefly reviews the relevant literature and develops the research framework for this study. The research methodology is discussed in Section 3. In Section 4, with-in case and cross-case analyses are presented for five case companies. Conclusions and future work are discussed in Section 5.\n2 Literature review: In this section, we initially present the review of literature on manufacturing decision areas. This is followed by the review of research on process specific decisions in job production system and non-process specific decisions.2.1 Manufacturing decision areas\n3 Research methodology: Many authors have stressed the need for a case study research in the field of manufacturing strategy (Adam and Swamidass, 1989; Flynn et al., 1990; Swamidass, 1991; Meredith, 1998; Dangayach and Deshmukh, 2000). The underlying aim of the case study research is to reduce the gap between the theory and practice by making the research useful to the practitioners. The purpose of the case study is not only to describe a situation but, more often, it is to understand how or why events occur (Yin, 1984). The findings obtained from the analysis will be grounded on empirical evidence. The paper conducts an exploratory study (Table I, McCutcheon and Meredith, 1993) to identify possible alternative configurations of job production system by investigating process specific and non-process specific decision choices using case study methodology.3.1 Selection of case companies\n4 Case analysis and discussion: We first conduct with-in case analysis followed by cross-case analysis. Specific findings from the analysis are shown in the last column of respective decision areas in Tables III-VIII.4.1 With-in case analysis\n5 Conclusions and future work: Job production system mainly provides product differentiation and innovation in the market. The present paper illustrates case studies of five manufacturing companies employing job production system. It was observed that the product complexity of all five case companies was high with little variation from case to case. This is consistent with the study of Choe et al. (1997) where they find positive correlation of product differentiation and innovation with the product complexity. Further, it may be possible to differentiate job, batch and line production system based on product complexity values leading to the following proposition:P1. A company employing a job production system is likely to have a different range of product complexity than the batch and line production systems.This exploratory research uncovers the process specific decision choices for a job production system. It also provides the relationship of the non-process specific factors such as competitive priorities (order winner), strategic orientation of manufacturing (stages in H-W model), top management decisions and size of the company with decision choices.A large number of decision choices, mostly in the PPC and process technology areas were found to be similar for all the case companies. They are, planning inputs, MPS, planning strategy, MRP, shop floor control, inventory level, number of planning points, set-up time, frequency of planning, length of planning horizon and batching of backlog for planning in the PPC area and the type of layout, nature of machineries, degree of automation and the degree of coupling in the process technology area. Further, few decisions such as level of worker skill, nature of formalization and the number of suppliers belonging to the other decision areas were also found to be process specific. Some of the above findings are new to the body of literature:P2. A company employing job production system is likely to exercise different choices in the decisions mentioned above for PPC and process technology areas than those exercised by batch and line production systems.The decisions in the facility and sourcing areas are usually influenced by the considerations of the top management and thus the top management needs to be conscious of the strategic consequences of such decisions. Capacity strategy, size of the plant, number of facilities, location and vertical integration are such decisions found from case analysis. The most predominant reasons for facility decisions are financial ability to invest, raw material availability and nearness to market. Vertical integration is preferred by the companies only when it provides certain competitive advantage in the market.The case companies in the different stages of H-W model were observed exhibiting different preferences in their decision choices largely in sourcing, process technology and human resource decision areas. This assessment can help the management for determining the scope for further improvement and accordingly develop the action plan. For example, an action plan such as TPM, TQM and supplier involvement to bring the company in higher stages of H-W can improve their competitiveness. Thus, it is possible that a job production system can move to a higher stage of H-W model to achieve better performance and competitive advantage:P3. The job shops in higher stages of H-W model should outperform the ones that are in the lower stages.Similar to the previous studies, this research also finds that the size of the company influences many decisions. Most of the decisions are from organization structure and control area. The decisions influenced by the size of the company are, number of layers, level of horizontal integration, the span of control, job specialization, planning process, capacity addition and the use of AMT in integration:P4. A large job shop is likely to exercise different choices in the above listed decisions than a small job shop.The findings of this paper can help practitioners understand the configuration of decisions in a job production system. It also conveys to the manager, the need for process specific settings while designing the production system. Since this research is based on five case companies, its findings should be generalized to large population with care. The current paper does not consider the link between performance of case companies and decision choices and this can be another limitation of this study. Thus, there is a scope for studying relationship between decision choices and performance in terms of competitive priorities. There are a number of other avenues for further empirical research. In particular, our research framework can be validated using a different sample of case companies. Further, usefulness of framework can be strengthened by undergoing sector specific studies in the job production system. Similar kind of studies can be conducted for other production systems such as batch, line and continuous system. Research can also be extended to testing and validating the research findings and propositions of this paper with the help of a large-scale questionnaire survey.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to understand the configuration of a job production system with reference to manufacturing decision areas. The aim is to identify the process specific decisions for job shop and the non-process specific decisions that are influenced by other contextual factors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A case study research approach is used in the present paper to investigate the decisions of five manufacturing companies that satisfy the characteristics of job production system. Data are collected from case company's products, order winners and choices made in manufacturing decision areas. The paper uses within case and cross-case analysis to identify various patterns in the data, with a view to meeting the required research objectives.\nFindings: - The present paper identifies a number of decisions specific to job shop. Further, many non-process specific decisions are seen to be influenced by competitive priorities (order winner), strategic orientation of manufacturing (stages in H-W model), top management and size of the company. After the study of the case companies, it is also observed that the companies employing a job production system may have high product complexity.\nPractical implications: - The findings derived from this research would facilitate practitioners in understanding both process specific and non-process specific decisions for the job production system. The observation that the job shops can also use progressive practices, the same as other shops, to gain competitive advantage in the market could be very useful for practicing managers.\nOriginality/value: - This exploratory research contributes to the existing theory in manufacturing decision areas for job production systems.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Open access journals: a bibliometric study in SSCI
|
[
"Open access",
"Document supply",
"Bibliometric study",
"Open access journals",
"SSCI",
"Social sciences citation index"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: During the process of scholarly communication, scientists, researchers and scholars conduct academic research and disseminate their academic achievements for public use through academic publishing. Libraries play an intermediary role in the process of scholarly communication, collecting and categorizing academic publications for public search and usage. The public then are able to use the academic research achievements to attain further academic accomplishments. This constant cycle constitutes scholarly communication.\nLiterature review: Development of open access journals\nMethodology: Scope of the study\nResults: RQ1. How many articles on open access journals have been published per year between 1993 and 2016 in Social Sciences Citation Index?\nConclusions: Based on the bibliometric analysis and literature review in this study, the following six conclusions are presented:\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a bibliometric study of journal articles in Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) related to open access journals. Publication trends from 1993 to 2016, core journals, prolific authors and article citation frequencies were examined to provide librarians and scholars with a basic reference of relevant resources.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Among articles published in journals which have been listed in SSCI during 1993-2016, titles were searched for the term \"open access journal\". The data were evaluated in response to five research questions concerning topics including publication trends from 1993 to 2016, core journals, prolific authors and article citation frequencies.\nFindings: In total, 115 articles on open access journals were authored by 215 individuals from 1993 to 2016. The 115 articles analyzed were cited 842 times in 57 journals.\nOriginality/value: This paper describes a bibliometric study on open access journal publication, which has rarely been performed within the specific context of document supply issues. It provides a foundation for further research on titles as well as resources for librarians and scholars.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Consumption or prosumption? A question of resources
|
[
"Resource integration",
"Service dominant logic (SDL)",
"Prosumption",
"Mid-range theory",
"Transaction cost analysis"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In his 1980 novel The Third Wave, Toffler defined a prosumer as an individual who acts as both producer and consumer (i.e. a do-it-yourselfer). Understanding the decision of individuals to prosume is especially relevant for service providers as they are more vulnerable to self-production behaviors (Fodness et al., 1993). The minimal capital investment requirements of service organizations (Von Nordenflycht, 2010), coupled with the vast availability of information to individuals (e.g. YouTube and other digital media), drives this vulnerability. This results in consumers who are better positioned to overcome any knowledge gaps between themselves and a service provider that may have previously prevented or discouraged prosumption.\nUnderstanding the decision to prosume: The general focus of prior prosumption research is on identifying desired outcomes (Fox, 2018; Moisio et al., 2013; Xie et al., 2008), not how the decision to prosume is made. One exception is Wolf and McQuitty (2013), which examines the motivation to prosume (e.g. economic benefit, lack of product quality and lack of product availability) of individuals who personally identify as do-it-yourselfers. They also identify four emotive value outcomes that do-it-yourselfers seek to achieve via prosumption (i.e. producing a better life, control of life, fun and excitement and sense of self-improvement) (Wolf and McQuitty, 2013). Given the size of the DIY market, it is surprising that so little is known relative to the decision whether to prosume or consume a service.\nTransaction cost analysis in resource commitment decisions: The relevance of TCA for the current research is based on the assertion that TCA is considered a primary basis for theory development in the make or buy (i.e. prosume or consume) area of research and is relevant across a wide array of marketing phenomenon (Rindfleisch and Heide, 1997). The use of TCA in the context of consumer decision-making is supported by previous studies that use transaction costs in the analysis of consumer's store choice (Bell et al., 1998; Chintagunta et al., 2012). The use of TCA in the current study is further supported by the suggestion that the similarities between organizational and consumer purchasing far outweigh their differences (Fern and Brown, 1984; Sheth, 1978; Wilson, 2000; Wilson and Woodside, 2001).\nGeneral discussion of results: The results presented make meaningful contributions to the literature pertaining to prosumption specifically and consumers' resource allocation decisions generally. Overall, the current research had three primary objectives. The first was to identify the decision drivers considered by consumers when facing a prosumption versus consumption opportunity. The second was to develop a theoretical explanation as to why and how actors choose to commit the resources necessary during prosumption or consumption of a service. The third was to test the significance of the identified drivers of prosumption and to identify the implications for both theory and practice. The exploratory study presented in Study 1, combined with a review of the literature, accomplished the first goal (Table II). Additionally, Figure 2 identified the model developed, which was defended empirically in Study 2 and its robustness was further explored in Study 3, thereby addressing the second objective. Finally, the third objective was achieved in the Results section of Studies 2 and 3 and more so in the discussion that follows.\nBroader theoretical implications for service-dominant logic: The application of TCA to consumer-level decision possesses and its explanatory power concerning the allocation and commitment of resources offers broad theoretical implications. Over the past decade, there has been a growing discussion among scholars concerning a new business logic for marketing. A dominant logic is defined as a common view of business that prevails among the dominant coalition (Prahalad and Bettis, 1986). In principle, dominant logics are similar to the concept of a scientific paradigm as explained by Kuhn (1970) and Allison (1971) and identify a set of \"shared beliefs\" or a \"conventional wisdom\" (Prahalad and Bettis, 1986). The recent discussion of new business logics has been largely focused on an SDL (refer to Vargo and Lusch, 2016, for an overview).\nManagerial implications: By identifying a theoretical foundation for prosumption behaviors, as well as the key decision drivers of prosumption, the research presented offers important managerial implications. Specifically, firms that wish to either encourage (e.g. Lowes and Home Depot) or discourage (e.g. contractors, plumbers and professional service firms) prosumption behaviors can find insights in the results. Specifically, the findings identify the transaction cost factors that drive such resource commitments. Given that the importance of the effect of costs on purchase decisions are long noted in the marketing literature (Lichtenstein et al., 1993), managers need to consider decision drivers that affect the sacrifice inherent in an exchange (specific assets, perceived economic benefit, consumer self-efficacy and opportunism) to better position their products in the market. Specifically, asset specificity and the perceived risk of prosumption are shown to have a negative effect on the likelihood an individual engages in prosumption. Such negative effects on prosumption are not inherent in SDL.\nLimitations and future research: The authors acknowledge that the implications of research, still in the exploratory phase, should be tempered, as further empirical work is often needed (Lambe and Spekman, 1997). As with all research, this study has limitations. First, generalization of the results is limited by the research setting. In addition, the measurement scales for the exogenous variables need to be expanded and specifically developed for future studies. The measurement scales used for some constructs were modified from an organizational purchasing to a consumer context. This provides a useful start to help understand prosumption and the decision to commit resources. However, formal scale development should be considered in future research efforts.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Despite the recent growth of the do-it-yourself market, very little is known as to how or why individuals actually choose to engage in prosumption behavior. The purpose of this study is to specifically examine the decision process of actors when determining the level of resource commitment and integration necessary to prosume or consume a service, thus offering insights to both managers and academics alike.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A multi-method study using both qualitative and quantitative research examines the decision of actors to consume or prosume a service. A conceptual model is presented and tested.\nFindings: The results identify the primary drivers individuals considered when evaluating the resource commitment necessary for a make or buy decision. This research offers empirical support for the application of transaction cost analysis as an appropriate theoretical explanation of how actors decide to prosume or consume a service. The authors further suggest, based on these findings, that transaction cost analysis is a viable middle-range theory to explain the commitment and sharing of resources between actors engaged in co-production within the perspective of a service-dominant logic.\nResearch limitations/implications: Future research is needed to identify opportunities for hybrid models that consider the appropriateness of these findings within larger service networks, as well as potential moderating or mediating influences of the direct effects identified and investigated.\nOriginality/value: This study offers an initial attempt to provide a theoretical explanation for the resource integration decisions (e.g. make or buy) faced by individuals in a growing segment of the economy. The findings enable better informed strategies to be identified by both service providers and retailers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
An integrated model of factors affecting consumer attitudes towards online shopping
|
[
"Online shopping",
"Jordan",
"Trust",
"Online attitudes",
"Perceived website image",
"Perceived website reputation",
"Relative advantage"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The increasing number of smartphones and other internet-enabled devices along with their applications and services make the internet easier to be accessed and much more fruitful. This has led to an enormous growth of online shopping which consequently has increased the level of competition in the internet marketplace (Vazquez and Xu, 2009; Limbu et al., 2012). Compared to the bricks and mortars way of shopping where consumers have to go to stores to buy goods, online shopping creates the opportunity for different businesses to reach consumers directly across the globe (Laohapensang, 2009; Al-Maghrabi et al., 2011).\n2. Conceptual background and research hypotheses: Figure 1 demonstrates the study model. In the following subsections, we provide a comprehensive literature review concerning the identified predictors of attitudes toward online shopping along with their antecedents.\n3. Research methodology: 3.1. Research population and sample\n4. Analysis and results: 4.1. Research sample demographic profile\n5. Discussion: The main aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting consumers' attitudes toward online shopping in Jordan. In fact, the case of MarkaVIP, which is a recent but successful online shopping websites in Jordan, was utilized. We believe that addressing online shopping in Jordan is significant as there is a noticeable difference in terms of maturity and understanding of e-commerce in general including online shopping between developed and developing countries. In developing countries (e.g. Jordan) online shopping is still in its infancy stage and research tackling online shopping in this part of the world is extremely lacking. Therefore, in order to be able to inform decision makers as well as suggest and recommend effective business models and strategies for online shopping websites in Jordan, there is a pertinent need to examine and understand the factors affecting attitudes of Jordanian consumers toward online shopping. Indeed, if the dynamics of the consumer adoption decision of online shopping are better understood, the marketing and promotion of online shopping and the transition of a society toward this mode of shopping will be more effective. Further, we assume that measuring attitude as the main endogenous variable at this stage of online shopping in Jordan is also appropriate given that attitude is a major factors affecting future intention to use according to the theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Ajzen, 1985, 1991). Further, in voluntary settings such as e-commerce, e-banking, social networking sites, and e-government, attitude has been shown to have a high effect on behavioral intentions to use information systems and technologies (Chen et al., 2002; Pavlou and Fygenson, 2006; Lin, 2011; Al-Debei et al., 2013).\n6. Implications and conclusions: This study contributes to the field of consumer behavior, both in academia and practice, particularly in the online shopping behavior and adoption aspects. From an academic and theoretical perspective, our paper has responded to important calls that encourage conducting research on the potential drivers of consumers attitudes toward online shopping especially in emerging markets and Arab countries (e.g. Aladwani, 2006; Al-Maghrabi et al., 2011). Our empirical findings are consistent with previous research findings and also help in closing gaps identified previously. This is thought to have made an important contribution to enhance and extend our understanding of the roles of relative advantage, perceived website reputation, perceived website image, and trust in shaping consumers' attitudes toward online shopping in emerging markets like Jordan.\n7. Limitations and future research: Despite the significance of this study as it is one of only a few to date that has examined attitudes of consumers toward online shopping in an under researched country like Jordan, this study has a number of limitations that can be addressed in future research. Although the findings are believed to be applicable to other Arab countries that share similar characteristics with Jordan and provide their consumers with similar experiences of e-commerce in general and online shopping in particular, these findings are not necessarily applicable to other Arab countries that lagged behind or moved beyond Jordan in terms of e-commerce and online shopping. Therefore, further studies in different countries would most likely strengthen and validate the findings of this study. Moreover, this is a cross-sectional study that represents a slice of time and does not show how attitudes of consumers may change over time. We encourage future studies to employ a longitudinal design as it would show, if any, the changes in consumers' attitudes toward using online shopping over time. Further, his study examines only one case in point which is MarkaVIP and thus findings cannot be generalized to other online shopping websites. Future research are highly encouraged to examines attitudes of consumers toward other online shopping websites in Jordan and discuss any discrepancies or differences in terms of results. Finally, future research should address real problems in e-marketing and consumer behavior from the risk perspectives of various stakeholders such as banks, buyers, sellers, logistics providers [...], etc. in order to shed lights on new drivers of attitudes toward online shoppers behaviors in various business contexts; developing and developed countries alike.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine an integrated model of factors affecting attitudes toward online shopping in Jordan. The paper introduces an integrated model of the roles of perceived website reputation, relative advantage, perceived website image, and trust that affect attitudes toward online shopping.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A structured and self-administered online survey was employed targeting online shoppers of a reputable online retailer in Jordan; MarkaVIP. A sample of 273 of online shoppers was involved in the online survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs, unidimensionality, validity, and composite reliability (CR). Structural path model analysis was also used to test the proposed research model and hypotheses.\nFindings: The empirical findings of this study indicate that perceived website reputation, relative advantage, perceived website image, and trust have directly and indirectly affected consumers' attitudes toward online shopping. Online consumers' shopping attitudes are mainly affected by perceived relative advantage and trust. Trust is a product of relative advantage and that the later is a function of perceived website reputation. Relative advantage and perceived website reputation are key predictors of perceived website image. Perceived website image was found to be a direct predictor of trust. Also, the authors found that 26 percent of variation in online shopping attitudes was directly caused by relative advantage, trust, and perceived website image.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research examined online consumers' attitudes toward one website only therefore the generalizability of the research finding is limited to the local Jordanian website; MarkaVIP. Future research is encouraged to conduct comparative studies between local websites and international ones, e.g., Amazon and e-bay in order to shed lights on consumers' attitudes toward both websites. The findings are limited to online shoppers in Jordan. A fruitful area of research is to conduct a comparative analysis between online and offline attitudes toward online shopping behavior. Also, replications of the current study's model in different countries would most likely strengthen and validate its findings. The design of the study is quantitative using an online survey to measure online consumers' attitudes through a cross-sectional design. Future research is encouraged to use qualitative research design and methodology to provide a deeper understanding of consumers' attitudes and behaviors toward online and offline shopping in Jordan and elsewhere.\nPractical implications: The paper supports the importance of perceived website reputation, relative advantage, trust, and perceived web image as keys drivers of attitudes toward online shopping. It further underlines the importance of relative advantage and trust as major contributors to building positive attitudes toward online shopping. In developing countries (e.g. Jordan) where individuals are generally described as risk averse, the level of trust is critical in determining the attitude of individuals toward online shopping. Moreover and given the modest economic situation in Jordan, relative advantage is another significant factor affecting consumers' attitudes toward online shopping. Indeed, if online shopping would not add a significant value and benefits to consumers, they would have negative attitude toward this technology. This is at the heart of marketing theory and relationship marketing practice. Further, relative advantage is a key predictor of both perceived website image and trust and the later is a major driver of attitudes toward online shopping. Online retailers' executives and managers can benefit from such findings for future e-marketing strategies and retaining customers to achieve long-term performance objectives.\nOriginality/value: This paper is one of the early empirical endeavors that examined factors affecting attitudes toward online shopping in Jordan. This study provides evidence on the factors that determine online shoppers' attitudes as an antecedent to consumers purchase decisions. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by revealing the sort of cause and effect relationships among relative advantage, perceived website reputation, perceived website image, in addition to trust, and their effect on consumers' attitudes toward online shopping. Moreover, this paper is one of handful research that has distinguished between perceived website image and perceived website reputation along with their relationships and more specifically in the context of online shopping. From an international e-marketing perspective, online retailers planning to expand their operations to include Jordan or the MENA Region have now valuable empirical evidence concerning the predictors of online shopping attitudes and online shoppers' behavior upon which e-marketing strategies are formulated and implemented.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Three levels of organizational social capital and their connection to performance
|
[
"Performance",
"Organizational theory",
"Employee relations",
"Competitive advantage",
"Social capital"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Social capital (SC) is a comprehensive concept, which refers to the benefits derived from interactions between people. This paper focuses on organizational SC and attempts to better understand this concept and to refine the segmentation of SC levels in organizations, including the inter-relations between the different levels. Following this segmentation, four proposals about the connection between SC and performance are presented.\nLiterature background: Personal SC\nThe influence of three levels of SC on performance: Studies tried to find the link between personal SC and employee performance (Seibert et al., 2001; Mahajan and Benson, 2013). Nevertheless, as was presented in the \"Risks\" chapter, personal SC might contribute to the person who has it but not necessarily to the organization (Peters and Straungham, 2006; Gao et al., 2014). A person with a high level of personal SC might not be the best performer, because he invests his time and efforts outside the organization. Indeed, personal SC is a valuable asset that can contribute to the work of the individual, but this person needs the motivation to use his social skills in favor of the organization. Hence, motivation variables are needed in order to perform well. Therefore, the connection between personal SC and employee performance must be moderated by motivation variables:\nSummary and discussion: This paper presents an attempt to clarify the theoretic concept of organizational SC. Three levels of organizational SC are presented: personal SC, intra-organizational SC, and external SC. The benefits and risks that can be derived from those SC levels were demonstrated. This segmentation establishes the concept of SC in organizations and helps distinguish between organizational SC and other forms of SC and between the different levels inside the organization. Four propositions for the connection between the different levels of SC and performance were suggested.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Exploring the mechanisms through which social capital (SC) operates in organizations is highly important for both researchers and practitioners. As a theoretical concept, the role and functions of SC in organizations are framed in various ways but not clearly enough. Practitioners would like to understand how relationship intensifies performance; the purpose of this paper is to better understand the mechanisms through which SC influences performance in organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A conceptual framework for different levels of SC in organizations has been developed and presented, as well as propositions regarding the suggested impact of each level on performance have been stated.\nFindings: Drawing on a variety of literatures, it is argued that there are three levels of SC in organizations - personal, intra-organizational, and external; each level has unique features and benefits, and also, each level holds different risks. It is suggested that every SC level strengthens other components of performance.\nOriginality/value: Organizations strive to improve their performance and to create a better working atmosphere for their employees; nurturing SC properly helps in achieving these goals. This paper promotes understanding of the benefits and risks of SC, how to avoid these risks, and how to improve personal and collective performance and organizational outcomes.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Students' perceived impact of learning and satisfaction with blogs
|
[
"Information technology",
"Students",
"Education",
"Customer satisfaction",
"Colleges"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of emerging internet technologies such as Web 2.0 applications (e.g. social networks, blogs, and wikis) in higher education (Oravec, 2003; Martindale and Wiley, 2005; Ng'ambi, 2013; Ifinedo and Usoro, 2016). This trend is expected to continue in the coming years on a global scale (Newland and Byles, 2014). The focus of this study is on blogs, which are websites maintained by a user (blogger) who provides regular entries, i.e., commentaries and or descriptions of events that are arranged in reserve chronological order. Previous studies have indicated that blogs enhance teaching and learning in higher education (Ellison and Wu, 2008; Kim, 2008; Sim and Hew, 2010; Halic et al., 2010; Lai and Chen, 2011; Chen et al., 2015).\n2. Background information and theoretical backgrounds: 2.1 Summary of students' use of blogs\n3. Research model and hypotheses development: The research model is shown in Figure 1. Constructs and theoretical frameworks are delineated, so are the formulated hypothesised paths. Discussion of the hypotheses is presented next.\n4. Research method: 4.1 Procedure\n5. Data analysis: The partial least squares (PLS) technique of structural equation model (Hair et al., 2011) was used to test the study's hypotheses. The PLS technique places less minimal restrictions on measurement scales, sample size, and residual distribution (Hair et al., 2010, 2011). The analysis of PLS consists of two stages, i.e., assessments of the measurement and structural models.\n6. Discussion: Overall, the results show that the research model demonstrated good predictive power and explained students' perceptions of satisfaction and perceived impact on learning with blogs (i.e. over 50 per cent of variance was explained by the exogenous constructs).\n7. Conclusion: This study was designed to shed light on salient factors influencing undergraduate students' perceptions of satisfaction and perceived impact on learning with blogs. To that end, elements from relevant theoretical frameworks such as TAM, ECM, IDT, and flow theory were used to guide this study. The results showed that perceived enjoyment, compatibility, usefulness, ease of use, and confirmation have positive influence on students' satisfaction with blogs used for learning, and perceptions of the impact of blogs on learning outcomes. Research on students' use of blogging tools for learning in higher education contexts is enriched by this effort.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Students' use of blogging tools in learning environments is increasing across the world. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature by examining the effects of relevant factors that engender satisfaction and positive impacts of the technology for learning.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 108 undergraduate students taking a management information systems course. The partial least squares technique of structural equation modelling was used to test the reliability and validity of the data, and the study's hypothesised relationships or paths.\nFindings: This study revealed that perceived enjoyment, compatibility, usefulness, ease of use, and confirmation have positive influence on students' satisfaction with blog use. Perceived enjoyment had the greatest influence on students' satisfaction with blog use for learning. Perceived impact on learning was positively influenced by perceived ease of use, enjoyment, and satisfaction.\nOriginality/value: A limited amount of empirical research has focussed on students' perceptions of satisfaction and perceived impact on learning through blog use in higher educational contexts. This study adds to the growing literature in this area of study.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Resource sharing begins at home: opportunities for library partnerships on a university campus
|
[
"Information technology",
"University libraries",
"Assessment",
"Academic libraries",
"Cooperation",
"Student success"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Overview\nBenefits of campus collaboration: So why should academic librarians seek partnerships with other colleagues at their institutions?:\nAdvantages and disadvantages of collaborative activity: Advantages and opportunities\nEstablishing a relationship: After the above investigation, there are additional steps to take before embarking on a project of convergence. First and foremost is the need to gain the support of the library's administration which has the ability to commit financial resources and staff time to the endeavor. A written proposal should be prepared in advance of a meeting with one's superiors answering the questions above and outlining a proposed plan of action. The next step is to identify potential campus partners. Which units would best meet the needs of the project, i.e. do they have the expertise, experience and needed resources? Identifying partners requires being aware of current campus priorities, programs and special projects. This means being active on campus, attending programs, paying attention to campus communications and making personal contacts. Become familiar with faculty research, visit departmental websites, collect and read brochures and attend programs given by individual faculty and their departments. Volunteer to help with new student (and faculty) orientations. In short, know your campus well! In addition, for success in collaboration, the library and its librarians should be well-known on campus, not only as a result of involvement outside the building but also by marketing services, collections and public programs. Campus departments need to be aware of the broad range of library services and resources if they are to warm up to the idea of a cooperative endeavor.\nElements of success: As noted in the previous section, a successful collaboration depends on many factors:\nImportance of assessment: Assessment in higher education has taken on increased importance in the twenty-first century and is critical to the long-term success of any library-campus collaboration. \"For academic libraries on campus, a fundamental aim of assessment is to demonstrate an alignment with institutional goals for student success\" (Besara and Kinsley, 2011). ACRL's Research Planning and Review Committee (2014) \"Top trends in academic libraries\" supports this notion:\nThe information commons: a model for collaboration: One of the most common forms of collaboration on university campuses presently is the information commons (IC) or learning commons (LC). In this model of service, the library usually partners with campus IT to provide a variety of services, both library and technology, primarily aimed at undergraduates. This cooperation may also extend to involvement by campus writing centers, tutoring, instructional technology, media services and more. The idea is to create a one-stop-shopping experience for users needing library, technology and learning support in one convenient location. Longer hours, often 24/5 or even 24/7, are often an important, even sometimes essential, feature of an academic commons. The IC service model aims to reduce the need for patrons (mainly students) to travel all over campus to get help. Cross-training of the involved departments helps minimize such referrals.\nThe library and information technology: Libraries and campus IT cooperate in other ways, too. As the majority of library work depends on the computer, university IT staff are needed even when the library has its own computer support personnel. In many cases, campus IT houses and manages library servers, installs and monitors the library's wireless network, handles network communication and keeps desktop computers and software up-to-date. Collaboration comes into play in a variety of ways beyond the previous example of the IC. Librarians and computer specialists serve on joint committees related to institutional repositories, faculty workshops, scholarly communication and other topics. On major projects, library and IT staff cooperate and share expertise. A good example of this is when the library acquires a major software package such as an integrated library system (ILS). Here, IT staff can help with specifications and the writing of the request for information (RFI) or request for proposal (RFP), review security concerns with the library, work together on contracts and negotiating pricing and advise on other topics. During implementation, their staff assists library IT personnel to create interfaces between the ILS and campus human resources, financial and student information systems.\nThe library and the writing center:: The goals of writing centers and libraries overlap, which makes collaboration between the two units logical. Both services supplement classes and curriculum with the goal to help students succeed in their studies (Ferer, 2012, p. 544).\nThe library and academic departments: Libraries share a natural affinity with faculty and academic departments in that they all share in teaching and facilitating student learning, and they work cooperatively to promote library resources and explain research methods during bibliographic instruction sessions. Whether a \"writing intensive\" freshman class or an upper division course for majors, librarians team with professors to make classroom presentations, design assignments involving the use of library resources, team teach classes and at times even develop curricula.\nThe library and centers for teaching excellence: Universities of all sizes have departments dedicated to helping faculty improve their pedagogical skills. While typically aimed at newer faculty, these so-called CTE or faculty development centers not only offer one-on-one consultations but also sponsor workshops of interest to the faculty at large. These can include, but are not limited to, use of media and technology in the classroom, online teaching (increasingly popular), graduate teaching assistant training and orientation, developing syllabi and course outlines, working with CMS, Web development, teaching assessment, identifying plagiarism, etc. The centers also publish newsletters, organize reading or discussion groups around teaching techniques and assist in the development of new courses.\nThe library and student development: Until relatively recently, there was minimal interaction on many campuses between student development (also known as student affairs) and other university departments including the library. However, this has been changing since around the year 2000, when Art Sandeen, a well-known leader in student development wrote that:\nThe library and other campus units: In addition to the most common and impactful collaborations cited above, there are, of course, many other examples of library-campus cooperation. These include:\nConclusion: As demonstrated above, libraries have initiated and participated in a wide variety of cooperative projects with campus partners which share our goals. We librarians have realized the benefits of cooperation from our long history of resource sharing with other institutions and have applied many of the same practices and philosophy to developing on-campus collaborative ventures. While both internal and external types of collaboration benefit the university community, it is the former that directly impacts the success of student learning and career development. All academic libraries should consider initiating projects and services with campus partners for the benefit of our students' education and personal development:\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to demonstrate that academic library cooperation is not only limited to work with other institutions but also includes partnerships with related campus units. The primary goal of interdepartmental collaboration is to enhance student success, a common institutional priority in the twenty-first century.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper offers examples of successful library/campus collaboration along with goals, advantages, disadvantages and challenges of such activity. Elements necessary for success as well as the importance of project assessment are emphasized.\nFindings: Many opportunities for cooperation exist, especially with student development, centers for teaching excellence, information technology, academic departments, writing centers and more. The Information Commons model in particular offers the academic library many opportunities for shared services. Based on the successes of many colleges and universities, libraries are encouraged to consider and undertake partnerships with other student and faculty support services.\nOriginality/value: The paper incorporates an overview of the literature of library/campus cooperation along with the author's experience to provide a roadmap for future projects at any college or research library.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Retailers' use of niche marketing in product development
|
[
"Niche marketing",
"Product development",
"Competitive strategy",
"Fashion industry"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Currently, the global fashion retail industry (apparel, footwear, jewelry, accessories and home textiles) is facing many challenges. The risk of a global recession combined with the rising price of oil has caused consumer spending to slow, which has put a downward fiscal pressure on retailers, causing a deflation in prices as well as a decrease in profits due to rising costs. Also, the maturing industry is characterized by an overcapacity of stores, resulting in a highly oversaturated market (Deloitte, 2008). Because of this, consumers have a wide assortment of shopping possibilities, which has created an extremely competitive business environment among retailers. This has resulted in retailers looking for ways, other than price, to compete. One way they are doing this is by focusing on differentiation (Deloitte, 2008).To achieve this market differentiation and to revitalize their merchandising mix, some retailers have started their own product development teams in order to create designs and brands that are exclusive to their stores (Plunkett Research, 2007). Designs and brands that are exclusive to one store and owned by the retailer are referred to as private labels (Stone, 2004). Private labels act to set the retailer apart from the competition by offering the customer an item which is available only in that particular store. The goal is to get the customer into the store and/or website and give them a reason to return (Dunne et al., 2002). Not only do private labels provide differentiation from the competition, but retailers are also able to achieve a higher margin of earnings. By designing, sourcing, and distributing all items in-house, thereby eliminating the middleman, the retailers are able to provide the same good of equal or superior quality for less money than a comparable national brand. Retailers can then sell the good at a lower price to the consumer while still making a higher profit margin, creating a sustainable competitive advantage (Coolidge, 2003; Parker and Kim, 1997).Currently, private labels are estimated to make up 15 to 25 percent of a retailer's merchandise assortment (Keiser and Garner, 2008). However, a study by Price Waterhouse Cooper estimates that by 2015, 70 percent of retailer merchandise will be private label (author's personal communication). With so many private labels being offered by the retailer, there is a risk of cannibalization. This happens when one product offering \"eats\" away at the current market of an established product (Raynor, 1992). One way retailers can prevent this is by concentrating on differentiation and focus within their private label lines. It has been proven that these strategies, also referred to as niche marketing, are related to profitability (Porter, 1998).According to Fatima Whitaker, President of Whitaker International, a niche marketing consultant firm, retailers have become adept at producing a private label apparel line, but they still do not have the foresight to develop a consistent concept, which will come from understanding the products and the consumer (Abend, 2000). By having a thorough understanding of the product and the consumer, i.e. market, retailers will be better positioned to focus and differentiate their product lines. There is no doubt that those companies who have created these niche markets will be better positioned to compete in the global marketplace and achieve higher margins for products while yielding greater profitability (Dalgic and Leeuw, 1994; Linneman and Stanton, 1991).Purpose and objectives of research\nLiterature review: Conceptual framework\nMethod: Owing to the exploratory nature of this research, a case study approach was chosen to analyze the use of a niche market strategy by US fashion retailers within their private label lines. This particular approach allows for a greater breadth and depth of data to be collected (Yin, 1994). In choosing a smaller number of cases to research, as compared to a larger survey research method, the primary benefit is that a greater amount of information can be gathered on each company than would be possible through a survey of a much larger sample size. Another benefit of using a case study research methodology is the ability to gather unstructured and detailed data that can be qualitatively analyzed. Unstructured data allows for additional insight and is important because various business situations and motivations can be captured. In addition, previous research studies which have used a large-scale quantitative survey instrument to measure US fashion retailers' perceptions have had a very poor response rate (Parrish, 2003).Instrument development\nResults: Sample description\nConclusions: The research results showed that retailers are using a niche marketing strategy in their private label product development process. Within private label lines, niche markets are defined as specialized segments of the market, which is consistent with the literature.A model was developed to illustrate the research findings (Figure 2).The framework for this study was based on previous research which found that textile and branded apparel firms use both push and pull marketing approaches in their niche marketing strategy. However, when evaluating retailers, these firms focus on a market, or \"pull\" perspective versus the product, or \"push\" perspective taken by some upstream firms. One reason for this could be the fact that retailers are the closest segment of supply chain to the consumer, and therefore, have more knowledge of the consumer. This makes it easier to use a pull marketing approach.When identifying a niche market, retailers typically use market or consumer research to analyze the demographics and lifestyle of their consumer base. Another strategy used, mainly in the moderate/better price points, is imitating competing national brands. Retailers conduct a trend analysis in order to adapt the trend to their consumer which can differentiate the private label from national brands which may not be as focused on that particular consumer segment. Retailers are also forming exclusive agreements with well-known, independent designers in order to bring differentiated labels into their stores. This is illustrated in Figure 2 as market strategies for a niche market approach.These results are similar to the previous research, which showed that upstream companies are using brand expansion to create niche markets. The Parrish et al. (2004) study found that upstream firms were adapting some of the strategies of downstream firms that as a result led to the suggestion of expanding the methodology to include retailers. However, the previous research found that research and development in addition to trial and error played a large role in a niche market strategy. Whereas this is the case for upstream companies in the US FTAR supply chain, this study found that the retail sector cannot afford introducing a totally new product to the consumer which could risk alienation.It is important to point out that while retailers use only a market, or \"push\", approach in their niche marketing strategy, the success variables of the strategy were both market and product focused, illustrated in Figure 2. In the model, boxes next to market and product show those factors that are important for a niche strategy to be successful at the market and product level.One of the main factors that the retailers believe contribute to the growth of a specialized private label at the market level is knowledge of the consumer. This is evidence of the importance of congruency between hedonic products and the market confirming the findings of Lee and Hyman (2008). This also corresponds to the findings of previous research focusing on the niche market strategies of the textile and apparel industry. In addition, retailers pointed out that it is important to create \"perceived value\" in the consumer's eyes. However, this \"perceived value\" is important, not only in that fact that the consumer needs to observe it, but also that the product needs to represent it. Owing to this, \"perceived value\" is considered both a market and a product success variable. The product success variables are related to those factors that are important from a product development perspective, such as size and fit. By offering a unique image and fit that is lifestyle driven, the retailer can create a product that is differentiated from national brands. It is also important to be consistent in the product, to make sure that the private label complements the already established merchandise mix, and to maintain sizeable volumes in order to be profitable.Retailers feel strongly that differentiated private label brands will play a major role in the future of department stores. The main way to differentiate these labels is to apply a niche market strategy. By offering the consumer a clearly differentiated product, the risk of cannibalization can be minimized, ensuring growth in market share and profitability.Limitations and future research\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this research is to investigate the growing trend of the use of private labeling as a competitive strategy among fashion retailers. Specifically, how retailers differentiate and create niche markets within their own private label merchandise is examined. The study focuses on how retailers develop and expand their private label portfolios, while minimizing the risk of cannibalization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The research methodology is an in-depth case study design that is used to gather information from a selected sample of those retailers that participate in apparel private label product development.\nFindings: - Results indicate a strong use of a niche marketing strategy by retailers in the development and implementation phase of private labels. The strategy resulted in increased profits and market share.\nPractical implications: - The study is significant because it provides a framework for a globally competitive strategy that retailers can utilize in order to develop specialized, niche markets within their private label merchandise, while minimizing the risk of cannibalization.\nOriginality/value: - There is a void in the current research literature relative to the use of a niche market strategy as a competitive strategy by the fashion retail industry, particularly when related to the development and marketing of private label merchandise.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
How and when environmental regulation induces middle managers' proactive behavior
|
[
"Proactive behaviour",
"Environmental regulation",
"Openness towards change",
"Top managers’ bottom-line mentality"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Environmental regulation poses challenges not only to organizations but also to employees. Environmental regulation expresses governments' environmental concerns and is intended to force firms to consider environmental issues (Rugman and Verbeke, 1998). To meet environmental standards, organizations may have to adopt environmentally friendly technologies or limit the manufacturing of environmentally unfriendly products, both of which harm organizations' competitive performance, at least in the short term (Cohen and Tubb, 2018; Iraldo et al., 2011). This poses a threat to employees' careers. By sharing their joys and sorrows with organizations, employees become motivated to help organizations successfully adapt to environmental regulations. Meanwhile, organizations expect employees, especially middle managers, not only to work harder but also to engage in change-oriented behaviors (Griffin et al., 2010). This expectation arises because it is often the middle managers who have their hands on the \"pulse of the organization\" and are closest to customers and manufacturing. Their roles often give them knowledge of the changes that can bring the organization into conformance with environmental regulations (Ocasio et al., 2018). By proposing new ideas and initiating and executing changes, middle managers not only help their firms adapt to new environmental regulations, but also help themselves overcome specific challenges to their positions, and even transform such challenges into opportunities that advance their own careers. For example, such middle managers may be delegated to implement their proposed ideas, creating the context for their own promotion. Thus, we ask how and when environmental regulation leads to middle managers' proactive behavior.\nLiterature review: The influence of environmental regulation on firms is well established. Scholars have discussed the links between environmental regulation and organizational outcomes such as competitiveness (Dowell and Muthulingam, 2017; Iraldo et al., 2011), financial performance (Alexopoulos et al., 2018), and corporate environmental behavior (Lee and Lounsbury, 2015; Pan et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2015). The generally accepted conclusion is that organizations must undergo necessary change and adopt commonly accepted structures and operational methods to obtain organizational legitimacy, and may even strive to improve competitiveness by maximizing the opportunities that emerge from environmental regulation (Porter and van der Linde, 1995; Rubashkina et al., 2015). However, how to facilitate intra-organizational change that enhances legitimacy and improves competitiveness remains unknown (Delmas and Toffel, 2008). Delmas and Toffel (2008) suggested examining the black box of the interaction between organizations' internal constituents and the external environment, and they specifically examined the interaction between influential corporate departments and the external environment. Nevertheless, more research is needed to explain the intra-organizational mechanism by which environmental regulation produces change.\nTheory and hypotheses: Environmental regulation, openness toward change, and proactive behavior\nMethods: Sample and procedures\nResults: Table I presents the means, standard deviations (SDs), and zero-order correlations of the variables included in this study. Environmental regulation strength was positively correlated with openness toward change (r=0.30, p<0.01) and proactive behavior (r=0.34, p<0.01). In addition, openness toward change was positively correlated with proactive behavior (r=0.76, p<0.001). Following Fornell and Larcker (1981), we compared the square root of every construct's AVE and correlations with the other constructs. All of the square roots of the latent variables were larger than the correlations, indicating the divergent validity of these latent variables. We conducted Harman's test (Harrison et al., 1996) to test whether the common method bias is serious. The results indicate that common method only explained 40 percent variance of all of the items, and thus that common method bias is not serious.\nDiscussion: We conducted a field study to better understand how and when environmental regulation leads to middle managers' proactive behavior. Drawing on social information processing theory, we hypothesized that perceived environmental regulation strength influences middle managers' openness toward change, and that openness toward change consequently influences their proactive behavior. Furthermore, we posited that top managers' bottom-line mentality moderates the relationship both between environmental regulation strength and openness toward change and between openness toward change and proactive behavior. All of our hypotheses are supported.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how middle managers respond to the career challenges caused by environmental regulation. In particular, this paper examines whether environmental regulation strength is positively related to middle managers' openness toward change, and whether middle managers' openness toward change is positively related to proactive behavior. Furthermore, the moderating role of top managers' bottom-line mentality in these two relationships is examined.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Cross-sectional survey research (n=155) was conducted. During a training program, data were collected from 155 middle managers from a listed company that manufactures primary products. With these data the authors examined the main relationship and also explored the moderating effect of top managers' bottom-line mentality.\nFindings: Analysis of the findings indicates that perceived environmental regulation strength influences middle managers' openness toward change and consequently their proactive behavior. In addition, top managers' bottom-line mentality moderates both the link between environmental regulation strength and openness toward change and the link between openness toward change and proactive behavior.\nOriginality/value: The findings of this study reveal how environmental regulation induces middle managers' proactive behavior, and the influence of top managers' mentality on how middle managers respond to environmental regulation both cognitively and behaviorally.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Segmenting the Australian organic food consumer market
|
[
"Australia",
"Market segmentation",
"Consumer behaviour",
"Organic food",
"Food and beverage marketing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The Australian organic industry continues to possess a relatively small percentage of the total market value within the conventional food and beverage industry in Australia that has an estimated value of $130.3 billion, as opposed to the organic food market with an estimated market value of 1.56 billion (Monk et al., 2012). It was estimated that the current organic food market share, in comparison to total food and beverage consumption is small, and this is 0.8-1.2 percent. This is because of the average Australian expenditure is just over US$20 per week on fresh fruit and vegetables as compared to over US$80 on alcohol, tobacco products, soft drinks, and takeaway and confectionary food items (or about 0.1 percent of food and non-alcoholic beverage expenditure per week) (Monk et al., 2012; Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2012). Australia is not an exception, since the organic food market share is relatively lower in comparison to total food and beverage consumption across many countries. For example, the current literature estimates that the sales of organic food relative to total food sales hold an estimated market share of 0.08 percent in China (Zhou et al., 2013) and 4 percent in the USA (Organic Trade Association, 2011).\n2. Theoretical domain and research in organic food consumer market segmentation: Definition and theoretical domain\n3. Research method: This paper used four major segmentation dimensions: demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral dimensions (Kotler et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2014; Jain et al., 2012). Table I shows the variables of each of these segmentation dimensions.\n4. Results: Demographic profiles\n5. Discussion and implications: The aim of this study was to find the key segmentation variables that provide a better understanding of the profile of the Australian organic food consumer market and study relevant strategies. The results demonstrate that demographic variables (age, AHI, and educational qualification), geographic variables (state-territories, metro-regional), psychographic variables (personal values, self-image, perceptions about organic foods), and behavioral variables (usage rate, loyalty status and user status) contribute to the segmentation of the Australian organic food consumer market.\n6. Conclusion, limitations, and future research: The aim of this paper was to segment the Australian consumer markets by using the four major market segmentation criteria, namely demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral dimensions. Several variables were used to measure each of these dimensions. The findings show that age, income, and education, length of period consuming organic foods, weekly household expenditure, and purchase frequency play important role in the segmenting organic food consumer market in Australia based on demographic and behavioral variables. The findings also show that organic food consumers can be clustered based on two major organic food values: well-being and excitement. The findings also demonstrate that metro/city consumers buy large volume of organic food products, and particularly, they mainly source organic food products from Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, health food stores, and farmers' markets. Overall, the findings provide several implications on how organic food producers and marketers can segment the consumer market in Australia and formulate appropriate marketing strategies based on empirically data-driven market segmentation study like this one.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to segment the Australian organic food consumer market.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A nationwide online survey was conducted for collecting data about the Australian organic food consumer market. Various statistical techniques were used for analyzing the data and identifying market segments.\nFindings: The key market segmentation variables that significantly characterize the Australian organic food consumer market include age, income, education, metro/city-vs-rural/region, purchase frequency, weekly expenditure, consumption period, retail outlets, perceived values, self-image, and perceptions about organic foods.\nOriginality/value: Australia, like many other countries, is an emerging market for the organically produced and marketed food products. The current review unfolds the fact that there are limited studies in market segmentation, and no study in the Australian context, in particular. The current paper contributes to the organic food market segmentation literature and provides several implications for market segmentation strategy.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Planned organisational change management: Forward to the past? An exploratory literature review
|
[
"Change models",
"Evolution of change",
"Lewin change model",
"Planned organisational change"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The evolution of planned organisational change models (POCMs), since their origin by Lewin in 1946, has derived from a wide range of characteristics, each adding to apparent gaps, whilst focusing on different component parts. One series of approaches has focused on differentiating change by type, where change is seen in the context of its phases, as continuous change or stepped change (Cook et al., 2004; Dunphy et al., 2007; Maimone and Sinclair, 2014; Pettigrew et al., 2001; Romanelli and Tushman, 1994; Tsoukas and Chia, 2002). Another approach, whilst in part related to the first, sees change in the context of its impetus, being planned or emergent (Beer and Nohria, 2000; Bullock and Batten, 1985; Burke, 2013; Burnes, 2004; Chia, 2014; Dunphy and Stace, 1993; Ford and Ford, 1995; Kanter et al., 1992; Kotter, 1996; Luecke, 2003; Porras and Silvers, 1991).\nLewin's contextualisation of change: This paper considers the POCM-related work undertaken by Lewin which was covered in three critical publications in 1946 and 1947, the former identifying the context of action research (Lewin, 1946) whilst the latter introducing and expanding on field theory, group dynamics, and the now famous three-step change model (Lewin, 1947a). In doing so, we consider the foundational elements of Lewin's contribution to the ongoing research in OCM and identify the linkages between his contribution and the development of a number of organisational change models that have been introduced since that period to the present time. This lays the groundwork for responding to the question of \"How has our understanding of OCM changed with the ongoing development of new POCMs since Lewin?\"\nMethod: The world of POCM is diverse and complex with a number having resulted from academic-based research, and a number resulting from practice-based application in the hands of management consultants. Given the plethora of options, some of these differing sources have been addressed in the course of this analysis of the prevailing literature.\nDiscussion: Lewin's writings on change were multi-faceted. His work in the area of change on minority problems in 1946 was predicated on the iterative processes of action research where the role of fact-finding in the planning process was clearly defined. \"Planning starts usually with something like a general idea. For one reason or another it seems desirable to reach a certain objective [...] The first step then is to examine the idea carefully in the light of the means available. Frequently more fact-finding about the situation is required\" (Lewin, 1946, p. 37). Lewin highlights the relevance and importance of clarity regarding the stated objective, but also the situational context within which the objective is being framed. Emanating from this point is the derivation of the execution phase which, as he identifies for management purposes, requires additional fact-finding processes to be initiated. The iterative process entailed evaluation of the action, assessing initial learning outcomes, laying the foundations for further planning, and finally the remodelling of the plans themselves, in what can clearly be identified as a fluid, non-static process.\nConclusion: This paper sought to position the contribution made by Lewin with regard to planned OCM beyond current perceptions of linearity and connect the thread of many organisational change models-in-use from his 1947 beginnings to the current period. Despite the voluminous research and material written regarding planned organisational change, Lewin's approach, when considered in its entirety, is as relevant now as it was during the time of his original writings and may not just be the platform upon which models have evolved, rather, his narrowly interpreted three-step change model, reconceptualised in this paper, may in fact be as relevant now as it was then. This paper therefore considered the question of the extent to which we in fact are moving forward with an understanding of planned organisational change by better understanding and applying the past?\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the development of planned organisational change models (POCMs) since Lewin's three-step model and to highlight key linkages between them.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 13 commonly used POCMs were identified and connections with Lewin's three-step framework and associated process attributes were made, reflecting the connections between these models and Lewin.\nFindings: The findings show that first Lewin's three-step model represents a framework for planned change; however, these steps could not be viewed in isolation of other interrelated processes, including action research, group dynamics, and force field analysis. These process steps underpin the iterative aspects of his model. Second, all 13 POCMs have clearly identified linkages to Lewin, suggesting that the ongoing development of POCMs is more of an exercise in developing ongoing procedural steps to support change within the existing framework of the three-step model.\nResearch limitations/implications: The authors recognise that the inclusion of additional POCMs would help strengthen linkages to Lewin. The findings from this paper refocus attention on the three-step model, suggesting its ongoing centrality in planned organisational change rather than it being dismissed as an historical approach from which more recently developed models have become more relevant.\nPractical implications: This paper presents opportunities for organisational change management researchers to challenge their thinking with regard to the ongoing search for model refinement, and for practitioners in the design and structure of POCM.\nOriginality/value: An analysis of the ongoing relevance of Lewin and his linkage with modern POCMs assist in rationalising the broadening, and often confusing literature on change. This paper therefore not only contributes to filtering such literature, but also helps clarify the myriad of POCMs and their use.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Benchmarking towards excellence in higher education
|
[
"Quality improvement",
"Benchmarking",
"Higher education",
"Business excellence"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The concept of quality in higher education has been drawing the attention of all the interested parties in the education sector during the last few decades. Since quality improvement has been one of the most important features of higher education institutions, it is of equal importance to understand the role of benchmarking as a means to continually improving and staying competitive. Universities around the world embrace the concept of benchmarking and develop transformational methods and practices for the improvement of their organizations.\n2. Literature review: The concept of quality has been defined differently in different contexts, and is a much used and least understood term (Mishra, 2007). Trying to express the broad meaning of the term, Juran identifies quality as \"fitness for use or purpose\", Crosby as \"conformance to standards\", and Deming as \"a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability at low cost and suited to market\" (Ali and Shastri, 2010). Assuming that students are both the customers and the \"product\" in this newfangled industry, higher education institutions are challenged to cope with the non-standard human factor (Venkatraman, 2007) and there lies the intricacy. Thus, quality in higher education can be defined as \"a multi-dimensional, multi-level, and dynamic concept that relates to the contextual settings of an educational model, to the institutional mission and objectives, as well as to specific standards within a given system, institution, programme, or discipline\" (Vlasceanu et al., 2004). Improving quality in higher education institutions is promoted by the establishment of benchmarking that can be integrated with other performance initiatives, including performance indicators (PIs) and other standards for excellence (Asif, 2015).\n3. Research methodology: This research study explores quality in higher education as enhancement and improvement, and focusses on the use of benchmarking as a self-improvement tool. The aim of this research paper is to point out the structure and applications of quality assurance, by providing evidence for understanding the implementation of benchmarking as a competing tool for quality in higher education institutions.\n4. Research results: This exploratory study aims to point out the structure and applications of quality improvement, by providing evidence for understanding the implementation of benchmarking as a competing tool for quality that leads to excellence in higher education institutions. Various authors have underpinned that a culture of quality entails strategic management that involves a number of planning processes for the improvement of quality that leads to excellence. Academic excellence reveals the linkage of quality assurance to benchmarking, while changes in the academic scene call for substantial transformations due to business and industry demands.\n5. Conclusions: The analysis of findings, as illustrated in Figure 1, indicated a five-year period as the most reviewed by higher education institutions, in order for long-term goals to be rendered into short-term practices for teams and individuals. Additionally, half of the respondents claimed to review their strategic plans annually and permanently to satisfy their constant need for improvement, by establishing diagnostic benchmarking in their strategic planning and control. Thus, there is an increased demand for higher education institutions all over the world to derive more information on the outcomes of their strategic plans by assessing them in this given period of time. The process of assessment is undoubtedly a hallmark on the effectiveness of quality planning that tertiary institutions establish to gain ground in the arena of continuous improvement.\n6. Limitations of research study: The findings of this action research are highly important provided that it bases on reliable papers and high-impact educational organizations. However, this project may be identified with one particular constraint with potential impact on the findings. For all the practical purposes, the research sample is limited including an aggregate of 20 universities. Nevertheless, the degree to which this reduces the quality of our findings is a matter of debate.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which higher education institutions can benefit from the implementation of benchmarking practices. Thus, the aim of this research is to point out the structure and applications of quality improvement, by providing evidence for understanding the implementation of benchmarking as a competing tool for excellence in higher education institutions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodology followed in this paper is based on a method approach, including both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Research is based on 20 case studies of universities committed to excellence around the world. Data collection was accomplished by a well-designed questionnaire on how quality improvement can be accomplished through benchmarking practices.\nFindings: The findings of this research indicate that benchmarking can improve academic excellence by means of comparison and assessment. The study finds that process performance measurements can bring considerable outcomes of enhancement, improvement and transformation in higher education systems.\nPractical implications: This research on benchmarking in higher education institutions provides exemplar standpoints and practices for the pursuit of excellence in educational organizations, in order to gain additional knowledge and paradigm on quality improvement that can lead to excellence. Considering the population of rankings worldwide, the main idea is linked to benchmarking and the acceptance of being compared to others in the sector.\nOriginality/value: The value of this paper lies in the identification and presentation of several ideas and tools which can successfully be applied to higher education institutions in order to achieve excellence by using benchmarking practices.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The impact of partner similarity on alliance management capability, stability and performance: Empirical evidence of horizontal logistics alliance in China
|
[
"Alliance management capability",
"Alliance performance",
"Alliance stability",
"Horizontal logistics alliance",
"Partner similarity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Alliances including upstream alliances, downstream alliances and horizontal alliances have been widespread in all sectors. All of them have been proven to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of participating partners (Gomes-Casseres, 2003; Ireland et al., 2002), which is the same with horizontal alliances among logistics service providers (LSPs) (Verstrepen et al., 2009). In order to achieve success in the competitive logistics market, LSPs have to cater to complex customer demand (Coltman et al., 2011), such as acceptance of orders and their execution, the solution of problems, warehousing, transportation and value-added services (Meidute-Kavaliauskiene et al., 2014). However, these requirements are often not finished by one single LSPs. An effective way is to form an alliance with other LSPs, which is known as the horizontal alliance. Specifically, the horizontal alliance among LSPs refers to the cooperation with partners that operate at the same level of the market to engage in logistics services (European Union, 2001), which is commonly studied from the perspective of supply chains by previous scholars (Liu et al., 2016). By combining core competencies with resources of competitors and non-competitors, LSPs are able to respond flexibly to demand fluctuations (Frankel et al., 1996), increase the firm's productivity for core activities and reduce the cost of non-core activities, while at the same time their services are broadened, which enables individual LSP to tender with large shippers under larger contracts and help protect the firm's market share (Cruijssen et al., 2007).\nTheory and hypotheses: Partner similarity\nMethodologies: Data and sample\nDiscussion: The interpretation of results\nConclusion: This paper makes certain contributions to horizontal logistics alliance research and provides a reference for the development of the large enterprises in China. First, it identifies that alliances among LSPs will achieve better performance if alliance partners have similar characteristics on certain dimensions and different characteristics on other dimensions. This conclusion for Chinese logistics is similar with Raue and Wallenburg (2013). This paper further makes a contribution to logistics alliances by showing which similarity of partners leads to significant and overall logistics alliance success, such as similarities of competence and culture or the difference in geographic coverage. These could help us to better understand the antecedent factors affecting alliance stability and the consequent outcome in the performance of horizontal logistics alliance. Cultural and competences similarity could facilitate the coordination of cooperation activities and, at the same time, reduce the risk of opportunistic behavior. Differing geographic coverage has a positive effect as it helps to reduce competition, and thus improve cooperation outcome. Therefore, knowledge about how similar cooperation partners should be of substantial value for managers, as partner similarity is a major aspect of match between partners. Our research shows that LSPs should consider three main similarity dimensions if they would like to establish and maintain horizontal cooperation. Cooperation managers need to be aware of the aspect of similarity before defining partner similarity preferences. The results of this study reveal how it is important to manage relationships in horizontal logistics alliance to ensure alliance stability and performance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate significant impact of partner similarity on the success of horizontal alliances in logistics service providers (LSPs) from China.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected via questionnaire distribution to 380 Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors in 262 small and medium logistics enterprises in China. There are 316 valid questionnaires for further analysis with 83 percent accuracy in response rate. Structural equation modeling was used to test the impact of partner similarity on alliance management capability, stability and performance.\nFindings: Partner similarity and logistics alliance management capability (LAMC) are positively correlated to alliance stability and performance in horizontal alliances among Chinese LSPs, especially competence similarity and cultural similarity. Moreover, alliance stability mediates the impact of partner similarity and LAMC on alliance performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The basic limitation of this research is to collect data just from small and medium logistics enterprises that operate in China with sample size (n=316). This research could further be extended to other regions in China or other countries.\nPractical implications: This research verifies the positive relationship between partner fit and management capability. Besides, based on research findings, the research proposes guidelines for LSPs pursuing horizontal alliances\nOriginality/value: This research proposes an experimental model for Chinese LSPs to cooperate successfully and build horizontal alliances in order to increase their effective customer response capability.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Developing and testing SCoP - a visual hash scheme
|
[
"Visual hash",
"Usability",
"Security",
"Hash function"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Cryptographic hash functions are widely used to guarantee integrity and provide authentication on the Internet, and are applied in a variety of use-cases including verifying the authenticity of https certificates and Pretty Good Privacy encryption keys, as well as verifying the proper behaviour of an electronic voting system. Many of these use-cases require the user to compare two hash values with each other; one is presented on the screen and the other one is available on paper. For example, with https certificates, some certificate owners (like banks) distribute the hash values of their certificates (also called fingerprints) in print media to their clients. When the clients visit the corresponding web page, they can compare the printed fingerprint with the one displayed by the web browser. In many verifiable electronic voting systems, the verifying process proceeds with voters being asked to write down the hash value of their encrypted vote. Later in the vote casting process, they verify the integrity of the voting software by comparing this hash value to the displayed one. In all the use-cases, hash values are represented as long strings (the length depends on the hash function and the encoding applied to the hash value). As a result, users are asked to compare long strings that hold little meaning to them. Consequently, they are not very likely to perform this task, which decreases the security of the applications dramatically. In addition, users are known to be poor at this comparison task (Perrig and Song, 1999).\n2 Related work: Visual hashes were first explored by Perrig and Song (1999) using images generated from a computer program Random Art (Gallery of Random Art, 2013). Random Art was initially developed to automatically generate artistic images. It takes a binary string as input from which an image is generated randomly. Since then, some more visual hash schemes have been proposed and studied in literature: Flag (Ellison and Dohrmann, 2003) and T-Flag (Lin et al., 2009).\n3. Design of the visual hash scheme and pilot studies: In this section, we discuss how the visual hash scheme was developed and tested iteratively, describe how participants were recruited, the tasks they had to carry out, and summarize findings from the pilot user studies.\n4. SCoP and Base32: A study was carried out to evaluate participants' accuracy rate and response time results with SCoP and Base 32, both encoding 60 bits. Because participants performed well with Base32 in Hsiao et al. (2009), we included it in this study. We therefore designed a between-groups study. The study design and results of the user study are reported in this section.\n5. Study simulating use case 1 \"verifiability in Helios\": This study was designed to evaluate the use of visual hashes in the Helios verifiable Internet voting system (Adida, 2008) to perform the cast as intended verifiability step.\n6. Study simulating use case 2 \"https certificate validation\": In this study, we simulated participants comparing hash values for https certificates represented as images using SCoP.\n7. Discussion and future work: SCoP has been shown to achieve comparable average accuracy results to those of Hsiao et al. (2009) while attaining higher entropy. Note, in both our first study and the study conducted by Hsiao et al. (2009), this high accuracy rate was (only) reached when both images were shown on the screen at the same time and in the same size, which is obviously not a realistic situation. Therefore, it is necessary to study proposed schemes in realistic situations as in the other two studies. There are new challenges faced in such a case. In applying SCoP to practical use, the results obtained in both user studies - simulating verifiability in Helios and simulating https certificate validation - show lower accuracy rates than in comparing two images both shown on the screen at the same time. There are some more limitations regarding being realistic. The participants did not receive a long training, but only some information about what can differ and what matters. In addition, they saw several images in a row and not just one pair, then a different task and then again another pair. A more realistic situation in the https certificate context is that one sees a hash value, e.g. of their bank, several times properly and then once a different one. Such situations also need to be tested.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and test SCoP. Users find comparing long meaningless strings of alphanumeric characters difficult. While visual hashes - where users compare images rather than strings - have been proposed as an alternative, people are unable to sufficiently distinguish more than 30 bits, which does not provide adequate security against collision attacks. Our goal is to improve the situation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A visual hash scheme was developed using shapes, colours, patterns and position parameters. It was evaluated in a series of pilot user studies and improved iteratively, leading to SCoP, which encodes 60 distinguishable bits. We tested SCoP further in two follow-up studies, simulating verifying in remote electronic voting and https certificate validation.\nFindings: Participants attained an average accuracy rate of 97 per cent with SCoP when comparing two visual hash images, one placed above the other. From the follow-up studies, SCoP was seen to be more promising for the https certificate validation use case, with direct image comparison, while a low average accuracy rate in simulating verifiability in remote electronic voting limits its applicability in an image-recall use case.\nResearch limitations/implications: Participants achieved high accuracy rates in unrealistic situations, where the images appeared on the screen at the same time and in the same size. Studies in more realistic situations are therefore necessary.\nOriginality/value: We identify a visual hash scheme encoding a higher number of distinguishable bits than previously reported in literature, and extend the testing to realistic scenarios.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Unintended consequences of CSR: protectionism and collateral damage in global supply chains: the case of Vietnam
|
[
"Governance",
"Corporate social responsibility",
"Supply chain management",
"Partnership",
"Vietnam",
"Globalization"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Globalization has spread the urgent need for corporate social responsibility (CSR) beyond the northern enterprises to which it was previously confined (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Emerging Markets, 2004; UNIDO, 2002). International trade environments have awakened to issues such as human rights and labor exploitation in developing parts of the world, and the need for sustainability now also concerns suppliers in the South along the global supply chain (Welford, 2002). Along this \"reverse\" supply chain, the concept of corporate responsibility has been introduced into countries like Vietnam through a number of codes of conduct and international standards (e.g. SA8000, ISO 9001, and ISO 14001). CSR has thus become mandatory in business relationships with foreign partners. Therefore, local managers must learn more socially responsible practices.The literature on responsible supplying relationships (Maloni and Brown, 2006) and the stakeholder view of the firm (Donaldson and Preston, 1995; Post et al., 2002) point out new ways to manage responsible relationships along the global supply chain. Within this framework, sound relationships along the supply chain and between local suppliers and their stakeholders foster new strategies for pursuing sustainability. More collaborative models of governance based on innovative partnerships (Albareda et al., 2008; Zadek, 2006) might help companies in developing countries to address new sourcing requirements, to get support from their stakeholder networks, as well as to enhance their reputation in the international markets.Focusing particularly on Vietnam, this paper investigates the impact of multinational companies' more sustainable sourcing policies on local suppliers. In this context, it is crucial:* to understand the process through which CSR is reaching the country;* to investigate the effects of CSR strategies on the enterprises that manage to comply with imposed international labor standards and regulations; and* to analyze the monetary and non-monetary costs of CSR, as well as the challenges and difficulties faced by local Vietnamese entrepreneurs in implementing CSR strategies for the first time.Our findings suggest that CSR does make business sense for the enterprises big and rich enough to comply with international social standards even in developing countries such as Vietnam. However, the process through which sustainability is reaching Vietnam is unsustainable. The costs of a top-down commitment to CSR are beyond the reach of many enterprises, whose inability to comply with social and environmental standards is preventing them from doing business in international markets. Originally considered an effective opponent of abuses and exploitation, corporate responsibility is on the brink of becoming a new form of protectionism.\nFrom north to south: CSR along the global supply chain: Over the last few years, CSR has become an indispensable component of business activities for many companies in the world. Innovation, corporate governance, industrial relations, and the supply chain are some of the most strategic issues that CSR currently encompasses (Russo and Tencati, 2008). In particular, several stakeholder claims are modifying the structure of the global supply chain, from developed to developing countries. According to the relevant literature, firms might do well to anticipate future CSR issues along their supply chains and to integrate CSR standards into their daily operations (Maloni and Brown, 2006; Porter, 1998; Porter and Kramer, 2006). Therefore, from the stakeholder perspective (Clarkson, 1995; Donaldson and Preston, 1995; Post et al., 2002), firms' relationships with their suppliers and customers might be perceived as shepherding emerging CSR strategies along the supply chain (Perrini et al., 2007). Basing their actions on the evolutionary concepts of logistics social responsibility (LSR) (Carter and Jennings, 2002b) and purchasing social responsibility (PSR) (Carter and Jennings, 2002a), firms are becoming more and more attuned to this need to extend CSR behaviors along the supply chain. Supply management should take the form of a partnership approach among firms, their suppliers, and their customers, embracing the issues of human rights, general working conditions, and the environment (Perrini, 2006).The necessity of social responsibility has penetrated countries like Vietnam, and the traditional supplier relationships are assuming the form of a \"reverse\" supply chain. Three crucial components characterize this process, which begins with consumers, proceeds through multinational corporations (MNCs), and ends up among manufacturers.From consumers to MNCs: step one\nMethodology: The research was carried out in Vietnam in 2004 thanks to the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) regional office (Bekefi, 2006), based in Ha Noi, and with the involvement of sector associations, such as the Leather and Footwear Organisation (LEFASO), the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), the Vietnam Promotion Agency (VIETRADE), and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce.The survey was conducted on the basis of a questionnaire. In more detail, this questionnaire was used as a support during the direct interviews, which mainly involved the chief operating officers (COO) or their representatives, and/or was sent electronically when onsite visits were not possible. The questionnaire, consisting of 52 items, was first composed in English and then translated into Vietnamese. Direct interviews and questionnaires were the best route considering our context. For example, most of the management did not feel comfortable giving out information about minimum wages, night shifts, or their economics at other levels. So, in order to understand the real working conditions, we obtained answers indirectly, by visiting their workplaces, reading the work schedules displayed on the walls, or simply using their toilets. Moreover, language presented a further barrier, especially at state-owned enterprises, where even top managers did not speak English. We communicated more easily with private and joint-ventures companies, where interpreters were unnecessary. Finally, we did not once use the term \"CSR\" in our questionnaire, because even though this concept has reached (or, at least, is starting to reach) Vietnam's enterprises through international certifications and codes of conduct, the acronym \"CSR\" is still largely unfamiliar to them. Summarizing the consequences related to the different ways of collecting data and information, especially in the state-owned enterprises the interviews were hard to conduct, the questions often misunderstood and the answers extremely evasive. A real managerial approach seemed lacking: almost impossible to face problems related to productivity or employee turnover, and the content of the oral message was inevitably distorted.Our research encompassed 59 Vietnamese enterprises, 42.37 percent of which (25 companies) agreed to collaborate either through direct interviews or by answering the questionnaire electronically.We chose our subjects on the basis of three criteria. First, we considered genres and ended up concentrating on footwear (32 percent of the firms in the sample), garments (32 percent), and seafood (36 percent). Actually after crude oil, these industries are the main sources of Vietnam's exports (Ministry of Labour - Invalid and Social Affairs, 2004), are characterized by intense international business relations and now the firms operating in such sectors are the first ones to cope with the sustainability-oriented trends and strictures streaming in from foreign markets. To study the enterprises we targeted, we used the databases of, respectively, LEFASO (for the footwear companies), VITAS (for the garment companies), and the Ministry of Fishery (for the seafood companies). The databases provided general profiles, including date of establishment, number of employees, type of ownership, export markets, and most important clients. Second, we selected our subjects on the basis of their export markets - international clients (with preference for the EU and US and large multinational companies). Figure 1 displays the export markets of our respondents.Finally, we chose our subjects based on the number of their employees, confining ourselves to medium-sized to large companies, as illustrated in Figure 2. Our reason was that the influence of CSR on the daily business routine increases consistently the more the employee force grows.\nResults and discussion: CSR does make business sense\nConclusions: Our findings show that the monetary and non-monetary costs of complying with international standards may prove to be unsustainable and prohibitive for many enterprises, and especially for small- and medium-sized suppliers. CSR is a long-term investment, expensive within the Vietnamese context as it exists today. The inability to meet social and environmental standards inhibits possible business interactions at the international level.As managers assess where to invest, they might wish to take into account the results reported above. This study suggests that managers have to consider the impact that responsible investments can have on the overall performance of the firm. Although literature investigating the linkage between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) (Waddock and Graves, 1997) provided evidence that there is no detrimental impact from or penalty for allocating some resources towards CSP (Graves and Waddock, 1994), in developing countries this is not always the case. In fact, it seems that such investments might be beneficial if they are supported by the engagement of key stakeholders.The increasing opening of the Vietnamese market and the recent access to the World Trade Organization (WTO) benefit from CSR as a vital asset, but one that that cannot simply be imposed on local firms by foreign partners. Rather, local entities should be technically and financially supported as they advance to more sustainable policies, especially now that these have become indispensable to business relationships with foreign clients. Here a relational perspective is gaining momentum: as in other countries, partnerships and more collaborative models of governance could foster the development of responsible approaches in places like Vietnam if public authorities and managers are attentive to these opportunities.For public authorities wanting to achieve sustainable development of CSR, a first step should be major collaboration between public and private efforts, local and international authorities, and managers and workers. Were Vietnam to become a more enabling environment for sustainability, individual activities would more likely succeed with a total awareness of what has been done before and what is planned next by the world community. In Vietnam the aid environment is overcrowded and a number of international organizations, NGOs, and bilateral donors sometimes \"compete\" rather than collaborate. Were all these efforts coordinated with their Vietnamese counterparts, results would be more effective, emerge more quickly, and Vietnam would benefit directly from the presence of international institutions. Through improved collaboration among the international institutions and a stronger public-sector involvement, CSR could be effectively strengthened along global supply chains. In other words, a major engagement by the local and national bodies and a higher level of collaboration and coordination among the international agencies are both needed to achieve an effective implementation of CSR in Vietnam.Nevertheless, local capacity building is even more important. \"Vietnam doesn't need the fish, but the net,\" affirmed Mr Linh, Director of the Trade Promotion & Business Support Development Department, under the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade: effective partnerships and collaborations especially with foreign companies and institutions would support this effort.At the managerial level, the greatest challenge seems to be the mentality and the culture at the base of organizations. Evidence from the footwear, garment, and seafood sectors reveals that the major cost of implementing new and imposed social policies involves the changes necessary in the management system, which entails comprehensive changes in the business mentality. The reticence of most manufacturers and suppliers to undertake CSR compliance is attributable to their insufficient understanding of the benefits of increased efforts to comply with international requirements. Therefore, greater awareness is needed at the managerial and operative levels. Until developing countries such as Vietnam perceive that international standards are imposed by foreign clients, effectiveness of CSR implementation will suffer and businesses, employees, and therefore society as a whole will be held back.To date, the only reason that Vietnamese enterprises and those in other developing countries are beginning to involve themselves in social issues is to continue to supply foreign countries and remain viable within international trade markets. CSR is being \"exported\" to countries where the civil foundation, that is, the norms, customs, and laws that govern corporate practices, is shallow and fragile (Martin, 2002).As an example, consider that corporate responsibility must be shared with employees. It may seem redundant to educate workers about their own rights. In a country such as Vietnam, the limit of eight working hours a day imposed by the Vietnamese Labour Code (Art. 68.1) actually goes against workers' interest, because they need to work as many hours as possible to earn enough. In this case, the real civil foundation and the economic framework do not enable employees to work eight hours a day and the implementation of CSR must take this into account. Nevertheless, although the minimum wages per month are VND 210.000 ($13) for employees working at domestic business (Decree N. 77/2000/ND-CP dated December 15, 2000 of the Government on Re-adjusting the Minimum Wage) and VND 417.000 to 626.000 ($26 to $39) for those working in foreign-invested enterprises (Decision n. 708/1999/QD/TTg dated June 15, 1999 of the Prime Minister on Minimum Wages of Vietnamese Labour Working at Foreign-invested Companies), it is fundamental for managers and employees to understand the importance of following the rules.Increasing training costs are required by the new CSR policies, especially when the sectors considered are labor-intensive. In all the cases analyzed, such \"dissemination costs\" have been entirely borne by the company and of course not all companies can afford them. Entrepreneurs felt powerless, asked to shoulder all the costs of compliance, in that here the buyers would be the only ones to benefit.In sum, the advantages of CSR must be concretely proven to local suppliers and local authorities through specific initiatives tailored to the specific country and must be sustainable, that is, financially and structurally supported and based on local capacity building.Therefore, indications for future research as well as for more effective CSR policies have become evident in this study. The case for business should be defined in order to spread more sustainable practices among the entrepreneurs; furthermore, an on-site CSR educational agenda seems necessary and should address all the companies, including the smallest ones (Tencati et al., 2004). A methodology for demonstrating the business case in a comprehensive and methodologically rigorous manner must be developed, with the awareness that the question calls for more than a one-size-fits-all solution (Perrini et al., 2006; Spence, 2007). In order to investigate and explain more fully the interconnections among the different elements along the supply chain, and the advantages of the relevant CSR initiatives and whether and how they differ in Vietnam compared with other developing and developed countries, we suggest a broader study, based on cluster and factor analyses (Russo and Tencati, 2008).Finally, our research shows that CSR could make business sense in countries such as Vietnam, but efforts toward sustainable goals must be fostered, rather than imposed, through defining innovative partnerships involving companies, local authorities, international players, and civil society at large and through a demand-driven educational agenda. Otherwise, what was originally thought to be a way to fight abuses and maltreatments risks transformation into a new form of protectionism (Welford, 2002). Many experiences in other developing countries confirm the crucial role of this collaborative approach (Porter and Kramer, 2006; Zadek, 2006).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to investigate the influence of the increasingly sustainable sourcing policies of many multinational companies on suppliers located in developing countries such as Vietnam. The focus is the process through which corporate social responsibility (CSR) is reaching this Southeast Asian country.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The research was conducted in Vietnam through the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) regional office. The survey was based on a questionnaire used during direct interviews or sent out electronically when onsite visits were not possible. The research involved 25 Vietnamese enterprises.\nFindings: - The results reveal, on the one hand, how CSR makes business sense even in a developing country such as Vietnam and, on the other hand, the difficulties of maintaining sustainability as products move from northern consumers to Vietnamese suppliers. This process calls for more collaborative models of governance among the companies along the supply chain, local authorities, international players, and civil society at large.\nOriginality/value: - This paper highlights the unsustainable process through which corporate responsibility is being imposed on Vietnamese suppliers and how CSR, now required for access to international markets, might eventually turn into a new form of protectionism. To avoid this, CSR must be supported, rather than imposed, through building innovative partnerships and through a demand-driven educational agenda.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Volunteer age, job satisfaction, and intention to stay: A case of nonprofit sport organizations
|
[
"Age",
"Volunteers",
"Job satisfaction",
"Intention to stay",
"Leader-member exchange",
"Nonprofit sport organizations"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Volunteers are crucial human resources in nonprofit organizations (Brown, 2007). In the current unstable economy, many nonprofits facing financial difficulties eagerly seek voluntary work contributions and try to retain existing volunteer workforce to carry out their organizational missions. In particular, nonprofit sport organizations that are staffed mainly by volunteers face a lack of appropriately skilled volunteers and board members (Hoye et al., 2009). According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS, 2009), nonprofit recreation and sport organizations accounted for 8.8 percent (87,919) of all nonprofit organizations in the USA. As a crucial part of the nonprofit sector, nonprofit sport organizations provide a wide range of sporting and social initiatives, which contributes to the social capital of the society and the regeneration, better health, safer, more cohesive and inclusive communities, and lifelong learning (Gallagher et al., 2012; Harris et al., 2009). Increasing volunteers' willingness to work at a nonprofit organization for a long time is a cardinal task for managers. The Corporation for National and Community Service (2012) reported that the total monetary value of volunteer time in the USA alone was estimated at $171 billion in 2011. This dollar value of volunteer activity is significant for nonprofit organizations given the limited resources with small operating budgets.\nLMX and job satisfaction: The LMX theory posits that the quality of the dyadic relationship is determined by the exchange between leaders and followers (Dansereau et al., 1975). Successful leadership processes take place when leaders and followers create mature leadership relationships (Hoye, 2004). In particular, management in sport environments has its distinctive features related to the unpredictable outcome of sport services that need to be manipulated by immediate responses of an organization's staff. Therefore, close relationships between leaders and members are required to provide quality sport services (Bang, 2011). The mature relationships in LMX may be particularly important in the context of nonprofit sport organizations for two reasons (Bang, 2011). First, given that leaders are often volunteers (e.g. presidents, board members), they may be motivated by truthful interest in members (e.g. volunteer coaches, parent volunteers) and the desire to assist in their advancement. Second, due to the unpredictable outcome of sport services, immediate responses are required of an organization's staff, leaders, and members; all must take an active role. Although the concept of LMX has been attracting considerable attention in nonprofit sport organization settings, only a few studies have evaluated the effects of LMX on organizational outcomes in the context of nonprofit sport organizations. In one of those few studies, Hoye (2003) provided empirical support for LMX theory in the context of Australian voluntary sport organizations. He found that board chairs and executives perceived the quality of their LMX to be higher than their respective relationships with board members, indicating that shared leadership existed within the board. A study by Bang (2011) also utilized LMX theory to examine the influences of LMX dimensions (i.e. Affect, Loyalty, Contribution, and Professional Respect) on job satisfaction and the influences of LMX dimensions and job satisfaction on intention to stay with nonprofit sport organizations from two perspectives: one of leaders and the other of members. She found that followers' Professional Respect and leaders' Affect have positive impacts on their job satisfaction and leaders' Professional Respect has an effect on their intention to stay with the nonprofit sport organizations as well.\nJob satisfaction and intention to stay: Turnover intention is defined as the intention of an organizational member to voluntarily quit the job (Dougherty et al., 1985). If individuals are not satisfied with their jobs, they are less likely to stay with the organizations, which eventually causes turnover (Griffeth et al., 2000). Many studies have found that job satisfaction is negatively related to turnover intention (Meyer et al., 2002). Given that the purpose of nonprofit sport organizations is to provide some charitable or community sport service, and not to make financial gain for a shareholder, they rely upon volunteer services. However, maintaining and replenishing the valuable set of human resources comprised of talented, skillful volunteers is an ongoing and often difficult process (Miller et al., 2002). Individuals do not volunteer for monetary support in nonprofit sport organizations because they do not get paid for their services. Therefore, other positive experiences in these organizations contribute to their satisfaction with volunteering. Their increased job satisfaction has been posited as leading to increased intention to stay (Bang, 2011).\nModerating role of age: This study proposes that the positive relationships between LMX and job satisfaction and between job satisfaction and intention to stay are more salient depending upon volunteers' age. The variable age refers to the process of physiological changes in terms of various emotional and psychosocial needs across an individual's lifespan (Avolio and Waldman, 1994). Comparing to older volunteers, younger volunteers would show high levels of job satisfaction associated with LMX factors, but less intention to stay with their nonprofit sport organizations. Two lines of theorizing provide support for this assumption. First, socio-emotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1995) presumes that limitations on perceived remaining life time lead to a prioritization of emotionally meaningful life goals. That is, old adults often perceive time as a limited resource, which causes them to focus less on preparing for the future and more on regulating their current affective states; young adults generally perceive time as expansive, motivating them to prioritize the acquisition of knowledge (DeWall et al., 2006). It implies that older volunteers are likely to perceive their remaining time in their work-related future to be constrained and to focus on the emotional gains rather than educational and long-term pursuits. Accordingly, older volunteers' strong LMX may be less associated with their job satisfaction. In contrast, since younger volunteers are more likely to use the volunteer work to advance in their careers and develop business contacts and leads, their relationships with leaders or members at workplace could be an important factor that influences job satisfaction.\nMethod: Participants\nResults: Reliability estimates\nDiscussion: The purpose of the study was to examine the moderating role of Age in the relationships between LMXs and Job Satisfaction and between Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay among volunteers in nonprofit sport organizations. The study revealed that the age of volunteers made a significant contribution to some of the relationships, suggesting that more attention must be paid to age in the context of nonprofit sport organizations, not as a descriptive variable or noise in the data, but as a variable of interest (Matthews et al., 2010).\nConclusion: This study examined the moderating role of Age in the relationships between LMX factors (Affect, Loyalty, Contribution, and Professional Respect) and Job Satisfaction and between Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay among volunteers in nonprofit sport organizations. The study found that the moderating effects of Age in the relationship between Professional Respect and Job Satisfaction and between Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay were significant. Specifically, as volunteers are younger, their perceived professional respect for leaders and/or members is likely to influence their levels of job satisfaction. However, as volunteers are older, their job satisfaction has more influence on their intention to stay. The findings indicated that the age of volunteers in nonprofit sport organizations can be an important factor in increasing organizational success. Therefore, nonprofit sport organizations need to put considerable effort into developing strategic approaches to the recruitment and retention of volunteers, reflecting the needs of volunteers at different life stages.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of Age in the relationships between leader-member exchange dimensions (Affect, Loyalty, Contribution, and Professional Respect) and Job Satisfaction and between Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay among volunteers in nonprofit sport organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A series of moderated hierarchical multiple regression analyses was conducted using the survey responses of 214 volunteers in 22 nonprofit sport organizations.\nFindings: The results indicated that Age moderated the relationship between Professional Respect and Job Satisfaction such that it was stronger for younger volunteers, and Job Satisfaction had a greater positive influence on Intention to Stay for older rather than younger volunteers.\nOriginality/value: These findings provide valuable insights into how age may be an important factor influencing volunteers' job satisfaction and intention to continue to volunteer. Implications for practitioners and future research are also discussed.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Staff "poaching" in the small business context: overcoming this key barrier to training
|
[
"Employee training",
"Small firms",
"Greece",
"Small enterprises",
"Workplace learning",
"Skills training"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Although published research indicates that effective people management is one of the most important problems faced by small firms (Gilbert and Jones, 2000; Heneman et al., 2000; Pettigrew et al., 1990), there is a shortage of research identifying the people management activities in use in such establishments. Equally crucial is the limited research conducted in relation to the difficulties associated with staff training provision in the small business context (Arthur and Hendry, 1990; Way, 2002).Small enterprises are very often reluctant to invest in workforce skills development bearing in mind the possibility of skilled labour being \"poached\" (i.e. employees may move on taking the value of any training investment too) by large organisations that normally offer more generous financial rewards and promotional opportunities (Johnson, 2002). However, it has been shown that this under-investment in staff training and learning limits their ability to compete in national and international markets (Aragon-Sanchez et al., 2003; Jones, 2004). Hence, overcoming the fear of \"poaching\" and enhancing staff loyalty remains a key challenge for small firms. In this context, the present study looks at how small firm owners' \"poaching\" concerns could be overcome through case-study empirical work conducted in Greece.\nCharacteristics of small firms: It has been argued that small firms usually offer poorer economic rewards, employment terms and physical working conditions and a lower level of job security compared to large enterprises (Curran and Stanworth, 1981; Scott et al., 1989). They also appear to have inadequate safety conditions, very limited advancement opportunities for their personnel and adversarial industrial relations due to the autocratic management style of the firm owner (Atkinson and Storey, 1994; Bacon et al., 1996; Hendry et al., 1995; Monat, 2002; Rainnie, 1989).However, they seem to offer more interesting work (i.e. more varied work roles with a chance to participate in several kinds of work) and a more direct relationship between individual effort and the performance of the organization as a whole (Hendry et al., 1995; Monat, 2002; Ram, 1994). Small organizations prefer to operate in an informal and flexible manner. This, in turn, may ensure better communication since the owner is closer to the workforce and, therefore, better placed to deliver information and decisions personally and consistently to all employees, receive immediate feedback and assess the likelihood of success (Gibb, 1997; Lane, 1994; Matlay, 1999; Storey, 1994).The overall picture, which emerges from research in the small firm sector suggests that according to certain criteria such as wages, job security and hours worked, the quality of jobs is poorer in small firms than it is in large firms and that workers in large enterprises do enjoy a superior employment package. On the other hand, taking into account other dimensions of job quality such as, social relations and job satisfaction, there appears to be a considerable degree of workplace harmony with better communication and low levels of conflict in small and medium-sized enterprises.However, workplace relations in SMEs may be complex and contradictory rather than simply either harmonious or autocratic (Ram et al., 2001). The rich diversity of firms that come under that label complicates the issue of making generalisations about the main characteristics of such organisations given that they differ quite substantially, not just between countries, but also according to factors like sector, size, growth stage, ownership status, competitive strategies and so on (Storey, 1994).\nStaff training and fear of \"poaching\" in small firms: As it has been shown in the literature, a danger of training employees in small firms is the high probability of \"poaching\" by competitors. Many small firm owners may thus perceive training as a costly activity, with the benefits being reaped elsewhere (Lange et al., 2000). The type of skills that are needed in the multi-skilled environment in which small firm employees have to operate are mainly generic skills that can be used across all occupational sectors, which means that a move to another company becomes easier to accomplish. As Hendry et al. (1995) stress, \"poaching\" appears to be a key barrier to training in the small business context due to the absence of internal labour markets and the poor financial rewards offered by such establishments. In the same vein, Pells et al. (2004) and Hoeckel (2008) argue that fear of \"poaching\" remains the main concern of small firms when it comes to employee training provision.According to a survey of 2,500 business managers in the North West of England, 40 per cent of small firms provided no IT training for their staff for fear of skilled labour being \"poached\" (Thackeray, 2002). A further survey of 644 UK firms in the Electro-technical industry also showed that \"poaching\" was among the key reasons for the absence of employee training provision in small firms (Miller, 2007). More recent evidence suggests that employee \"poaching\" will be among the main personnel challenges that businesses will face in the upcoming years (Woods, 2010).It has been argued that the probability of \"poaching\" is reduced when skills are not valued outside the training firm either due to their inherent nature or due to characteristics of the labour market (Becker, 1964). As Acemoglu and Pischke (1998) explain, firms invest in general training when labour markets are highly non-competitive. In such cases, general skills become specific because they cannot receive value in other employment positions. Under such conditions, firms can be expected to train because they are relatively certain that trained workers will not quit.Other studies have pointed to the relationship between internal labour markets and training showing that the fear of \"poaching\" can be reduced in cases where firms provide incentives to trained workers to stay with the firm after training is completed including promotional opportunities (Kerr and McDougall, 1999; Pfeffer and Cohen, 1984; Sanders and Grip, 2004). Further studies have revealed that the risk of \"poaching\" can be reduced by lowering the cost of \"poaching\" to training firms. Such cost reduction can occur when training is regulated or subsidized. In this context, firms manage to reduce the risk of \"poaching\" by establishing industry-wide standards to which firms are expected to train and developing monitoring mechanisms to ensure that a sufficient number of workers are trained (Hall and Soskice, 2001).As the literature suggests, employers can reduce the probability of \"poaching\" when the skills being developed are firm-specific skills, as well as in cases where the employer offers benefits to trained workers. Also, the cost of \"poaching\" can be reduced through regulation or subsidization of training so that replacing \"poached\" workers is easy.\nMethodology: The present study involves a detailed analysis of two small firms (for the purposes of the present analysis, small enterprises are defined as firms employing less than 50 workers). In effect, therefore, it could be argued that in this research a case study approach was adopted to meet the research objectives. The case study approach relied on multiple sources of evidence including secondary data (e.g. company reports) and in-depth personal interviews with the firm owners and employees.Adopting a case study research strategy had a number of advantages. More specifically, the particular strategy offered flexibility and revealed a range of perceptions around learning interventions and ways to overcome \"poaching\" concerns within small firms and how those involved interpret them. Furthermore, it allowed the researcher to concentrate upon the owners' attitudes towards staff training and retention recognizing the important role that small firm owners take in the day-to-day running of their firms.As Flyvbjerg (2006) has stressed, the most advanced form of understanding is achieved when researchers place themselves within the context being studied. Only in this way can researchers understand the viewpoints and the behaviour, which characterizes social actors. In this research, there were more discoveries stemming from the type of intense observation made possible by the case study than from statistics applied to large groups. The proximity to reality, which the case study entails, made the particular strategy suitable for generating advanced understanding around staff training and retention within Greek small firms.The casework involved two small enterprises operating in the manufacturing and services sectors respectively that showed willingness and interest to participate in the particular research study. Research interviews took place in Greece during January-April 2011 and their duration ranged from 30 minutes to 50 minutes depending on the informants' work commitments. Specifically, the researcher conducted nine face-to-face interviews with the two small firm owners and seven staff members in the case study firms.The interviews covered the following areas: general organizational information; the nature and extent of training activity; and the factors affecting \"poaching\" of skilled staff. Data were recorded by note taking and the analysis of semi-structured interviews was undertaken through data categorization (i.e. open coding), data unitizing and recognition, as well as testing of the emerging relationships in order to generate a valid theory.\nFindings: Case 1: a leather manufacturing firm\nDiscussion of findings: According to the data presented, employee loyalty in small firms seems to be enhanced through the creation of a friendly atmosphere at work and a caring boss who treats employees fairly, as well as encourages staff involvement in decision-making. Although previous research has revealed that the fear of \"poaching\" can be reduced in cases where firms offer proper advancement opportunities or employee skills are firm-specific (Acemoglu and Pischke, 1998), the current study argues that the owner management style and staff interpersonal relationships may be stronger determinants of staff commitment.It has been argued that large organizations can easily \"poach\" skilled labour from smaller firms since they can offer greater financial rewards and career advancement opportunities than small establishments (Hendry et al., 1995; Hoeckel, 2008). However, case study analysis suggests that this assumption is over simplistic since the abovementioned factors do not automatically lead employees to move from a small company to a large one. The findings indicate that rather than seeking to maintain their staff through high salaries, small firm owners can rely heavily on the creation of a \"family atmosphere\" at work so that employees feel more relaxed and satisfied.A central argument of this study is that the provision of more attractive financial rewards by large organizations will not necessarily result in employees leaving small firms since this assumption underestimates the social and psychological needs of employees. The data showed that employees are not willing to risk a \"family atmosphere\" for more money for fear of losing a satisfying working climate. Such findings indicate that the way employees are managed in small firms requires much more attention by firm owners in Greece and a more central place in policy interventions if decision-makers are to help such enterprises face the challenges of the future.\nConclusion: The main objective of this study has been to explore how firm owners can overcome the fear of staff \"poaching\", which acts as a key barrier to employee development. Such concerns have been of particular significance for small enterprises since this under-investment in workforce skills development is thought to undermine their ability to achieve their business objectives. As the literature review showed, small enterprises are very often reluctant to invest in staff training bearing in mind the possibility of well-trained labour being \"poached\" by large organizations that can offer better financial rewards and various career opportunities.The empirical data revealed that owners in small firms may enhance staff loyalty significantly by placing much emphasis on their management style, as well as by creating a \"friendly\" atmosphere at work. The interviews indicated that employees in such enterprises seem to place much value on aspects of their working lives other than payment. This includes a supportive and competent owner, increased job autonomy and responsibility, involvement in decision-making and a harmonious working climate with few conflicts.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The present study seeks to investigate how small firm owners' \"poaching\" concerns could be overcome so that workforce skills development could be stimulated in such firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study draws on case-study work in two small firms in Greece. The data collection tools involved secondary data (e.g. company reports) and in-depth personal interviews with the two firm owners and seven employees.\nFindings: - The empirical data revealed that owners in small firms may enhance staff loyalty significantly by placing much emphasis on their management style, as well as by creating a \"friendly\" atmosphere at work. The interviews indicated that employees in such enterprises seem to place much value on aspects of their working lives other than payment. This includes a supportive and competent owner, increased job autonomy and responsibility, involvement in decision making and a harmonious working climate with few conflicts.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Further empirical studies with a quantitative orientation conducted both in Greece and in other countries could form the basis for generalizing the conclusions of the present study, as well as for insightful cross-country comparisons with the purpose of identifying ways to stimulate workforce skills development.\nPractical implications: - The data showed that employees are not willing to risk a \"family\" atmosphere for more money for fear of losing a satisfying working climate. Such findings indicate that the way employees are managed in small firms requires much more attention by firm owners and a more central place in policy interventions if decision makers are to help such enterprises face the challenges of the future.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides new insights in an under-researched area. Specifically, it informs the existing literature on how employee \"poaching\", which acts as a key barrier to staff training and learning in the small business context, could be reduced.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The state of sustainability reporting in universities
|
[
"Sustainable development",
"Universities"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: During the last decade, an increasing number of higher education institutions (HEIs) have been engaged in incorporating and institutionalizing sustainability into their curricula, research, operations, outreach, and assessment and reporting (Calder and Clugston, 2003; Cortese, 2003; Lozano-Ros, 2003). This paper focuses on a comparative analysis of 12 universities that are reporting their sustainability efforts.Sustainability reporting is a voluntary activity with two general purposes:1. to assess the current state of an organisation's economic, environmental and social dimensions; and2. to communicate a company's efforts and sustainability progress to their stakeholders (Dalal-Clayton and Bass, 2002; Hamann, 2003).In the last ten years, there has been an increase on companies publishing sustainability reports (ACCA, 2004; GRI, 2009; Morhardt et al., 2002), mainly trans-national corporations (ACCA, 2004; Ball et al., 2000).Dalal-Clayton and Bass (2002) and Cole (2003) offer a comprehensive list of sustainability reporting guidelines, with their advantages and disadvantages. The most widely used guidelines include: the ISO 14000 series (especially ISO 14031) and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme; the Social Accountability 8000 Standard (SAI, 2007); and the GRI Sustainability Guidelines (GRI, 2002a, 2006).In the particular case of universities, Shriberg (2002) offers a comparison of the different guidelines developed. Some examples include the National Wildlife Federation's State of the Campus Environment, the Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire, Higher Education 21's Sustainability Indicators, and the Auditing Instrument for Sustainable Higher Education.Among the different guidelines, the GRI Sustainability Guidelines offers one of the best options (Hussey et al., 2001; Lozano, 2006; Morhardt et al., 2002). However, the GRI guidelines were not developed for universities (Cole, 2003). Therefore, they need to be modified and complemented to include the core competence of universities, the educational dimension, as proposed by Lozano (2006).\n2 Methodology: The author searched for those institutions that had published sustainability reports, preferably following the GRI guidelines. The sources included were universities web sites, the GRI corporate register web site (UNCG, 2003), and the list provided by Lozano (2006). Some universities include sustainability in their annual reports (Cardiff University, 2008; UCLAN, 2006; University of Bradford, 2006); other institutions publish either environmental reports (ANU, 2007; Sheffield Hallam University, 2006; University of Bath, 2008; UVM, 2002), or sustainability reports but with a focus only on the environmental dimension (UNCCH, 2007; UNCG, 2003; UWE, 2007). Only 12[1] universities (Table I) were found that publish sustainability reports as standalone documents addressing the economic, environmental, and social dimensions.Table I shows the large variation in the number of pages of the reports, with an average of 108 pages. To help assess them more systematically, the Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities (GASU) tool was used (Lozano, 2006). GASU[2] allows an easy comparison of sustainability performance of reports, which can help university leaders, sustainability champions, and other individuals to compare and benchmark their sustainability performance with relative ease.GASU is based on the GRI 2002 guidelines (GRI, 2002b), with an additional educational dimension, as shown in Table II. This results in 126 indicators: ten core and three additional economic indicators, 16 core and 19 additional environmental indicators, 24 core and 24 additional social[3] indicators, and ten core and 20 additional educational indicators.Each indictor is graded using the following range:0 - there is a total lack of information for the indicator.1 - the information presented is of poor performance, equivalent to around 25 per cent of the required full information.2 - the information presented is of regular performance, equivalent of around 50 per cent of the full information required by the indicator.3 - the information presented is considered to be of good performance, equivalent of around 75 per cent.4 - the information has an excellent performance; this grade totally fulfils what the indicator asks for.Once all the indicators in the report have been graded, they are added and divided by the maximum grade achievable for each dimension (44 for economic, 45 for environmental, 134 for social, and 83 for educational). This gives the relative performance in each of the dimensions, e.g. if the economic dimension would have had a 22, then its relative performance would be 50 per cent.The results are presented in nine charts: one general chart, which presents the performance of economic, environmental, social and educational dimensions; one for the economic dimension; one for the environmental dimension; five for the social dimension (one for overall, one for the labour practices and decent work, one for human rights, one for society, and one for product responsibility); and one for the educational dimension.\n3 Universities' sustainability reporting analysis using GASU: The reports from the selected universities were graded according to the aforementioned range. The results from the analysis are presented in Tables III-VII. To maintain the size of this paper reasonable, the results for the social and educational dimensions are presented in a condensed form, i.e. only their sub-categories.Table III presents the results of the economic dimension, where it can be seen that there is an emphasis on customers and suppliers. Since universities do not report directly for customer and supplier, in the analysis the respective equivalents were considered to be income and expenditure. In general, there is a similar percentage of reporting in both, with the exception of University of British Columbia (UBC), Hong Kong, and Turku, which report more on income than expenditure. Only two universities (Florida and Michigan) report on the employees indicator, which refers to the total payroll and benefits. Three universities (UBC, Florida, and Turku) report on their providers of capital, focusing primarily on their debt and borrowings.Table IV presents the results of the Environmental dimension. The results show that there is a strong emphasis on energy, and water usage (especially Leuphana, Michigan, and Singapore), as well as on green house gases and waste generation (especially UBC, Michigan, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), and Singapore). Six universities report on their material use and recycling, while six universities on their activities towards sustainability in transportation. There is limited reporting on biodiversity (usually under campus' land use), suppliers, products and services, and compliance[4].Table V presents the results of the social dimension, where it can be observed that there is a stronger emphasis on labour practices and decent work, mainly on employment and diversity and opportunity. Gothenburg University provides some coverage of human rights through the policies indicators. UBC provides some coverage of the society aspects, mainly through its engagement with communities. Birmingham, Hong Kong, and Pontifica Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP) have limited coverage of the social dimension in their reports. None of the universities report on product responsibility, but as noted by Lozano (2006) the category might not be relevant for universities.Table VI shows that the coverage of the educational aspects is quite varied. This may be because they are not included in the GRI guidelines (GRI, 2002b). Among the universities analysed, UBC and Michigan have the strongest coverage, mainly in curriculum and service, followed by USC and Singapore. There is a limited coverage in the research category. A reason for this may be that the universities focus more on curricula than on research.Finally, Table VII presents the overall results of the four dimensions of the universities analysed. It can be observed that there is a varied coverage of the sustainability dimensions. In general, the strongest focus is on the environmental dimension, followed by the economic dimension. There is a large range of coverage in social dimension, from almost 23 per cent to almost 3 per cent. UBC, Michigan, and Singapore have the strongest coverage of the educational dimension. Michigan, USC, and Turku have the strongest overall coverage, followed by BOKU, Gothenburg, and Leuphana. In general, the level of coverage against the GRI guidelines is low, with the maximum at circa 33 per cent.\n4 Discussion on the GASU results: The results show that currently universities tend to focus on the economic and environmental dimensions in their sustainability reports. The economic dimension might be as a result of utilising the information available in their annual reports. The focus on the environmental dimension may be from sustainability having primarily environmental connotations (Atkinson, 2000; Costanza, 1991; Diesendorf, 2000; Fadeeva, 2004; Goldin and Winters, 1995; Hart, 2000; Reinhardt, 2004). It may also be, as Dresner (2002) posits, that in developed countries there is a tendency to be more concerned with environmental issues rather than with social ones. Yet another possible explanation is that environmental issues are easier to measure, while social issues tend to be less matured (Salzmann et al., 2003), making them difficult to monitor, assess, and analyse.Within the environmental dimension, universities seem to be doing a relatively good job on their campus operations (see the proceedings of EMSU, 2004, 2006, 2008), especially when focusing on material use and recycling, energy, water, transport, and emissions, effluents, and waste. However, there is still work to be done on the biodiversity, suppliers (e.g. on purchasing), products and services, and compliance indicators.For the social dimension, the emphasis is being given to the indicators in the labour practices and decent work category. More explicit emphasis could be given to reporting explicitly the efforts and activities contributing to the human rights and society categories.Surprisingly, the reports on the educational dimension tend to be uneven. This may be due to the dimension not being included in the GRI (2002b) guidelines, but as discussed in the \"Introduction\" section, there have been efforts to address this.The reports from the universities show that even the modified version of the GRI for universities could be improved. For example, on the social part, a new category could be added specific for students, where the following indicators could be included: Student demographics (diversity and gender); student mobility (referring to student exchanges to other universities); work creation; and alumni relations. In the educational dimension, within the curriculum category a \"Continuing education\" could be added.\n5 Conclusions: Sustainability reporting offers universities a way to assess their current state in regards to economic, environmental, social, and educational dimensions. It also helps to communicate such efforts to their stakeholders (e.g. new students, parents, funding bodies, government departments, alumni, current students, academics, and staff).From the different tools available, the GRI guidelines provide a systematic framework that helps to depart from an environmentally biased view of sustainability. However, the original 2002 guidelines and Lozano's (2006) modification for universities could still be improved to better capture the processes and dynamics of sustainability efforts in HEIs.The GASU tool has the potential to analyse universities' sustainability reports in a quick and easy manner. The results from GASU help to detect the categories and aspects where the university excels and those that could be improved.Although reporting could provide a framework for universities to assess and communicate their sustainability efforts, it is still in its early stages (both in numbers of institutions reporting and in level of reporting) when compared to sustainability reporting in corporations (Andersson et al., 2005; Kolk, 2008; Morhardt et al., 2002). Perhaps, universities could learn from the experiences of corporate sustainability reporting efforts, and incorporate them into their efforts as learning organisations to better align their systems with sustainability.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to review and assess the state of sustainability reporting in universities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Analysis of the performance level of 12 universities sustainability reports using the Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities tool.\nFindings: - The results show that sustainability reporting in universities is still in its early stages (both in numbers of institutions reporting and in level of reporting) when compared to sustainability reporting in corporations.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research is limited by the limited number of universities that publish sustainability reports. However, the results show that universities could learn from the experiences of corporate sustainability reporting efforts, and incorporate them into their efforts as learning organisations to better align their systems with sustainability.\nPractical implications: - University leaders and champions need to consider publishing more information on the social and educational dimensions.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides an analysis of sustainability reporting in universities, which has the potential to better incorporate and institutionalise sustainability.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Multicriteria analysis for benchmarking sustainability development
|
[
"Performance measurement",
"Benchmarking",
"Economic sustainability"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to every organization nowadays due to the rapidly growing world population, the increasing industrial production activities which heavily rely on the consumption of non-renewable resources, and the rapid development of emerging economies (Hart, 1997; Petrini and Pozzebon, 2009; Magee et al., 2013). Organizations worldwide are under growing pressures for actively pursuing sustainability development through the adoption of various sustainability strategies and practices in order to meet the environmental regulations and compliance standards (Bansal and Roth, 2000), to mitigate the environmental impact of their operations (Alaraifi et al., 2013), and to address the environmental concern of various stakeholders (Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002) while at the same time increasing their profitability and improving their competitiveness in the marketplace (Porter and van der Linde, 1995; Brunner and Starkl, 2004).\nMeasuring sustainability development: towards engaged sustainability reporting: Sustainability can be interpreted from different perspectives in the literature (Costanza and Wainger, 1991; Munda, 2005a, b; Lozano and Huisingh, 2011). Costanza and Wainger (1991), for example, define sustainability as the amount of consumption that can be sustained indefinitely without degrading capital stocks and natural stocks. Hawken (1993) describes sustainability as demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce to reach an economic state, without reducing the environment capacity to provide the same for the future generations. Naveh (1998) shows sustainability as the long lasting mutual and collaborative benefit relationship between the people, the livelihood, and the economy within an open and built-up landscape. Baumgartner and Quaas (2010) define sustainability as a \"normative notion about the way that how humans should act towards nature, and how they are responsible towards one another and future generations\". Despite these interpretations in the literature, the most widely used definition of sustainability is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987).\nMulti-criteria analysis for benchmarking organizational sustainability development: The performance of sustainability development of individual organizations is often reflected from different perspectives including (a) economy, (b) politics, (c) ecology, and (d) culture (Brunner and Starkl, 2004; Munda, 2004, 2007; Scerri and James, 2010). To adequately assess the relative progress of individual organizations on sustainability development, the use of the multi-criteria analysis methodology (Chen and Hwang, 1992; Yeh et al., 1999; Wibowow and Deng, 2012) is appropriate. This is because the multi-criteria analysis methodology can adequately address the multi-dimensional nature of the inter-organization comparison problem on sustainability development (Deng, 1999; Deng et al., 2000; Munda, 2005; Tang and Zhou, 2012).\nAn example: The International Data Corporation (IDC) publishes a Worldwide Information Society Index annually as an indication of the relative progress of individual countries worldwide on the progress of the sustainability development of individual countries. The published index is based on four sustainability criteria including (a) information, (b) hardware, (c) social infrastructure, and (d) internet infrastructure. Within this framework, scores are given to each country with respect to each criterion on their respective performance of each country on their sustainability development. An overall ranking of individual countries concerned are determined based on these aggregated scores. Table I shows the performance data of individual countries with respect to the four sustainability development criteria published by IDC in 2003 (IDC, 2002).\nConclusion: Comparing and evaluating the relative performance of organizations on their sustainability development in an objective manner is of great significance for understanding the relative status of individual organizations on sustainability development (Munda, 2004; Tang and Zhou, 2012). Such a study is often carried out in terms of benchmarking sustainability development for comparing inter-country sustainability development performance in which the performance of individual countries on sustainability development is compared with the best practitioners, leading to the identification of the performance gaps between each country and the best practitioners and the development of fresh approaches in sustainability development for improving the performance of those countries on sustainability development.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to formulate the process of measuring and benchmarking the performance of sustainability development of organizations as a multi-criteria analysis problem and presents an objective approach for solving the problem in a simple manner.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An objective approach is developed for benchmarking the sustainability development performance of individual organizations in the context of multi-criteria analysis. The relative importance of the sustainability indicators is determined independent of the subjective preferences of the decision maker using the concept of information entropy. A modified technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solutions is used for effectively incorporating the objective indicator weights into the process of determining the overall performance of sustainability development of each organization. As a result, an unbiased overall ranking of individual organizations on the performance of their sustainability development can be obtained.\nFindings: The proposed approach is applicable for measuring and benchmarking the performance of organizational sustainability development through the presentation of an example.\nOriginality/value: The originality of the paper is on the development of the objective approach within the context of multi-criteria analysis for measuring and benchmarking the performance of sustainability development of individual organizations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Aiming for the stars can bring an organization down to earth: Affordable talent management may mean making the most of what you have
|
[
"Talent management",
"Value analysis",
"Corporate culture",
"Organizational change",
"Organizational culture"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Is talent management another fad used to justify \"walking overheads\" in central human-resource departments and related consultancy fees? A five-year investigation of various approaches to transforming performance suggests a number of widely adopted practices will either disappoint or - like attempting to change a corporate culture - be unnecessary.\nCorporate experience of talent management: The focus of talent management is often upon next-generation leaders and involves investment today for possible future benefit. Despite uncertainty over the activities a company might be undertaking a few years hence, the form of its organization, or how policies and priorities may change, costly attempts are made to build talent pools.Devoting large sums to obtain people with potential involves risks, such as whether they will fit in and whether in future their attributes will still be in demand. Will they be retained long enough to yield a return on their induction and fast-track development? Might a star at an activity regarded as important today turn out to be mediocre in new roles that emerge in the years ahead?Evidence examined suggests many organizations have adopted expensive approaches that will not deliver what is required, while overlooking more cost-effective ways of enabling people - including customers - to cope with whatever might emerge. One cheaper approach, performance support, can quickly deliver multiple corporate objectives and measurable benefits for both people and organizations.\nRelevant talent on demand: Some HR specialists prefer to select people thought to have potential and build roles around them as circumstances change, rather than recruit for particular jobs. But is this affordable? Can one succeed without buying-in expensive high-fliers? What if average people could be helped continually to excel at difficult, complex and changing tasks as they evolve?An innovator may not find better people in the marketplace. Recruiting and inducting new members of staff can take time and prove problematic and expensive in comparison with performance support, which can work with the people, structure and culture one has and enable existing work-groups to understand complicated issues and emulate the superior practices of high performers when undertaking key jobs.Costly talent wars to attract the best people can be distracting and involve collateral damage. Expensive prima-donnas may alienate others, and even top-quartile superstars might only be very effective at less than half of the critical success factors for an activity such as competitive bidding (Coulson-Thomas et al., 2003). If a quick response is required, it may be better to focus on building critical success factors and what top performers do differently into the support provided to important work-groups.Talent Management 2 focuses initially on requirements for success in particular jobs that contribute most to corporate performance and customer experience. The roles and tasks involved are assessed; steps in work processes that have the greatest impacts are identified; and people in these jobs are given appropriate performance support.\nRetaining flexibility: Talent requirements can become quickly out-of-date. Hence more flexible ways of enabling affordable people to handle tricky and unfamiliar situations when and wherever they arise are needed. In essence, this is what Talent Management 2 and performance support are about. While capturing and sharing what high performers do differently can benefit an ordinary person, Talent Management 2 also greatly increases the impact that superstars at key tasks can have on organizations.Identifying high potential and future leaders can require sustained commitment and much effort. While Talent Management 2 does not preclude leadership development, it can enable a much wider range of people to build upon and complement their natural strengths. When checks are built-in to ensure compliance, performance support can also help people to offer bespoke responses and new options.Cadres of high-fliers can turn out to be even more expensive when the cost of fast-tracking is taken into account. Setting out to buy high performance can also disappoint if a star in one context does not perform so well in a different one. While some of the qualities that people have might be transferable, an exceptional talent in one area may be found to be average in another. Once the right support environment is in place, working with existing people may be a cheaper and more flexible option.Achieving objectives often depends on the skills that are employed in particular jobs, especially front-line jobs that have a disproportionate impact on customers and priority areas for improvement. Initial performance support for a scattered and international work-group that addresses a critical problem for an organization can be provided for the cost of recruiting and paying the first year's salary of one new hire.\nCoping with exceptional people: Talented people represent a challenge as well as an opportunity. Some of them are tricky to manage and retain. Giving them special treatment can alienate others. Large amounts can be wasted on expensive individuals who are not engaged, effectively used or appropriately supported. Talent Management 2 recognizes people who excel at particular activities and performance support enables them to \"push the envelope\" while capturing and sharing what they do differently so colleagues can emulate them.Talent Management 2's focus on helping and developing existing work-groups can help organizations to avoid costly talent wars and aid retention. People may be reluctant to leave a support environment, which makes it easier for them to learn, develop and do a difficult job. The right support tools can reduce risk and stress, speed up responses and allow users to learn from each application.Related investigations have identified critical success factors for key corporate activities (Coulson-Thomas, 2007; Coulson-Thomas, 2012). Support provided can incorporate these and the superior ways of high-achieving peers. Even superstars have areas of relative deficiency. Performance support can help them and enable delivery to be sustained when experienced individuals are replaced by those who are less capable.\nA more affordable alternative: Talent Management 2 and performance support offer a cost-effective way of becoming a high-performance organization and simultaneously achieving multiple objectives with the people one has - average people who do not cost an arm and a leg to recruit and retain - and an existing corporate culture. It takes people as they are, rather than as we would like them to be. Evidence from pioneer adopters suggests it represents a quick and affordable way of securing large returns on investment.Rather than leading people and top-down management, the approach helps people and provides bottom-up support. It brings together various elements, from enabling people to understand complex areas and making it easier for them to do difficult jobs, to a cost-effective mechanism for providing them with support round the clock, wherever they may be. It is relevant to different sectors and can contribute to creating flexible, adaptable and high-performance organizations.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to report on the author's five-year investigation of various approaches to transforming performance. It aims to concentrate in particular on approaches to talent management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper explains that devoting large sums to obtain people with potential involves risks, such as whether they will fit in and whether in future years their attributes will still be in demand.\nFindings: - The paper advocates a shift of emphasis from recruiting and developing a cadre of high-fliers for an uncertain future to helping people - especially those in front-line roles - to excel at activities that are crucial today, remain current and handle challenges when and wherever they arise.\nPractical implications: - The paper advances the view that a cheaper approach, performance support, can quickly deliver multiple corporate objectives and measurable benefits for both people and organizations.\nSocial implications: - The paper contends that average people can be helped to continually excel at difficult, complex and changing tasks as they evolve.\nOriginality/value: - The paper warns that setting out to buy high performance can disappoint if a star in one context does not perform so well in a different one. Large amounts can be wasted on expensive individuals who are not engaged, effectively used or appropriately supported.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.