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The face of contagion: consumer response to service failure depiction in online reviews	[ "Emotions", "User-generated content", "Online reviews", "Automated facial expression analysis", "Galvanic skin response" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Online consumer reviews (OCRs) have emerged as a particularly important type of user-generated brand information. For instance, TripAdvisor, a travel booking and ratings site, claims 320 million reviews alone, representing more than 6.2 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions worldwide (TripAdvisor, 2015). A growing body of evidence also suggests that OCRs play a critical role in shaping decision-making processes. For instance, a recent study finds that 92 per cent of consumers read OCRs (BrightLocal, 2015) and that consumers spend 31 per cent more on local companies with \"excellent\" OCRs. Moreover, 60 per cent of millennial buyers enter a retail store knowing what they want to buy; of these, 84 per cent report that consumer-written content influences their purchases (BazaarVoice, 2015). Thus, the influence of OCRs on shopping behaviors seems unlikely to diminish any time soon.\nLiterature review: Because of the intangibility, heterogeneity and variability of services, the services marketing literature has long maintained that the consumption of service offerings is associated with higher perceived risks (Murray, 1991). Consumers may use various strategies to avoid or mitigate the risk of service failure. However, as perceived risk levels increase, consumers are more likely to rely on interpersonal information channels and word-of-mouth (WOM; Racherla and Friske, 2012). Prior studies have noted the importance of WOM in services marketing. While the hospitality and tourism literature has started to explore the impact of OCRs in a hotel context (Vermeulen and Seegers, 2009; Ye et al., 2009; Sparks and Browning, 2011), relatively little marketing literature has explicitly studied services-based OCRs. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that consumers rely more heavily on OCRs to assess services prior to consumption (Senecal and Nantel, 2004).\nHypotheses development: The influence of negative affect in online consumer reviews on reader emotional arousal\nMethod: Study 1: impact of online consumer review valence on consumer arousal\nStudy 2: impact of online consumer review-depicted service failure severity on reader anger and service quality perceptions: While the negativity bias is useful for the study of service failure, social scientists view discrete emotions as separate entities comprising distinct physiological components (DeSteno et al., 2000). Hence, Study 2 focuses on how a service failure depicted in an OCR influences readers' self-reported anger, as well as their corresponding perceptions of a provider's service quality. OCR writers who have experienced strongly valenced encounters tend to use highly emotional language in their reviews, presenting the potential for affective response on the part of readers via emotional contagion. In line with other research in psychology, we make the case for a dual-process model in which the transference of affect from reviewer to reader will impact service quality perceptions over and above the direct (cognitively driven) impact of the depicted service failure. To assess this proposition (represented by H2-H4), Study 2 utilizes a scenario-based experiment where service failure severity is manipulated (minor/severe) within an OCR.\nStudy 3: measuring physiological response to online consumer review-depicted service failures and assessing moderating effects of text readability: Study 3 utilizes a 2 (service failure severity: minor versus severe) x 2 (referential cohesion: high versus low) between-subjects experiment to test H5 with physiological measures of emotion. Participants who read severe service failures are expected to experience more anger toward the firm's failure, measured on a moment-to-moment basis, than those who read minor service failures. Referential cohesion is expected to negatively moderate the relationship between service failure severity and anger toward the firm's failure. This study highlights the importance of language elements used in OCRs, demonstrating the role of linguistics in the transfer of emotions.\nGeneral discussion: This research offers a fine-grained understanding of the effectiveness of OCR elements to demonstrate the importance of the negativity bias and emotional contagion in the OCR context. It also helps to more clearly delineate the roles of implicit processes in consumer response to OCR information by using self-report and physiological data to study negative emotions in an OCR context.\nManagerial implications, limitations and future research directions: The current research demonstrates that emotions can be contagious; that is, negative emotions expressed in an OCR that describe a service failure can infect the emotions of readers of that OCR. These findings highlight the serious implications that service failure can have on consumers' physiological emotional reactions. Even moment-to-moment increases in negative affect and anger can have long lasting effects on how consumers feel about a company. As stated by Hill (2003), \"Bad service is death for a company. Not dramatically, but more like a thousand small knife cuts\" (656). Therefore, marketers are well-suited to give negative OCRs the attention they deserve, especially when they describe a service failure.\nConclusion: Overall, this research contributes to the academic literature on OCRs, service failure, emotional contagion, negativity bias, discrete emotions and linguistics. It also begins to explore the fruitful possibilities of physiological measurement in consumer behavior and increases managers' understanding of OCRs on consumers' emotional responses. This understanding is particularly important in today's society driven by user-generated content that is made available via the hundreds of thousands of consumer contributions on the internet. Consumer-to-consumer opinions tend to be perceived as more credible, influential and objective than company-sponsored messages, which means they are playing a critical role in marketing practice. Given that OCRs are an increasingly important form of user-generated content, research on OCRs is important for marketing academicians and practitioners alike.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Online consumer reviews (OCRs) have emerged as a particularly important type of user-generated information about a brand because of their widespread adoption and influence on consumer decision-making. Much of the existing OCR research focuses on quantifiable OCR features such as star ratings and volume. More research that examines the influence of review elements, aside from numeric ratings, such as the verbatim text, particularly in services contexts is needed. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of service failures on consumer arousal and emotions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors present three behavioral experiments that manipulate service failure and linguistic elements of OCRs by using galvanic skin response, survey measures and automated facial expression analysis.\nFindings: Negative OCRs lead to the greatest levels of arousal when consumers read OCRs. Service failure severity impacts anger, and referential cohesion, an observable property of text that helps a reader better understand ideas in the text, negatively moderates the relationship between service failure severity and anger.\nOriginality/value: The authors are among the first to empirically test the effect of emotional contagion in a user-generated content context, demonstrating that it can occur when consumers read such content, even if they did not experience the events being described. The research uses a self-report and physiological measures to assess consumer perceptions, arousal and emotions related to service failures, increasing the robustness of the literature. These findings contribute to the marketing literature on OCRs in service failures, physiological measures of consumers' emotions, the negativity bias and emotional contagion in a user-generated content context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Antecedents and consequences of bank reputation: a comparison of the United Kingdom and Spain	[ "UK", "Customers", "Spain", "Bank reputation", "Multi-group analysis" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Corporate reputation, as an indicator of the quality of business actions as a whole, is a valuable resource that is difficult to imitate. It provides organisations with the opportunity to generate superior profits by, among other things, charging premium prices, attracting or retaining qualified employees at a lower cost, helping protect the organisation in times of crisis, encouraging greater loyalty and word of mouth, and attracting new customers and investors (Coombs, 2007; Fombrun, 1996; Walsh and Beatty, 2007).\n2. Theoretical model: 2.1 Antecedents of bank reputation\n3. Method: 3.1 Context\n4. Data analysis and findings: 4.1 Measurement model: reliability and validity\n5. Discussion: This study makes three main contributions. The first is that differences between the UK and Spain were found as regards the strength of antecedents (employer branding and CSR) and consequences (loyalty) of bank reputation in both countries. The results also suggest that the common antecedents proposed in the literature on corporate reputation (products/services or employer branding and trust) were not confirmed in either of the countries studied. Previous academic models of corporate reputation have been developed with samples extracted from only one country, although sometimes an attempt has been made to directly generalise these kinds of measurement models to other countries (e.g. Walsh et al., 2009a). The model employed in this study provides a broader vision of bank reputation and its nomological network by including a wide sample of 900 customers in two countries: the UK and Spain. This is a bonus, because it provides information on the degree to which this model varies across two national samples (Cadogan, 2010).\n6. Conclusions and managerial implications: This study performs a cross-country analysis of bank reputation which contributes to literature by showing that the antecedents of corporate reputation that have been identified as being the most important by previous studies in times of economic stability are not equally effective after the onset of the economic crisis. Socioeconomic changes affect stakeholders' preferences, signifying that some aspects that were important for them in the past become less relevant when harsh times arrive, and vice versa. Similarly, some cross-country differences were found according to the institutional theory, from which it was possible to obtain that the relative importance of reputation antecedents may vary across countries (Deephouse and Carter, 2005; Walker, 2010). Previous studies have explained country effects in terms of factors such as cultural dimensions (Hofstede et al., 2010), legal and environmental contexts (Bravo et al., 2013), political and historical traditions (Bohata, 1997) or economic development and growth (Polonsky et al., 2001).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the key antecedents and consequences of bank reputation and whether their relative importance varies across countries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The sample consists of 900 bank customers, representative of the national populations in the UK (500) and Spain (400), two of the countries in which the weight of the financial system on the gross domestic product is much bigger than that of other European countries. The research hypotheses were tested by conducting a multi-group analysis with covariance-based structural equation modelling.\nFindings: In contrast with previous studies, it was discovered that the most important cognitive antecedent of banks' reputation is reliability/financial strength. This study reinforces the prominence of satisfaction as a key emotional aspect of reputation. Differences between the UK and Spain were found in the impact of employer branding and corporate social responsibility. The positive effect of bank reputation on consumer behaviour (loyalty and word of mouth) and the existence of cross-country differences as regards loyalty were also confirmed.\nOriginality/value: This is a systematic cross-country analysis of corporate reputation which includes not only cognitive antecedents but also emotional determinants that have been repeatedly ignored. This paper sheds light on whether the antecedents and consequences of corporate reputation vary across countries. The choice of the banking sector provides a unique opportunity to observe the determinants and outcomes of corporate reputation following an unstable time in the banking sector.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Should before or after tax equilibria point elasticities be calculated when the Laffer effect is considered in a micro market?	[ "Before and after tax elasticities", "Laffer effect", "Ordinary and static derivatives", "Zero tax rate as a reference point", "Turkish government", "Ad valorem tax" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Traditionally the Laffer effect was discussed in the context of labor supply whether a tax cut on wages would be self-financing: a possibility that a tax cut would lead people to work more which is a view of supply-side economics based on equilibria in labor market. However, it can also be derived from a utility function depending on consumption and leisure for an individual which leads to a backward bending supply curve, which is then aggregated over all individuals (Spiegel and Templeman, 2004). In macroeconomics, whether a tax cut would boost economic activity to such an extent that the government's budget would actually improve seems to have been discussed in the context of endogenous growth models (Ireland, 1994; Bruce and Turnovsky, 1999; Agell and Persson, 2001). The latter constitutes the analysis of Laffer curve in a dynamic setting. Endogenous macro growth models discuss the case of a closed economy where a typical consumer's utility over her life time consumption is maximized subject to her budget constraint consisting of owning of physical capital and government bonds. The economy's aggregate resource constraint is the sum of consumers' and the government's budget constraints. Ireland (1994) finds that a reduction in marginal tax rate can create important rates of real growth and long run government balance, whereas Bruce and Turnovsky (1999) argue that tax cut can improve the long-run fiscal balance if the intertemporal elasticity of substitution is much above unity, something which is highly unlikely to encounter in practice. Agell and Persson (2001) define the dynamic Laffer effect to occur if there exists a tax rate which allows a higher constant ratio of either public consumption to output, or transfers to output. They argue that in the case of European countries where the tax rate is high and transfer payments are generous, the possibility of Laffer effect cannot be ruled out.\n2. The linear model: Suppose that the market demand and supply curves are linear:\n3. The non-linear model with infinitely elastic supply curve: Since our linear model above where both the demand and supply elasticities are finite, did not allow us an easy interpretation of the relationship between the tax rate and elasticities, we now turn to a special case where the supply curve is infinitely elastic. In this version, we allow the demand curve to be non-linear. As we will show in Section 4-2 below, our assumption of infinitely elastic supply curve in this section corresponds precisely to the government's expectation of full pass-through of a temporary partial tax concession in the real-world example.\n4. A numerical example illustrating the auto industry in Turkey: Since a represents the market bigness parameter, we can examine two cases: a boom period where a=180 and a recessionary period where a=150. The boom period tries to illustrate the situation of auto industry when the Turkish GDP grew by 8-9 percent during 2010-2011, whereas the recession period refers to both the global financial crisis felt in 2009 in Turkey and a soft-landing period in 2012 following a threatening boom.\n5. Conclusion: We discussed the issue of tax revenues (Laffer Curve) of the government on a product's supply price differentiating it from on wages or on incomes from physical/money capital. Macroeconomic endogenous growth models investigate whether a cut in income tax improves the long-run fiscal position of the government. Perhaps, this transmission mechanism must be carefully interpreted in economies like, say Turkey or others which may have similar characteristics where the GDP growth rate may depend on other factors like a continual foreign capital inflows which finance the Current Account deficit and a financial instability is defined as an abrupt stop and reversal of inflows which may result in sudden and substantial exchange rate depreciation and recession.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Traditionally, the Laffer effect has been discussed in the context of endogenous growth models or in the case of the labor market with respect to willingness to supply more labor given a tax incentive on wages. The paper adopts an inductive approach to discuss it in the context of a product's market, say automobile industry in Turkey.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The author revisits the ad valorem tax model on a product and investigates how the elasticities of demand and supply and the tax rate are related to the Laffer effect. The author considers a special case where demand curve is non-linear and the supply curve is completely elastic. This specific model fits the practical case where the Turkish government expected the auto sellers to pass fully the temporary partial tax concession onto the consumers during the global crisis in 2009.\nFindings: The author showed that the demand elasticitiy must be calculated neither at the intersection of the initial equilibrium nor that of the final equilibrium points, but somewhere else. The author defined a pass-through coefficient which was different from the classical burden of tax concept, calculating the degree of pass-through of a tax decrease from firms to consumers. Moreover, the author found a one-way relationship between the overall tax revenues of the government and a single sector.\nResearch limitations/implications: The case of tax revenues where both the demand and supply curves are non-linear and non-extreme must be solved.\nPractical implications: The author showed that the government's dual expectation of both boosting the economy, increasing employment and raising its tax revenues can sometimes be consistent given a usual upward sloping supply curve. In the case of a perfectly elastic supply curve, the tax revenues can even be higher with a higher level of equilibrium quantity.\nSocial implications: The Turkish government aiming to support the production and employment in this leading export industry, may have expected this temporary tax decrease to be passed completely onto the consumers by the producers. However, this did not happen as producers' prices to the consumers did not decrease as much as the amount of tax. This paper shows that the after tax elasticities and the current level of tax rate must have been compared.\nOriginality/value: The author pointed out to the importance of being clear in explicitly indicating at which points the elasticities derived from some function (tax revenue function) of equilibria variables (price and quantity) must be interpreted. In this paper, doing many numerical calculations allowed us to notice the proper point of calculation of the demand elasticity, which is the after-tax price along the \"no tax demand curve\". Moreover, a pass-through coefficient is defined which is different from the classical burden of tax concept.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understand, reduce, respond: project complexity management theory and practice	[ "Projects", "Complexity", "Systematic review", "Lived experience", "Duality" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: a journey in complexity: The point of departure for this journey was the work of Stacey (1993) in organisational strategy, and subsequently Williams (2005). The former was highly vocal in the discussion of complexity in business and management, and how organisations displayed many of the characteristics of complex systems. The latter considered how organisations were responding to complexities in the context of projects. This is particularly relevant to project-based operations as they are noted to be, in many cases, highly dependent on attempts at standardised processes (Geraldi et al., 2011) despite being defined in OM terms by high variety of process and low volume of throughput (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2015).\n2. Literature review: The purpose of this review is not to repeat the systematic review of Geraldi et al. (2011), which is summarised here. Instead, our question to the literature was highly specific: have there been any additions to the conceptual basis of \"the complexity of projects\" since 2011? We eliminated the complexity science approaches and mathematical modelling of specific contexts (including transport systems and shipbuilding) as these did not meet the criteria of being relevant to complexity of projects.\n3. Methods: workshop approach: Workshops were designed to draw participants through the phases of complexity management. The first stage was to understand particular complexities, followed by a session on how these might be reduced, and a discussion of responses. Three pilot workshops were carried out in early 2012 to test the format and whether these could be made of interest both for research purposes and for the participants. The pilots were developed with project managers from a major global IT services organisation, a large global defence supplier and senior representatives from a large UK government department. It was therefore a collaborative development that needed to generate both a high quality and impactful conversation about project complexity for the participants, as well as useful data that would contribute to answering our research question. Feedback from the workshops was evaluated and right from the pilot stage was very positive. Data were analysed immediately following each workshop and likewise showed that the data obtained were contributing to answering the research question.\n4. Results: Examples of complexities identified in workshops are shown in Table I.\n5. Discussion: from linear to recursive relationships: It became apparent during our analysis of the findings that the initial conceptualisation of complexity and response as a linear system was no longer adequate. It does not dismiss what has been said so far, but does place a constraint on any work that follows. Our initial assumption was that the perceived complexity would influence the response, and that was sufficient. For instance, the application of an IMS (Chang et al., 2013) as a response to a structural complexity. Two problems emerge here. First, the use of an IMS is an ongoing activity rather than a single event in time. Whilst it may have the effect of reducing the managerial challenge over time, it is by no means instantaneous. Second, it also introduces another artefact (the MS) that needs to be fed with data, maintained, reported on and possibly need another team member to run it. This may not realise the anticipated complexity reduction, particularly if it is associated with a complex reporting or data structure, increased oversight or a \"challenging individual\" is brought in to run it.\n6. Conclusions: We began with a challenge to \"understand what makes projects complex to manage and to provide a common understanding of the 'lived experience' of managing in a project context\". We have addressed this from an OM perspective by studying the managerial actions undertaken as part of the transformation processes of an operations system - in this case, projects. As a result, we have synthesised and tested a comprehensive and comprehensible framework, based on both literature and empirical study. The purpose of this is to \"provide both academics and practitioners with a shared language to name and make sense of [...] how to both shape and respond to this complexity\". Our second step was not originally intended as we were focusing on response, but complexity reduction appears to be a feasible intervening step. The third step in addressing the challenge then comes in that response. We have noted that by describing the complexity, sense can be made of the range of potential responses. This provides some additional insight. For instance, in a general criticism of standard approaches (notably where PMI BoK Guide is criticised, but also PRINCE2), the framework shows that these approaches have application in responding to structural complexities, are less useful in responding to socio-political complexities, and may even be in conflict with certain responses to emergent complexities. It may also help with matching people with the task and with planning their personal development.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of complexity and its management from an OM perspective, building on and extending the systematic literature review published in this journal in 2011, and provide a foundation for exploring the interactions between complexities and responses.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper takes a subjective view of complexity, focusing on the \"lived experience\" of managers. It takes an updated systematic literature review, and demonstrates the comprehensiveness of a framework to classify complexities of projects. It reports the findings from 43 workshops with over 1,100 managers.\nFindings: First, the complexity framework is effective in aiding understanding. Second, and somewhat unexpectedly, managers were able to identify strategies to reduce the majority of complexities that they faced. Third, the workshops identified a typology of responses to residual complexities.\nResearch limitations/implications: The framework has demonstrated its utility, and a gap in understanding emergent complexities is identified. The framework further presents the opportunity to explore the recursive nature of complexity and response.\nPractical implications: This paper provides a framework that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. The authors demonstrate that complexities can be reduced and provide a means to assess responses to residual complexities, including potentially matching managers to projects.\nOriginality/value: This work extends the previous systematic review combined with extensive empirical data to generate findings that are having impact in practice, and have the potential to strengthen a relatively neglected area within OM. A research agenda is suggested to support this.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Self-regulated learning behaviour in the finance industry	[ "Knowledge workers", "Learning", "Intrinsic motivation", "Workplace learning", "Self-regulated learning", "SRL" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In today's knowledge-intensive workplaces, there is a need for learning to occur continually as workers solve complex and novel work problems (Hager, 2004). In knowledge-intensive workplaces, formal training approaches are no longer effective or appropriate, as each worker's learning needs are bespoke and change continually (Littlejohn and Margaryan, 2013). In these workplaces, learning is primarily achieved through intentional informal learning that is deeply intertwined and mediated through everyday work tasks (Collin, 2004; Eraut, 2004; Tynjala, 2008) and other people (Eraut, 2007; Collin, 2008). Responsibility for learning shifts from the training department to the learner, who must manage their own learning for work within the constraints afforded by their work role and organisational context (Fuller and Unwin, 2004). These changes place increasing demands on the worker to self-regulate their learning (Sitzmann and Ely, 2011).\nIntentional informal learning in the workplace: Formal training has in the past proved to be an effective mechanism for transmitting skills and knowledge to prepare workers for job roles that evolve slowly over time. These relatively \"static\" job roles have transformed as contemporary work contexts become complex, demanding dynamic approaches to working and learning (Tynjala, 2008). Just as workers have to assume greater responsibility for planning their work and transforming their work practices, so too must they take more responsibility for planning their learning and evolving their learning practices. Individual workers plan and evolve their learning by setting learning goals, monitoring progress and adapting strategies to suit precise learning requirements (Schulz and Stamov Rossnagel, 2010). These processes mirror the sub-processes of self-regulated learning (SRL; Zimmerman, 2002).\nWorkplace learning activity and context: In the post-industrial world, an organisation's key value lies in the knowledge of its workforce (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). This is particularly true of knowledge-intensive industries such as finance, where recent failures and ensuing stricter financial regulations demand the development of novel solutions and process innovation. While it is the organisation's responsibility to create an environment that encourages and supports learning to occur, responsibility for learning itself falls increasingly on the individual who must continually monitor and attend to their own learning needs balancing structured learning opportunities with on-the-job learning individually and in collaboration with others (Billett et al., 2008; Eraut, 2004).\nResearch hypotheses: The research hypotheses of this study are articulated as follows:\nMethod: Participants\nResults: Mediation analysis\nConclusions and discussion: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between WLC, SRL (and its sub-processes) and workplace learning undertaken. Analysis confirmed the overall hypothesis that WLC influences our measure of WLA undertaken and that individual characteristics (SRL behaviour) influence this relationship. Exploring the relationship between WLC and an individual's ability to self-regulate his/her learning, WLC was found to impact all sub-processes with greatest effect on sub-processes in the Performance phase of SRL. When learning is deeply embedded within work practice, it is unsurprising that the performance phase sub-processes are most affected by the wider context.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore the role of self-regulatory behaviours in predicting workplace learning. As work practices in knowledge-intensive domains become more complex, individual workers must take greater responsibility for their ongoing learning and development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study was conducted with knowledge workers from the finance industry. In all, 170 participants across a range of work roles completed a questionnaire consisting of three scales derived from validated instruments (measuring learning opportunities, self-regulated learning [SRL] and learning undertaken). The relationship between the variables was tested through linear regression analysis.\nFindings: Data analysis confirms a relationship between the learning opportunities provided by a role, and learning undertaken. Regression analysis identifies three key SRL behaviours that appear to mediate this relationship: task interest/value, task strategies and self-evaluation. Together they provide an insight into the learning processes that occur during intentional informal learning.\nResearch limitations/implications: This quantitative study identifies a relationship between specific SRL behaviours and workplace learning undertaken in one sector. Qualitative studies are needed to understand the precise nature of this relationship. Follow-up studies could explore whether the findings are generalisable to other contexts.\nPractical implications: Developing a deeper understanding of how individuals manage their day-to-day learning can help shape the learning and development support provided to individual knowledge workers.\nOriginality/value: Few studies have explored the role of self-regulation in the workplace. This study adds to our understanding of this critical element of professional learning.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The influence of ERP system usage on agile capabilities: Examining the mediating role of users' psychological empowerment in Jordanian commercial banks	[ "Technology", "Enterprise resource planning (ERP)" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The contemporary business environment, which is characterised by global competition, short product lifecycles, overnight changes in customers' needs and wants and a plethora of mobile applications and technology changes, has \"stimulated a need for employees who can take initiative, embrace risk, stimulate innovation and cope with high uncertainty\" (Spreitzer, 1995, p. 6) - what is called \"agility\". Being agile means being able to take action promptly to respond to any changes in the business environment. This creates an urgent need to get the right information in the right place at the right time. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system as one of the latest technologies supposedly satisfied this need and ultimately enabled agility. The ERP system as a socio-technical phenomenon is affecting tasks, structures, technologies, and people and creating different levels of psychological empowerment among its users. However, the literature lacks studies that analyse how ERP system post-implementation affects users' psychological empowerment levels. The users' psychological empowerment in this study refers to the extent to which the users feel they have been empowered by using the ERP system.\n2. Literature review and research hypotheses: To understand how ERP system usage influences users' psychological empowerment and agile capabilities, the literature is divided into a number of sections.\n3. Conceptual research model, operational definitions and measurements: Based on the arguments in the literature review sections, the conceptual research model is developed in Figure 1. The theoretical research model is guided by two dominant theories in the literature, ERP behavioural and cognitive process theory, and agility theory. The model consists of three variables. First, ERP system usage is considered as an independent variable and is measured by three items that were adopted from Chang et al. (2008). Second, the model has users' psychological empowerment as a mediating variable and is measured by 12 items based on a scale developed by Spreitzer (1995), which consists of four elements: meaning, competence, self-determination and impact. Meaning refers to \"the fit between the value of a work goal and a person's own values, beliefs and behaviours\". Competence represents \"the individual's belief in his or her capability to successfully perform work activity or self-efficacy related to specific work\". Self-determination concerns \"autonomy in deciding which activities should be done and what work methods should be deployed, reflecting independence and control over the initiation and continuation of work behaviour and processes\". Impact is \"to what extent a person can influence strategic administrative or operating outcomes at work\". Summing up the scores of the four dimensions provides a single psychological empowerment score for each respondent. Third, agile capabilities is a dependent variable which includes four dimensions (Sharifi and Zhang, 1999; Zhang and Sharifi, 2000). Responsiveness \"is the ability to identify changes and respond fast to them, reactively or proactively, and recover from them\". Competency \"is the extensive set of abilities that provide productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of activities towards the aims and goals of the company\". Flexibility \"is the ability to process different products and achieve different objectives with the same facilities\". Quickness \"is the ability to carry out tasks and operations in the shortest possible time\". The 33 items used to measure agile capabilities were adopted from Sharifi and Zhang (1999), Zhang and Sharifi (2000) and Aburub (2015): 8 items for measuring responsiveness, 6 items for measuring competency, 4 items for measuring quickness and 15 items for measuring flexibility. A full description of items measuring the research variables is provided in the Appendix.\n4. Questionnaire design, distribution and respondents: A questionnaire-based survey was used because it is believed to be an efficient and effective means of data collection, especially when the research constructs have already been established and are well known, as the relevant data for these constructs can be easily obtained. The respondents in this research were asked to report on their attitudes and perceptions towards research items using five-point Likert scale questions (1= \"strongly agree\"; 5= \"strongly disagree\"). Multiple items measures were used to measure the research variables. Items for measuring the variables were adopted from previous relevant studies, with some modifications to fit the current research context, the banking sector. The questionnaire survey consists of three sections: the first section relates to demographic variables that include gender, age, education level and years of experience in using the ERP system. The second section covers the ERP system usage which is measured by three items based on the work of Zain et al. (2005). The third section covers psychological empowerment dimensions (meaning, competence, self-determination and impact) which is measured by 12 items, 3 items for each dimension adapted from the work of Spreitzer (1995). The fourth section covers agile capabilities including competency, flexibility, quickness and responsiveness which are developed and measured by 6, 15, 4 and 8 items based on the work of Sharifi and Zhang (1999), Zhang and Sharifi (2000) and Aburub, 2015). The questionnaire was first developed in English, then translated into Arabic and checked by two bilingual individuals to ensure a high level of accuracy and that no information was lost during the translation process. The questionnaire with a covering letter explaining the purpose of the study and instructions on how to fill in the questionnaire was sent to IT managers or directors or heads of department in banks' headquarters asking him/her to circulate the questionnaire to actual ERP system users in the bank. Most of the Jordanian commercial banks used an Oracle financial system to run their daily operations. To ensure a high level of consistency and relevance, the questionnaire was checked by four ERP project managers and five researchers whose research interests are ERP system implementation and usage. In addition, the questionnaire was piloted with a number of ERP system users in Jordanian commercial banks in Jordan. In this way, any inconsistencies were eliminated, and the suitability and relevance of the content were established.\n5. Data analysis: The research model shown in Figure 1 was analysed using SEM supported by SmartPLS version 2.0.M3. SEM is a second-generation multivariate technique usually used for analysing causal models comprising multiple constructs with respective multiple indicators. In this study, SEM-SmartPLS was used for three reasons. It is a simple technique for representing complex theoretical relationships; it has loose assumptions about data distributions and sample size, so allows testing of a single independent variable with multiple dependent variables, which traditional regression techniques cannot do; and it facilitates the generation and assessment of the measurement model and the structural model concurrently. According to Henseler et al. (2009) and Hair et al. (2016), the PLS model should be analysed and interpreted in two stages: the measurement model and the structural model. The measurement model is estimated by using outer loading to test whether the constructs possess sufficient validity and reliability. The structural model is used to test the strength and direction of the hypothesised relationships between the constructs. In this study, within the PLS approach, the bootstrap resample technique was used to determine the significance of the structural model's presumed paths. Since the inception of the PLS approach, researchers have not agreed on a minimum sample size to test PLS models. However, the \"ten times rule\" that is rooted in traditional multivariate analysis has recently been adopted and applied to PLS model samples (Hair et al., 2016). The ten times rule determines how the minimum sample size should be computed and gives two methods for this: ten times the largest number of indicators of a specific construct (i.e. 150, flexibility) and ten times the largest number of structural paths pointing to a specific construct in the structural model (i.e. 30, agile capabilities). The sample size of 349 surpassed both methods of minimum recommended sample size. That is, the research sample size is suitable for testing the research model. Although the recommended minimum sample size at first glance seems reasonable, in the second case above (i.e. 30, agile capabilities), it might often be deceptive and unrepresentative. Thus, the sample size should satisfactorily fit with the phenomena under consideration (Hair et al., 2016). In this regard, the sample size for this research can be conceived as sufficient for testing the research model.\n6. Discussion, limitations and implications: This study aimed to examine the influence of ERP system usage on users' psychological empowerment and agile capabilities. It also tried to uncover whether users' psychological empowerment has any mediating role in the relationship between ERP system usage and agile capabilities. The results showed that ERP system usage positively and significantly influences the agile capabilities of competency, flexibility and quickness but not responsiveness. This result is consistent with the results of previous studies (Sharifi and Zhang, 1999; Zhang and Sharifi, 2000; Zain et al., 2005; Tallon, 2008; Lu and Ramamurthy, 2011), which found IS/IT to be one of the most important drivers for achieving agile capabilities. This result also partly confirmed the results of Qu et al. (2014), who found that ERP system usage positively affects organisational flexibility. In contrast, this result does not support the results of Overby et al. (2006), Weill et al. (2002), Galliers (2007), Wensley and Stijn (2007), Seethamraju and Sundar (2013) and Aburub (2015), which found that the built-in features of the ERP system, i.e. standardisation, integration and task interdependence, may hamper agile capabilities. With regard to responsiveness, this may be partly due to the users' perceptions of the ERP system as a means of panoptic control and increased management and peer visibility (Ramadhana et al., 2016; Rajan and Baral, 2015), or it may be that ERP system users believe that identifying changes and responding to them quickly, whether reactively or proactively, is more the responsibility of top management than of users. Finally, it could be that ERP system users fear making mistakes when they respond quickly to changes, and because their actions can be observed by management and peers, this could lead to negative consequences, i.e. being fired. In this study, it was found that ERP system usage has a significant positive influence on users' psychological empowerment. This result is completely new to the literature and in contrast with the results of Sehgal and Stewart (2004) and Sehgal et al. (2004) who suggested that ERP system success is a function of user empowerment and their results revealed that there is no significant correlation between psychological empowerment dimensions and enterprise system success. This might be due to two factors: the first is their study was conducted in an educational context which is completely different from a banking context. The second is there is a conceptual dilemma exists in their study and overlap between user empowerment and the psychological empowerment dimensions - the user empowerment dimensions originally emerges from psychological empowerment theory. Furthermore, there is positive influence for psychological empowerment dimensions on agile capability. This result is utterly new to the literature and consistent with the general results of previous research (Estanesti, 2015; Molazehi and Ghasemi, 2016; Shah et al., 2017), which found that psychological empowerment is positively related to organisational agility. Although these studies deconstructed psychological empowerment into the four dimensions and found positive relations with organisation agility, the current study proposes that the four dimensions together formed the overall concepts of users' psychological empowerment which reflects an active role rather than passive one towards using the ERP system.\n7. Conclusions: Grounded in three established theories in the literature, namely, ERP system actual use, psychological empowerment and agility, this study aimed to understand how the ERP system actual use influence on agile capabilities through users' psychological empowerment. Our results revealed that the ERP system actual use contribute directly to agile capabilities. Moreover, the ERP system actual use has a significant positive direct influence on users' psychological empowerment. In addition, users' psychological empowerment has a significant direct influence on agile capabilities. The results also revealed that users' psychological empowerment plays a mediating role between the ERP system actual use and all agile capabilities (Competency, flexibility and quickness) except responsiveness. By adding users' psychological empowerment to the basic model of the relation between ERP system actual use and agile capabilities, the predictive power of the model was increased. Theoretically, this study added to the literature a new psychological lens to use when explore ERP system success/failure. The psychological perspective explains how employees perceive the ERP system and determine in the early stage whether the system is going to succeed or not. The results of this study may open a new line of research to explore different aspects of the ERP system from the view point of users' psychological empowerment and will contribute to further exploration of the ERP system usage. Although we believe that this study advanced the ERP system literature by adding users' psychological empowerment as a mediating variable, several limitations should be noted. First, our data were cross-sectional and users' psychological empowerment is a state of mind which can change from time to time according to how the ERP system function. Thus, to understand accurately how the ERP system influences users' psychological empowerment, a longitudinal data would be required. Future research also could track the impact of the ERP system, in a longitudinal study, on users' psychological empowerment through the system's lifecycles. Second, this study mainly depends on one source of data ERP system actual users which does not reflect the opinion of the ERP potential users. Future studies may use multiple respondents' current and potential users of the ERP system. Third, this study is introduced only users' psychological empowerment as a mediating variable; future research should consider other mediating variables, such as learning capacity, learning orientation, employees' technology readiness, knowledge sharing, information characteristics, decision quality, employees' innovative behaviors, employees' level of stress that play critical roles in the relationship between the ERP system actual use and agile capabilities. Last but not the least, this study revealed complex relationships between ERP system actual use, users' psychological empowerment and agile capabilities; the validity of the results depends on their applicability in other sectors where the ERP system is more heavily used to achieve the daily operations, such as manufacturing sector.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Synthesising theories of enterprise resource planning (ERP), psychological empowerment and agile capabilities, the purpose of this paper is to build and test a novel theoretical model linking ERP system usage with agile capabilities via users' psychological empowerment in Jordanian commercial banks.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was developed to collect the relevant data based on the extant literature. The population of this study consisted of all ERP system users working at Jordanian commercial banks in Amman City. The questionnaire was circulated to a purposive sample of actual users of ERP systems for two reasons. First, it was not possible to obtain a list of actual ERP users in each bank, for security and privacy reasons. Second, actual users of ERP systems are the most relevant source of information.\nFindings: The results revealed that ERP system usage has a significant positive impact on both agile capabilities and users' psychological empowerment. The results also showed that users' psychological empowerment has a significant positive impact on agile capabilities. In addition, the results provide empirical evidence that users' psychological empowerment plays a mediating role between ERP system usage and all agile capabilities except responsiveness. Furthermore, by adding users' psychological empowerment to the original research model, the study demonstrates a good predictive relevance for agile capabilities.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study only focuses on Jordanian commercial banks; it is a cross-sectional study; and the study data were subjective, reflecting respondents' opinion on specific time.\nPractical implications: Practitioners struggle to ensure high levels of ERP usage by target users, to achieve implementation success and to achieve expected benefits. More often, practitioners have focused on the ERP system project team, vendors and technical issues, but have ignored the human side of the implementation process. Hence, they have failed to acknowledge the role of psychological empowerment in ERP system acceptance and success. Practitioners are advised to promote the ERP system as a facilitation and empowerment tool for users rather than a means of surveillance and control. Moreover, practitioners can avoid high rates of ERP failure in the adoption and post-adoption stages by changing the aim of the ERP system introduction from increasing efficiency and visibility to enhancing users' psychological empowerment. Practitioners can leverage agile capabilities to respond to changes in the business environment by ensuring healthy psychological empowerment for all ERP users to use the system to its full capacity and to exchange information between functional units in real time. Practitioners must ensure users' psychological readiness to use the system before the system goes live.\nOriginality/value: The study developed and tested a new research model using the SmartPLS approach in a novel context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Altruism or exchange: what motives inter-household transfers in Burkina Faso?	[ "Altruism", "Exchange", "Burkina Faso", "Private transfers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In our modern civilization, two types of exchange characterize monetary exchanges between two persons: market and non-market transactions (Mauss, 1923). The first form of exchange consists of the actions of buying and selling goods or services at given prices and under market rules. The second group comprises non-market exchanges that operate essentially by social and cultural norms. Thiese forms of exchange include private transfers among households, intergenerational transfers within a family, transfers from nonprofit organizations to households, and public transfers from governments to households. Inter-households and intergenerational transfers are the most common forms of non-market exchanges and include donations, gifts, remittances, and bequests. They can involve related or unrelated individuals within a community. These types of transfers are motivated by various reasons that are important to identify to better understand their roles in local economic development and poverty reduction in developing countries.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Overview of theoretical models of private transfers\n3. Methodology: We distinguish two aspects of transfer decisions - receipt and donation - as well as the amount of money transferred. To analyze the motives of private transfers, ideally, one would want to conduct a survey and ask directly the respondents whether they received or made any monetary or in-kind donation. If they did, ask them about their relation to the other party, the circumstances of the exchange and what motivated it. Despite the appeal of this approach, it is costly and practically impossible to implement giving households' mobility and the various channels through which transfers are made. Instead, we rely on observational data using nationally representative household survey with a relatively large sample of households in Burkina Faso. Each household was specifically asked if they received any transfer the last 30 days preceding the survey. If they did, then they were asked to report to their best knowledge the amount received. Similar questions were also asked for donations made. A set of additional variables was also collected. We rely on econometric methods to identify the determinants of private transfer.\n4. Data and descriptive statistics: The data used in the analysis are from a nationally representative household surveys conducted in 2003 by the Burkina Faso national statistical institute to monitor household living standards. The sample size is 8,498 households selected in all regions of the country. The survey asked households to report all monetary and in-kind transfers received from or donated to any other individuals outside of the household for the period of 30 days preceding the visit of the enumerators. The survey also collected detailed information on household revenue by sources, household expenditure as well as various socioeconomic and demographic variables.\n5. Econometrics results: 5.1 Results for the benefit of transfers\n6. Conclusion: This study provides an analysis of the determinants and the motives underlying private transfers among households in Burkina Faso using data from a nationally representative household survey. The analysis starts with a descriptive presentation of the proportion of households that participated in these forms of non-market exchange. Next, it identifies the determinants of the receipt and the donation of transfer and the amount transferred using econometric methods. Finally, the implications of these results in term of the underlining theoretical model, altruism or exchange, describing household transfer behavior were derived.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The economic literature identifies two families of motives for private transfers: altruism and exchange. Altruistic models postulates that transfers are unselfish assistance to vulnerable and poor households. Exchange models, however, explain transfers as temporary assistance to households with the expectation of being paid back. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the motives of inter-households transfers in Burkina Faso and identify which model better explains observed transfers' decisions. The findings can be useful to provide a information on the profile of households receiving and donating transfers and a better understanding of their roles in local communities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper uses a nationally representative household survey in Burkina Faso that collects detailed information on inter-household transfers. It combines descriptive analysis with various econometric models to identify the type of behavior that better explain the receipt and donation of private transfers. To account for the non randomness of the receipt and donation of transfers in the population, the study estimates a Heckman model to address selection bias.\nFindings: Preliminary analyses suggest that one-third of households have participated in transfers' exchange, either as recipients or donors with the amount received or given representing a substantial share of household income or expenditure. The econometric analyses show that the primary driver of the receipt of transfers is households' degree of vulnerability. This result indicates that altruism is the underlying model explaining the receipt of transfers. However, the authors also find that affluent households tend to give and receive larger amounts of money suggesting that some elements of exchange are also at play.\nOriginality/value: The analysis contributes to a large and growing literature on migration, transfers, and remittances in developing countries. It provides insights into the motives of these non-market transactions in the specific context of Burkina Faso, a developing country, where migration and transfers have been historically important social behaviors. The analysis makes an effort to address the potential bias resulting from households' self-selection into the donation or receipt of transfer. The findings shed additional light on the double role of transfer as a safety net for the vulnerable and social insurance for the non-poor.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An integrated-process model of service quality, institutional brand and behavioural intentions: The case of a University	[ "Trust", "Service quality", "Satisfaction", "Higher education", "Information", "Brand", "Behavioural intentions", "Sustainable university", "Index model", "Integrated-process model", "UniBrand", "Past experience" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Branding in higher education is an area that may be controversial, and has so far received limited scrutiny among academics (Chapleo, 2011). A brand establishes marketable features or service provisions under the condition of intensive competition over resources (e.g. funding, renowned academics), and consumers (e.g. students) (Drori et al., 2013). Although competition among universities is not a new phenomenon, branding is a recent marketing tool for universities to position themselves in the field of higher education (Aspara et al., 2014, Drori et al., 2013; Sultan and Wong, 2012, 2013a). In recent years, many universities in the UK have gone through the branding processes (Chapleo, 2010, 2011; Aspara et al., 2014). However, empirical research in this area is scarce, especially, how university-brand (UniBrand) is affected by perceived service quality (PSQ), and subsequently, influences students' positive behavioural intentions in a competitive market.\nLiterature review: The research surrounding in service quality and its dimensions can be traced back in the late 1970s, when Gronroos (1978) argued for technical, functional and image dimensions of PSQ. Over the last three decades, a growing number of studies in the services marketing domain have focused their findings on PSQ and its dimensions across many cultures and service industries including universities. These empirical studies develop service quality dimensions to gauge quality in higher education contexts and are based on either SERVQUAL (or service quality) that is conceptualised on the expectation-minus-perception (E-P) measure (Parasuraman et al., 1988) or SERVPERF (or service performance) that is conceptualised on the perception-only concept (Cronin and Taylor, 1992, 1994). Both SERVQUAL and SERVPERF have five dimensions, namely, reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness, and 22 items.\nResearch hypothesis and theoretical model: The hypotheses development processes and the wordings of these hypotheses have followed the suggestions of the current studies (Andreassen and Streukens, 2013, O'Neill and Palmer, 2003; Parasuraman et al., 1991; Sultan and Wong, 2012, 2013a).\nThe research methodology: The present study adopts methodological triangulation, where both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed. Methodological triangulation has gained growing interest in marketing research for its contribution to knowledge development (Freling and Forbes, 2005; Stavros and Westberg, 2009). The major benefit of incorporating both approaches into the research methodology is that the weakness of one approach is compensated for by the strengths of the other (Deshpande, 1983).\nQualitative findings: The key objective of using the focus group technique in this study was to explore the underlying relationships between the constructs/themes. In this connection, the study followed the suggestions of several studies in terms of reporting the qualitative findings that support the research hypotheses (Parasuraman et al., 1991; Tregear et al., 2010; Sultan and Wong, 2012, 2013a).\nQuantitative findings: An overview of the non-response bias, demographics of the respondents and sample differences\nDiscussion and managerial implications: The concept of relationship marketing is of high importance in services marketing, especially, the services that require high-contact and long-term contact to get an outcome. Maintaining relationships with the tertiary students in a higher education environment can produce long-term benefit to the University, and this is reflected in the empirical evidences of this study. The following paragraphs briefly discuss each of our research questions based on our empirical findings.\nConclusion, limitations and future research: The present study develops and validates a comprehensive three-tiered \"integrated-process\" model (or an index model), and advances the service quality literature in the higher education context. The current study developed and validated three new constructs: information, past experience and UniBrand performance, and established their relationships in this model by examining several hypothesised relationships. Some of these hypothesised relationships are relatively new when compared with other established relationships, such as, PSQ-satisfaction, in the current literature. The current study validated these newly developed hypotheses, such as, information-PSQ, past experience-PSQ, trust-brand performance, satisfaction-brand performance and brand performance-behavioural intention, in a higher education context. Overall, the model provides a good explanation of systematic development of PSQ and its core dimensions, and how PSQ contributes in developing UniBrand performance and achieving positive behavioural intentions in the long run. Universities aiming for a sustainable presence in a competitive global market and intending to enhance brand performance and attract and retain students are encouraged to consider this model and its implications.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an integrated-process model/an index model by incorporating the antecedents and consequences of service quality in a higher education context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The data from three focus groups, conducted at an Australian University, generated key themes and their interrelationships. The theoretical model was then tested using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique on a sample of 528 University students.\nFindings: The findings show that information (or marketing communications) and past experience are the antecedents of perceived service quality (PSQ). PSQ is a second order construct and has three dimensions: academic, administrative and facilities. The consequences of PSQ include trust, satisfaction, university-brand (UniBrand) performance and behavioural intentions. Overall, the results suggest a good validity of the model, and the nine path coefficients are found statistically significant.\nOriginality/value: The model explains how service quality is formed, and how PSQ affects UniBrand and positive behavioural intentions overtime. This paper develops and validates three new constructs including information, past experience and UniBrand performance. In addition, it improves and validates other constructs including service quality, satisfaction, trust and behavioural intention. The paper also advances service quality literature and validates five hypothesised relationships between constructs that are relatively new in the service quality literature. Finally, this study validates a comprehensive three-tiered \"integrated-process\" model/an index model that includes antecedents, dimensions and consequences of service quality taking a University as a case. Universities aiming for a sustainable presence in a competitive global market and intending to enhance brand performance and attract and retain students are encouraged to consider this model and its implications.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Opportunities for improving disaster management in Chile: a case study	[ "Rainful", "Disasters", "Emergency measures", "Integration", "Chile" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Scientific research has shown that disaster risk does not only exist because of the presence of a physical hazard, and it is compounded by the presence of vulnerable populations. Researchers suggest that more importance is to be given to the circumstances of the exposed communities that may suffer the damages (Vargas, 2002). Thus, there is a need for shifting from emergency response and recovery toward a sustainable disaster mitigation framework (McEntire, 2004; Pearce, 2003), which includes a more holistic approach and the notion of shared responsibility that involves not only public agencies but the community (Newport and Jawahar, 2003; Trim, 2004). This investigation contributes to an area of knowledge that in Chile is not well developed because only a modest amount of research with a social focus on the subject has been carried out.This paper first describes the study area in terms of its physical, social and economic characteristics. Next, it gives theoretical and practical recommendations on measures that would benefit both the community and the public institutions related to disaster management. These recommendations are based on current disaster management procedures collected in the study area, and literature review. Finally, the method included a community and public servants participatory process that \"filtered\" the research team proposal to allow for a more realistic approach tailored to local conditions.\nThe study area: The study area located in northern Chile, where the terrain is rugged, and subject to an on-going desertification process due to economic activities such as agriculture, logging and mining. Annual precipitation is highly variable, and frequent droughts occur followed by short periods of intensive rainfall during which few rainy events tend to cause disasters affecting the population and infrastructure. This environment is semiarid and its climate is transitional between a Mediterranean hyper arid desert and a wetter climate to the south (Paskoff, 1993). Three counties[1] were selected according to the differential:* impacts of past disasters caused by extreme rains;* population's geographical distribution within the rural/urban space;* poverty levels;* amount of rural population; and* approaches of county authorities in relation to disaster management.The counties included were Ovalle, Monte Patria and Punitaqui.Ovalle is the most populated and urban county in the province (96,976 inhabitants and 75.6 per cent urban population), followed by Monte Patria (30,067; 64.2 per cent) and Punitaqui (9,416; 70.6 per cent). An important country-city migratory process has occurred in these counties (INE, 2002). Regarding the population's socio-economic characteristics, the counties show 22 per cent, 33 per cent, and 43 per cent of poor, and 6 per cent, 8 per cent, and 14.3 per cent of indigents, respectively (MIDEPLAN, 2000). Economic development in the area is based on agriculture, including forage production, vineyards and table grapes, fruit and vegetables, and goat raising on dry lands. Another activity is mining, based on copper, gold, silver, manganese and lead. Both activities have contributed to environmental deterioration (Schneider, 1982).The study area has no available systematized information regarding disasters, so local newspapers and the alpha reports were reviewed. The alpha reports are issued by county governments and sent to the provincial government, where a new report with consolidated information is sent to the regional government. This process is repeated in every region from where reports are sent to the central government. These reports are part of the \"Civil Protection National Plan (CPNP)\" (Republica de Chile, 2002) and contain data on type and location of damages, and number of affected individuals (details about the CPNP are given in the next section). Also, a structured survey was applied to the affected population, and in-depth interviews were applied to social actors who deal with emergency response and disaster management.Local sources indicate that the main disasters affecting the study area are storms, rains, flooding and landslides and, less frequently, spate and alluvium (this classification is based on \"Desinventar, Red de estudios sociales en prevencion de desastres en America Latina\" (La Red, 2003). Disasters are distributed differently along the study area due to spatial differences in precipitation intensities, hydrography, topography and the population's socio-economic conditions. Thus, in certain urban sites affected by immigration, there is a higher risk of disasters due to inadequate land-use by building houses near riversides or steep hillsides.The main impacts of these disasters are bridge and road cuts, which result in isolation of people and villages, telephone and electric grids breakage, water systems destruction, flooding of rural areas causing damages on agriculture, and flooding of urban areas resulting in damaged houses, homeless, injured and dead people.\nRecommendations for disaster management improvement: These recommendations are based on the study findings, the scientific literature, and the opinions of the surveyed population and public servants.The need of moving towards disaster management\nConclusions: The present case study increased our understanding about the ways in which disaster management is performed in a particular area in Chile. The case study complemented with information provided by the literature, allows to suggest recommendations that would results in an improvement of risk management practices in the country.A great effort has been conducted by Chile's government, through the National Bureau for Emergencies, to change the focus from emergency to disaster management in a more holistic view. However, many issues need to be improved, of which the most important relate to community participation, especially that of the poor. Also, more coordination/cooperation, education, professionalism, prevention, permanent reconstruction, systematization of information, zoning including hazards, the use of technology (e.g. GIS, aerial photographs) and social vulnerability studies are needed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to propose measures to improve management of rainfall-related disasters in Chile.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This research was carried out as a case study in the semi-arid region of Chile where above-normal rainy events occur once or twice during some rainy seasons. Measures to improve management are suggested based on theory, field data, and community participation. The method was based on a review of both the scientific literature and the local media; and a semi-structured survey that was applied to local parties, including the population affected by past disasters. Also, some participatory activities (i.e. workshops) were organized in order to include the community opinions.\nFindings: - Results show that there have been significant advances during the last decade in Chile regarding disaster management. Yet, improvements need to be done at the local level in order to achieve a holistic, proactive and integrative management, including community participation and sharing responsibilities. A key element is increased coordination and cooperation.\nPractical implications: - Benefit the communities and public agencies associated with disaster management, through practical recommendations based on theoretical issues and findings derived from fieldwork.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of the very few scientific research efforts done in Chile based on a case study that includes social aspects (e.g. community participation, social vulnerability) and disaster management.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Metaphors for today's leadership: VUCA world, millennial and "Cloud Leaders"	[ "Innovation", "Leadership development", "Education", "Metaphors", "Management development", "Ideas generation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The metaphoric language is appealing today because metaphors bring new synapsis and deploy new meanings (Liu and Owyong, 2011). Ricoeur's theory notes that each metaphor is an act of imagination which seeks to create meaning that is not yet present, through the semantic shock of setting out the \"is and the is not\" at the same time (Muldoon, 2002). As Sebald (2011, p. 351) says: \"Metaphors are a specific mode of the permanent processes of uncoupling and recoupling across the borders of provinces of meaning.\" Metaphors are a fundamental mechanism of experience, either on a pre-predicative or predicative level. According to Sebald (2011, p. 346), \"Metaphor is some typified remnants of past experiences that are connected to explain a present and new experience.\" It achieves this with a transfer of meaning; a transfer, which affects both of the original contexts.\nVUCA world: A VUCA world is conformed by the features of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Volatility is accented on the goals and the values that underpin any personal decision. It seems that any decision and objective today is based more on emotions than on principles, desires more than securities (Bauman, 2008). A high level of volatility is perceived in job tenure and loyalty to the employing company with little security to stay in the same job. Even when qualified, people can be replaced at any time and at lower cost. Among Millennials, staying in one job is perceived as failure: they are seeking fast promotions and new challenges. According to Stein (2013, p. 28) Millennials believe \"they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.\"\nMillennials: The VUCA world is the common ground where different generations - Baby boomers, the Generation X, the Millennials - live and relate to each other. Generational diversity has become the norm in many organizations. According to Kaifi et al. (2012), as Baby boomers retire and Millennials enter and take over the workforce, it becomes imperative for leaders to learn more about the personal traits, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment levels of this generation.\nLeadership from the Millennials ... to the Millennials: Leadership today is a contextual and temporal process of learning and practice. It must adapt from context to context, group to group, and from individual to individual (Porter and McLaughlin, 2006). As noted by Day (2000), the distinction between developing leaders and developing leadership is potentially an important one. Leader development focusses on developing individual leaders whereas leadership development focusses on a process of development that inherently involves multiple individuals (e.g. leaders and followers or among peers in a self-managed work team).\n\"Cloud Leadership\": The leader for these coming years, using a metaphorical language, must be a \"Cloud.\" Treviranus (2011, p. 37) comments that \"[cloud] means that you can have your screen reader, alternative keyboard, magnification, captioning, description [...] with you wherever you go, without carrying anything but a password, a digital ring or a smart card.\" \"Cloud\" expresses the mentality of convergence required by all leadership today (Erl et al., 2013). The \"Cloud Leader\" is also concerned with principles that guide how individuals gain understanding of themselves and the external world, principles that conduce any decision-making process, principles that involves the change from one order of development to another, usually a higher one, driven by new environmental challenges that demand more complex sense-making abilities in qualitatively different patterns and criteria (Day et al., 2014; Drath et al., 2008).\nConcluding considerations: All life is a risk. Every moment must be lived as the first and the last at the same time, every experience reports information, and every stimulus brings new insights. Leaders leading Millennials face challenges with specific textures: convergence of traits, processes and outcomes with a leadership enriched by schools and theories immersed in a VUCA world where resiliency is a scarce commodity.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evidence the scenarios any leader is currently facing in front of three specific situations: a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world (VUCA); a generation that is changing the way to form relationships, work and knowledge transfer;and the possibility for a \"Cloud Leadership\" to overcome today's reality of constant change, redirection, new frontiers and formatting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper seeks one theoretical entailment, so that the world today presented by Johansen (2012) from four perspectives needs to be considered from the perspective of leadership.\nFindings: The paper views leadership as \"a Cloud.\" It brings new insights to a social and organizational analysis of leaders today. The metaphorical language is creative in the formative accompaniment of the Millennials, it provides and clarifies the orientation in all areas where they interact.\nResearch limitations/implications: Leaders leading Millennials face challenges with specific textures: convergence of traits, processes and outcomes with a leadership enriched by schools and theories immersed in a VUCA world where resiliency is a scarce commodity. Raising, building, taking advantage of the dynamism that each individual possesses, educating from the positive and toward the positive, is a benefit of a \"Cloud Leader\" in a VUCA world where Millennials have a strong presence.\nPractical implications: This paper offers a kind of vignette of leadership to illustrate the theories, skills, abilities and different approaches converging within leaders for these coming years: the immersion in a VUCA world, leading a workforce with more Millennial copartners present each day and the metaphors that can help us better understand them, and being a \"Cloud Leader.\"\nSocial implications: Leadership is going to be a matter of discovering the positive energy in each person, to stimulate the best in every individual and develop the potential of everybody because this \"energy\" is a small assurance of the future. A leader who attempts to \"bring out\" the positive in each person, in every context in which he or she is immersed, a leader who seeks the best interventions possible according to his or her capabilities and resources, this is a leader we can call \"a leader for the coming future: a Cloud Leader.\"\nOriginality/value: In this paper the author uses metaphors as an interesting method to say something with multimodal meanings under the \"umbrella concepts\" of Millennial generation, and leadership style. It is argued that scientific reasoning does not solely exist in the individual's head, but emerges in conjunction with the expressed representations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Drivers of brand credibility in consumer evaluation of global brands and domestic brands in an emerging market context	[ "Emerging market", "Brand authenticity", "Brand credibility", "Global brand", "Local iconness", "Perceived brand globalness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The increasing pace of globalization has accelerated growth in emerging markets such as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) (Wang et al., 2017). By 2025, emerging markets are expected to account for 50 per cent of the world's population and $30tn in consumption (RWS, 2018). These promising opportunities have led several global brands from developed countries to enter emerging markets (He and Wang, 2017). These global brands are making significant investments in emerging markets to tap their fertile territory and capture market share. For example, Amazon has invested over $5bn in India and has committed an additional $2bn (Abrar, 2019). Similarly, Starbucks is planning to open 600 new stores in China over the next year (Gray, 2019). Although emerging markets provide exciting opportunities for new growth, recent reports have suggested that global brands are facing fierce competition from domestic brands. According to Accenture Research, global brands have lost more than 5 per cent market share to domestic brands in major emerging markets (Gupta and Wright, 2019). Given these developments, an enhanced understanding of how consumers choose between global and domestic brands is important for marketers in crafting an effective strategy in emerging markets.\nLiterature review: Global brands are those that consumers find under the same name in several countries, with typically standardized and centrally coordinated marketing strategies. Domestic brands are those available in a narrow geographical region and may be owned by local, national or international firms (Ozsomer, 2012; Teng, 2019). Signaling theory is used in this study as the framework for examining consumer evaluation of global and domestic brands in an emerging market context. Signaling theory suggests that signals can be used to reduce uncertainty and risk in emerging markets, which tend to be characterized by asymmetric and imperfect information. Furthermore, the theory states that firms can use brands as signals to inform consumers about product performance (Erdem and Swait, 1998). In the present research context, global brands signal widespread availability, superior quality and enhanced reputation and image. Alternatively, domestic brands signal their ability to identify with local culture, traditions and customs (Ozsomer, 2012; Loebnitz and Grunert, 2019). Thus, it is proposed that brand credibility is the most important signal of the brand performance in emerging markets in consumer evaluation of global and domestic brands.\nMethodology: Study context\nData analysis and results: The analysis was performed using the two-step procedure suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) using AMOS 21. The measurement model assessment is part of the initial step wherein construct reliability and validity, along with the goodness of fit, is evaluated for all constructs. After the initial step, structural equation modeling (SEM) was undertaken to empirically test the structural relationship between the constructs using path estimates. To mitigate the issues of systematic measurement error because of common method variance, Harman's single-factor test and the single-method factor approach (Podsakoff et al., 2003) were used. The results revealed that common method variance was not an issue in this investigation.\nDiscussion: Study findings enhance explications for the role of brand credibility in purchase intention for both global and domestic brands. For global brands, perceived brand globalness and brand authenticity had a positive impact on brand credibility but perceived local iconness had no significant influence. Global brands connote higher-quality perceptions through their global product associations and acceptance. These associations of quality, heritage and sincerity provide a rich template for creating genuine myths around the brands (Napoli et al., 2014). Over time, when these brands become globally distributed, the mythical associations help establish credibility perceptions. Furthermore, because the globalness of a brand infers acceptance, recognition, desire and usage of the product at a global level (Ozsomer and Altaras, 2008), the higher perceived brand globalness signals increased credibility compared to their domestic counterparts. Regarding mediating effects, the results have demonstrated the significant effect of brand credibility in the relationship between perceived brand globalness and brand authenticity with purchase intention.\nTheoretical implications: The present study makes several contributions to the literature. First, this investigation adds to extant work on consumer choice between global and domestic brands (Winit et al., 2014; Lee and Nguyen, 2017; Balabanis et al., 2019). The present study contributes to the literature by examining the role of brand credibility and its three drives in consumer preference toward global and domestic brands in the emerging market context. Second, the current undertaking highlights the role of brand credibility in explaining purchase intention toward global and domestic brands. While prior studies propose the significant role brand credibility plays in consumer choice (Baek et al., 2010; An et al., 2019), limited empirical research is available to support this. The present study provides empirical evidence for the role of brand credibility in consumer choice between global and domestic brands. Third, the differential effects of three brand attributes - brand globalness, local iconness and brand authenticity - as drivers of brand credibility of global and domestic brands have been examined. Thus, this empirical effort contributes to the stream of research toward understanding the determinants of consumer choice between global and domestic brands (He and Wang, 2017; Davvetas and Diamantopoulos, 2018).\nManagerial implications: The present study shows that brand positioning vis-a-vis globalness is a valuable managerial tool that lends to brand credibility and, ultimately, to purchase intentions. Efforts should be made to link the aspirations of the growing global consumer culture in emerging markets so that desirable global attributes associated with the country of interest can be transferred to the brand. Perceived brand globalness has been found to be a valuable brand attribute that can be used by brand managers to enhance the credibility of their brand claims. Managerial understanding that these constructs have different meanings for global and domestic brands is critical. For instance, perceived brand globalness may connote global reach and acceptance for global brands (Ozsomer, 2012). Regarding domestic brands, brand managers should focus on communicating their brand's authenticity when competing against global counterparts in their home emerging markets, as perceived globalness has been found to have a negative impact on brand credibility.\nLimitations and future research directions: The present study is the first to consider simultaneously perceptions of brand globalness and localness as drivers of brand credibility. As such, the findings presented herein are by no means conclusive and subject to some limitations that indicate directions for future research. First, although the investigation used many highly regarded brands across various product categories from multiple developed countries and India, the moderating effect of these various product categories was excluded. Future works should consider the moderating impact of various categories; doing so may further enhance the findings of the current research. Subsequent empiricism could also explore the influence of consumer attitudinal dispositions (e.g. ethnocentrism, cosmopolitanism and materialism) to discern how these variables might improve the explanatory power of the model. Similarly, future research could examine the effects of brand credibility and its determinants on various aspects of brand attitude (e.g. cognitive, utility and value expressive).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of brand credibility on purchase intentions toward global brands and domestic brands in an emerging market context. It further examines three drivers of brand credibility: perceived globalness, perceived local iconness and perceived authenticity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Systematic random sampling using the mall intercept technique was used to collect cross-sectional data from 836 customers in India. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling with AMOS 21.\nFindings: The results demonstrate the significance of brand credibility on purchase intentions. Furthermore, brand globalness differentially influence brand credibility for global and domestic brands.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings provide key insights for marketers regarding consumer evaluation of global brands and domestic brands in emerging markets.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the literature by proposing and testing the key role of brand credibility in consumer choice of global brands versus domestic brands in an emerging market context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Marketized employment services: The impact on Christian-based service providers and their clients	[ "Privatization", "Commercialization", "Marketization", "Quasi-markets", "Christian-based welfare agencies", "Contracted employment services" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In Australia, Christian-based organisations have been delivering welfare services to assist unemployed and disadvantaged people since colonial times (Dickey, 1980). They are amongst the largest welfare services organisations in this country, providing a range of services to support those at risk of homelessness, people with addictions, families and children in poverty and the unemployed (Ayton et al., 2012; O'Halloran, 2011). However, the social service landscape has been changing in the past 20 years in ways that challenge the dominant and traditional role of churches in delivering services to support those most in need.\nThe privatisation agenda: The rise of new public management (NPM) philosophies in Australia in the 1990s saw new approaches in public service delivery emerge. This included outsourcing public services and establishing market-type approaches in health and social services (Carson and Kerr, 2010; Lyons and Passey, 2006; Rix, 2005). The underpinning premise of NPM is that a market-oriented approach improves performance and that incorporating private agencies in the delivery of public services produces cost effective outcomes (Considine, 2001; Hood, 2000; Lyons, 2007; Ramia and Carney, 2003; Walker et al., 2011). Not only does this represent a major change in the structural conditions associated with public services, it has been suggested that the rise of NPM ideals \"marked a fundamental shift away from the egalitarian need-based and rights-based philosophies which underpinned the original welfare state\" (Harris, 2010, p. 31). Privatisation has resulted in non-government organisations taking a central role in assisting government in reforming the welfare state, and in this sense they have been \"cast in a neoliberal role\" (Anheier, 2009, p. 1084).\nChurches historical involvement in supporting the unemployed: Concern about poverty and an understanding that unemployment contributed to the plight of the poor, particularly during the 1890s depression in Australia, led churches to focus their efforts on helping people to find work. For example, The Salvation Army established a free labour bureau in Melbourne in 1890 (Bolton, 1980). In that same year, Wesley Mission opened a similar service in Sydney known as the Central Mission Employment Agency (Dalziell et al., 2012). These services focused on connecting destitute men with employers looking for labour and were delivered independently of the state.\nFeatures of the Australian employment services quasi-market: There are three prominent features that mark the employment services quasi-market; these include a competitive environment, commercial focus and contract compliance. These are discussed below.\nMethod and findings: A case study approach comprising four Christian-based organisations was taken in examining how the competitive, commercial and compliance elements associated with the employment services quasi-market have impacted Christian-based organisations and the potential this creates for these organisations to deviate from their expressed mission.\nDiscussion: Religious-based charities have traditionally been seen as having a distinctive role within the community (Schlesinger et al., 2004). However, the territory for Christian-based welfare organisations is being redefined and the distinction between the market economy and civil society is becoming blurred (Howe, 2002). Increasingly governments are outsourcing public services and for-profit companies are actively competing for business in government constructed welfare markets.\nConclusion: Despite the fact that Christian-based organisations have been delivering welfare services in Australia for many years, these organisations appear to be under threat on a number of fronts, not the least of which is the contracting environment created as a result of NPM type reforms. These include the privatisation of a number of public services and the entry of for-profit companies into areas that were previously seen to be the domain of public, not-for-profit and charitable organisations.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges confronting Christian-based organisations operating in the employment services quasi-market in Australia. It focuses on the tensions that arise for these organisations as they endeavour to deliver services that reflect their distinctive mission and values, while remaining competitive in an environment characterised by the typical market values of commercialism, competition and compliance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data on which this paper is based has been derived from 48 semi-structured interviews with church leaders, senior managers and frontline staff in four Christian-based organisations.\nFindings: The paper demonstrates that the Christian-based organisations under consideration are constrained in their ability to deliver a distinctive and holistic mission. The pressure to survive has resulted in these organisations emulating the business practices of others considered to be more successful in the field.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper draws attention to the commercialisation that has occurred within Christian-based organisations delivering privatised employment services. As markets are formed in other welfare areas, further research opportunities will present to examine how Christian-based organisations respond to the pressures that arise in these fields.\nPractical implications: The findings from this study raise significant questions for Christian-based organisations. The particular dilemma being whether they should accept government funding in circumstances where their mission is likely to be compromised.\nOriginality/value: This paper serves to highlight, that despite their intentions to deliver a distinctive mission, Christian-based organisations are indistinguishable from other organisations delivering privatised employment services.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Choice or constraint? Tensions in female retail executives' career narratives	[ "Retailers", "Women", "Senior managers", "Career development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The call for papers for this special issue concerns how women through the discourses of meritocracy, difference and choice make sense of the contradictions and tensions they experience in their working lives. While this paper covers all three of these aspects, it particularly focuses on the issue of \"choice\" and examines, through empirical evidence, the contradictions and tensions women highlight in talking about their careers. It considers whether women do have a choice or whether they are making (un)conscious trade-offs in their work and/or family lives. The issue of \"choice\" is pertinent, particularly when taking a gender perspective. For example, the life cycle position of women in particular poses various constraints and will affect the choices women can make.Drawing on Hakim's preference theory, the paper questions whether women actually have real choices in their employment or whether they are constrained by organisational cultures and stereotypical portraits of how women and men should behave. The purpose of the paper is to consider the notion of choice and preference in the narratives of women retail senior executives and directors in describing their careers. It considers whether women themselves are conscious of contradictions and tensions or whether they are implicit in their accounts. In so doing it challenges assumptions that career \"choices\" equate to \"preferences\". The retail sector is selected because it is a sector which is dominated by women employees and customers, as well as being a sector with proportionately a higher number of women directors than other sectors (Sealy et al., 2008; Broadbridge, 2010). The organisational level was selected as it represents those who have \"broken through the glass ceiling\" to achieve their positions. In so doing we might expect that some have made sacrifices or choices in the interplay of their work and non-work lives. The paper is structured as follows: first an overview of the main dimensions of preference theory is provided together with some contemporary criticisms of this approach. The research design is then introduced and findings follow. Finally, some conclusions are drawn regarding how women perceive choice in making sense of their organisational and home lives.\nPreference theory: Outline of preference theory\nMethod: The overall aim of the research was to explore the career patterns of senior executives and directors in the retail sector. A qualitative approach was adopted as the intention was to seek an in-depth understanding of the relevant factors for a small sample (following Marshall, 1984). Using the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 350 list of retail directors, the population of women retail board directors, both executive (eight) and non-executive positions (18), were contacted outlining the overall project and requesting an interview. A matched sample of male executive and non-executive directors was contacted from a population of 56 and 93, respectively, (for more details of the composition of these retail boards see Broadbridge, 2010). Some of these initial contacts led to referral sampling (Welch, 1975) to directors and senior executives in large multiple non-listed companies. In total, 25 men and women main board directors and senior executives (who Tyson (2003) described as the marzipan layer) were interviewed. For the purpose of this paper, the narratives of 13 women respondents were analysed. All the respondents had employment experience with large multiple UK retail companies involved in general retailing.The interviews were structured around themes relating to their careers (perceived facilitators, barriers, influences, sacrifices, future ambitions, non-working lives). These were used as a base to develop conversations rather than a question/answer format. Respondents were encouraged to talk about these themes in as much or little depth and detail as they felt necessary (Rubin and Rubin, 1995). The intention was thus for the respondents to express their own accounts in their own terms. This allowed respondents to reflect on all aspects of their working and non-working lives and consider the choices and constraints that they had faced over the course of their careers. The interviews were recorded and full transcriptions produced as a basis for data analysis. This analysis involved a process of \"immersion\" (Marshall, 1981) to identify common themes and patterns with a particular focus on perceptions of the influence of choice and/or constraint in their working and non-working lives.The sample comprised nine senior executive directors and four main board directors. Eight were specialists and five were general managers. Ten of the women were university graduates, while seven had other qualifications. Their ages ranged from 39 to 56. Of the women, 12 were married or cohabiting. In five instances, partners/husbands did not work. Two of the 13 were voluntarily childless - in both cases for reasons unconnected with career. Of the remaining 11 women with children, all were combining career and child rearing (nine had more than one child). Interview data suggest that the three categories Hakim described as well as notions of \"unconstrained choice\" are limited in their usefulness for understanding managerial women's work experiences.\nFindings: In some of the accounts the women freely used the term \"choice\" to describe their patterns of work and non-work. However, the extent to which some of these accounts were genuine choices might be questioned. Below we explore the discourses of the women respondents in an attempt to understand the usefulness of Hakim's preference theory in categorising retail senior executives and directors.Work centred patterns of behaviour\nConclusions: From an analysis of 13 in-depth interviews, this paper examined the discourses drawn upon by women senior executives and retail directors to manage, justify and explain the contradictions and tensions they experienced when talking about their careers and the choices they have made. However, choice was found not always to equate with preference. Women adopted a variety of ways in which they articulate \"choice\" when talking about their careers; some believe they have freedom of choice in their careers; some use the term \"choice\" in order to validate their career outcomes; while others recognise that they have to make certain choices between their careers and home lives.The analysis of the data highlighted revealed various problems with the tenets of preference theory. Hakim's claims concerning the emergence of historically rooted \"genuine choice\" for women are dubious as was noted earlier. Women's accounts of their working lives were infused with notions of choice but these choices are often constrained and are related to traditional and stereotypical views of gender roles and to outdated company cultures and attitudes. This therefore casts doubt as to whether they are genuine choices. The organisational culture within retailing creates difficulties for managerial women with children and thus imposes various constraints. Retailing embraces a long hours culture based on presenteeism and women may decline certain roles which require them being away over night or for longer periods of time. In a labour market that assumes the norm of the full-time manager who is unencumbered by family responsibilities, there are limited options for women and men who seek to work in a different way. Even Hakim's argument regarding the contraceptive revolution being a \"freeing force\" to enable women to make genuine choices might be a constraint in the retail industry. As the findings suggested, women may be better off having their children early as they are better able to return to junior rather than senior positions yet still be young enough to advance their careers.Hakim has drawn attention to some of the choices women face in contemporary organizations. However, the categories she uses to \"explain\" women's heterogeneity may not fully reflect their experiences. In particular, the category of adaptive women may need to include several different groupings in order to fully explain the position of women senior executives and directors. Similarly, her assumed homogeneity of men's experiences and choices, overly reflective of patriarchal attitudes and values in the centrality given to work, may not take into account the changing values of emerging generations and an increased interest among Generation Y (those born between 1977 and 1994) men and women for a better work life balance (Broadbridge et al., 2007, 2009).The paper has demonstrated the complexity of the notion of choice and whether choice equates to preference or constraint. Choices are constrained by organisational cultures and processes of socialisation and are tied up with whole life concerns. This follows Leahy and Doughney's (2006) claim that many women are often burdened with \"unreasonable\" choice regarding their families and careers. It is unreasonable because it is a choice that men generally do not need to make. The paper has shown that Hakim's preference theory does not fully explain the behaviour and work patterns of women senior executives and directors in the retail industry. The data showed some of the difficulties of applying her category of work centred or adaptive women. Many women were attempting to achieve in both their career and family domains simultaneously. Moreover, it appears that the terms \"satisficing\" (Corby and Stanworth, 2009) or \"maximising\" (Crompton and Harris, 1998b) may more appropriately describe many women retail senior executives' positions and also the patterns of behaviour of the younger generation in the twenty-first century.\nAreas for further research: Although the purpose of this paper was to explore the situation of women in senior management positions, it is recognised that men may be constrained by choices. The norm of the ideal worker deters ambitious men from participating more in the care of their children (Wirth, 2001; Nussbaum, 2002). Are men similarly bound by outdated stereotypical ideas of how they should behave in the work and non-work arenas?This warrants further research especially in an age of Generation Y who value the separation of the work and home domains more closely than previous generations. Organisations ought to be vigilant that it makes business sense to change working structures to incorporate the values and expectations of Generation Y. By doing so they stand to gain the most from their employees, retain the best managers and optimise organisational performance. Perhaps this is a better mantle for women to adopt in challenging for such changes - that the younger generation of employees and the future of organisations rest on better organisational structures that can better accommodate both men and women's lives and values.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the usefulness of Hakim's preference theory in the understanding of the attitudes of women retail senior managers and directors towards their career and non-work lives. It provides a critical analysis of the main tenets of preference theory and evaluates the extent to which women have \"free choice\" in their careers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A qualitative methodology consisting of 13 in-depth interviews with women at senior executive and director levels in retailing was adopted. The interviews examined women's career paths and uncovered the choices and constraints impacting on their career progress and other aspects of their lives.\nFindings: - The findings demonstrate the complexity of careers and choices. While several women talk about the choices they have made, it is apparent that these choices have been constrained by extraneous variables, both at an individual and organisational level.\nPractical implications: - The findings from the paper can enhance practitioners' understanding of some of the choices and constraints women make in their working lives, which in turn might lead to improved organisational policies for women to better accommodate work-life balance issues.\nOriginality/value: - The paper questions whether choice equates to preference and assesses the usefulness of Hakim's preference theory as a means of understanding the careers of women in contemporary organizations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Sustainability knowledge and training: outcomes and firm performance	[ "Training", "Environmental management", "Sustainable production", "Green manufacturing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In 2001, King and Lenox raised the question of whether or not embracing environmental sustainability has a return on investment, coined \"profitable greening\" by the authors. Since that time, a considerable number of research endeavors have sought to answer this question, with the results of many of these being utilized in a meta-analysis, of studies from 2000 to 2011, by Golicic and Smith (2013). The studies included in Golicic and Smith's (2013) sample were those that hypothesized and tested an association between environmental supply chain practices and market-based, operational based and accounting-based performance. Elements missing in their analysis were organizational environmental knowledge and training and environmental performance. Yet, training and knowledge are among the basic tools for management directed to sustainability (Tang et al., 2018; Jabbour et al., 2017; Mazumder, 2016; Mittal and Sangwan, 2014) and, for green manufacturing implementation, have been found to be more important than other supply chain capabilities (Digalwar et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2016; Neto et al., 2014). In addition, a lack of environmental awareness and lack of training and education have been cited as highly important barriers to implementing \"green lean\" (Raut et al., 2018; Cherrafi et al., 2017) and putting environmental activities into practice (Zhu et al., 2008).\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: Organizational knowledge has been noted as a strategic factor of production much like land, labor and capital (Christensen, 2000). Knowledge is fundamental to the development and utilization of resources in the RBV theory (Sarkis et al., 2010; Coates and McDermott, 2002) and, as such, can provide long-term competitive advantages to supply chains (Wu et al., 2010). Organizational knowledge is a result of organizational learning (Christensen, 2000), something that often comes from training (Oelze et al., 2016) and, more specifically, in this instance, training on environmental policies, technology, practices and programs (Sarkis, 2012). In a competitive world, knowledge is a critical aspect of adopting and implementing GSCM practices (Sarkis, 2012; Scott, 2010; Liu et al., 2016; Cheung and Rowlinson, 2011). Renwick et al. (2013) feel that the key to the effectiveness of training is the development of an environmental knowledge base.\n3. Methodology: The focus of this study is twofold: first, primarily, the assessment of the impact that sustainability training and knowledge have on a manufacturing organization's ability to successfully implement SSCM practices and the ensuing outcomes of these practices; and a second, more minor role is to replicate the assessment of the mediating role that SSCO has on the established relationships between SSCP and OPP and EEP. The model illustrated in Figure 1 reflects the theorized antecedent role of sustainability training and knowledge and mediating role of SSCO in the manufacturing sector. This manufacturing focus necessitated collection of data from plant-level manufacturing managers.\n4. Results: Results of the measurement scale assessment of the measurement scales for validity and reliability are followed by the PLS-SEM results which are used to assess the study hypotheses within the context of the theoretical model depicted in Figure 1. Summary values for the study variables were computed by averaging the items in the scales. Table II displays the descriptive statistics for the summary variables, and Table III displays the descriptive statistics for the items in the SSCO scale.\n5. Discussion: Environmental knowledge and training has been described as a tool for implementing SSCP (Tang et al., 2018; Jabbour et al., 2017; Mazumder, 2016; Mittal and Sangwan, 2014), a driver of sustainability management (Bhardwaj, 2016; Mittal and Sangwan, 2014), a remover of barriers (Cherrafi et al., 2017; Zhu et al., 2008), a way to encourage employees to engage in green activities (Dangelico, 2016; Tariq et al., 2016; Renwick et al., 2013; Milliman, 2013; Huang and Wu, 2010; Sarkis, 2012), a way to establish a pro-environmental culture, vision or orientation and counter cynicism (Cheng, 2018; Rayner and Morgan, 2018; Szasz et al., 2018; Law et al., 2017; Beske and Seuring, 2014; Renwick et al., 2013; Holt and Ghobadian, 2009), a source of innovation (Albort-Morant et al., 2018; Cheng, 2018; Lin and Chen, 2017; Stanovcic et al., 2015; Wong, 2013), a means of encouraging employee involvement (Huang et al., 2015; Cantor et al., 2012) and as a means to alleviate liability concerns (Daily and Huang, 2001). Yet, it continues to be an understudied topic (Teixeira et al., 2012; Vidal-Salazar et al., 2012; Sarkis et al., 2010) with most pertinent literature being theoretical in nature (Yahya et al., 2015; Seuring, 2013). There is a need for an assessment of the effectiveness of training and knowledge (Renwick et al., 2013) and some interest in measuring them and analyzing the results achieved (Vidal-Salazar et al., 2012). Our study is a response to this interest and the above assertions as well as a contribution to the body of literature in that it includes sustainability training and knowledge as antecedent to sustainability practices and finds training and knowledge to be positively associated with the implementation of sustainability practices. Based on our findings, US manufacturing firms can expect higher levels of training and knowledge to result in enhanced sustainability outcomes.\n6. Conclusion: Results of our research indicate that, consistent with prior theory, organizational sustainability knowledge and training is positively related to SSCP. SSCP lead to favorable SSCO. These favorable SSCO, in turn, have a favorable impact on OPP and economic performance. These results replicate and support the findings of Green et al. (2012), Rao and Holt (2005), Zhu and Sarkis (2004) and Klassen and McLaughlin (1996). The inclusion of organizational knowledge and training into the model and the development of a valid and reliable scale measuring SSCO extends the work done by Zhu and Sarkis (2004).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of sustainability training and knowledge on sustainable supply chain practices (SSCP) and the resulting impact on sustainable supply chain outcomes (SSCO) and firm performance. It also provides a valid and reliable measure of SSCO.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data collected from 129 manufacturing managers are analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation modeling methodology. Manufacturing managers provide data reflecting the degree to which their organizations improved sustainability training and knowledge, utilize SSCP, the degree to which SSCO result, and the subsequent operational performance (OPP) and environmental economic performance (EEP).\nFindings: Organizational sustainability training and knowledge positively impacts SSCP, and the utilization of SSCP results in SSCO which favorably impact OPP and EEP.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study is limited to manufacturing organizations.\nPractical implications: Practitioners are encouraged to improve organizational learning and training and are provided with a valid and reliable scale for measuring the outcomes of their sustainable practices. Combined with the work of others, this provides a framework for evaluating different aspects of sustainability with a firm.\nSocial implications: Improved green manufacturing practices improves the environment by eliminating all forms of waste and provides eco-friendly products and services.\nOriginality/value: A sustainable supply chain training and knowledge model is proposed and empirically assessed. The results of this investigation support the proposition that sustainability training and knowledge support the implementation of sustainability supply chain practices which, in turn, improve sustainability outcomes and operational and EEP.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reimagining local studies in Devon: Reclaiming the local community's published heritage in an age of austerity	[ "Libraries", "Community archives", "Museums", "Devon", "Local studies", "Record offices" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Devon is the third largest historic county in England (after Yorkshire and Lincolnshire). Devon's 6,622 km2 area contained in mid-2017 an estimated 1,185,300 inhabitants. Of these, 263,100 were in the unitary authority of Plymouth and 135,200 in the unitary authority of Torbay. The remainder lived in one of the eight district councils which include Exeter, the historic county town of Devon, with a population of 128,900. Plymouth is responsible for all local authority services in its area, including libraries, museums and archives. This is also true of Torbay, but because of its smaller size, archives and libraries are managed by Devon at a county level. Local authorities in England and Wales have a statutory duty under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 (1964) (Section 7), to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons in the area who want to make use of it. The Local Government (Records) Act 1962 (1962) [Section 1(1)], confers limited discretionary powers for local authorities in England and Wales to provide certain archive services, but there is no statutory obligation on local authorities in England to provide a museum or art gallery. Within the county of Devon, public libraries are managed through Libraries Unlimited South West, a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. The archive services in Devon are managed jointly with Somerset through the South West Heritage Trust, a similar organisation based in Taunton, Somerset. There are 50 library service points in Devon and 2 record offices, Devon Archives and Local Studies in Exeter and the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple (Figure 1). The museums in Devon are the responsibility of district or town councils, and there are also many independent museums and community archives.\nSome background: Public libraries have in general served local studies well in Devon, over the past 150 years. As early as 1885, Plymouth librarian W.H.K. Wright saw the duty of the public library to collect and record local publications in his paper A Plea for a Devonshire Bibliography (Wright, 1885) . Since then librarians such as Harry Tapley-Soper in Exeter carried on the tradition between the two world wars. The coverage in Exeter extended over the entire West Country from Bristol to the Land's End, embracing the counties of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset, as it was felt that no other major collection west of Bristol was achieving this. When Burnet-Morris completed his massive Devon Bibliography on over a million cards, which he had compiled over 25 years for the Devonshire Association, it was Exeter City Library that accepted it in 1940. Both Plymouth and Exeter suffered badly in the bombings of 1941 and 1942, but while Plymouth's local studies collections were almost completely destroyed Exeter's were removed to a place of safety and survived the bombings substantially intact. In Exeter collection development picked up after the war but little attention was given to reinststing the public catalogue destroyed in 1942. This was rectified in 1975, when following local government reorganisation, the Devon County and Exeter City libraries' local collections were merged into the Westcountry Studies Library, and Devon also took over responsibility for collections in Plymouth, Torquay, Bideford and Newton Abbot, which had previously run independent services. Between the wars, the network of branch libraries had grown to about 80 across the county, some of them, such as Tiverton, Exmouth and Barnstaple with significant local collections.\nThe present situation: The CILIP guidelines recognised the value of local studies' centres, bringing together libraries, archives and museums but with reservations:\nRe-imagining local studies in Devon: Local studies in Devon should cease to be under the umbrella of the archives service and transfer to museums. Its centre of administration and operations should be located in Exeter, Devon's county town.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect that government austerity policies has had on local studies in Devon and suggest a possible alternative means of maintaining local studies' collections.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper presents an historical survey of local studies provision in the county since the nineteenth century and outlines the present local studies' landscape.\nFindings: The findings show that local studies' provision has been severely affected by eight years of progressive cuts to public library funding and that present publications, both printed and digital, are no longer being adequately recorded.\nPractical implications: This paper suggests that in Devon, the museum sector may be a more appropriate home for local studies' library provision than are archive services.\nSocial implications: Volunteers in libraries, museums and archives across Devon will be involved in maintaining a union catalogue and a bibliography of local publications.\nOriginality/value: While this is a suggested solution for Devon, it may not be applicable in regions with different traditions of heritage provision.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding the application of Kaizen methods in construction firms in China	[ "Kaizen", "Continuous improvement", "Chinese construction firms", "Challenges", "China" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: In almost every organization and sector, cost pressures are increasing while customers and clients are becoming increasingly demanding about quality, delivery time, etc. This is particularly true in the construction industry, where project teams feel similar cost pressures and their clients exhibit similar traits (Brown and Adams, 2000). To address these issues, lean thinking (Egan, 1998; Ballard and Howell, 1998), just-in-time (JIT) (Low and Gao, 2011; Low and Mok, 1999; Polat and Arditi, 2005), total quality management (TQM) (Low and Teo, 2003; Harrington et al., 2012; Zeng et al., 2003), and other similar concepts have been promoted in the construction industry, and kaizen or continuous improvement happens to be one of the key components of these. Most of what is said today about continuous improvement comes from interpretation of the Japanese practice called kaizen. As Liker and Convis (2011) have outlined, the concept of kaizen has become so ubiquitous that it hardly seems to be a foreign word anymore, much less requires definition. However, the vast majority of firms and their senior executive leaders misunderstand kaizen (Bessant et al., 1994) as meaning either \"free lunch\" improvements emerging from the workers, as the mundane application of suggestion schemes and quality circles (QCs) (Brunet and New, 2003), or as a way to cut jobs (Emiliani, 2006). In the Chinese context, the implementation of lean has been witnessed in recent years (Aminpour and Woetzel, 2006; Taj, 2008). Studies of kaizen in China have also appeared (Aoki, 2008), but the case studies examined in these focus on Japanese companies in China. Taking this one step further, this paper investigates kaizen activities within large Chinese construction firms. It is expected to contribute to the kaizen literature by providing a better understanding of kaizen in a project environment, as well as in developing countries like China.\n2 Literature review of kaizen: 2.1 Origins and definition\n3 Methods: In the view of Brunet and New (2003), research solely based on survey into the area of continuous improvement would lead to a loss of details about the complexity of organizations' practices. This study therefore employs qualitative methods to examine the practice of kaizen within the Chinese construction industry.Interviews\n4 Findings and discussion: 4.1 Perceptions of kaizen\n5 Strategies: Having outlining the challenges encountered in Chinese construction projects, this section discusses strategies for overcoming these challenges, to put Chinese construction firms in a better position to implement kaizen methods. First, in response to the lack of a supporting culture, there are a few things that construction firms in China can begin with:* Empowering. There is a need for a kaizen style of leadership which comes from a mindset that understands that a human in his or her work setting knows better than anyone else what makes him more productive (Liker and Convis, 2011). Yet the perspective prevails in the Chinese construction industry that frontline labourers are generally less educated and limited in creativity. Leaders need to solicit and support the inherent motivation of frontline workers as well and to provide the appropriate tasks and tools to achieve this. The only person who is an expert on a job is the person doing the job as they have been doing these for years.* Seeing problems as opportunities. The culture shift to seeing problems as opportunities is challenging, but worth recommending. Seeing problems as opportunities is a good starting point in kaizen-style problem solving. In addition, it allows problems to be exposed as quickly as possible, so that corrections can be made.* Improving standardization. Although different forms of standardization are claimed to be in place in the interviewed firms, their level needs to be enhanced. For kaizen to be better implemented, Chinese construction firms need to stay motivated to scrutinize the existing processes, rather than to resort to micro-managing. This means that efforts should be made to redesigning the construction process, or to expand the repetitive part of certain projects. Another relevant idea is to introduce prefabricated technology (Arif and Egbu, 2010), where a higher level of standardization can be expected.* Taking advantage of learning points. The large-scale characteristics of construction activities in China provide ample learning opportunities. These should be taken advantage of, for example by publishing the kaizen outcome (Bennett, 1993), site visits, and post project reviews from completed projects (Williams, 2003), along with seeking possible contributions from subcontractors (Bennett, 1993). Although no one knows what their next project will be, at least the publications can bear fruitful outcome and offer learning points that would benefit employees and perhaps widen their perspectives and knowledge.Second, as far as the compression of schedules is concerned, collaborating or partnering clients should be considered for implementation. Clients in the Chinese construction industry are becoming more demanding. This can be seen as a positive factor behind performance improvement. However, excessively demanding clients, especially when they require fast project delivery, can severely hinder successful kaizen, given that all resources need to be prioritized for project completion, rather than expended on tackling possible improvements arising from the process. The implication here is that we need understanding clients, rather than demanding ones. Perhaps, collaborating with clients as well as other major stakeholders seems to be a good way to go. Clients need to recognize the benefits and to appreciate the possible improvements that can only be derived in a less-demanding working environment. Yet presently in the Chinese construction industry, they are creating the opposite working environment for frontline workers.Third, regarding the challenge of limited resources, some strategies that are appropriate to mitigate this challenge are presented below:* Making resources available. In order for kaizen to happen, there needs to be some space and time for such activities to take place - for example, through a daily meeting or a weekly problem-finding and solving review. Such reinforcement has the additional advantage of helping to embed key behaviour (Bessant and Francis, 1999). However, it requires a commitment to invest time and output may consequently be lost.* Education and training. As discussed earlier, Chinese construction firms are facing shortages of capable professionals in kaizen activities. This is because Chinese construction firms do not appreciate the value of providing training to poorly educated labourers. A certain level of training on topics like kaizen, waste elimination, quality control, as well as the use of the scientific methods for structured problem solving (Hatch and Dyer, 2004) can enhance the capacity of employees and workers. Only when frontline workers become capable in their work can leadership call for total involvement from all levels of a company (Imai, 1986).* Rewarding kaizen. As Rapp and Eklund (2007) have indicated, incentive is a critical factor in sustaining a kaizen-based suggestion system. Such motivation also means that associated incentives should be taken into account in the project budget. If a kaizen event can improve the work environment, then efforts from either individuals or a team should be recognized in a timely manner. Sharing benefits would motivate workers to engage more frequently and efficiently in such activities.\n6 Conclusion: Construction in China has been widely criticized for its quality problems and inefficiency issues that affect the project delivery processes. Kaizen has been suggested as a way of addressing this inefficiency by solving the problems and incorporating the best new practices into the existing approach. This paper has briefly outlined some of the characteristics and forms of kaizen employed in construction projects in China. In most cases, the form of kaizen in China fits the description of maintenance kaizen. In addition, other issues and forms of kaizen in the Chinese construction projects were also examined, including level of standardization (baseline of kaizen), suggestion schemes, QCs, reflections and so on. Nevertheless, the conclusion can be made that a majority of the firms operate in a way that embraces kaizen thinking, yet they do not know that these ways can be categorized as kaizen endeavours. What seems lacking is a system that can integrate people into continuously engaging in improvement initiatives. This has been addressed in the strategies proposed for overcoming the challenges of implementing kaizen in the Chinese construction industry. This paper recommends that future research should describe and analyse a case study of how kaizen strategies are to be implemented in China's construction industry over a certain period of time. This would provide a more complete picture of the kaizen implementation process, and also explore further issues that arise from a whole life cycle course.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Kaizen or continuous improvement is a renowned Japanese management philosophy implemented in many industries all over the world. It is geared towards the everyday worker and management, and aims to continually improve the workplace, even on a small scale. The extent of implementation in China is unknown. This paper seeks to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study has the objective of filling a gap by addressing the implementation issues facing kaizen in a project setting, and employs qualitative methods to investigate the application of kaizen within large Chinese construction firms. The material for this study is taken from interviews of 27 Chinese building professionals from 16 large Chinese firms in 2011.\nFindings: - The interview results indicate that different types of activities associated with kaizen have been adopted by Chinese construction firms at the project level.\nResearch limitations/implications: - There are considerable challenges identified in this study. This includes the lack of a supporting culture, compressing schedules, limited resources and especially the lack of professionals with sufficient understanding of kaizen. In order to put Chinese construction firms in a better position to implement kaizen, this study concludes with a number of strategies for overcoming these challenges.\nOriginality/value: - The respondents' perceptions of kaizen, as well as its possible applications in real life projects, were sought. In addition, the infrastructure of kaizen within the Chinese construction project setting was also investigated in this study.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
National cultural values, sustainability beliefs, and organizational initiatives	[ "Culture", "Sustainability", "Environment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Sustainability has become an important issue for businesses today. Organizations strive to implement sustainability initiatives as part of their corporate strategy by adopting and implementing \"activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining, and enhancing the human, [social], and natural resources that will be needed in the future\" (Labuschagne et al., 2005, p. 374). Implementing sustainability initiatives in different countries and regions of the world, however, is not an easy task. Organizations need to be cognizant of the socio-cultural differences underpinning the interpretation and evaluation of sustainability initiatives across countries. Socio-cultural values can influence how people utilize their natural resources as well as their willingness to pursue sustainability practices (Cohen and Nelson, 1994); \"if people are more culturally conscious of [social and] environmental conditions, a higher level of sustainability [results]\" (Park et al., 2007, p. 105). Hence, sustainability may be context specific, with national culture playing a significant role in influencing how a society expects organizations and businesses to implement social and environmental issues (Ringov and Zollo, 2007). Given such cultural differences, organizations need to tailor their sustainability initiatives to the local context.\nConceptual model: The Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as \"that which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs\" (World Commission on Economic Development, 1987, p. 8). This definition has been adapted by scholars for the organizational context. Sustainable organizations can be considered those that \"can sustain financial, human, social, and environmental resources over the long-term\" (Bradbury, 2003, p. 173); these organizations play a significant role in sustainability in various ways: through the transfer of sustainability technology, through the education and training of employees, and through the development of local communities.\nNational cultural values: Culture [...] consists of ways of perceiving, thinking, and deciding that have worked in the past and have become institutionalized in standard operating procedures, customs, scripts and unstated assumptions that guide behavior (Triandis, 1995, p. 12).\nThe influence of national cultural values on sustainability beliefs and perceptions: The values inherent in national cultural systems can influence beliefs and perceptions, and provide guidelines as to what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behavior and practice (Rokeach, 1973). Values are broad based, whereas beliefs, attitudes and perceptions are oriented toward specific objects and situations (Ajzen, 1991). Behaviors can be considered manifestations of values and attitudes. The literature suggests that specific beliefs and attitudes often mediate the relationship between values and behavior (Alwitt and Ritts, 1996). Thus, national cultural values held by members of a society can influence more beliefs specific to the functioning of organizations (Waldman et al., 2006).\nThe influence of sustainability beliefs and perceptions on organizational sustainability initiatives: Sustainability beliefs and perceptions, in turn, influence how people in different cultures interpret the meaning of sustainability and implement those practices. Hence, national cultural values can influence organizational sustainability initiatives through the mediating influence of beliefs and perceptions about the importance and inconvenience of sustainability. Next, we discuss three categories of sustainability initiatives (environmental, social, and human) which can be influenced by beliefs and perceptions.\nModerating effects of sustainability orientation and organizational capacity: Our model proposes that the relationship between sustainability beliefs and perceptions and organizational sustainability initiatives is moderated by two constructs: sustainability orientation and organizational capacity. Each of these is discussed below.\nDiscussion: This paper presents a model of the relationships between national cultural values, beliefs and perceptions about sustainability, and organizational sustainability initiatives. The model suggests that cultures low in power distance and high in collectivism, femininity, and long-term orientation are likely to hold stronger beliefs about the importance of sustainability, and that cultures high in individualism, masculinity, short-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance are likely to hold stronger beliefs about the inconvenience of sustainability. Beliefs about the perceived importance and inconvenience of sustainability are likely to influence the scope and number of sustainability initiatives implemented by organizations, with beliefs about the importance of sustainability having a positive impact and beliefs about the inconvenience of sustainability having a negative impact. The model also suggests that the relationship between sustainability beliefs and perceptions and organizational sustainability initiatives is moderated by the sustainability orientation of the organization and by organizational capacity, such that high levels of sustainability orientation and organizational capacity are likely to strengthen the link between sustainability beliefs and organizational initiatives, and low levels of sustainability orientation and organizational capacity are likely to weaken the relationship between beliefs and initiatives.\nConclusion: As multinationals attempt to implement sustainability initiatives across countries and cultures, they lack a prescriptive model to tap from the literature. The current literature does not present a clear picture of the relationship between national culture and organizational sustainability. Most studies have not yet investigated the specific impact of culture on sustainability practices, nor have they identified mechanisms that can explain how national cultural values influence sustainability initiatives. Our research bridges this gap in the literature by developing a conceptual model that explains the relationships between national culture and organizational sustainability initiatives through the mediating influence of sustainability beliefs and perceptions. In addition, the influence of organizational capacity and sustainability orientation is included in the model. The model adds to the emerging literature on sustainability and culture, helps researchers and organizations understand how socio-cultural values can impact sustainability, and guides multinationals in the implementation of their sustainability initiatives across the world.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Organizations are implementing sustainability initiatives in different countries with varied socio-cultural systems. The literature on sustainability, however, does not present a clear picture of how national culture can influence interpretations of the meaning of sustainability and how these differences in interpretation can result in different sustainability practices. The purpose of this paper is to build upon the current literature by identifying mechanisms (i.e. sustainability beliefs and perceptions) that mediate the relationship between national cultural values and organizational sustainability initiatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors examine the literature on culture and sustainability practices, and develop a conceptual model that identifies how cultural values influence the sustainability initiatives of organizations. Several propositions are identified that specify relationships among the constructs, and guidelines are provided for testing the model in future research.\nFindings: The model posits that national culture influences sustainability beliefs and perceptions, which in turn influence the quantity and scope of sustainability initiatives. The relationship between sustainability beliefs and organizational sustainability initiatives is moderated by sustainability orientation and organizational capacity.\nOriginality/value: The model can help researchers and practitioners better understand the meaning of sustainability in the context of international business by identifying the mechanisms that explain the link between culture and sustainability. It can also help researchers generate hypotheses for future research. Finally, the model can guide multinational corporations attempting to drive sustainability programs through their subsidiaries as well as international developmental agencies trying to develop programs in partnership with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs).\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The moderating effect of emotion regulation on the relationship between risk aversion and brand sensitivity	[ "Emotion regulation strategies", "Brand sensitivity", "Risk aversion", "Structural equation modelling" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Emotion plays a significant role in people's everyday lives and brings about positive or negative responses to important events. It reflects some information about individuals' relationships with their social and physical surroundings and their interpretations of these relationships (Achar et al., 2016). Emotion can also affect individuals' consumption and purchase behavior. Conversely, people may purchase or use something to regulate their emotions (Kemp and Kopp, 2011). Regulating emotions refers to \"the behaviours, skills and strategies, whether conscious or unconscious, automatic or effortful, that serve to modulate, inhibit and enhance emotional experiences and expressions\" (Lapierre, 2016). It is an attempt to influence the specific emotions a person experiences (Pascuzzi and Smorti, 2017), which helps them to manage their emotions during or after experiencing risky events (Garnefski and Kraaij, 2007). For example, when consumers experience negative events (e.g. fraud, buying counterfeit luxury products, service failure, overcharging, etc.), they might be inclined to blame themselves or others. They might ruminate, accept or positively reappraise the event (Garnefski and Kraaij, 2007).\nLiterature review: Brand sensitivity\nResearch method: Sample and data collection\nData analysis and results: Participants' profiles\nDiscussion: This research investigated the moderating role of emotion regulation strategies on the relationship between risk aversion and brand sensitivity. In this study, two main results have been obtained. First, risk aversion has a positive effect on brand sensitivity. If the level of risk aversion increases, the level of brand sensitivity will become higher. It could be interpreted that risk-averse people are likely to purchase branded products. Although, Brown et al. (2011) found the U-shaped relationship between risk and brand sensitivity in B2B buying decision-making, the findings of this research regarding business to customer buying decision-making, shows that the relationship between these two variables have a positive slope.\nManagerial implications: This Study explains the nature of customers' psychological mechanism in marketing, which can open new horizons in understanding customers' psychology. As said before, the essence of human's mind is composed of cognitive and affective systems and these systems interact with each other to form consumer behavior. Emotion is the strongest form of affection that strongly influences both cognition and behavior. To shape consumer behavior, companies need to shape consumers' emotions. The presence of emotion is more evident in high-touch and high-involvement products. When buying high involvement products, people tend to be more risk-averse to reduce performance risk, financial risk and so on. Therefore, brand sensitivity plays a greater role in this product category, because brand can reduce uncertainty and risk.\nStudy limitations and future research: This study has several limitations. The main constraint is related to the respondents and the condition of dispensing e-questionnaires through the internet. In this research, the sampling was non-probability and convenience because only the members of academic pages and groups on Facebook and Telegram were surveyed. Future studies should consist of a wide-ranging sample. As for the nature of emotion regulation that occurs after an event, this construct has a significant role in research areas like repurchase intention, customer loyalty and customer complaint. Further research should investigate the role of emotion regulation in the relationship among the aforementioned variables. Moreover, this study did not consider different types of consumers (e.g. utilitarian vs hedonic) or different types of buying situations (e.g. buying for oneself, buying for others or gift buying), which can have an effect on choosing emotion regulation strategies or on the relationship between risk aversion and brand sensitivity. So, future research should consider the effect of consumers' types or buying situations on selecting emotion regulation strategies and investigate the role of these variables in risk aversion - brand sensitivity relationship.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the moderating role of positive and negative strategies of emotion regulation on the relationship between risk aversion and brand sensitivity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: By conducting a survey, this study has collected a total of 405 responses and the data have been examined with structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The study has demonstrated that some strategies of emotion regulation have a significant moderating effect, and they can down-regulate the effect of risk aversion on brand sensitivity. These strategies are positive refocusing, refocus on planning, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective, acceptance and rumination.\nResearch limitations/implications: Future studies should consider a broader range of respondents to validate the results. Moreover, the role of emotion regulation in the relationships among repurchase intention, customer loyalty and customer compliant could be examined. Further research could also focus on the relationship between risk aversion and brand sensitivity with regard to different types of buying situations and consumers' types.\nPractical implications: The findings demonstrate a substantial implication regarding emotion regulation and brand management. Positive strategies of emotion regulation make risk-averse people less likely to pay attention to brands and lead them to be less brand-sensitive. New companies and businesses could use these findings to make consumers regulate their emotions positively.\nOriginality/value: This research provides novel findings about the influence of consumers' emotion regulation on brand sensitivity. People who use positive strategies of emotion regulation tend to dampen the effect of their risk aversion on brand sensitivity and will become less sensitive to the brand.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Organizational characteristics as prescriptive factors of knowledge management initiatives	[ "Knowledge management", "Organizations", "Strategic alignment", "Japan" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The use of knowledge in organizations is largely a discretionary behavior that can be encouraged but not demanded by organizations and their management (Kelloway and Barling, 2000). As such, the firm can only attempt to provide the right conditions and enhance the employees' ability, motivation and opportunity in order for them to endorse the role of knowledge worker.Many frameworks or strategies to implement knowledge management (KM) have been tentatively developed in previous research (Holsapple and Joshi, 2000; Rubenstein-Montano et al., 2001; Von Krogh et al., 2001; Armistead and Meakins, 2002); however, those have primarily focused on describing typologies of KM separately from their particular organizational roots. The framework introduced here acknowledges the strong role of management in the firm's handling of knowledge and attempts to operationalize the findings of a case study and make them readily usable by practitioners.This paper presents in section two the theoretical framework and its foundations. Then, section three describes how the case study of a global Japanese pharmaceutical company helps validate that framework using a Boolean approach and content analysis. Section four is a discussion of the study's findings and section five concludes the research.\nTheoretical framework and research hypotheses: Theoretical framework\nCase study: Methodology, sample selection and data collection\nDiscussion: Corporate management and knowledge management\nConclusion: This framework linking organizational characteristics to KM initiatives has received a first justification using a case-study approach and a qualitative comparative method. One limitation resides in the assessment of the office's organizational profile since the variables describing each organizational characteristic, as well as the outcomes obtained for each combination, were selected by the researcher; other scholars or practitioners could have legitimately chosen other conditions or outcomes and conceivably reached another conclusion. However, as management is not a science consisting of axioms and constants, the variables chosen to describe the organizational profile are valid as long as they are rationally substantiated.Nevertheless, the findings of this research can already be useful to practitioners so as to realize that KM should be integrated into the elementary business processes rather than be voluntary, optimize the organizational features of sub-teams and obtain the desired output serving the corporate strategy. However, changes to the concerned organizational characteristics may not be realized at once since they deal both with the firm's management or production and its culture or human actors.Last, in order to conclusively validate the causal link between the firm's features and KM, a quantitative analysis using larger data sets drawn from questionnaires is needed. Subsequently, future research will focus on investigating a more general application of the framework using a variable-oriented approach. Also, as differences emerged in the regional branches of a same company, another avenue for research may consider whether national culture has a unifying influence over organizational characteristics and KM attributes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The use of knowledge in organizations is largely a discretionary behavior that can be encouraged but not demanded. As such, the firm can only attempt to provide the right conditions for employees to endorse the role of knowledge workers. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the organization of the firm affects knowledge management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This research proposes a new framework showing the prescriptive role of organizational characteristics onto knowledge management (KM) initiatives. Based on this framework, data were generated from nine semi-structured interviews conducted in the American, British and Japanese offices of a major Japanese pharmaceutical company, using a Boolean approach and qualitative content analysis.\nFindings: - Organizational characteristics, specifically - structure, membership, relationship, and strategy affect KM, namely - knowledge acquisition, storage, diffusion, and application respectively.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Even though the departments of each local office under study were matched in terms of activity, the size of their own domestic market made comparisons sometimes challenging.\nPractical implications: - This research suggests that practitioners can increase the yield of KM when integrated upstream into the elementary business processes rather than when left voluntary.\nOriginality/value: - This paper uncovers a possible link between the firm's organizational characteristics and KM, and the new practical framework can be useful to both scholars and practitioners.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
ERP user satisfaction issues: insights from a Greek industrial giant	[ "Manufacturing resource planning", "User studies", "Greece" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: While complexity is a major characteristic in all functions and elements of business environment there is no doubt that information should be systematically managed to minimize environmental uncertainty and to maximize profits. Information is a valuable source for enterprises. Using all the available information from their external and internal operational environment they are able to adapt strategies, to avoid threats, to utilize opportunities, to change decisions, and to manage effectively all their core and supportive operations. Advances in technology are triggering the interest of companies to consider the management of information more essentially through an information system (IS) acquisition.ISs are technology-based innovations that are created and used by individuals, organizations, and societies (Allen, 2000). Over the last three decades, computer-based IS have been developed in unique and special ways. This fact induced changes in organizations' structures, strategies, and decision-making processes (Mukherji, 2002). The importance of IS, in assisting enterprises to realize their objectives, has been early stressed by authors during the last quarter of the twentieth century. In specific, it is claimed in the literature that their benefits vary from simple operational contributions such as promoting sourcing flexibility (McFarlan, 1984), changing decision-making authorities and modifying the hierarchical structure (Gurbaxani and Whang, 1991), to advanced strategic contributions such as becoming the main competitive advantage (Porter and Millar, 1985).In recent years the research interest has focused on enterprise systems (ES), a subcategory of IS. According to Shang and Seddon (2002) ES are large-scale organizational systems built around packaged enterprise system software. Enterprise system software (ESS) is a set of packaged application software modules with an integrated architecture, which can be used by organizations as their primary engine for integrating data, processes and information technology, in real time, across internal and external value chains. Some of the substantial outcomes that emerge when companies implement and operate ES are increased productivity and added value (Davenport, 1998), excessive operational performance (McAfee, 2002), integration and process optimization (Davenport et al., 2004), increased firm's market value (Meng and Lee, 2007), and noticeable financial performance (Hendricks et al., 2007).Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have the leading role, among all other ES, in companies' preference and this is evident from the profile of the ERP market industry. According to AMR Research (see AMR data available at: www.amrresearch.com) the market for ERP software in 2004 was $23.6 billion, in 2005 was $25.4 billion, and in 2006 was $28.8 billion. Fueled by globalization, midmarket growth and other factors, the market for ERP software will reach $47.7 billion by 2011, a compound annual growth rate of almost 11 percent (Woodie, 2005; Franke, 2007). From the first software solutions, in the 1960s, which had the form of material requirements planning until recently, where on-demand delivery of ERP software is the vendors' last innovation, the ERP market has experienced an overall flourishing route despite some disruptions (Violino, 2008).Apparently, ERP systems attracted attention within the IS field once large and especially US-based corporations begun to install them (Klaus et al., 2000). The perpetual popularity of ERP systems in the marketplace generated the interest of academics and practitioners to explore in depth all the organizational aspects that have an impact on them. The vast body of literature related to ERP systems might be characterized as falling into five groups.First, there is a body literature aiming to reveal the benefits arisen from ERP systems' implementation (Velcu, 2007; Kayas et al., 2008). Second, there is a growing amount of research (Ehie and Madsen, 2005; Ngai et al., 2008) that investigates the critical success factors that assure the effective implementation of ERP systems. A third area of the literature examines the obstacles and the sources of failure in ERP implementation projects (Al-Mashari and Al-Mudimigh, 2003; Kim et al., 2005). A fourth branch (Stefanou, 2001; Skok and Legge, 2002) analyzes the metrics and frameworks that enable companies to evaluate their ERP systems and projects. Finally, a corpus of literature studies the perspectives, the perceptions, and the behavioral expressions of the main participants and stakeholders (management staff, ERP users, ERP vendors) in an ERP project (Amoako-Gyampah, 2004; Ifinedo, 2007).This paper falls in the last area of research, focusing further on the issues related to ERP users' satisfaction. It is motivated by the semantic impact of ERP user's satisfaction in the success of an ERP project. In particular, the primary focus of the paper is to identify those factors affecting the satisfaction level of ERP users and the corresponding human resource strategies necessary to effectively manage these factors.The rest of the paper is structured in five sections. The Section 2 discusses the body of literature related to: the importance of users' satisfaction in ERP system success and IS user satisfaction definition and measurement. Section 3 presents the research methodology employed in this study. Section 4 illustrates the results of the research and section five discusses the main findings. The paper concludes with the managerial implications arisen from this study, its limitations and some further research directions.\n2 Review of the literature: 2.1 The importance of users' satisfaction in ERP system success\n3 Research methodology: 3.1 Research method\n4 Results: 4.1 Respondents profile\n5 Discussion of the results: Findings from this study indicate that three factors constitute the level of ERP users' satisfaction. These factors are \"Interaction with IT department,\" \"Pre-implementation processes,\" and \"ERP product and adaptability.\" Furthermore, these results are consistent with the findings from previous studies (Somers et al., 2003; Calisir and Calisir, 2004; Zviran et al., 2005; Holsapple et al., 2006; Wu and Wang, 2006, 2007) showing that more than one factors constitute and significantly affect ERP users' satisfaction.\"Interaction with IT department\" is the factor which explains most of variance in ERP users' satisfaction. In most organizations IT department is responsible for the effective operation of the ERP system. It must be staffed with employees that have deep knowledge of the ERP system in order to solve every problem faced by the user and to enable users to understand the potential benefits gained through the use of ERP system. When a user is confident that every problem that he faces or might face has a lot of changes to be solved, by IT department staff, is more satisfied with ERP system and he use it more intensively. This fact is more important when ERP comes to substitute other old IS, usually referred to as \"legacy systems,\" with which users were familiar to and loyal with. Support, commitment, authority, and direction from top management are necessary in ensuring overall success with the ERP system (Ifinedo, 2008). IT department should exhibit an extroversive behavior by motivating ERP users to communicate with its staff, to receive users' opinions for improving both the process of data entry and the data output. Some initiations in this direction are:* a continuously available phone call technical support service where users could request instructions, guidance, and solutions from IT department staff, regarding all issues related to ERP users' job;* an online forum administrated by IT department with restricted access only to ERP users where they can post their comments about ERP system, discuss their problems, and share their best practices; and* a newsletter service from IT department informing ERP users for all advances occurred and innovations intending to be incorporated in the ERP system.\"Pre-implementation processes\" is the second factor which contributes substantially in ERP users' satisfaction. During pre-implementation phase operational needs, business drivers, strategic plans, and other factors that define the scope and objective of the ERP system, are identified (Marnewick and Labuschagne, 2005). ERP users should have a leading role in this phase because they are the ones that will use this system more than anyone else in the organization and also they will be the basic receivers of ERP service. When users are involved in IS development, they tend to be more satisfied with the system. In fact, adequacy of training provided to users is the most semantic form of user involvement (Amoako-Gyampah and White, 1993). Training should include information about their new roles and responsibilities, the business objectives of the new system and the projected benefit to the company (Marnewick and Labuschagne, 2005). If training does not cover why each task is important and how every transaction is part of a larger process, then the users are less likely to use the system correctly or consistently (Fister Gale, 2002). This training strategy, where users understand the importance of their job in realizing company objectives, increases commitment to their work and satisfaction with the ERP system. Having capable and innovative users who are well-educated, experienced, responsible, and knowledgeable will have a positive effect on the adoption of an ERP system, as these users will not resist using the system at first sight (Basoglou et al., 2007). Organizations should provide a customized training and education program that provides users with tools and practical experience needed to integrate new processes, roles and responsibilities (Ngai et al., 2008). Some initiations in this direction are:* customized training courses based on individual user's needs, skills and competencies;* recognition and rewarding of users' participation in training processes; and* innovative e-learning techniques like computer-based training, web-based virtual classrooms, and DVD training applications enabling users to receive training on demand.\"ERP product and adaptability\" is the third factor determining ERP users' satisfaction. The ERP system fulfils ERP users' expectations and further contributes to their satisfaction when it operates continuously without interruptions and delays, provides accurate, and precise information through a user friendly format and a convenient interface, adopts easily changes related to processes and policies, and communicates with other IS. In a liquid business environment where changes occur very rapidly the issue of adaptability is a main concern. Changes in direct and indirect taxes, changes in depreciation rates and methods, changes in exchange rates, adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, and a number of other industry and country specific changes should be easily adopted in the system.A last issue that emerges from the analysis is the different level of satisfaction among ERP users from different departments. In specific, ERP users from \"network\" department, which is the technical department of the organization, are less satisfied than ERP users from the other two departments, namely: \"sales\" and \"supportive.\" The quality of information that users receive is an explanation for this difference. Users from \"sales\" and \"supportive\" departments interact with customers and need precise and useful information to respond immediately to customers' requests whether these are for a new service contract or for a poor service complaint. For them ERP is the main assisting tool for their job. On the other hand, users from \"network\" department are not depended so much on ERP information. Their main job is to design and control the network and this is done with specialized engineering systems such as \"AutoCAD.\" Moreover, this difference could also be attributed to a department's micro culture where a leader may strongly motivate and inspire ERP users. Job rotation is the most appropriate human resource strategy in order to share this culture and the related best practices within all departments.\n6 Conclusion, limitations, and further directions: ERP systems are dynamic IS that continuously integrate information into a main database from different departments, at different sites, in different ways. However, these systems are very expensive and require major organizational changes. Companies that aim to gain a respectable return from this huge capital investment should consider all factors that may have a direct effect on these systems success and therefore minimize the risks associated with this particular investment. ERP users' satisfaction is a surrogate measure of ERP success (Wu and Wang, 2006), and as such its extensive investigation is necessary.This case study provides insights for enterprises and managers who run ERP projects or intent to acquire an ERP system, about the major factors determining ERP users' satisfaction and consequently contributing to an ERP system's success. Effective management of these three factors, namely: \"Interaction with IT department\", \"Pre-implementation processes,\" and \"ERP product and adaptability,\" will assist companies to avoid implementation pitfalls and gain the potential benefits of ERP systems operation. More specific, from a managerial standpoint, the results of this study can inform managers about the multidimensional feature of ERP users' satisfaction and assist them to develop appropriate intervention practices and processes aiming to increase their users' satisfaction during and after the implementation process. Managers may choose to follow the human resource strategies presented in this paper. Additionally, managers could periodically evaluate the three aforementioned satisfaction factors, benchmark the results with the expected satisfaction levels and diagnose which factors are problematic and need further consideration.As with any study, this research has a potential limitation. Since the research was conducted in one organization, with a unique organizational culture and some special characteristics, the results might not hold true in other organizations and environments. A similar study examining the same subject in a broad and diverse sample of Greek companies could serve to further extend and enhance these findings in the Greek industry.Also, longitudinal data gathered after a satisfactory time frame from the same company, by surveying the same respondents, will reveal whether satisfaction level has changed and which factors, if any, contributed to this change. Furthermore, it would be interesting to explore, through an empirical research, possible differences in ERP user satisfaction among companies with different organizational profiles such as industry type, annual turnover, and annual IT investment or among companies with different ERP project characteristics such us, ERP system vendor, existence of ERP evaluation metrics, and successful ERP implementation. Finally, an analogous multi-country survey will enable to assess the influence of cultural factors on ERP user satisfaction.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are sophisticated information technologies (ITs) that enable companies to gain noticeable advantages over their rivals. However, these systems are neither a panacea to competition, nor a medium guaranteeing success. Neglecting a number of important factors in ERP systems implementation might very easily lead to failure instead of success. User satisfaction issues are among those factors that have a semantic impact on ERP systems' success. In this direction, this paper aims to examine the key factors that constitute ERP users' satisfaction and to explore whether ERP users' satisfaction varies among different users' profiles.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - An instrument is constructed based mainly on previous ERP users' satisfaction studies. The instrument is then provided to a sample of 68 users within a Greek energy supply organization and also a personal interview is conducted with the chief information officer. Exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression analysis, and statistical inference tests are employed in order to test the research hypotheses.\nFindings: - The results indicate that three main components affect the level of satisfaction of an ERP user: \"interaction with the IT department,\" \"pre-implementation processes,\" and \"ERP product and adaptability.\" Furthermore, a different satisfaction level has been traced among users from different departments.\nOriginality/value: - This paper presents substantive evidence regarding ERP user satisfaction constituents and further suggests appropriate practices to better manage various behavioral aspects of ERP systems.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Achieving growth-quality of work life ambidexterity in small firms	[ "Self-efficacy", "Quality of work life", "Ambidexterity", "Small service firms" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For small firms, business success is largely dictated by the owner. It is the owner who decides whether to grow the business or whether to maintain the status quo. Indeed, a key characteristic of small firms is the omnipresence of the owner (Hill, 2001). Business success is therefore a subjective concept, based on the owner's perception of what it means to be successful (Simpson et al., 2004). Owners may perceive success differently and can regard themselves as successful even though their success may be evaluated otherwise from an external perspective. The literature has traditionally defined success in terms of financial indicators such as growth, profit, or turnover (Davidsson et al., 2009; O'Cass and Sok, 2013). While achieving financial goals such as business growth is critical for many owners, empirical findings in the literature suggest that core motivations encompass not only financial goals but also non-financial goals (Dunkelberg et al., 2013) such as quality of work life (Lee and Sirgy, 2004).\nTheoretical framework: We begin by discussing and reviewing the literature relating to organizational ambidexterity and capabilities theory as the theoretical framework before presenting our hypothesis on the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and passion for work (Figure 1). We then present the empirical research results, followed by a discussion of the findings, limitations, and directions for future research.\nResearch method: Research setting\nDiscussion: Drawing on the ambidexterity and capabilities as the basis to develop our theoretical platform, we examined the mediation effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and passion for work on the relationship between marketing capabilities and growth-quality of work life ambidexterity. Our focus on small service firms is significant given the sector's global importance. This focus is aligned with transformative service research (TSR) in that it seeks to understand changes and improvements in well-being (Ostrom et al., 2010). TSR is salient in the context of owners of small service firms given the potential impact of marketing capabilities in shaping the growth-quality of work life ambidexterity. The majority of small business research focuses on performance as a unidimensional construct such as growth (O'Cass and Sok, 2013). While such an approach holds merit, it fails to fully address the point raised by Reijonen and Komppula (2007) that the success of small firms is determined by not only economic but also non-economic factors. Examining dual outcomes becomes even more important when considering the high percentage of business terminations. For example, over 75 per cent of young firms and 60 per cent of nascent firms terminate without financial loss (DIISRT, 2012) thus underscoring the crucial role that non-financial outcomes may have in determining small firm survival. Hence, our approach to conceptualize and operationalize growth-quality of work life ambidexterity as a dependent variable representing firm performance provides a more detailed and practical understanding of this phenomenon.\nLimitations and research direction: This research provides new insights into how small service firms can achieve growth-quality of work life ambidexterity. Nonetheless, a number of limitations, mainly related to methodology are acknowledged and suggestions for future research are offered. Limitations associated with the use of the self-report performance measures are acknowledged. Even though we carefully constructed our measures to account for this issue, future research may seek objective performance indicators to test the robustness of our findings. Importantly, support for the use of self-report measures in the business literature (Cummings et al., 1989; Heneman, 1974), recognition of the value of behavioural variables such as share-of-wallet (Keiningham and Perkins-Munn, 2003), and support for the predictive validity of single item measures (Bergkvist and Rossiter, 2007) together argue for the viability of our measures. Moreover, the investigated relationships depend on the context and the measured perceptions reflect a single point in time, which makes this study no different from other studies that use a cross-sectional design (e.g. Gwinner et al., 1998; Odekerken-Schroder et al., 2003). However, future research could focus on collecting longitudinal panel data to examine how growth-quality of work life ambidexterity unfolds over time.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the individual mechanisms that mediate the relationship between marketing practices and growth-quality of work life ambidexterity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from small service firms via an online survey questionnaire electronically distributed to 7,271 owners of small firms in Australia. Partial least squares was used to test our mediation hypotheses on the data obtained.\nFindings: The authors demonstrate the mediation effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and passion for work in enhancing the relationship between marketing practices and growth-quality of work life ambidexterity.\nPractical implications: The findings indicate that being good at marketing does not always lead directly to achieving growth-quality of work life ambidexterity. The results suggest that achievement in both domains requires owners of small service firms to have a strong self-belief that they can perform their job successfully (entrepreneurial self-efficacy) as well as a strong passion to do the job they are doing (passion for work). Policy makers or small firm advisors can include this information to develop enactive mastery measures to promote efficacy and passion for work which can increase small firm survival rates.\nOriginality/value: The high percentage of business terminations reported without financial loss underscores the importance of including both financial and non-financial goals for small firms. The approach to conceptualize and operationalize growth-quality of work life ambidexterity as a dependent variable representing firm performance assists by providing a more detailed and practical understanding of the organizational and individual variables that enable small firms to realize both.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Why would whistleblowers dare to reveal wrongdoings? An ethical challenge and dilemma for organisations	[ "Whistleblowing", "Attitude", "Intention", "Whistleblower", "Corruption crime", "Wrongdoing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This research is based on the dilemma experienced by insiders when confronted with the option of voice or silence upon discovering acts of corruption, fraud or other violations at the workplace. This is an interesting issue, considering that although whistleblowing has been regarded as a common incidence that has even become a long developing mainstream social phenomenon in the USA (Mesmer-Magnus and Viswesvaran, 2005), it remains to be a concept difficult to construe (Adler and Daniels, 1992). This argument is strengthened by the findings of Davis (1996), who analysed arguments of previous researchers and found that there is a \"paradox\" or inconsistency in existing theories regarding their explanations on the reality of whistleblowing cases and the dilemma experienced by whistleblowers.\nResearch methodology: This research uses the exploratory qualitative approach and applies a multi-case study (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998, p. 62) as a method in exploring and presenting the realities of whistleblowing cases, which serve as the unit of analysis in this research. This method treats each whistleblowing case and ethical dilemma experienced by every whistleblower as a unique case orientation (Patton, 2002). The data collection was accomplished through in-depth interviews of whistleblowers and other supporting informants who understand the substance and chronological order of the cases analysed. The data collection also involved combining the strategies of literature study and searching the documents and regulations pertaining to whistleblowing in Indonesia.\nWhistleblowing: a behaviour oriented toward and based on ethics: Whistleblowing is an organisational behaviour saturated with ethical issues. Specifically, the act of whistleblowing is oriented toward and based on the values of honesty, openness, protection of public interest and rejection of deviations from rules and codes of ethics. From an ethical perspective, every whistleblowing act contains a clash of values raging within each whistleblower. Such a condition compels whistleblowers to face a number of dilemmatic choices between prioritising self-integrity and loyalty as an organisational member or protecting a broader public interest. This dilemmatic condition asserts that whistleblowing is a behaviour immersed in issues of morality or ethics.\nIntention of whistleblowing: actualisation of a whistleblower's attitude: Based on the results of the exploration of the five whistleblowing cases, it can be concluded that the act of whistleblowing is an organisational behaviour oriented toward and based on ethics. A whistleblower must be prepared to confront varying degrees of resistance and opposition as a consequence of his bravery. Such response of animosity may be demonstrated by the wrongdoer, as in some of the cases, it has been observed that colleagues within the same organisation show hostility as well. This state of irony leads many organisational members to lack courage in becoming a whistleblower, despite possessing strong evidence pertaining to an occurring case of organisational malpractice. A \"strong will\" within an \"aspiring\" whistleblower is, therefore, a necessity for an individual to muster up the courage to voice one's concern. Such strong will is commonly referred to as \"intention\".\nFactors influencing the formation of a whistleblower's attitude and the courage of voice: Based on the exploration results of the five whistleblowing cases, several internal factors forming the attitude of whistleblowers toward the fraudulent acts committed by wrongdoers were identified. The first factor is the self-integrity. This factor serves as the foundation of a whistleblower's behaviour, and is oriented toward and based on ethics. There is, however, an \"anomaly\" found in terms of integrity in the case experienced by VAS. Initially, VAS was motivated to become a whistleblower because of his distress was brought about by the company owner's rejection of the apology offered by VAS regarding the allegation of embezzlement.\nDecision of voice within the perspective of exit, voice and loyalty: Based on the perspective of organisational loyalty theory (exit, voice and loyalty-Hirschman), the five whistleblowers had chosen voice as their form of discontent in relation to the internal organisational malpractices occurring within their respective organisations. The act of whistleblowing initiated by the whistleblowers was an actualisation of a prosocial action meant to provide assistance to the organisation and to defend the interest of the wider public. According to Hirschman (1970), voice is an option selected by organisational members to participate in improving or enhancing relations through communication by means of expressing complaints or suggestions of change.\nDilemmatic facts of whistleblowing cases in Indonesia: The decision of voice has its ensuing consequences on the whistleblowers. This is because the moral standing of the organisation as a collective is unpredictable to aspiring whistleblowers and also because of the state's \"absence\" in providing sufficient legal protection for whistleblowers in Indonesia. The findings of the study on the five whistleblowing cases have proven the prevalence of such a dilemmatic condition, as summarised in Table I below.\nConclusion: The whistleblower's attitude is a dominant element affecting his/her whistleblowing intention or act. This has been proven by the existing fact showing that although there is a situation of nonconductive perceived norms (prevailing social pressure from other organisational members) and insufficient control, the firm attitude of whistleblowers demonstrating concern and opposition against ongoing fraudulent acts can trigger the formation of one's intention to become a whistleblower.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to attempt to address basic empirical and theoretical queries on why and how insiders have the courage to voice their concerns and reveal corruption on corruption-related crimes that have been committed in Indonesia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This exploratory research uses the qualitative method and uses a multi-case study in exploring the reality of whistleblowing cases in Indonesia by treating each case with a unique case orientation. Data were acquired through in-depth interviews conducted with whistleblowers and other supporting informants.\nFindings: By analysing the rationalisation of an insider's courage in revealing the corruption act, this study finds out that the act of whistleblowing is driven by the intention developed in the whistleblower's attitude to defy the actions of wrongdoers. Such an attitude can invoke courage in whistleblowers despite the perceived norms and control that are internally prevalent in the organisation being non-conducive to such acts.\nPractical implications: The findings in this paper are expected to guide the government in drafting a policy creating a more effective whistleblowing system that protects whistleblowers.\nOriginality/value: This study endeavours to fill the existing gap in mainstream research regarding corruption-related crimes in Indonesia that, to date, focusses more on aspects relating to the perpetrators of corruption. This research, conversely, approaches the subject matter from the perspective of whistleblowers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The training demand in organizational changes processes in the Spanish wine sector	[ "Training", "Organisational change", "Learning organisation", "Rioja wine sector", "Training demand" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: New technology, globalisation, and changing markets have compelled the labour market, and employers not only to look for people who possess specialised knowledge and skills but also for those who are capable of adapting to changing situations (Boahin and Hofman, 2014). In today's organisations, training is considered to be a part of the strategy that creates competitive advantage, and, thus, training becomes an important means of learning in organisations (Ashish, 2009; Gil, 2011; Laine and Gegenfurtner, 2013). Likewise, learning has been observed to be a tool that facilitates organisational change (Oliver and Jacobs, 2007; Yeo, 2009), in that it stimulates changes to an organisation's behaviour and action plans (Denton, 1998). Training, as a means of learning, takes on a crucial role in change processes (Ford, 2009; Heilmann, 2007; Jacobs, 2002; Kappelman and Richards, 1996; Lawes, 1996), as it instills effective change in organisations (Antonacopoulou, 2001a; Scheeres and Rhodes, 2006).\nThe training in the current organisational contexts: Nowadays, to survive in a highly competitive global economy which holds knowledge to be a basis for business (Chen et al., 2013; Lee and Hong, 2002), organisations must tackle complexities while also responding swiftly to rapid changes in production. The key to competitiveness is no longer financial capital but, rather, people, with their intellectual capital and capacity for innovation (Denford and Chan, 2011). It is in this highly volatile economy that continuous training is increasingly viewed as a tool at the service of employees and organisations. Training is one of the most important and reliable human resource tools for improving the productivity of employees and organisations as a whole (Bhatti and Kaur, 2010; Brinia and Pefanis, 2013). Companies increasingly invest in intelligence because, although investments in human resources are of the most complex and demanding types of investments, they are also the most profitable (Gil and Lazaro, 2009).\nTraining and organisational change: To keep pace with a permanently changing work environment, organisations are investing in human resource development. The changes include technical progress, increasing competition and obsolescence of knowledge related to work. Thus, it is important for organisations facing global competition to continuously enhance employees' knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes (Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2010). Training will play a critical role in increasing workers' adaptability and flexibility, as has been found by employers when implementing change. It is, therefore, important for an organisation to maintain, and increase, necessary levels of competence in its employees through adequate training (Tai, 2006).\nMethods: Data collecting and sampling\nResults: A binary logistic regression analysis was utilised to test the hypotheses (Hernandez et al., 2009). Demand for continuing training was presented as a dependent variable for the Rioja winery sector, and the changes these companies carried out at the time the study was conducted are considered as independent or predictive variables. This analysis, first, allows us to verify any significant relationship between change and training demands, as pointed out in the literature; and, second, indicates levels of prediction between both variable types. Bivariate analysis is able to determine the existence of any relationship between the categorical variable \"organisational changes\" and the categorical variable \"demand training courses\". In this way, we know how the dichotomist dependent variable (the firm demands a specific training content or does not demand a specific training content) correlates with the different categories of the dichotomist independent variable (the company conducts the process of change or does not conduct the process of change). Thus, it may contrast the proposed hypotheses. We also wanted to assess the explanatory capacity of the model; in other words, to what extent making changes in wineries explains the demand for specific training to facilitate such changes. These results add depth to the importance of training as a means of change and as a strategy of deliberate action.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Over the past few decades, changes to the way in which work is carried out has become a major challenge for many organisations. Process changes, technological changes, structural changes and procedural changes are but a few examples (Edgelow, 2011). Change results from technological progress, increased competition and the fact that work-related knowledge is quickly outdated. It is, therefore, necessary for organisations faced with global competition to continuously advance the knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes of their employees (Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2010). In this continually changing work environment, organisations invest considerable sums in developing human resources.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of training demand in the organisational changes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper describes the demand of training courses in the Rioja wine sector in Spain and its relation with the changes in the sector carried out in recent years. Through a questionnaire, wineries' managers asked about the training demand in the sector and change processes. It is proposed, first, the relationship between the demand for training and changes made by companies of Rioja wine in entering new markets and innovation in products and, second, that these changes explain the demand of training in marketing and oenology topics. To confirm the hypotheses, a binary logistic regression analysis was performed.\nFindings: It was found that the relationship between the demand for training and the processes of change, and that the change processes in companies of Rioja wine sector originate a specific demand for training.\nPractical implications: The paper provides a review of the importance of training in changes processes of companies. A critical factor in the change process is the development of workers competencies to cope with the changes in the organisation, but it is also important to develop a culture of change in the organisation.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides empirical evidence of the relationship between organisational changes and training demands in a key sector from the Rioja Community in Spain.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
What drives hiring discrimination against transgenders?	[ "Hiring", "Mediation analysis", "Scenario experiment", "Statistical discrimination", "Taste-based discrimination", "Transgender women" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Survey research conducted in Belgium, the UK and the USA shows that substantial numbers of transgender individuals perceive discrimination as a struggle for their labour market career. More concretely, they feel unfavourable treated in terms of hiring chances (Badgett et al., 2007; FRA, 2014; Grant et al., 2011; James et al., 2016; Motmans et al., 2009; Valfort, 2017) as well as wage outcomes (Schilt and Wiswall, 2008; Valfort, 2017), promotion opportunities (Badgett et al., 2007; Grant et al., 2011; James et al., 2016; Motmans et al., 2009) and dismissal decisions (Badgett et al., 2007; Budge et al., 2010; Grant et al., 2011; James et al., 2016; Motmans et al., 2009; Schilt and Wiswall, 2008). Moreover, this self-reported unfavourable treatment seems to be of a larger extent than similar forms of discrimination against sexual minorities (gay men and lesbian women in particular). Interestingly, the reported levels of self-reported unfavourable treatment are higher among transgender women, on which we will focus in this study, than among transgender men (Grant et al., 2011)[1].\n2. Data: 2.1 Participant selection\n3. Results: In this section, we analyse our data to investigate the empirical importance of taste-based discrimination (employer discrimination, employee discrimination and customer discrimination) and statistical discrimination (prejudices with respect to autonomy, assertiveness, maternity leave, and health) in explaining (\"mediating\") the employment opportunities of the transgender candidates in our experiment. A significant mediation role (or \"mediation effect\") for the candidate evaluations related to these mechanisms (\"mediators\") is conditional on two things. First, candidates' transgender identity should affect the mediators. Second, these mediators should affect the interview probability and/or hiring probability. In Section 3.1, we explore both conditions for each mediator separately. Then, in Section 3.2, we run a multiple mediation model in which the mediators and hiring decisions are explained jointly. This allows us to identify the independent importance of the mediation effects. Finally, in Section 3.3, we compare the relative treatment of the transgender and cisgender candidates in our experiment for various subsamples by the job filled and by the participant characteristics. This allows us to explore the moderating role of these characteristics.\n4. Conclusion: We presented a scenario experiment in which fictitious hiring decisions were made with respect to transgender or cisgender female job candidates. In addition, evaluations of these candidates related to dominant explanations in the literature for hiring discrimination against transgender individuals were shared. The participants to our experiment did not have a distaste to collaborate with transgender workers themselves but at the same time feared a similar distaste in respect of co-workers and customers. In addition, we provided suggestive evidence for health-related stigma of transgender women. On the other hand, the participants to our experiment had prejudices in favour of transgender candidates: they were perceived as more autonomous and assertive and less likely to be on maternity leave in the short or medium run. When modelling these perceptions as competing mediators for the fictitious hiring decisions made, we found that two explanations were dominant, i.e. the negative health-related prejudices and the positive perception of transgender women's autonomy and assertiveness. From a policy perspective, these results indicate that transgender individuals have every interest in including information signalling their good health (e.g. by means of mentioning their sports activities) into their job applications.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms underlying hiring discrimination against transgender women.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors conduct a scenario experiment in which fictitious hiring decisions are made about transgender or cisgender female job candidates. In addition, these candidates are scored on statements related to theoretical reasons for hiring discrimination given in the literature. The resulting data are analysed by means of a multiple mediation model.\nFindings: The results suggest that prejudices with respect to the health of transgender individuals mediate unfavourable treatment of them. However, this mechanism is compensated by a beneficial perception concerning transgender women's autonomy and assertiveness.\nSocial implications: Targeted policy measures are needed given the substantial labour market discrimination against transgender individuals measured in former studies. However, to combat this discrimination effectively, one needs to understand its underlying mechanisms. This study provides a first exploration of these mechanisms.\nOriginality/value: This study innovates in being the first to explore the relative empirical importance of dominant (theoretical) explanations for hiring discrimination against transgender women. Thereby, the authors take the logical next step in the literature on labour market discrimination against transgender individuals.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Attributions of service quality: immigrant customers' perspective	[ "Culture", "Immigration", "Social identity theory", "Attribution", "Intercultural service encounter", "Similarity-attraction paradigm" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: According to the United Nations (2016), about 244 million people live outside their country of birth. In 2015, 52.8 million people lived in an EU state rather than the country of their birth, representing 10.4 per cent of the total European population. These trends imply substantial increases in intercultural service encounters, in which \"the service provider and the customer involved belong to different cultures\" (Stauss and Mang, 1999, p. 331). In such encounters, diverging role expectations and service perceptions may arise because of the different cultural backgrounds of the service actors (Hopkins et al., 2005). Any mismatch in the roles or scripts possessed by customers and by service employees increases the risk of conflicts and misunderstandings in service encounters, and thus, there is the risk of service failures, which may result in dissatisfied customers, unhappy service employees, and lowered profits (Tam et al., 2014). Immigrants also represent a major, economically relevant customer group, with increasing numbers and purchasing power (Gentry et al., 1995), such as an estimated EUR25bn market for Austria (Horizont, 2015). Nevertheless, research involving immigrant customers in intercultural service encounters is scarce. Against this background, this research investigates the influence of cultural (mis)matches between service employees and immigrant customers on the latter's satisfaction with the service encounter.\n2. Theoretical background: Social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979; Turner and Tajfel, 1982) and the similarity-attraction paradigm (Byrne, 1971) suggest that a cultural match between an immigrant customer and service employee should result in higher satisfaction with a service encounter. According to social identity theory, people categorize themselves into ingroups and outgroups (e.g. based on their cultural background) and define their social identity according to their membership in a group (Tajfel and Turner, 1979; Turner and Tajfel, 1982). People prefer ingroup members at the expense of outgroup members and appreciate members of the ingroup more, such that they evaluate and reward them more (Tajfel et al., 1971). When customers identify a service employee as belonging to the same ethnic group, they feel more comfortable in the interaction and exhibit greater understanding, favoritism and tolerance toward that service employee (Sharma et al., 2009). The similarity-attraction paradigm in turn posits that people prefer others who appear similar, rather than dissimilar, to themselves (Byrne, 1971). Similarity, such as ethnic similarity, enhances liking and attitudes and eases information exchanges (Dellande et al., 2004). If customers and service employees are more similar, the interaction is easier and less cognitively challenging, and both the actors feel more comfortable (Smith, 1998).\n3. Study design: 3.1 Sample, stimuli and procedure\n4. Results: The test the effect of the service employee's cultural background match/mismatch on the immigrant customer's satisfaction with the service in two service delivery outcome conditions (positive or negative) relied on PROCESS (Model 7), with bias-corrected 95 per cent confidence intervals (CI) of the indirect effects with 5,000 bootstrap resamples (Hayes, 2013). The analysis produced a non-significant, direct effect of service employee cultural (mis)match on satisfaction with the service (coefficient estimate = -0.0685, CI = -0.4775 to 0.3406) but a significant moderated mediation index for both mediators, with coefficient estimates of 0.196 for the attribution of the service delivery outcome to the cultural background of the service employee and 0.223 for the attribution of the service delivery outcome to the performance of the service employee (CI = 0.867 to 1.595 and -0.6889 to -0.0187, respectively). Therefore, the link between the service employee's cultural (mis)match and satisfaction with the service is not a direct relationship but rather is mediated by the two proposed attribution variables: culture and service employee performance. Furthermore, these mediating effects differ depending on the service delivery outcome. Overall, the model accounts for 67.6 per cent of variability in service satisfaction. These effects hold even after controlling for:\n5. Discussion: The aim of this study is to provide initial insights into the antecedents of immigrant customers' service satisfaction, with a specific focus on these customers' perspective. Immigrants are permanent members of the host countries' societies, and even if some acculturation takes place, underlying differences persist between them and native members of the host culture (Penaloza, 1994). These differences may exert strong influences on their service expectations and evaluations (Pires and Stanton, 2000). Considering the increasing migration processes taking place all over the world (UN 2016), investigating the role of these potential differences in terms of the acquisition and maintenance of this growing segment of immigrant customers seems warranted.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to investigate whether and how strongly cultural (mis)matches influence immigrant customers' satisfaction, as well as if this relationship is mediated by cultural or service employee performance attributions. In addition, the authors test whether attributions differ depending on the service delivery outcome (success vs failure).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The 2 (origin of service employee: Austria or Turkey) x 2 (service delivery outcome: success or failure) scenario-based experiment includes 120 Turkish immigrant customers in Austria.\nFindings: Contrary to previous research, the results indicate that in an immigrant customer context, cultural (mis)match does not influence customer satisfaction. The service delivery outcome is a boundary condition. With a positive service delivery outcome, immigrant customers attribute the results to the cultural background of the employee if it is the same as their own, but they attribute success to employees' performance if they belong to the immigration destination culture. For negative service delivery outcomes, neither cultural nor performance attributions arise.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first to focus specifically on immigrant customer behavior in a high-involvement service context. The results challenge the predictions of social identity theory and the similarity-attraction paradigm and highlight that the immigrant context is unique. In this context, attributions play a key role in determining customer satisfaction.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The case of OD in an NGO in India	[ "Non‐governmental organizations", "Business development", "Organizational effectiveness", "Labour efficiency", "Change management", "India" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Organization development (OD) work has largely been carried out in business or for profit organizations. Bargal and Schmid (1992) refer to the paucity of literature on consultation done in developmental organizations. OD in nonprofit organizations provides some unique challenges for the consultant that may not exist in business organizations (Ramos, 2007; Waysman and Savaya, 1997). Developmental organizations are thought to differ from for-profit organizations in a number of ways (Brown and Covey, 1987). Studies have shown that employees in developmental organizations seek greater autonomy and less organizational control in their work (Mirvis and Hackett, 1983). Since there is a need for flexibility and local discretion in the working of developmental organizations, they tend to be more informal and loosely organized than business organizations (Joseph, 2000; Lewis, 2003). Another often cited concern is the existence of high role ambiguity and lack of clarity about roles and procedures in such organizations (Goldman and Kahnweiler, 2000; McDonald, 1999). In his study of organizational change in a human service organization, Ramos (2007) discusses the poor communication across the various units/programs of the nonprofit. Given that values and ideology play a central role in developmental organizations (Brown and Covey, 1987; Edwards and Sen, 2000; Lewis, 2003; Tvedt, 2006), they are known to attract workers high in motivation, commitment and satisfaction (Bacchiega and Borzaga, 2001; Benz, 2005; Mirvis, 1992). Leadership also plays a critical role in shaping the ideology of these organizations and it has been noted (Markham et al., 2001) that developmental organizations tend to be dominated by a few and active number of leaders. Schnell (2005) points to the issue of moving beyond the leadership of an organizational founder and the challenges of rapid growth in his case study.The relevance of OD in developmental organizations have been cited variously as increasing the capacity of the social change agencies to cope with organizational problems (Brown et al., 2004), and enhancing the climate or operations of the non-profit agency (Ramos, 2007). Discussing the role of participatory action research in facilitating social change in an Asian developmental organization context, Brown (1993) argues for greater collective reflections of diverse constituencies and participants in order to address social change issues that are complex and loosely organized around various factors and institutions. Using action research and democratic theory to guide forced dialogue, Gustavsen and Engelstad (1986) discuss the role of conferences or workshops as a means to engage organizational participants in an encounter that permits them to experiment with new types of interpersonal processes and promote dialogue in organizational change projects. Speaking of the consultant's role, Ramos (2007) points that the organizational consultation process employed could include assessment, feedback, and action planning components. Korten (1980) discusses the three stages of the learning process for a development organization as learning to be effective, learning to be efficient, and learning to expand. Although the role of OD can cut across the three stages, it may be most suited for the second stage, when the organization starts growing and would require the consultant's help to mature as an organization.Given the paucity of research of OD in developmental organizations, this paper examines the case of OD in a prominent NGO in the state of Jharkand in India, where many of the challenges facing a developmental organization mentioned in the literature and some others, come alive. This was an exploratory study with an attempt to diagnose organizational issues in the NGO during a period of change and mirror back the results of the organizational diagnosis towards improving the working of the organization.\nAbout the organization: Adhikar[1] (which stands for human rights) is a mass-based organization in the state of Jharkand in India that started in 1985 with the aim of altering society's power base towards the poor and the marginalized. It has been working alongside socially marginalized communities with the intent to support organized action from within the community against any unjust distribution of wealth, resources or power. The founder, Mr Rajan Mishra, sought to espouse the ideal of self-determination through organizing people into unions and other collectives. The organization has grown from a few handful inspired by Mr Mishra during its early days to over 200 employees at the time of the intervention. Mr Mishra currently serves in a prominent position at the Center in the Government of India. He has chosen to dissociate himself from Adhikar so that it is seen as politically non-aligned.Scope of work of Adhikar\nMethodology of the study: The primary methodology of the study comprised:* Interviews. The process followed involved closed room interviews with each of the coordinators, usually lasting for 1-2 hours where the author first introduced herself and elaborated on the nature of her engagement and sought the views of those being interviewed regarding the organization, its culture, areas of concern, and any suggestions or other comments pertinent to the discussion. All the respondents were assured of the confidentiality of their responses.* Field visits. The author also visited the field in Ghatsila where she interacted with the field workers and the regional coordinator, Mr Dubey. During this visit, she sat in on one of the regional meetings, following which she had interviews with the field workers in small groups of four or five. This was done to understand the organization from the view of the fieldworkers and gain insight into its issues through their lens.* Memos and reports. The initial familiarization with the organization and its activities came through a study of the various reports and manuals published. These included annual reports, budget analysis reports of Arthik Siksha, newspaper clippings on Adhikar and other documents relating to the organization.* Observations. In addition to the interviews, the author also observed the non-verbal cues, pattern of interaction and nature of relationships among members during her visits to the Adhikar office and the field, which was indicative of the climate of the organization. These observations continued beyond the course of the interviews to the time when she was sitting in on some of the meetings of the coordinators and her informal interaction with organizational members.* Diagnostic presentation. Towards the end of the engagement, a session was held with all the coordinators present, where findings from the authors' engagement with the organization were presented to the members in a closed room group meeting. This served both as a mirroring (feedback) activity as well as a forum for initiating dialogue and communication across the various units and members of the organization.\nOrganizational entry - engagement with Adhikar: The engagement with Adhikar began when the first author contacted Ms Pia Mishra, who is the program director of Adhikar, and with whom she had worked previously in another capacity, to discuss the possibility of the intervention. Ms Mishra expressed interest and welcomed the engagement. A second meeting was arranged where both the authors met her again to explain the nature of the intended engagement and seek formal permission for the first author to enter the organization, conduct interviews and apply OD principles as and when required.\nMeeting with the coordinators: The author met each of the coordinators of Adhikar, starting with Ms Pia Mishra, who served as the point of contact throughout. Following this, she met with each of the coordinators in turn, to get their perspective on the organization. Most of the issues and concerns surfaced through these sessions. While most coordinators opened up freely to discuss their concerns, some like Ms Devi (the then Director of Adhikar) were less open and did not share much about their views on Adhikar and its functioning.Most coordinators had been with the organization since its inception. All of them echoed a strong sense of organizational identification and commitment. There was high regard for the founder Mr Mishra. His daughter, Pia (the authors' contact) has had to prove herself in the organization although she is professionally-qualified and has been actively working in the field. Interestingly, during the author's meetings with Ms Mishra, she never mentioned that she was the daughter of the founder. The author came to know this only during the course of her later interviews.\nDiagnosis: The issues that emerged were analyzed using Weisbord's six-box model (as cited in French and Bell, 2003), shown in Figure 3Each of the emergent issues is discussed in further detail below.Issues relating to structure\nDiagnostic presentation meeting: Based on the diagnosis and analysis of the issues, it was decided to have a mirroring (feedback) session with all the coordinators. Since one of the most important issues was the lack of coordination or communication between the coordinators, this meeting was also intended as a platform to initiate dialogue at the coordinator level. Around this time, a change that took place in the organization was the appointment of Ms Devi by the board of trustees as the Managing Trustee in place of Mr Mishra.The meeting was attended by five of the eight coordinators. In the beginning, the first author presented her findings (discussed earlier under issues). The slide explaining the differentiation by program and geography invited most comments, with organizational members unclear or divided in their interpretation of the structure. There was some ambiguity about the role of Ms Mishra too, with questions being asked if she was a coordinator or a region-in-charge. Although this line of discussion and debate didn't get resolved it pointed out to the group an area of concern.It was observed that there was an apparent reluctance on the part of the newly-elected Ms Devi, to acknowledge the issues presented. She engaged very little, and when she did, it was mostly to refute the existence of many of the issues even - though they were being openly played out before her eyes - such as the lack of clarity on structure or poor communication between the coordinators. Further, there was a visible divide between the coordinators, with seating arrangement also crystallizing this distinction. Ms Mishra and Ms Devi sat on one side of the room along with the authors and the other coordinators sat on the other side. This was also indicative of the power distance between the two groups.What was also interesting was the lack of involvement of some of the coordinators during the session. Though they had been very open and vociferous during the individual meetings, when their point-of -view was presented or negated by Ms Devi, they did not speak up. This could possibly be due to the fear of antagonizing the power centers in the organization or for fear of being labeled the dissident camp. It could also be a function of high power-distance (Hofstede, 1983) among Indians, resulting in a reluctance to be openly critical of superiors. Scollon and Scollon's (1981) observations on power-difference and distance in terms of other factors such as differing beliefs and assumptions hampering the communicative interaction are also relevant in understanding the reluctance to open up in the presence of power differentials existing within the group.Though the meeting could not resolve all of the issues, this session to some extent was successful in bringing the coordinators together and engaging them in a constructive discussion. For an organization where various groups had been operating in silos and where the coordinators had not sat down together in years beyond the annual meeting, this was a beginning. Due to the limited time available for the engagement it was left to the organization to follow up on the issues and findings. A report summarizing the findings and observations was provided to the management.\nLessons from the intervention: This intervention presented a novel opportunity for the first author to enter an organization of her choice and understand the issues involved and apply the learnings of OD to the field. Some of the personal learnings and reflections about the intervention are provided here.* Capturing data without appearing intrusive. In her initial meetings, the first author noticed that whenever she started taking notes the interviewees tended to be a bit reluctant to divulge information, especially if they were discussing sensitive issues. For her future interviews she chose to capture what transpired during the sessions after the interviews, refraining from taking notes so the interviewee was not inhibited in discussing sensitive issues. What she learned was that people tend to open up more easily if there are no visible forms of record-keeping which helps to build a comfortable non-intrusive atmosphere during the interviews. The potential use of a small recorder to capture data that interviewees may feel less threatened by as opposed to the overt note taking, could be explored in future interventions.* The need to be non-aligned to any camp. In one of her not too productive interviews, the author was made aware of how she may be viewed by the interviewees. Try as she might, she could not get one of the coordinators to open up. On reflection, it emerged that she had presented Ms Pia Mishra's point-of-view on more than one occasion during the meeting. As the coordinator was not too happy with Ms Mishra (something we figured later), he was being non-cooperative during the interview, possibly because he viewed the author as aligned to Ms Mishra's camp. This interview underlined the importance of appearing impartial in order to establish trust with the interviewee.* The role of interviewer's own biases. Before the author met with one of the coordinators, she had heard of him from the other interviewees and had formed a preconception of him as a trouble-maker. She started out being a little defensive; however, during the actual interview she was surprised to find him forthright and candid. The author had a sense that she had been unfair in judging him before the interview. This session forced her to examine the role of biases in the interviewer and the need to keep an open mind.* The importance of getting the leadership involved. During the time of the author's engagement with Adhikar, Mr Mishra was not actively involved in Adhikar's activities owing to his political involvement. A meeting with Mr Mishra could not be arranged due to his other commitments. Due to the peculiar circumstance of the organization being in a transition period with a change of leadership, the authors did not get an opportunity to fully engage with the top leader during the diagnosis. Even though important issues surfaced, the new leader was not ready to take them further with the authors at that juncture. The importance of the top leaders' buy-in for the success of any organization development initiative served an important lesson.\nConclusion: This paper is an attempt to address the gap in the literature regarding documented work in developmental organizations. Many of the issues and concerns addressed in this paper are not peculiar to non-profit organizations, but are germane to business organizations too. However, in developmental organizations members are driven towards serving the societal purpose passionately. The passion that provides the motivation could also blind people towards the importance of internal workings, such as structure or coordination mechanisms, in the long run. The role of an outside neutral observer such as the consultant becomes all the more valuable to introduce an element of rationality in the diagnosis of otherwise neglected issues.The organization studied proved to be an educative one where many of the issues faced by developmental organizations, as indicated in the literature and few others came to the fore. This intervention, although limited in scope to organizational diagnosis and mirroring, provided an ideal opportunity for engagement in a developmental organization. From the point of view of the first author's exposure to the field, it served as an invaluable experience both for the scope and the depth of issues covered. In addition, the intervention allowed for some very basic yet important lessons for the consultant that is relevant for any OD work.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to report an organizational development (OD) exercise carried out in a prominent non-governmental organization (NGO) that works in the area of rights and advocacy in India.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The exercise was part of the first author's graduate program, which required the application of behavioral science theory to a live organization under the supervision of her advisor, the second author. The organizational development exercise spread over four months, involved entering an organization, interacting with key participants and stakeholders of the organization both formally and informally, diagnosing issues facing the organization and a mirroring exercise with the management at the end of the intervention to provide feedback.\nFindings: - Some of the issues and improvement areas that emerged through the exercise are discussed in the paper. It also offers reflections on some of the key lessons learnt during the process of intervention, with implications for OD in developmental organizations.\nOriginality/value: - The paper offers insights into OD interventions in the developmental sector, posing a different set of challenges than conventional organizations, and also because the organization itself was in a state of flux at the time of the intervention.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Infrastructure and the experience of documents	[ "Databases", "Research methods", "Museums" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: While Library and Information Science (LIS) has a long history of asking what constitutes a document, it has less often asked how individuals experience documents. Otlet (1990), for example, argued that not only books but also films, photographs and microscope slides should be treated as documents (p. 197), and Briet (2006) similarly defines a document as \"any concrete or symbolic indexical sign, preserved or recorded toward the ends of representing, of reconstituting, or of proving a physical or intellectual phenomenon\" (p. 10). Such foundational discussions of documents tend to encourage ontological questions of what is and what is not. Following these guidelines, objects in museums are clear examples of documents, as they are intentionally organized and presented by curators and other museum staff in order to inform visitors. But what happens when individuals encounter these objects? How are they experienced? While theorists like Buckland (1991) have described the role of documents, or information-as-thing, in information systems, the experience of the user in such accounts remains rather thin. Beyond seeking information and becoming informed, the more nuanced experience of the user remains a question in relation to documents. As Latham (2014) points out, even studies of information behavior have focussed on documents in relation to some end goal, eliding a richer sense of documents as simply \"physical things that signify\" and failing to answer questions such as \"How does a person experience a document and why would we care?\" (p. 544).\nReception studies: Reception studies is a broad research area, largely affiliated with communication studies but with notable ties to literary studies as well. Researchers in this area ask what texts and other cultural objects mean to their recipients and what is done with them. While the majority of theories have argued that the answers to these questions are to be found in individual recipients, there are also theories that see the object itself as determining its reception, as well as those that look to the object's creator for indications of its meaning.\nInfrastructure as an approach to the experience of documents: At a basic level, infrastructures are systems composed of social and technical elements that transport material and information. They are standardized and repeatable. National highway systems share common elements, making them easier to design, construct and navigate; similarly, museums draw on common social organizations and technical configurations to produce exhibitions. Considered from this perspective, museums are systems that bind together objects (or documents), visitors (or users) and producers (or museum professionals). While Latham (2012) suggests that the user's perspective has been downplayed in discussions of documents, the above review suggests that it might also be productive to study the systems that process documents and make them available to users. The literature on infrastructure provides useful theories for doing this work of connecting systems with experience.\nMethods: The following section draws on over a year of ethnographic fieldwork at a cultural archive and exhibition space, referred to here as The Archive. The Archive is primarily known as a literary archive and rare books library, but it also has an active program of public exhibitions. These exhibitions, which cover a wide range of arts and cultural topics from the period of early print to the present, draw almost exclusively on material from The Archive's collections and are presented in a 7,500-square-foot gallery space. Exhibitions typically remain on display for five or six months and are seen by around 30,000 visitors. Exhibitions are planned by The Archive's curators and an exhibitions team, composed of the registrar and members from exhibition services, although staff from other departments (e.g. conservation, education, visitor services, marketing, IT and development) are also involved in the process at various stages.\nDivided infrastructure and divided knowledge: In preparation for an upcoming exhibition centered on a children's book, Ellen, a curator, is meeting with the registrar and staff from the conservation and exhibition services departments to review selected items and discuss their conservation needs and display options. The registrar sits at a computer; the others stand in front of a group of tables where collection items, primarily prints and books, are laid out. As they discuss each item, the registrar enters notes related to display (e.g. \"7 items: Float mat each with 8 ply matboard @ 24x30 Black Frame\") and treatment (e.g. that it will take one hour to assess treatment needs and five to perform the actual treatment) in the institution's exhibitions database. There are fields for the item's location in the building, its creator, date, medium and dimensions, although most of these remain blank. Toward the end of the meeting, someone points out that there are conservation notes related to an item being discussed, but they are stored in a separate database used for the performing arts collection. The registrar is not sure how to access this database, and the staff member from the conservation department shows her how to find it.\nConclusion: The kind of consistent narrative experience that is encouraged by The Archive's infrastructure has been discussed in previous work on reception. In literary studies, for example, one might draw on Iser's (1972) theory of meaning-making as the filling of gaps or on Eco's (1979) theory of the closed text as one that leads a reader down a predetermined path, reducing their agency and creativity. In museum studies, one might turn to Basu's (2007) descriptions of unicursal exhibitions that leave visitors with no choices. Latham's (2012) distinction between efferent and aesthetic experience might be used to describe such exhibitions as well, with The Archive's cohesive exhibitions seen as leading to efferent, information-focussed experiences for visitors.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to understandings of how documents are experienced by looking to work in reception studies for methodological examples. Based on a review of research from literary studies, communication studies and museum studies, it identifies existing approaches and challenges. Specifically, it draws attention to problems cited in relation to small-scale user studies and suggests an alternative approach that focusses on how infrastructures influence experience.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper presents data collected from over a year of ethnographic work at a cultural archive and exhibition space and analyses the implications of infrastructural features such as institutional organization, database structures and the organization of physical space for making available certain modes of reception.\nFindings: This research suggests that infrastructure provides a useful perspective on how experiences of documents are influenced by larger systems.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research was conducted to explore the implications of an alternative research methodology. Based on the ethnographic study presented, it suggests that this approach produces results that warrant further work. However, as it is intended only to be a test case, its scope is limited, and future research following the approach discussed here should more fully engage with specific findings in relation to the experience of documents.\nOriginality/value: This paper presents an alternative approach to studying the experience of documents that responds to limitations in previous work. The research presented suggests that infrastructures can reveal ways that the experience is shared across contexts, shifting discussions from individuals and objects to technical systems, institutions and social structures.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
From barriers to bridges: approaching accessibility in course design	[ "Online learning", "Communication technologies", "Accessibility", "Design", "Disabilities", "Universal Design for Learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Rich use of multimedia can enhance online learning by increasing learner engagement and addressing the needs of learners with multiple learning styles. However, incorporation of multimedia without consideration of alternative, text-based formats can create barriers to information access by learners with disabilities or who are second language learners. Each inaccessible content item or tool is a rock that obstructs successful completion of learning objectives or competencies. Effective use of information communication technologies, however, can assemble these rocks into bridges to make previously inaccessible content accessible to all users.\nLegal challenges in the USA: barriers to learning: While as an aggregate, US legislation prohibits discrimination and demands accessibility for all; conformance to these mandates has proven to be a challenge in higher education. In the last few years, lawsuits against institutions of higher education due to inaccessible technologies have clarified the reach of the law and specified ways in which technologies must be made accessible, including timely access. While the institutions listed below have been identified in lawsuits, it is probable that any institution of higher education in the USA offering courses that are not born accessible could be similarly charged.\nDesigning courses that are born accessible: universal design: Ron Mace, who developed polio as a child, had to be carried into inaccessible buildings when he was completing his architecture degree. He introduced the notion of universal design with respect to buildings, and is had since been generalized to include \"the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design\" (Mace, 2008). This notion was extended to education through the introduction of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as articulated by Rose and Meyer (2002) who argue that \"barriers to learning are not, in fact, inherent in the capacities of learners, but instead arise in learners' interactions with inflexible educational materials and methods\" (p. vi); see also Varonis and Varonis (2015) for a more complete discussion of UDL as it applies to course design.\nConcrete approaches to making content accessible: building bridges: Given the advantages and benefits of accessible design, how can an institution or instructor ensure that all content is accessible when resources are limited and time is short? Good intentions and a belief in creating accessible content are a start, but realistically it may be necessary to balance the need for accessibility with the costs of accessibility in making decisions. At some institutions, an office of disability services is only able to assist with providing accessible content when a student with a disability is registered and needs access to a particular class. Jillian Jevack brilliantly conveyed this dilemma in a skit featuring a professor, a dean, and the director of the Office of Accessibility (Varonis et al., 2013). All have good intentions, but no one takes responsibility for making content accessible. What resources can a well-meaning instructor utilize in retrofitting a class that has not been born accessible? Norm Coombs (2010), the CEO of the non-profit Equal Access to Software and Information, which provides online training on accessible information technologies, comments \"Creating online content that is accessible to students with disabilities is much easier - and probably far less expensive - than people fear\" (p. x).\nFrom barriers to bridges: Allen and Seaman (2014) reported that in 2013, over seven million higher education students in the United States were taking at least one online course. Although statistics are not available on the percentage that has disabilities, the US Census reported that 18.7 percent of the non-institutionalized population in 2010 had a disability (Brault, 2012). Clearly, online learning needs to address the needs of learners with disabilities, and implementing the principles of Universal Design for Learning can help facilitate this goal. Coombs (2010) comments \"I believe that creating accessible online learning experiences for students with disabilities can do even more than give them a quality education - it can empower them to become stronger, more self-reliant people\" (p. xiii).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how the principles of universal design can be implemented by faculty and course designers to help give all learners access to equivalent information. It describes how information communication technologies can create barriers to information access, particularly when course content is rich in multimedia, but also how such technologies can be utilized to creates bridges to accessible content through designing for accessibility from the outset.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper offers a brief review of current international guidelines and US legislation related to information communication technologies in higher education. It documents the challenge of meeting these best practices and legal mandates, as evidenced by recent legal cases in the USA resulting from inaccessible course content in higher education. Finally, it describes how universal design can enhance accessibility for individuals with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments and provides concrete suggestions for making content more accessible to all learners, not just those with disabilities.\nFindings: Given the challenges of creating accessible content that provides equivalent information to all learners, faculty and course designers can implement the principles of Universal Design to enhance the learning environment for all students and ensure they are in compliance with guidelines and regulations. Such compliance is facilitated by emerging standards for accessible content and emerging technologies for making content accessible to all without the need for special accommodations.\nOriginality/value: This paper focusses on concrete approaches to achieving accessibility in higher education, a matter of increasing concern for moral reasons (it is the right thing to do) and for legal reasons given recent lawsuits.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Purchasing social responsibility and firm performance: The key mediating roles of organizational learning and supplier performance	[ "Social dynamics", "Learning organizations", "Channel relationships", "Organizational performance", "Suppliers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Consider the following headlines, which have appeared over the past few years in the popular press:Memo to the Supreme Court: diversity is good business (Crockett, 2003).The adoption of a code of human rights marks a welcome change in Britain's constitution (The Economist, 2000).Leading energy companies are showing that thinking green is good not just for the environment, but for business, too (Raeburn and Ginsburg, 2001).It doesn't hurt as much: our safety program may have kept costs from doubling (Kelly, 2001).The above issues fall under the rubric of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which can be defined as, \"corporate activity and its impact on different social groups,\" (Sethi, 1995, p. 18). Despite the existence of a long-standing stream of CSR research in the fields of management and business ethics (e.g. Bowen, 1953; Carroll, 1979; Davis, 1960; Freeman, 1984; Wood, 1991), logistics researchers have only recently begun to consider the once disparately-viewed logistics activities such as safety (e.g. Corsi and Fanara 1988), the environment (e.g. Stock, 1992), and diversity (e.g. Andre, 1995) under the broader umbrella of logistics social responsibility (LSR) (Carter and Jennings, 2002a; Murphy and Poist, 2002). It has been only more recently still that researchers have empirically investigated the dimensions of activities that comprise purchasing social responsibility (PSR) (Carter and Jennings, 2004). These activities include environmental purchasing, sourcing from minority-owned suppliers, and human rights, safety, and philanthropy issues relating to supply management.Research in the broader area of CSR has yielded mixed findings regarding the impact of CSR on firm performance, with some researchers suggesting a positive (e.g. McGuire et al., 1988), negative (e.g. Ullman, 1985), or no relationship (e.g. Alexander and Buchholz, 1978) between CSR and firm performance. Possible explanations for these varied results include differences in operationalizing the variables across studies, and the presence of moderating factors including industry effects. Another possible explanation for these mixed findings is that the relationship between CSR and firm performance is mediated by one or more variables. One theory that might be employed to begin to identify such mediating variables is the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm.The RBV, which can be traced back to the work of Penrose (1959) and has been advanced and brought to the attention of management scholars by Wernerfelt (1984) and Barney (1991), advocates that firm performance can be influenced by the manner in which the unique resources of the organization are positioned and managed. One such firm resource is knowledge, and includes the ability of organizations to effectively learn and to implement changes based on what they have learned (Garvin, 1993). Theoretical assertions and empirical evidence in the marketing literature have shown that a learning organization, often along with a marketing orientation, can lead to competitive advantage (Moorman and Miner, 1997; Sinkula et al., 1997; Slater and Narver, 1995). However, research has only recently begun to empirically test the idea of organizational learning within a supply chain management context. Hult et al. (2000, 2003) begin to fill this gap by empirically examining organizational learning from the dyadic standpoint of purchasing managers and their internal customers. Nonetheless, the effects of organizational learning within a supply chain context are largely unexplored.Based on these gaps in the extant research, this paper contributes to the literature in three ways. First, the paper addresses the mixed findings regarding the relationship between CSR and firm performance, by suggesting that this relationship is likely mediated by one or more key variables. Second, this paper contributes to the organizational learning literature by introducing organizational learning as a mediating variable between PSR and cost performance of the buying organization, and thus examines organizational learning within a supply chain context. Finally, this research contributes to the PSR literature by investigating the consequences of PSR and further extending the nomological validity of this phenomenon.The next section of the paper consists of a review and integration of the eclectic but very complementary theory and research regarding CSR, PSR, the RBV of the firm, and organizational learning. Later, in that same section of the paper, the study's hypotheses are introduced, which suggest how organizational learning and supplier performance might mediate the relationship between PSR and firm performance. Afterwards, the research methodology and analyses used to test the study's hypotheses are described. The paper ends with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings, and with suggestions of avenues for further research in the area of PSR.\nTheoretical background: The literature and theory pertaining to CSR and PSR is reviewed in the following sections. The RBV of the firm and its relationship to organizational learning is then discussed, setting the stage for organizational learning and its posited mediating role between PSR and supplier and firm performance.Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and purchasing social responsibility (PSR)\nMethodology: A mail survey was employed to test the model displayed in Figure 1. Supplier performance was measured using an existing scale developed by Carter (2000) and Carter and Jennings (2002b). Similarly, PSR was operationalized utilizing scale items from an earlier analysis which demonstrated that PSR is a higher-order construct consisting of five unique dimensions: the environment, diversity, human rights, philanthropy, and safety (Carter and Jennings, 2004). Churchill's (1979) prescriptions were followed to develop the study's remaining constructs. This included the use of conceptual literature along with in-depth interviews to develop the initial scale items.The survey was pretested with both academics and practitioners to assess face validity (Heeler and Ray, 1972). Any questions that were ambiguous or that did not relate to the construct of interest were reworded or eliminated. Next, a pilot test of the survey was conducted with 50 purchasing managers. Included in this pilot test was an open discussion of the model and the survey items used to operationalize the constructs. The reliability of the scale items was then assessed through an analysis of the pilot data. Scale items with low reliability were deleted and reworded, and survey questions were added, in order to increase reliability and validity.Case study and other qualitative findings suggested that logistics and supply managers in consumer products industries may be more involved with PSR issues (Emmelhainz and Adams, 1999; Kopicki et al., 1993). For this reason, the sampling frame consisted of personnel in consumer products organizations who were members of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The final survey was sent to a random sample of 1,000 purchasing managers and executives in consumer products manufacturing industries in SIC codes 20, 23, 28, 36, and 39. Dillman's (2000) prescriptions were followed in formatting and mailing the survey. A letter and survey were sent to potential participants, followed by a reminder postcard one week later. A second letter and survey were then sent to nonrespondents, three weeks after the original mailing.Response to survey\nAnalyses: Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) two-stage procedure was followed to analyze the model shown in Figure 1. The appendix displays the scale items used to measure the model's constructs, along with reliability measures and fit indices. The work of Carter and Jennings (2004) showed that PSR is a second-order latent construct consisting of five distinct dimensions: the environment, diversity, human rights, philanthropy, and safety. In this current paper, manifest indicators were created for each of these five dimensions, and PSR was modeled as a first-order construct measured by each of these five manifest variables displayed in the appendix. This was done so as to reduce the number of parameters to be estimated in the overall model, in order to obtain a suitable ratio of observations to estimated parameters (Bollen, 1989).When analyzing structural equation models, the fit between the theoretical model and the data is assessed, in part, through goodness-of-fit indices. Bentler's (1989) comparative fit index (CFI), Bentler and Bonnett's (1980) non-normed fit index (NNFI), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (Steiger, 1990) were used to assess overall model fit. Values of 0.90 or above for the CFI and NNFI, and values below 0.08 for the RMSEA suggest an appropriate fit between the model and the data (Baumgartner and Homburg, 1996; Browne and Cudeck, 1993).The CFI, NNFI, and RMSEA equal 0.96, 0.95, and 0.06, respectively. In addition, all factor loadings are significant at p<0.0001, signifying convergent validity for the constructs (Bagozzi et al., 1991; Gerbing and Anderson, 1988). All constructs have internal reliability coefficients (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) in excess of the 0.70 recommended minimum for established scales (Churchill, 1979; Flynn et al., 1990; Van de Ven and Ferry, 1978). Discriminant validity between constructs was assessed by performing chi-square difference tests between a model in which a factor correlation parameter was fixed at 1.0, and the original unrestricted confirmatory factor analysis model. A significantly worse fit exists for the study's restricted versus unrestricted models, providing strong evidence of discriminant validity.Taken together, these findings suggest that the scale items used to measure the model's constructs are reliable and valid indicators, and that an excellent fit exists between the measurement model and the data. Next, the measurement model was modified to reflect the structural model posited by our hypotheses. Figure 2 displays the results from the test of the full structural equation model; these results indicate an excellent fit between the model and the data. The values of the CFI, NNFI, and RMSEA are equal to 0.96, 0.95, and 0.06, respectively.Figure 2 also displays the results of the tests of this paper's hypotheses, where solid lines represent significant relationships (p<0.05) between constructs and a dashed line indicates the lack of a relationship. H1, H3, and H4 are supported (p<0.0001), indicating that significant positive relationships exist between PSR and organizational learning; organizational learning and supplier performance; and supplier performance and cost reduction. A significant, direct relationship does not exist between PSR and supplier performance, leading to a rejection of H2.Finally, alternative paths between organizational learning and cost reduction, and between PSR and cost reduction, were added to the model, to determine whether model fit could be improved. Neither of these paths were significant, and the model was thus not significantly improved by adding either of the paths (Dkh2=0.24, 1 df, for the additional path between organizational learning and cost reduction; Dkh2=0.17, 1 df, for the additional path between PSR and cost reduction).\nDiscussion: To facilitate organizational learning, firms must encourage experimentation and risk taking, provide supply management employees with problem-solving tools that allow them to assess underlying causes, and establish a creative environment in which employees can use these tools (Garvin, 1993). The support for H1 (the relationship between PSR and organizational learning) suggests that firms that have higher levels of PSR are more likely to have higher levels of organizational learning. Businesses with high levels of PSR are associated with organizational cultures that are more apt to have free-flowing decision making and entrepreneurial environments. The lack of organizational learning means that \"the organization will remain a prisoner of 'gut facts' and sloppy reasoning, and learning will be stifled\" (Garvin, 1993, p. 82). Given the support for H3 (the relationship between organizational learning and supplier performance), this means that supplier performance will, in turn, be negatively impacted.Although H2 (the hypothesized relationship between PSR and supplier performance) was not supported, the logic of supplier development activities still holds. While PSR activities, which can be similar to those of supplier development, do not directly impact supplier performance, this relationship is mediated through organizational learning. The empirical support for H1 and H3 suggests that organizations must be able to accurately gauge the root causes of problems in order to effectively work with suppliers to improve performance.The author is unaware of any other study that has considered mediating variables in examining the relationship between social responsibility and firm performance. In the alternative models that were analyzed, no direct relationship was found between PSR and cost reduction. However, the inclusion of organizational learning and supplier performance in the study's theoretical model shows that significant mediating relationships exist. Thus, the analyses support the assertion that PSR does, ultimately, lead to improved financial performance in the form of cost reduction. The empirical results from this study lend support to the RBV of the firm, and to theory concerning organizational learning. Specifically, the results displayed in Figure 2 suggest that firms that engage in PSR are not guaranteed to improve firm performance. Firms must effectively learn from these PSR activities, in order to improve supplier performance and ultimately lower their own costs.Managers may or may not be aware of the effect of PSR on supplier performance, and ultimately costs. Certainly the author's discussions with supply managers suggest that many managers undertake PSR because \"it is the right thing to do\", but with the thought that these activities might not benefit organizational performance. This study's findings support these perceptions, in that PSR has no direct effect on supplier performance. Rather, PSR leads to increased organizational learning, which in turn improves supplier performance and, ultimately, reduces costs. These findings thus imply that PSR is not only the \"right thing to do\", but can also lead to significant improvements in supplier performance and costs.Future research might combine perceptual data with archival financial data, to examine the relationship between a broader, firm level construct of CSR and financial performance. Mediating variables that might be introduced into such a model include latent constructs such as organizational learning at the firm level and manufacturing performance, and financial indicators including cost of goods sold and inventory turnover. Archival data such as return on investment, return on assets, and net profit could be utilized to assess organizational financial performance.In conclusion, this research provides one explanation for the often conflicting findings in the extant literature which has investigated the relationship between CSR and firm performance. This research contributes to that existing body of knowledge by positing that the CSR-firm performance relationship may be mediated by intervening variables. The RBV, and more specifically, theory concerning the learning organization, provide theoretical justification for the inclusion of organizational learning and supplier performance as variables which mediate this relationship. The study's empirical findings suggest that while no direct relationship exists between PSR and cost reduction, reduced costs do ultimately result from PSR, as a result of increased organizational learning and improved supplier performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to examine how socially responsible supply management activities, a term labeled purchasing social responsibility (PSR) in the extant literature, affect a firm's costs. There has been much debate, and mixed empirical findings, regarding whether socially responsible behavior on the part of companies improves or reduces firm performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A survey methodology and structural equation modeling are used to assess the relationship between PSR and supplier performance, including the mediating role of organizational learning. The theoretical scope is developed through an integration of literature from logistics, corporate social responsibility, the resource-based view of the firm, and organizational learning.\nFindings: - No direct relationship is found between PSR and costs; however, organizational learning and supplier performance act as key, mediating variables between PSR and costs, with PSR leading to organizational learning, improved supplier performance, and ultimately reduced costs.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The significant mediating roles of organizational learning and supplier performance provide one possible explanation for the past, conflicting findings of studies that have investigated the direct relationship between corporate social responsibility and firm performance.\nPractical implications: - The findings suggest that PSR not only is the \"right thing to do\", but also can lead to significant improvements in supplier performance and costs.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first study to suggest and test the possibility of mediation between social responsibility and firm performance. The research also extends the integration of organizational learning and supply chain management.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The nexus between stock market and economic activity: an empirical analysis for India	[ "Stock markets", "Economic growth", "Modelling", "Developing countries", "India" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: One of the most enduring debates and stifling issues in economics is the nexus between financial development and economic growth. It is often discussed both at theoretical and policy levels that whether financial development causes economic growth or it is a consequence of increased economic activity. Way back to Schumpeter (1912), perhaps the first, identified the force underlying long-run economic growth is the technological innovation, which may arise as a result of financial development. Gurley and Shaw (1955) studied the relationship between financial markets and real activity, later on more rigorously analyzed by Goldsmith (1969) and Schwarz (1978) and others. A more difficult question often arises with respect to whether the forward-looking nature of stock prices could be a driving apparent causality between stock markets and growth. In principle, a well-developed stock market should increase savings and efficiently allocate capital for productive investment, which can lead to increase in economic activity (especially economic growth). Stock market also significantly affects corporate sector in allocating capital, which have a real effect in the economy aggregately. The counter argument to this is that a well-developed financial system and higher economic growth could create a conducive atmosphere for smooth performance of the stock market. However, empirical investigations of the link between financial development in general, and stock markets and growth in particular have been relatively limited. Various empirical researches have suggested a possible connection between stock market development and economic growth, but are far from definitive. Although the relationship postulated is a causal one, most empirical studies have failed to addressed causality unanimously:Since, the inception of new economic policy in India, so-called liberalization and globalization, the role of financial development in economic growth has been a subject of intellectual debate among economists. With reference to the role of stock market in economic growth, it has been widely debated. It is well recognized that stock market influence economic growth through creation of liquidity. It has also been widely agreed and believed through empirical investigation that economic growth and its fluctuations could influence the stock price. The primary objective of this paper is to study the underlying causality between stock market and economic growth, applying the augmented VAR model with integrated and cointegrated series as developed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and Dolado and Lutkepohl (1996). The results support bi-directional Granger Causality between both the variables.The remaining part of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a review of the literature of the causality between stock market and economic growth. Section 3 specification of the empirical model. Section 4 describes the data and empirical results. Section 5 concludes.\n2 Review of literature: The relationship between stock market and economic growth has been studied across economies on various aspects. Several theoretical and empirical papers such as Levine (1991), Levine and Zevos (1995), Demirgue-Kunt (1994) and Demirgue-Kunt and Levine (1996) have suggested that stock market development affect economic growth in developing countries. Several other studies examine the short run relationship between stock returns and with some macroeconomic and financial variables such as inflation, interest rate, output, etc. The prominent studies among them are Kessel (1956), Firth (1979), Fama (1981, 1990), French et al. (1987), Mandelker and Tandon (1985), Chen et al. (1986), Jain (1988), Pearce and Roley (1988), Asperm (1989), Barro (1990), Schwert (1990), Chen (1991), Ferson and Harvey (1991, 1993), Lee (1992), Boudoukh and Matthew (1993), Piero (1996), Cheung and Ng (1997), Gjerde and Saettem (1999), Spyros (2001) and Anari and Kolari (2001) and so on. Applying either to USA or other country data, the studies find varying degrees of relationship between stock returns and other macroeconomic and financial variables. Few other studies examine the long run relationship among these variables. The prominent among them are Campbell and Shiller (1988), Bulmash and Trivoli (1991), Cheung and Lai (1999), Cheung and Ng (1998), Brooks et al. (1999) and Kim and Sheen (1998). While few others have studied the other dimension of it such as, the predictability of stock returns on real economic activity. They are Estrella and Hardouvelis (1991), Estrella and Mishkin (1996) and Domain and Louton (1997) to name a few. Several other large bodies of literature have examined the integration of stock market across economies, such as King and Wadhwani (1990), Jeon and Chiang (1991), Kasa (1992), Arshanapalli and Doukas (1993), Longin and Solnik (1995), Becker et al. (1995) and Engsted and Lund (1997).There are not much empirical research investigations about the causal relationship between stock market and economic growth. Perhaps, one study worth mentioning is Levine and Zevos (1988), who reported a very strong and positive correlation between stock market development and economic growth. Caporale et al. (2004) examined the linkages between stock market, financial development and economic growth for seven countries and found that well developed stock market can faster economic growth in the long run[1]. Keeping an eye on the paucity of the empirical investigations the paper investigates the causal nexus between stock market and economic growth in the context of India.\n3 Empirical methodology: Modeling the dynamic relationship among times series variables could be well established through various time series techniques. Perhaps, the simplest one to examine the cause and effect relationship between variables is the simple regression model. However, it fails to capture the underlying dynamic causality between variables, which is subsequently analyzed by Granger (1969) in terms of Granger Causality tests. The Granger Causality test requires that underlying variables must be stationary. In the absence of cointegrating vector Granger Causality test could be done through first differentiating the variables of Vector Auto-regression Model (VAR) Model. However, with cointegration Granger Causality tests can be tested through error correction mechanism. As Engel and Granger (1987) argue that if the two time series are co-integrated then they are necessarily causally related. Thus, it is important to tests the stationary properties of series before proceeding the Granger Causality tests in either way.Subsequently, Sims (1972) argued that Granger Causality test in a bi-variate system is mainly due to an omitted variable, which may causes either or both variables in the univariate system. In such cases the causal inferences are invalid. Therefore, testing for causality in a possibly unstable VARs with possibility that co-integration also exists has become a serious issue. Sims et al. (1990) were perhaps the first to address such issue in a trivariate VAR model, which was later on extended to more dimension by Toda and Phillips (1993). Accordingly, they have proposed Wald tests statistics for testing Granger non-causality test in an unrestricted VAR which will have a limiting kh2 distributions. When estimating a VAR model in levels, a Wald tests will have a limiting kh2 distribution only if there is sufficient cointegration (Toda and Phillips, 1993). However, estimation procedure of causality tests proposed by Toda and Phillips (1993) requires the estimation of cointegration rank (number of cointegrating vector) which suffers from severe pre-testing bias. In this regard, Giles and Mirza (1990) pointed out that as the testing of Granger Causality requires pre-testing of non-stationarity and co-integration, the result might lead to over rejection of null hypothesis of non-causality and can provide wrong notion about causality. In order to avoid the distortion in such inference procedure Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and Dolado and Lutkepohl (1996) - (popularly known as TYDL Model) suggested an alternative approach to causality testing. In the present paper we have applied the TYDL Model to tests the Granger Causality between stock market and economic growth. The model may be discussed in brief as follows.The TYDL model does not require the pre-testing of unit root tests and cointegration. However, this does not implies that it replace the conventional hypothesis testing of the same, rather it is a complementary method. According to TYDL model, even though the series are integrated and co-integrated of an arbitrary order, the Granger Causality tests can be tested by estimating an augmented VAR procedure in levels and applying the standard Wald criterion. The VAR model in levels may be specified as follows: Equation 1 where Xt is a rx1 column vector of p variable, m is an nx1 vector of constant term, G is coefficient matrix, k denotes maximum lag length and et is i.i.d. of p dimensional Gaussian error terms with non-zero and variance matrix L.The application of TYDL model involves two steps. The first step involves the determination of the lag length, k, of VAR model at level and the maximum order of integration, d, of the variables in the system. Various alternative criteria such as AIC, SBC, HQ criteria can be used to determine the appropriate lag structure of VAR. The diagnostic checking of the VAR model can be done applying normality, autocorrelation and hetroscedasticity tests. Given that VAR (k) is selected, and the order of integration d (max) is determined, a levels VAR can then be estimated with a total of p=[k+d (max)] lags. The second step is to apply standard Wald tests to the first k VAR coefficient matrix (but not all lagged coefficient) to make Granger causal inference. The TYDL procedure uses a modified-wald test for restrictions on the parameter of the VAR (k) model. This test has an asymptotic kh distributions with k degrees of freedom in the limit when the VAR [(k + d (max)] is estimated (where d (max) is the maximal order of integration for the series in the system).\n4 Empirical analysis: 4.1 Data\n5 Conclusion: The paper addresses the issues of causal nexus between stock market and economic activity in a different dimension. The recent advances in econometric times series allow us to test the Granger non-causality tests even in the presence of unit root and the series are cointegrated, such techniques has been developed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and Dolado and Lutkepohl (1996) (popularly known as TYDL). Applying TYDL Model, the dynamic causal nexus between stock market and economic activity has been examined in the context of India over the post-liberalization period from 1991:04 to 2005:03. Empirical result supports the evidence of bi-directional Granger Causality between stock market and economic activity. Therefore, the results suggest that a well-developed stock market could enhance economic activity (growth) and vice versa.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - An understanding on the linkages between financial development and economic growth in general and the stock market with economic activity in particular is imperative in emerging economies. The objective of this paper is to find out the causal linkages between stock market and economic activity in India.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper applies recently developed Granger non-causality tests by Toda-Yamamota, Dolado and Lutkephol (popularly known as the TYDL model) for an empirical exercise.\nFindings: - The notable finding of the paper is that both the stock price (BSE Sensex) and economic activity (IIP) are integrated of order one, i.e. I (1). The Johansen-Juselius co-integration tests suggest the existence of one co-integrating vector. This rules out spurious relations and suggests the presence of at least one direction of causality. The TYDL model suggests that there is bi-directional causality between stock price and economic activity during the post-liberalization period, implying that a well-developed stock market could enhance economic activity and vice-versa.\nResearch limitations/implications: - In the broader framework of financial markets, the presence and role of the stock market is minuscule in the context of India. Despite this, it could play a considerable role in the process of the economic development of the country. However, to analyze the cause and effect relationship between stock market and economic activity, it is essential to analyze the issue in greater detail and depth. The main limitation of the paper is the use of IIP as a proxy for economic activity, which neglects the agricultural sector, being the primary sector in India and also the service sector. This is of course due to the non-availability of GDP data on a monthly basis. Further, a detailed study on the issue could be highly appreciable from the perspective of policy implications.\nOriginality/value: - The findings of the paper have some valuable implications. It could give some insight for policy makers about the possible linkages between stock market and the economy. Coming to empirical parts, this is perhaps the first paper in the context of India to apply the TYDL model to examine the relationship between stock price and economic activity.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An i-AHP&QFD warranty model	[ "Quality function deployment", "Interval-based analytical hierarchy process", "Warranty management", "Interval computations", "Analytical hierarchy process", "Product life cost", "Reliability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: A warranty is a performance guarantee for a product given by a manufacturer. Warranty management in modern companies is a separate function of an entire division. This division or department is normally the service parts division or the customer services department. Regardless of their names, these departments have to deal with their own revenue and cost budgets, while the warranty process itself is a costly activity for any company. In this context, the managers of this particular section of any manufacturing company have to deal with difficult decisions, weighing customer satisfaction on the one hand and the profitability of the company on the other.\n2. The AHP based on interval computations: The AHP is a technique for organizing and analyzing complex problems, especially those regarding decision-making processes. This methodology is based on mathematical analysis and some psychology techniques to quantify and compare variables by the addition of views with geometrical averages to synthesize solutions (Saaty, 1990).\n3. QFD methodology: The QFD methodology was developed by Yoji Akao in 1966. It had been utilized to help planners focus on the characteristics of a new or existing product or service from several viewpoints (i.e. market segments, company or technology-development needs). He defined QFD as, \"a method for developing a design quality aimed at satisfying the consumer and then translating the consumer's demands into design targets and major quality assurance points to be used throughout the production phase\" (Akao, 1990).\n4. The integrated i-AHP&QFD warranty model: The i-AHP&QFD combined methodology utilizes the best characteristics of each method. In one way the AHP is used to weight the different options that the warranty management team has to promote in their goal to improve customer services. With this data, they can choose the best option from their own viewpoint, but incorporating this data with a QFD, they can integrate their results with their customers' requirements to reach the best solution for both company and customers at the end. Of course, this process is not static, and it can be improved at every iteration in accordance with the results achieved following the first solution adopted.\n5. Conclusion: This study has tried to bring a simple decision-making tool to the field of management, which can be used daily to aid managers to address many differing problems, of which many could depend on multiple variables and involve many company employees. Its use could have a direct impact on the most important goal of any company: its customers' satisfaction.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a new warranty model to improve warranty management. As a case study, the developed model has been applied on an industrial vehicle manufacturing company. The model is composed of quality function deployment (QFD) and interval-based analytical hierarchy process (i-AHP). The i-AHP is an extension of the concept of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) that takes the benefits of interval computations in order to mitigate the shortcomings of AHP and fuzzy AHP.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a combination of i-AHP and QFD, the authors analyzed the several options and alternatives available, weighting each one by means of an interval pair-wise comparison. Using collected data, the authors have shown how to map the capability of each option against each alternative and thereby build a relationship matrix under the QFD approach based on interval computations.\nFindings: The use of i-AHP&QFD integrated methodology helps to identify the best options to solve several decision problems in diverse fields and could be applied successfully in warranty management. This methodology is especially useful when dealing with several options and equal numbers of alternatives for each warranty option.\nResearch limitations/implications: The case study includes competitiveness analysis at the first house of quality (HOQ), but not at the subsequent HOQ, due to a lack of information from the relevant competitors. However, the paper demonstrates the kind of competitiveness analysis at the first HOQ which can be extended to all subsequent HOQs.\nPractical implications: The research would be useful to academics and practitioners in developing integrated versions of the QFD and i-AHP methodologies to improve warranties.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the diffusion of a new form of integrated warranty model, through the presentation of practical examples of industrial vehicle warranty management. Also, the model presents the i-AHP in order to quantify and compare variables via the use of geometrical averages and to synthesize a subsequent solution.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Development of a web-based tele-manufacturing service system for rapid prototyping	[ "Rapid prototypes", "Service systems", "Software prototyping", "Online operations", "Online databases" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Rapid prototyping (RP) technology is a new prototype-manufacturing technology that has evolved since the mid-1980s. With this technology, the designers' ideas can be directly and quickly transformed into product prototypes that have certain structures and functions. Thus RP technology can be used for quick estimation, testing and correction in new product's design. By adopting the technology, the time of new product development may be greatly reduced, allowing the enterprise to meet the customers' needs more quickly. Up to now, the technology has been used in many fields such as automobile, home appliances, medical treatment, space flight, craftwork making and toy making, etc. (Yang et al., 2001).Currently, RP machines are too expensive to be afforded by many small and medium sized enterprises, but on the other hand, RP machines in some enterprises are long left unused, which results in a low utilization ratio. So it is more meaningful to design and develop a new utilization mode of RP machines so as to enable unused RP machines to be shared. Also, because of geographic dispersal, the traditional RP service mode has the disadvantage of slow response to the user's needs, which is evidently inconsistent with the rapidness of RP.With the development of the internet, the merging of internet and RP technologies has brought a new means for people to deal with the matters above. Todd (2000) thinks that with the introduction of new web-based services, the internet will take RP beyond data transmission and electronic brochures to innovative solutions that make business transactions faster, easier, and more efficient. So in this paper, a web-based tele-manufacturing service system for RP (web-TMSRP) is proposed and described in detail.Web-TMSRP provides geographically dispersed enterprises with a platform that permits them to share RP machines. In contrast with other similar systems, the system we are proposing consists of not only online commerce and online data management but also online manufacturing service. Three distinctive supporting software packages are also provided: a software package for self-check and self-repair of manufactured model files (STL format) (SCSRP), a software package for real-time collaboration (RTCP), and a software package for remote scout and control (RSCP). The three software packages give enterprises great convenience in obtaining RP services. Web-TMSRP embodies the new notion that enterprises can take part in the whole course of RP service, and the rapidness of manufacturing embodies in the full course of RP manufacturing services, not merely in the manufacturing process itself. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes related works about tele-service for RP; Section 3 presents the system architecture, overall service flow and system function in detail and Section 4 gives an example for the system. The conclusions and future work are discussed in the last section.\n2 Related work: Up to now, some internet enabled RP service systems have been studied and developed. In order to make RP accessible and easy to use as a routine analysis tool and not as a special and expensive manufacturing function, Bailey (1995) married the advantages of RP manufacturing to the universal access provided by the global information infrastructure. He created an RP testbed on the internet, and worked out corresponding algorithms that could automatically queue tasks. Jiang and Fukuda (1999) developed a web-based RP system called TeleRP for remote part submitting, queuing, and monitoring. In this system, selection of a valid and feasible RP manufacturing site registered in the RP tele-manufacturing web server depended mainly on two factors: site manufacturing capability and delivery time constraints concerning all the queues inside the site. Francis et al. (2001) developed a web enabled distributed RP system, IMAN, for the support of effective product development. The work was targeted at a wide range of audiences using a disparate range of computer systems to access remotely located RP facilities via the internet for prototype fabrication. The work had not yet involved the development of object-oriented collaborative CAD on the internet. Luo et al. (2001) reported a desktop RP system that combined RP preprocessing, an RP machine and the internet. The user sent a 3D CAD model (STL format) via the internet to a tele-control server, which transformed the CAD model into an RP machine LCD photomask display. The user could direct the machine remotely to build the RP part while watching a live image of the part via an online visual system. From the view of methodology and software realization, Huang et al. (2000a, b) proposed a remote RP manufacturing service architecture and studied the corresponding enabling technologies. Tan et al. (1999) proposed a RP based rapid serve system, which integrated RP and the internet. The system could interact and serve users from different places via the internet and give and return the results automatically to the users. Chen (2003) proposed an architecture of a RP-oriented tele-service system that fit small and medium enterprises in China. The system included basic functions to support users to interact with the RP center. Tan et al. (2000) developed a system that linked a fused deposition modeling (FDM) machine located in Temasek Polytechnic to the global community through the use of the internet. The system enabled commands sent via the internet to be converted into commands that were readable by the programmable logic controller (PLC). The converted commands could activate, stop and position (X-, Y- and Z-axis) the nozzle of the FDM machine. In this way, a remote user could have better control of the FDM machine with minimum intervention of an operator. The University of Newcastle upon Tyne in collaboration with Seaward Electronics of Peterlee in 1999 had developed a set of Java-based, object-oriented, electronic design automation (EDA) tools for supporting the design and evaluation of new electronic instruments-portable appliance tester (PAT). The design team at the manufacturing company could use the virtual instrument toolkit to create the virtual prototype through a web browser, which supported the design and evaluation of a new PAT, and supported quick design changes without expensive software revisions to instrument firmware, circuit board designs or casings. Lin et al. (2003) designed a distributed web platform where users could design prototypes, simulate manufacturing, and issue ordering requests for real manufacturing through browser interfaces, aiming at the problem that an improper scheduling approach might degrade system utilization and throughput significantly in RP manufacturing service. The authors proposed a real-time scheduling approach to maximize system utilization and minimize the average response time with the best effort. With this approach, new requests could be accepted dynamically and all accepted requests could be finished before deadlines. With the proposed scheduling approach, the web RP platform was able to fully utilize web resources for RP manufacturing and the quality of service was significantly improved. Huang et al. (2000a, b) developed a rapid prototype-oriented tele-service system using internet and intranet. The system implemented the functional units of SLA-oriented online pricing, online bargaining and customers' information management, and also involved some technologies such as network database, multimedia consideration and electronic business.\n3 Designing and development of the system (web-TMSRP): 3.1 Architecture of the system\n4 The application of the system: A test was carried out in collaboration with Fuzhou Tianshun Camera Co., Ltd. After having been admitted as a formal member of the system, the company consigned a certain camera shell. Before submitting the STL model, they found out and repaired nine errors by using the provided software package SCSRP. The nine errors were: three closed self-intersecting curves, one intersecting curve and five not closed layer boundaries. According to SCSRP's advice, the technicians of the company returned to the Pro/E to repair them and subsequently submitted the faultless model online. After necessary argumentation, a formal contract with the company was signed. The task then was put into TSMS and the manufacturing time and engineers were arranged, as shown in Figure 6. Before manufacturing, the two appointed engineers had once discussed the shell's Boss height with the company's technicians by using software package RTCP. Finally, the two engineers manufactured the shell prototype at the appointed time. In contrast with traditional RP service mode, the manufacturing cycle (not the manufacturing time) of the shell prototype was reduced from an original 11 days to current 6 days and the cost was minimized by 37.6 percent, which created advantages for the camera's shorter time to market.\n5 Conclusions and future work: RP technology allows designers to transform their design ideas into product prototypes that have certain structures and functions, which provides them with samples to quickly evaluate, test and improve their design results. The system web-TMSRP proposed in this paper can provide the geographically dispersed enterprises, especially those small and medium sized enterprises, with quick, considerate and convenient internet RP services. In this paper the system architecture, the overall service flow and the system function are described in detail. In contrast with other similar service systems, web-TMSRP provides not only the online commerce and online data management but also the online manufacturing service and several distinctive supporting software packages. The system embodies the new notion that customers' full-course participation in the manufacturing service, and the rapidness of manufacturing embodies in the full course of RP manufacturing service, not merely in the manufacturing process itself. It is validated that the system can realize the effective share of RP resources and can greatly reduce the design cycle of new products. The system is also a good reference for other similar shared resources.We are now working to extend the system to the share of finishing machines and equipment (FME) of Fujian Lida Printing Industrial Company; the intelligent agent technology to be applied into the system is our next work.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Rapid prototyping (RP) technology is playing an important role in new product development but, because of the RP machines' costliness, many enterprises, especially those small and medium-sized enterprises, cannot afford them. Accordingly, in this paper, a web-based tele-manufacturing service system for RP is proposed, which enables geographically dispersed enterprises to share RP machines.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The system is composed of three parts: online commerce, online manufacturing service, and online data management. In addition, several distinctive supporting software packages are provided, which afford great convenience to enterprises to get RP services.\nFindings: - It is validated that the system can result in substantial saving in the cost and product development time.\nPractical implications: - The system is also a good reference for other similar shared resources.\nOriginality/value: - The system embodies the new notion that an enterprise's full-course participation in the manufacturing service, and the rapidness of manufacturing, embody the full course of RP manufacturing service and not merely the manufacturing process itself.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Self-leadership change project: the continuation of an ongoing experiential program	[ "Self-leadership", "Observers", "Personal change", "Personal vision", "Self-improvement", "Self-management skills" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: He that would govern others, first should be the master of himself - Philip MassingerThe initial impetus for the self-leadership change project (SLCP) was to help students, in a classroom setting, develop self-leadership skills, and prepare them for leadership roles in their careers. Although Massinger's quote is from a play, its message resonates with recent scholars and leaders who consider self-mastery a prerequisite for a broad range of team and leadership roles that are critical to success in the modern organization (e.g. Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967; Whetten and Cameron, 2011). As importantly, the self-leadership literature suggests an external benefit of self-leadership change in its positive influence on others. This paper documents the initial results from the SLCP \"experiment,\" which provide encouragement for continuing and improving the experiment.\nRelevant literature: self-leadership and influence with observers: The critical importance of autonomy and self-actualization for individuals in organizations was recognized in the humanistic perspective of leadership advanced by Argyris (1957) and McGregor (1960). Self-leadership theory further finds its roots in social cognitive theory and intrinsic motivation theory, while drawing heavily on the related research streams of self-regulation, self-management and self-control (Manz, 1983; Neck and Houghton, 2006).\nThe SLCP design: The structure of the SLCP capitalizes on the participants' self-direction. Although students are exposed to the essentials of the self-leadership strategies described in this section, there is no formal study involved in the project preparation. Accordingly, the SLCP is substantially under the control of the participant, and relies in their self-motivation and self-direction. The only requirements for participation in the project are that participants choose a project that they really want to tackle, investigate external information that will help them in their project, keep a journal recording their actions and progress, and engage three to five observers. Participants are instructed to select and orient observers who understand them well, such as close family and friends or co-workers who are likely to observe changes in the participant during the SLCP, and engage them periodically for feedback on progress. Observers voluntarily participate based on their ongoing relationship with the participant. Anecdotally, observer feedback is usually positive due to the fact that family and friends encourage participants; although some students mention from time to time about \"frank\" feedback from their observers.\nHypotheses: As noted in the introduction, the primary objectives of the SLCP are to provide students an experiential understanding of the self-leadership process and to develop capabilities in implementing those processes. Students are encouraged to enlist observers who provide feedback during the life of the projects. This external interaction has multiple implications. The act of engaging observers has the potential to increase personal commitment, and self-awareness of the participant:\nMethodology and results: Participants had from 10 to 16 weeks to complete their SLCP project. This survey was provided as a voluntary option to participants who wished to report their SLCP project results. A total of 479 participants used this survey in 26 different classes instructed by two different professors. This survey was first used in the fall of 2010. Not all questions were completely answered throughout each survey by each participant. Reported were 225 female students and 240 male students. Their ages ranged from 19 to 55 years with full-time work experience ranging from none to 30 years. It should be noted that classes had a mixture of traditional and non-traditional students.\nDiscussion: The first objective of the SLCP was to encourage students to develop skills in self-leadership through an experiential exercise, emphasizing the practical benefits for individuals who realize positive results. Over 90 percent reported at least \"some\" success, providing strong evidence that practical benefits were achieved by all but a few participants. Additionally, 58 percent indicated that they intend to start a SLCP in the future.\nLimitations: Due to the nature of this experiment, data used in our analysis is exclusively self-reported information. We recognize the limitations associated with self-reported data and future studies may want to explore alternative approaches to observer measurement. However, our results are compatible with the information that students provide in end-of-project reports, and comments provided by outside observers. To some extent, this provides support for the value of the self-reported information. For future studies, additional reporting techniques will be considered. A second criticism is that the survey and results do not tie to previous studies that measure individuals' aptitude for self-leadership as an indicator of success and development of self-leadership capabilities. This could be a welcome addition to this research model in the near future of SLCP literature and research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The self-leadership change project (SLCP) is an ongoing program for senior level students at a regional university designed to provide hands-on experience in building self-management skills, which is considered a pre-requisite by many leaders and scholars (e.g. Drucker, 1996; Schaetti et al., 2008). The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Participants (479 undergraduate business students in 26 different classes with two different professors) had from 10 to 16 weeks to complete their SLCP project. A survey to collect the data for this study were provided as a voluntary option to participants who wished to report their SLCP project results.\nFindings: A majority of students participating in the projects reported achieving change in targeted behavior, with intentions to continue to utilize the SLCP approach for future \"projects.\" Additionally, students who successfully completed a SLCP reported that observers noted change in others as a result of the project. Students who received positive feedback from observers reported that they were likely to engage in a self-leadership project in the future.\nResearch limitations/implications: The data used in the analysis are exclusively self-reported information. The survey and results do not tie to previous studies that measure individuals' aptitude for self-leadership as an indicator of success and development of self-leadership capabilities. This study offers little in the way of acknowledging or determining the sustainability of changes desired.\nPractical implications: The results fully supported the idea that self-leaders influence others.\nSocial implications: This study providing support for the concept that external leadership begins with self-leadership. Successful self-leadership change prepares an individual for external leadership roles in organizations and society.\nOriginality/value: The relationship noted in \"Practical implications\" above has been suggested in the literature, but there have been few studies covering this relationship.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A study of testing-effort dependent inflection S-shaped software reliability growth models with imperfect debugging	[ "Computer software", "Program testing", "Product reliability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Software is considered to have performed a successful operation, when it functions completely as expected, without any failure. However, computer software is created by human being and, a high degree of certainty in its reliability cannot be guaranteed. Software reliability is defined as the probability of failure-free operation of a computer program for a specified time in a specified environment (Musa et al., 1987; Lyu, 1996) and is a key factor in software development process. Therefore, accurately modeling software reliability and predicting its possible trends are essential for determining overall product's reliability. Numerous software reliability growth models (SRGMs) have been developed during the last three decades and they have applied successfully in practice to improve software reliability (Musa et al., 1987; Xie, 1991; Lyu, 1996; Pham, 2000).In software testing, the key factor is the testing-effort, which can be represented as the number of CPU hours, the number of executed test cases, etc. (Yamada and Osaki, 1985; Yamada et al., 1986, 1993). Non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) as the stochastic process has been widely used in SRGM. In the past years, several SRGMs based on NHPP which incorporates the testing-effort functions (TEFs) have been proposed by many authors (Yamada et al., 1986, 1987, 1993; Yamada and Ohtera, 1990; Kapur et al., 1994; Kapur and Younes, 1996; Huang et al., 1997, 2007; Kuo et al., 2001; Huang and Kuo, 2002; Huang, 2005; Bokhari and Ahmad, 2006; Quadri et al., 2006, 2008; Ahmad et al., 2009). Most of these works on SRGMs modified the exponential NHPP growth model (Goel and Okumoto, 1979) and incorporated the concept of testing-effort into an NHPP model to describe the software fault detection phenomenon. Recently, Bokhari and Ahmad (2007) and Ahmad et al. (2008b) also proposed a new SRGM with the exponentiated Weibull (EW) TEFs to predict the behavior of failure and fault of software. However, the exponential NHPP growth model is sometimes insufficient and inaccurate to analyze real software failure data for reliability assessment.This paper first reviews the EW TEFs and then discusses how to incorporate the EW TEF into inflection S-shaped NHPP growth models (Ohba, 1984a, b) to get a better description of the software fault detection phenomenon, which contains two types of faults: mutually independent and dependent. The proposed framework is a generalization over the previous works on SRGMs with testing-efforts (Yamada et al., 1986, 1987, 1990, 1993; Kapur and Younes, 1996; Kapur et al., 1994; Quadri et al., 2006, 2008; Ahmad et al., 2008, 2009; Bokhari and Ahmad, 2007). The parameters of the model are estimated by weighted least square estimation (WLSE) and maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) methods. The statistical methods of data analysis are presented and the experiments are performed based on actual data sets and the results are compared with other existing models. The experimental results show that the proposed SRGMs with EW TEF can estimate the number of initial faults better than that of other models and the EW TEFs is suitable for incorporating into inflection S-shaped NHPP growth models. Further, the analyses of the proposed models under imperfect debugging environment are also discussed.\n2 Review of EW TEFs: During the software testing phase, much testing-effort is consumed. The consumed testing-effort indicates how the errors are detected effectively in the software and can be modeled by different distributions (Musa et al., 1987; Yamada et al., 1986, 1993; Kapur et al., 1999). Actually, the software reliability is highly related to the amount of testing-effort expenditures spent on detecting and correcting software errors. Recently, Bokhari and Ahmad (2007) and Ahmad et al. (2008b) proposed EW TEF to predict the behavior of failure and fault of a software product. They have shown that EW TEF is very suitable and more flexible testing resource for assessing the reliability of software products. The cumulative testing-effort expenditure consumed in (0, t] is depicted in the following: Equation 1 and the current testing-effort consumed at testing time t is: Equation 2 where:a - total amount of testing-effort expenditures.b - scale parameter.d and th - shape parameters.We have the following five special cases:1. Yamada exponential curve (Yamada et al., 1986). For th=1 and d=1, there is an exponential TEF, and the cumulative testing-effort consumed in time (0, t] is: Equation 3 2. Yamada Rayleigh curve (Yamada et al., 1986). For th=1 and d=2, there is a Rayleigh TEF, and the cumulative testing-effort consumed in time (0,t] is: Equation 4 3. Yamada Weibull curve (Yamada et al., 1993). For th=1, there is a Weibull TEF, and the cumulative testing-effort consumed in time (0, t] is: Equation 5 4. Generalized exponential curve (Quadri et al., 2006, 2008). For d=1, there is a generalized exponential TEF, and the cumulative testing-effort consumed in time (0, t] is: Equation 6 5. Burr Type X curve (Ahmad et al., 2009). For d=2, there is a Burr type X testing effort function, and the cumulative testing-effort consumed in time (0, t] is: Equation 7\n3 Software reliability growth models: 3.1 Inflection S-shaped SRGM with EW TEF\n4 Estimation of model parameters: The success of a SRGM depends heavily on the quality of the failure data collected. The parameters of the SRGM are estimated based upon these data. MLE and WLSE techniques are used to estimate the model parameters (Musa et al., 1987; Musa, 1999; Lyu, 1996; Ahmad et al., 2009).4.1 Weighted least square method\n5 Data analysis and model comparisons: 5.1 Comparison criteria\n6 Imperfect debugging model: Many researches have been conducted over the past decades to address the problem of imperfect debugging (Lo and Huang, 2004; Huang et al., 2007; Pham, 2007; Pham et al., 1999; Yamada et al., 1992; Zhang et al., 2003; Xie and Yang, 2003). In fact, to propose a new SRGM we have to consider the imperfect debugging problem. In this section, we discuss the imperfect debugging of the proposed SRGM. The perfect debugging assumption given in Section 3.2 can be modified as:When an error is detected and removed, new errors may be generated. We also assume that if detected errors are removed, then there is a probability to introduce new errors with a constant rate g.Based on the above modified assumption and the assumptions made in Section 3.2, we can demonstrate the SRGM with the EW TEF within an imperfect debugging environment in detail. Let n(t) be the number of errors to be eventually detected plus the number of new errors introduced to the system by time t, we obtain the following system of differential equations: Equation 17 and: Equation 18 where: Equation 19 Solving the above differential equations under the boundary conditions m(0)=0 and W(0)=0, we can obtain the following mean value function of inflection S-shaped model with EW testing-effort under imperfect debugging: Equation 20 6.1 Numerical example\n7 Conclusion: In this paper, we have proposed a flexible SRGM based on NHPP model, which incorporates EW TEF into inflection S-shaped model. The performance of the proposed SRGM is compared with other traditional SRGMs using different criteria. The results obtained show better fit and wider applicability of the proposed model on different types of real data applications. We conclude that the proposed flexible SRGM has better performance as compare to the other SRGMs and gives a reasonable predictive capability for the real failure data. We also conclude that the incorporated EW TEF into inflection S-shaped model is a flexible and can be used to describe the actual expenditure patterns more faithfully during software development. In addition, the proposed models under imperfect debugging environment are also discussed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to incorporate the exponentiated Weibull (EW) testing-effort function (TEF) into inflection S-shaped software reliability growth models (SRGMs) based on non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP). The aim is also to present a more flexible SRGM with imperfect debugging.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper reviews the EW TEFs and discusses inflection S-shaped SRGM with EW testing-effort to get a better description of the software fault detection phenomenon. The SRGM parameters are estimated by weighted least square estimation (WLSE) and maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) methods. Furthermore, the proposed models are also discussed under imperfect debugging environment.\nFindings: - Experimental results from three actual data applications are analyzed and compared with the other existing models. The findings reveal that the proposed SRGM has better performance and prediction capability. Results also confirm that the EW TEF is suitable for incorporating into inflection S-shaped NHPP growth models.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper presents the WLSE results with equal weight. Future research may be carried out for unequal weights.\nPractical implications: - Software reliability modeling and estimation are a major concern in the software development process, particularly during the software testing phase, as unreliable software can cause a failure in the computer system that can be hazardous. The results obtained in this paper may facilitate the software engineers, scientists, and managers in improving the software testing process.\nOriginality/value: - The proposed SRGM has a flexible structure and may capture features of both exponential and S-shaped NHPP growth models for failure phenomenon.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Living Lab as knowledge system: an actual approach for managing urban service projects?	[ "Project management", "Innovation", "Systemic thinking", "Knowledge", "Stakeholders", "Collection management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Fixed graphic\nPraxeologic and academic context of the research: New societal dynamics and new practices for urban projects\nResearch objectives and methodology: Based on the societal environment, the practices, the literature and the conceptualizations exposed earlier in this text, we considered that to explore an LL as a locus\nFindings: Based on notes taken during those four LL, which have been compared to other notes and reports we had access to coming from six LL achieved between 2009 and 2013, we were able to characterized knowledge in LL as we expected to do it, in respect with our objective.\nConclusions: In the context we have described, we can conclude that co-innovation approaches as LL might represent a relevant way to create \"socially acceptable\" projects, and more than that, effective \"stakeholders-driven\" projects. Therefore, the role of intermediation entities such as LL might be of great importance to the development of complex urban projects and the renewal of project management practices in such contexts, following the ideas of Lehmann (2014), Nez (2015) and Terrin (2014) about the need to acquire new knowledge - not already codified - to deliver more relevant projects. Knowledge exploration is already not an option nor a \"nice to have\", but a necessity in some extreme situations, as Lievre has discussed (2012). Upon our results, we can understand that urban projects as well as healthcare projects could benefit from open design processes as well as knowledge exploration.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore Living Labs (LL) as knowledge systems for urban service projects. This empirical study aims to identify and characterize knowledge in LL dedicated to urban service projects. It also aims to understand how through knowledge path, LL redefine the management of projects. First, the praxeologic and academic context underlining the main challenges associated to urban service projects is presented. It mainly concerns the growth of the cities (Haoues-Jouve, 2013), the problematic of social acceptability (Savard, 2013) as well as the normative approaches to manage projects (Kerzner, 2010). Second, a literature review on co-innovation and Livings Labs is presented. (Chesbrough, 2004; Gaglio, 2011). This paper also presents the concept of knowledge applied in an LL system (Sanders and Stappers, 2008). Here, knowledge refers to dynamic knowledge, as suggested by Argyris (1995).\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the third part, the goals of this study as well as the abductive and \"partnership\" qualitative methodology that was used are explained (Fontan and Rene, 2014). The constitutive and the operational definitions on knowledge that have been mobilized are detailed (Piaget, 1974; Gadille, 2012). A special focus is made, here, on distributed knowledge (Nowotny et al., 2002; Trepos, 1996), on \"users\" as \"experts of uses\" (Chen et al., 2010). Then, the sample and the four cases of LL that were explored are described.\nFindings: Finally, the findings are presented. This paper exposed how knowledge lying in the loops of the LL system was characterized and how knowledge is mobilized in an LL. This paper also draws a theoretical model of project management referring to knowledge, LL and co-innovation approach.\nResearch limitations/implications: To conclude, several implications in project management research and urban studies are presented.\nPractical implications: Several implications concern the current practices of project management. Due to some new societal challenges, it is considered that a new professional posture is required.\nSocial implications: Several implications concern citizens as users and stakeholders of urban projects.\nOriginality/value: The originality of the study lies in its content and its format. A specific participative approach was used to explore LL. This paper investigated knowledge in LL, which are new entities dedicated to very actual projects, where users are co-managers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Development of computerized decision support system for leanness assessment using multi grade fuzzy approach	[ "India", "Manufacturing industries", "Lean production", "Decision support systems", "Lean manufacturing", "Leanness assessment", "Fuzzy method" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The contemporary manufacturing organizations are witnessing a transition in the manufacturing paradigm (Vinodh et al., 2010b; Tang et al., 2005). The manufacturing era got transformed from mass manufacturing to lean manufacturing (Comm and Mathaisel, 2000). Lean manufacturing is characterized with the elimination of wastes in the manufacturing processes, thereby facilitating cost reduction (Abdulmalek and Rajgopal, 2007). There are seven wastes prone to occur in the manufacturing processes (Vinodh et al., 2010a; Braglia et al., 2006). Of late, the underutilization of creativity of workforce is considered as eighth waste. One of the contemporary research avenues in lean manufacturing is the assessment of leanness (Shah and Ward, 2007). Leanness is a measure that is focused on reutilizing lesser input to better achieve the goals of organization so as to achieve better output (Houshmand and Jamshidnezhad, 2006). Due to the impreciseness and vagueness associated with conventional (crisp) approaches, multi-grade fuzzy approach has been used. Since the manual computation using multi-grade fuzzy approach is time consuming and error prone, a computerized decision support system (DSS) has been developed. This DSS is known as DSS for multi grade fuzzy leanness assessment (DSS-MGFLA). The DSS-MGFLA will enable the contemporary managers to make appropriate decisions from the perspective of leanness assessment and improvement. This article presents the concept of DSS-MGFLA which is a unique DSS developed exclusively for leanness assessment using multi-grade fuzzy approach. The practicality of DSS has been ensured by means of conducting a real time case study.\n2 Literature review: The literature has been reviewed from the perspectives of leanness assessment and fuzzy logic applications.2.1 Literature review on leanness assessment\n3 Leanness assessment using multi-grade fuzzy approach: The assessment has been conducted in an Indian relays manufacturing organization. Multi-grade fuzzy approach has been used for leanness assessment (Yang and Li, 2002). The organization manufactures relays, transformers and modular switches. The experts of the case organization felt that it is vital to develop software support for performing the assessment. An excerpt of the conceptual model is shown in Table I.The model consists of five leanness enablers, 20 leanness criteria and 59 leanness attributes. The leanness index of the case organization is represented by I. It is the product of overall assessment factor (R) and overall weight (W). The equation for leanness index is given by I=W x R.The assessment has been divided into five grades since every leanness factor involves fuzzy determination. I={10, 8, 6, 4, 2}. \"Less than 2\" represents \"extremely not lean\", \"2-4\" represents \"not lean\", \"4-6\" represents \"generally lean\", \"6-8\" represents \"lean\" and \"8-10\" represents \"extremely lean\". Four experts participated in the session for leanness assessment. The experts are the department heads and possess rich experience regarding the operational culture of the organization. Table II shows the single factor assessment and weights provided by experts. Here E1, E2, E3 and E4 refer to the identification of decision makers.3.1 Primary assessment calculation\n4 Design and development of DSS-MGFLA: This section presents the design and development details of DSS-MGFLA.4.1 Architecture of DSS-MGFLA\n5 Results and discussions: Based on multi-grade fuzzy approach, the leanness of case organization is found to be 6.49 which implies the organization is \"lean\". The identified improvement areas are presented as follows.5S policy has been made active by inculcating various activities in the organization and teams have been formed exclusively for this purpose. Value stream mapping has been introduced as a technique in vital assembly lines to identify and eliminate waste. The costing system has been made activity based, infused with kaizen principles to identify and categorize value adding and non-value adding activities. Training has been imparted with workforce so as to make them flexible to accept the adoption of new technologies. The manual communication system has been made IT driven with the incorporation of IT utilities like internet and intranet. The delivery to customers has been made JIT so as to enable pull production. Traditional product pricing policy has been made kaizen driven to overcome the drawbacks with present method. The workforce has been made multi-skilled and multi-functional to accept new technologies. The processing sequence has been optimized with the usage of advanced optimization techniques. The manufacturing operations have been organized using group technology principles to form similar product families. The products are imbibed with certain characteristics so as to enable easy serviceability. The seven deadly wastes have been classified and quantified. The product and process development practices have been incorporated with enterprise resource planning and product data management systems.5.1 Managerial implications\n6 Summary and conclusions: Lean manufacturing is characterized by streamlining the manufacturing processes to reduce wastes (Lander and Liker, 2007). Lean manufacturing is characterized by low buffering cost, minimum processing time and high delivery speed. The assessment of leanness gains vital importance. The study indicated that the case organization is lean using multi-grade fuzzy approach. Since the computation is time-consuming and error prone, a computerized decision support has been created. The computerized DSS enables the generation of leanness index and also identifies the improvement areas for leanness improvement. The decision makers of the case organization felt that developed DSS enabled them to make appropriate decisions from the perspective of leanness improvement.The proposed DSS has been test implemented in a single manufacturing organization. In future, the DSS architecture could be imbibed with advanced fuzzy approaches and the modified DSS could be test implemented across several organizations to derive meaningful inferences.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision support system (DSS) for multi grade fuzzy leanness assessment (MGFLA) (DSS-MGFLA).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The assessment of leanness gains vital importance. Due to the drawbacks associated with conventional approaches, fuzzy methods are gaining importance. In this context, multi-grade fuzzy method has been used for leanness assessment. Since the computation is time consuming and error-prone, a computerized DSS known as DSS-MGFLA has been developed.\nFindings: - DSS-MGFLA enables the accurate evaluation of leanness. Besides assessing leanness, DSS also enables the identification of improvement areas. The DSS has been validated in an Indian relays manufacturing organization. Based on the validation, its practical feasibility has been ensured.\nResearch limitations/implications: - DSS-MGFLA has been validated in a single manufacturing organization for its working feasibility. But the findings could be extended to similar manufacturing organizations.\nOriginality/value: - The idea of developing DSS for leanness assessment is novel, original and unique contribution of authors.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The behaviors of jazz as a catalyst for strategic renewal and growth	[ "Change management", "Music", "Innovation", "Partnership", "Organizational change", "Uncertainty management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Lucent world headquarters in Murray Hill, New Jersey, called a three-day conference in 1998 to work towards understanding the difficulty they were having managing workforces in cultures different from that of mainstream America. We were asked to present the model of jazz as a way of providing an experiential metaphor for collaborative improvisation in management that the multinational group of managers would be able to draw from over the next several days - ideas and techniques that would help them deal with high velocity change and the extraordinary cultural differences they were encountering in nonwestern markets and work environments of the late 1990s.\nJazz as a metaphor for \"scoring\" twenty-first century business success: What Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five did in the early 1920s was to fuse the traditionally separated roles of composer, instrumental interpreter and conductor into a new role in the world of music: the role of the improviser. This fusion of roles took the vertical chain of command, in which the composer created the ideas then gave the score to the conductor who single handedly led the regimented orchestra through a very controlled interpretation of those ideas, and turned the process into a horizontal network in which all members bore equal responsibility for the creation, production and delivery of the musical experience. Unlike the completely scripted performance of a symphony, the underlying structure in jazz is a minimal set of boundaries that coordinates the organization in time and purpose, but leaves the responsibility for creative choices up to the individual. A core element in the process of perpetual renewal in jazz is the constant introduction of new ideas and perspectives.Business in the twenty-first century faces a very similar challenge to its structural identity. Ideas and inventors can be matched over the internet with eBay-like ease through start-ups such as InnoCentive. Small entrepreneurial start-ups can work in collaboration with large companies and universities in loosely connected innovation clusters that propel discovery and offer unprecedented commercial opportunity. It is often the case now that a Silicon Valley start-up company establishes a one- or two-person office in India or China before its \"corporate headcount\" reaches 20. These dynamic and innovative interactions and organizational approaches must address the same challenges Lucent faced in the Jazz Impact discovery workshop.So one might say we are in a time of apparent paradox and competing forces and business models. The ability to grow organically from within and through new forms of collaboration is at the top of everyone's priority list. Companies are focused on finding new ways to tap into the customer in the innovation process, to create new products, to do so faster, and to do so in a more jazz-like manner. IBM has held a series of \"World Jam\" sessions to engage employees in mass collaboration.\nThe five behaviors of jazz: How does the jazz ensemble sustain itself night after night, year after year through a constant churn of personnel while maintaining an extremely high level of creative interaction, resulting in a constant stream of new ideas and new processes? There are five behaviors that empower jazz improvisation: passion, listening, autonomy, risk and improvisation. We will discuss each of these behaviors as they relate to both the art of jazz and the conduct of business. Then we'll examine several case studies involving the integration of the behaviors of jazz into specific corporate cultures.Passion\nFenwick & West: The goal of Fenwick & West, a Silicon Valley-centered intellectual property law firm, was to renew the human aspects of their employees' interrelationships. For example, it wanted to help its attorneys recognize that non-technical matters are vital to the success of the overall organization and, while technical personnel and support staff may work separately from each other around particular projects, there is a great deal they can learn from each other, and transferring those insights can strengthen the entire organization. Their focus was on developing teamwork in ways that went beyond the traditional methodology applied by most organizational development facilitators.Without an experiential activity the employees could not understand the \"logic\" of what the Fenwick & West leadership was trying to introduce into the firm. The challenge was to help patent attorneys and scientists to recognize how art and jazz, in particular, can be a powerful tool capable of helping them become more responsive to their clients' needs.Jazz Impact worked with Fenwick & West to come up with an integrated set of experiences for the 250 attendees that would demand their creative participation even at the planning stage. Each individual was asked to spend some time in advance creating their own rhythm instruments. We sent them each an email with the following directive:Rhythm Band. You will need to create (or purchase) and bring your own rhythm instrument to the workshop. If your birthday falls in winter, bring #1 below. Spring, #2; Summer, #3, and Fall, #4.1. Shakers. Containers: Plastic jars, film canisters, wooden and metal containers, smaller sized coffee cans with a plastic lid (can be used for shakers, scrapers, and drums all at once). Filler: beads from a hobby store, copper-jacketed lead shot, dried beans, or popcorn (unpopped!).2. Rhythm Sticks and woodblocks: The harder the wood the better.3. Scrapers: A length of PVC pipe works great, or take a piece of bamboo 25-30 cm long, and the thicker the better. Make sawcuts along one side of it, about 1 cm apart, then use a rasp or a file to make the cuts into more of a \"V\" shape. Hold it in one hand and scrape it with a chopstick, stick or piece of wire.4. Cowbells: You need something to produce a muffled \"clank\" rather than a ringing bell tone. Try some stainless steel mixing bowls at a thrift shop.This was the only clue people had about what the day would hold for them. We offered detailed instructions to assure that their instruments would be satisfactory and to give them a sense of how thoroughly we had planned their activity. For our ideas to receive a proper reception, our seriousness of intent had to be clear.We began at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday with the 70-minute seminar that presented the five APRIL behavioral concepts outlined above, interspersed with musical demonstrations of these behaviors. When the seminar finished, they broke off into teams, went out into the surrounding community of Monterey, California, and worked on assigned tasks that involved finding and using resources to create specific scenarios for presentation to the entire group later in the day. The assignments were loosely structured with certain minimal guidelines (one of the main precepts in jazz). Each team was given tools such as VCRs or sound recording devices. The teams were charged with finding resources and coming up with their own ideas, in real time, rehearsing them and presenting - a sort of cross between the work of a trial lawyer and the work of a jazz musician. Throughout this part of the process, the concepts we had just presented acted as a guide when teams encountered creative friction or faced difficult choices that threatened to take up valuable time needed to prepare the presentation.Fenwick & West people were so used to working and thinking within the highly structured hierarchy of the firm that they needed a model to give them permission to improvise, and to develop a context where each individual's contribution was paramount, regardless of whether they worked as a receptionist or as a senior partner. Jazz springs from a dynamic of leading and support (rather than leading and following), actualized through constant rotation in which the leadership role is shared by all members. This was a key point made during the seminar and one the participants were urged to practice in the ensuing exercises.Once the four-hour preparation period was complete, each team had ten minutes to present to the group. The presentations were characterized by an unusual level of enthusiasm, particularly because most of the participants had never before performed under such circumstances. Many stated they would never forget the feeling of authenticity and energy they experienced while presenting original ideas they had just created.Early that evening, the Jazz Impact ensemble came back and presented a one-hour concert. This was an opportunity for the participants to hear the world class musicians they had worked with earlier give it their all; an opportunity that most people could only have by visiting such famous jazz clubs as The Village Vanguard or The Blue Note. The purpose was to build a higher level to give the participants a chance to experience world-class jazz improvisation from a new position of understanding of both the music and of how the dynamics at work on stage might apply to their own lives.Following dinner, the group was reassembled and the interactive portion of the day began. Participants were asked to bring their rhythm instruments. Working with our vocalist, Brian Tate, the group was divided into four sections. We began teaching, in real time, very simple yet highly swinging four-part pieces to the group. Participation was mandatory. For the next hour everyone created their own music, using rhythm and voice, to the accompaniment of the ensemble and under our facilitation. Very few of these people had any musical training, yet by 15 minutes into the process, everyone was engaged in the challenge.Our intention was to involve the participants in the behaviors of organized improvisation at the intellectual, physical and emotional levels, and to steep them in the experience in a way that would hold. This was about Fenwick & West learning to literally swing together. Over the hour, our entire group performance ranged from learning to sing four-part simple jazz mantras to improvising a symphony with the instruments they had created.Ralph Pais, a senior partner in the firm, stated that \"The use of music was highly effective in translating fascinating concepts from another world that have relevant application in ours.\" Two months later, Pais reported that the experience of the evening's interactive activity had driven the behaviors of jazz deeply into the organizational consciousness - employees were still referring to them on a daily basis. Pais also stated that one of the most valuable takeaways for them was an organizational understanding of how to approach the hard work of integrating structure and creativity without compromising either.\nMcGraw-Hill: Jazz Impact's work for McGraw-Hill was predicated on their need to translate their successful twentieth-century operating process into a form that would yield the same success in a world where culture, distance and time no longer act as barriers. Jazz Impact engaged 45 of their top executives involved in sales and marketing, creative development, human resources and strategic planning, in a 90-minute session that included and allowed for questions and discussion.In planning for the program we worked closely with Chuck Presbury, senior director of Leadership Development at McGraw-Hill. We determined that two specific jazz behaviors - empathic listening and passion - would be most relevant in terms of their overall learning for the three-day seminar.For empathic listening, we developed an exercise where each person would pair off to work on the ability to listen to something with no agenda or preconceived expectation. The exercise worked like this: a piece of music was played by the ensemble, in this instance it was a rendition of A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing, a spectacular ballad written by Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington's protege. It was played by our trombonist Art Baron, who played with the Ellington band in the early 1970s - quite an evocative performance. When the piece finished, one person was to describe to the other what it was they had heard. As they described their listening experience, they were to trust that the listener was deeply interested in what they were saying. The listener in turn was to try and notice what prejudice or agenda they were bringing to the act of listening. If they could identify any, they were to do their best to suspend those assumptions or expectations in order to really understand the reality the other was reporting.The participants were astounded at the differences in perception that each reported to the other, and quickly made the connection between this type of listening and the skills needed to achieve market penetration in cultures different from our own, particularly nonwestern cultures.The experience spurred discussion on how easy it is to make erroneous assumptions about another's intent or meaning by letting our own assumptions interfere with our perceptions. Although this all may sound quite obvious, people rarely stop to examine how they listen and how their listening may differ from others. The learning had multifaceted applications.We also engaged the executives in an interactive four-part singing exercise. Initially there was a great reluctance to commit to such an activity due to inhibitions and cultural protocols regarding appropriate corporate behavior. But, after a few people volunteered to take on the individual parts, the entire group soon sided with one of the four instruments to participate in the exercise. All that was required to make it work was the willingness to take a risk and the passion to carry it out.We discussed the critical importance of passion in the cultural transition that McGraw-Hill is attempting to make - to grow beyond the success the company has achieved with its existing products in tried-and-true markets, by penetrating new, culturally diverse markets where new products will need to be invented or existing ones retooled. Such a transition will require change, risk and the possibility of failure, such that a very high level of anxiety and fear cannot be avoided.Through the process of jazz, we were able to demonstrate a \"new idea process\" that gave the executives a model for envisioning their - and their company's - transformation. The role of passion as a driver for these functions was clear. In discussion, the point was made that in both jazz and in business, passion is how we overcome the fear of error in order to focus on real work.A further point was made during discussion. In jazz the creative hierarchy is horizontal, resulting in a level of ownership and responsibility that would be impossible in the typical vertical chain of command that was such a strong part of McGraw-Hill's cultural history. This aspect of jazz behavior was very productive for the executives in coming to terms with the broad changes they need to make to this aspect of their culture.Jazz Impact was able to convey the idea that real innovation comes through constant strategic renewal, which is in fact the very process of collaborative jazz improvisation. The forces at work in jazz are the forces needed to establish business cultures capable of organizational improvisation.Discovery: leveraging the creative potential of every individual in your organization at every level of hierarchy.Interpretation: understanding and embracing diverse ways of thinking so that you never miss valuable connections.*Integration: building relationships able to work with the uncertainty and ambiguity that are part of the problem-solving process in any global business.These are the behaviors of jazz, and also the tools for organizational development, value-added growth and competitive differentiation in business.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To provide a metaphorical language, a contextual framework, and a specific set of social behaviors to help business executives and managers envision, discuss and implement changes to encourage flexibility and creative freedom and allow the immediate absorption and rapid integration of new and different ideas.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper combines experiential and theoretical knowledge in innovation, change management, and strategy formation. It uses existing research and case studies in which the concept of jazz as a model for organizational improvisation is applied through organizational interventions. The scope of the paper ranges from theoretical argument and description of new idea processes, to multiple industry examples of innovative companies, to specific case studies.\nFindings: - Applications of the concepts were effective in giving people a way to understand the flexibility and creativity needed to improvise within the structured environments of most corporate cultures. Through the use of live music, experiential exercises in enhanced listening skills, spontaneous rotation between leading and supporting roles, and the use of collaborative creative thinking in solving real-time problems, corporate cultures were able to understand new ways of collaborating and adapting to change through organized improvisation.\nOriginality/value: - Experiential evidence suggests that teaching organizations to improvise is a catalyst for positive change. Using the model of the jazz ensemble in conjunction with specific cooperative behaviors as a tool to teach organizational improvisation is highly effective when integrated with a well conceived strategy vision and a passionate belief in its potential and a commitment to bringing it to a business reality.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Determinants of green job creation: an empirical investigation	[ "Green Job Creation (GJC)", "Sustainable Local Economic Development (SLED)", "Managerial Effectiveness (ME)", "Public Policy Effectiveness (PPE)", "Egypt" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Rapid urbanization, urban sprawl, expanding poverty, ecological degradation, diminishing quality of life, widening inequality and decreased government efficiency are the major challenges facing economic development. The improvement of economic indicators represents the cumulative and overlapping series of actions controlled responsibly by a global economic system, national and local governments. Many studies have found (e.g. Pieterse, 2001) that the local government should effectively mediate in their local economies to be mindful and proactive about the state of the local economy within which they operate. Over time, the local governments have developed other responsibilities and duties in order to be more effective in the local economy [1], which led to evolving the theories and policy approaches known as Sustainable Local Economic Development (SLED) (Krugman, 1991).SLED is a territorial approach to developing potential local assets and resources, particularly in the informal sector activities (Gasser et al., 2004). The World Bank defines it as the process by which public, business and non-governmental sector partners work collectively to create better conditions for economic development and employment generation (World Bank, Urban Development Unit, 2003). The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines it as \"a process where the local actors shape and share the future of their territory\". Based on the above and according to Giancarlo and Giordano (2001), a comprehensive definition of SLED can be stated as a participatory process that encourages and facilitates the partnership between the local stakeholders, enabling the design and implementation of strategies - mainly based on the competitive use of the local resources - with the final aim of creating decent jobs and sustainable economic activities.Currently, there is a growing concern about different ecological challenges, such as climate change and degradation of natural resources, which negatively affect the quality of life. In 2012, the bio-capacity/humanity used the equivalent of 1.75 Earths to provide the resources and services humanity consumed in that year (Global Footprint Network, 2016). The result is a collapse in ecosystem services on which life and our own existence depend. At the same time, according to the Population Reference Bureau (2014), by 2050, the world population will increase up to 9.6 billion and the majority about (70%) of people will be living in cities (Graff and Bremner, 2014). This has substantial implications on environmental degradation and inadequate resources. The effects of these harmful impacts have merged to need to a low-carbon economy by reducing pollution and gas emissions, and on the other hand, increasing the recycling processes, what we call a green economy. The green economy depends on shifting economies from high- to low-carbon economic activities and minimizes inefficient use of natural resources and maintaining biodiversity (OECD, LEED, 2012).Green Job Creation is the concept that depends on value-creating activities taking into consideration environmental protection to improve conditions for economic and employment generation for local areas (Zimmermann and Simpson, 2013). In addition, there are two other variables affecting Green Job Creation. The first is Managerial Effectiveness, which is one of the backbones of any business used by policymakers to improve the outcomes (Mintzberg, 1973). The second is Public Policy Effectiveness, which intends and meets its designed purpose relating to benefiting from achieving policies.SLED encompasses various core values that are not available in further development approaches. It encourages local decision-makers to reconsider the traditional development strategies and overcome the economic and environmental challenges forces by globalization and spatial inequality (Nel, 2001). This may take place through encouraging a green economy and job opportunities created. So, the study objects to discussing the evaluation of SLED, ME and PPE strategies in Egypt and the impact of such implementation on enterprises and labour markets with the aim of reaching harmonization between labour market and localization to reducing unemployment and greenhouse gas emissions through promoting green job creations. The study encompasses three main sections starting with the literature review that discusses the theoretical background of SLED and green job creation. The second section includes data, variables and methodology of primary data collection. Finally, the third section involves the results of the study.\n2. Review of literature: Over more than fifty years, different theories have emphasized the relationship between SLED and space, location, growth and job creation. First, the literature of SLED can be divided into two main trends: traditional trend and modern trend. 2.1 The traditional trend\n3. Data, variables and methodology: In order to examine the role of sustainable local economic development (SLED) in the Green Job Creation, the study collects primary data from two distinct random samples belonging to three Egyptian governorates: Cairo, Alexandria and Beni-Sueif. The three governorates are chosen because they represent different geographical areas, i.e. the Capital of Egypt, lower and upper of Egypt.The chosen governorates include a number of industrial zones where many heavy polluting industrial activities exist, such as chemical, petrochemical, textile, iron and steel, petroleum, cement and marble industries. In addition, there is a proliferation of small-scale industrial activities, such as metalworking, car repair and carpentry workshops.The total sample size is determined using a randomized stratified sampling method, which is proportional to the governorates' total population (see Appendix, Table A1). The first sample consists of 19 respondents belonging to senior executives specialized in the development, planning and preserving the environment in both central and local governments. The later sample is divided into two subgroups according to the tier of government: (a) central/ministerial level, (b) governorates/locality level. The second sample consists of 400 respondents who involve residents above 21 years old and those who are working in one of the three governorates. For the purpose of the study, qualitative and quantitative methods are utilized, as shown below. 3.1 Qualitative analysis\n4. Results: This section reports the results obtained from quantitative and qualitative analyses, in which the main findings of the questionnaires collected from both executives and citizens are illustrated. 4.1 The qualitative analysis\n5. Conclusion: The transition to green economy impacts on the production and consumption patterns, and on labour markets and enterprises. The growth of the employment in low-carbon industries and services leads to stagnation in energy-intensive sectors. So, the well-designed and implemented SLED strategy that adapted with climate resilience will push for job creation and poverty reduction. The study clarifies the opportunities for gains that might be greatest in emerging economies like EgyptThe study has gathered primary data obtained from two distinct random samples, executives and citizens, collected from three Egyptian governorates: Cairo, Alexandria and Beni-Sueif. The study has utilized qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the impact of SLED and relevant variables on Green Job Creation. It appears in terms of the significant opportunities for GJC in Egypt, the different strategic requirements for these adaptations and examines the potential for employment creation and manages it in an institutional manner. It shows the win-win outcomes related to encouraging green investment as a benefit for the economy and environment.In its qualitative analysis, the study has shown the average responses of the executives concerning all processes of SLED and GJC questions are higher than their citizens' counterparts. This implies that the three governorates suffer from lack of efficiency and effectiveness in promoting environmental policy; launch green initiatives; form partnerships; subsidy the green enterprises, awareness of the labour markets; and publicity for the green investment. Accordingly, the governorates have to exert more effort to design SLED plans and strategy's objective to redirecting consumption and investment pattern to adapt to environmental regulations and ensuring just transitions for workers negatively affected by restructuring, for communities exposed to climate change and for population groups disadvantaged by the green policies.In its quantitative analysis, the study has shown a positive influence of SLED on GJC from one side and the positive influence of Managerial Effectiveness on GJC from another side. Although the efforts exerted by local governorates to manage local economic activities and promote production capacity for enhancing Green Job Creation; it could not appropriately perform their strategies. This is because they face several difficulties related to issues of finance, legislation, poor business administration, ecological deterioration and inefficient national policies and programs, and insufficient strategic planning due to adopting a \"one size fits all\" approach, which is not a suitable approach for many regions.The major policy conclusion that follows is that the SLED strategies in Egypt require constructing specialized entities in green economic activities inside local governorates for better control and management of local resources in the short, medium and long term. Those entities should have their own independent organizational structure, which involves local actors from the public and private sector and non-profit organizations. Those entities will be responsible for implementing SLED and Managerial Effectiveness by applying similar international standards of local economic development agencies (LEDAs) in a number of European countries. By applying those standards, the entities will (1) set out green strategies according to a model of sustainable local economic development; (2) reviews current local activities and practices within the environmental efficiency framework to improve the provision of local services, generate green job opportunities and ultimately support the green growth; (3) identify the environmental opportunities to commute the local government for in labor market intervention; (4) suggest policy instruments such adoption of green workplace practices, form environmental regulations, investments in green products and services, promote green procurement policies and awareness raising.Finally, the solutions consistent with the national commitments of \"Egypt strategy 2030,\" which aims to achieve the following goals: making sustainable and resilient cities, enforcing the rational energy use, addressing climate change challenges, boosting the green industry, and enhancing inclusive growth. The study does not sufficiently illustrate investment policies and the financial tool to boost the green economy and the future study should focus on developing funding instruments and the existing investment policies in terms of the nature of economic growth and the environmental condition of societies such as concentrate on rural development and greener the government procurement as a key policy and planning tool for sub-national governments in the pursuit of the green economy.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The twenty-first century manifests two of the challenging issues about achieving Sustainable Local Economic Development (SLED) and turning to environmental sustainability through Green Job Creation (GJC). The study examines that not only are both challenges are urgent, but they are also intimately linked and will have to be addressed together. It also finds out that further factors like Managerial Effectiveness (ME) and Public Policy Effectiveness (PPE) affect GJC.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study uses qualitative and quantitative methods by utilizing primary data collected through designing questionnaires answered by random executives and citizens of three governorates; Cairo, Alexandria and Beni-Suef. These governorates are chosen because they represent different Egyptian geographic areas, i.e. the capital of Egypt, lower and Upper Egypt, where there are numbers of industrial zones with many heavy polluting industrial activities that exist.\nFindings: The study showed that there is a lack of effectiveness and efficiency in applying common international standards in GJC's strategies in Cairo, Alexandria and Beni-Suef. Additionally, it is highly recommended that the three governorates enhance the exploitation of their economic resources. Quantitatively, the study showed a positive and statistically-significant connection between SLED and GJC, alongside with a positive and statistically-significant connection between ME and GJC.\nOriginality/value: The study provides empirical evidence about the main requirements in designing an efficient framework for achieving eco-friendly local economic activities and suggesting practical solutions to obstacles that face local strategies regarding the study's variables.\nPeer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2020-0012\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The cognitive underpinnings of effective teamwork: a continuation	[ "Meta-analysis", "Team performance", "Team cognition", "Team process" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Over the last several decades, the most impressive and innovative solutions have been the product of teamwork, and the prevalence of teamwork in today's workplaces has steadily increased. Furthermore, teamwork has become more technologically sophisticated and geographically and temporally distributed. For example, customer service teams are employing a \"follow the sun\" approach, whereby teams pass work around the globe for a continuous stream of effort without anyone working overnight (Maznevski and Chudoba, 2000), and Pixar animation teams have become the leading name in computer animation without ever buying an outside script (Catmull, 2008). Not surprisingly, due to the increasing technological sophistication and globalization of today's economy, many would argue that teamwork is necessary for nearly all innovations (Jones, 2009; Wuchty et al., 2007). With the enhanced reliance on teamwork in the workplace, researchers have sought to understand the predictors of team behavior and success.\nThe team cognition construct: Over the course of their extensive review of the team cognition literature, DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus (2010) identified more than 50 terms that have been used to refer to various operationalizations of team cognition within the extant literature (including accuracy of knowledge identification, collective knowledge, directory updating, location of expertise, shared mental models (SMMs), perceptions of accurate cognitive map, task coordination, and transactive memory system (TMS), among others). By carefully analyzing the conceptual structure of these various operationalizations of team cognition, DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus identified and described two of the most common operationalizations of team cognition that are studied in the extant literature: SMMs and TMSs. SMMs are mental representations that team members hold about themselves and the task, and how the team works toward the task in their environment (Cannon-Bowers et al., 1993; Klimoski and Mohammed, 1994). For example, if a sales team is working to improve their profits and all team members view the same minimum number as \"success,\" this would represent part of an SMM. By having the same definition of objective success, the team can work toward this goal without any roadblocks; everyone understands the goal. Similarly, if a marketing team is working to improve a previously ineffective marketing strategy, each member must understand the goals and most effective strategies for accomplishing their task. By sharing this understanding through an SMM, the team is more likely to be successful in their team process and output.\nThe role of team cognition in team process and performance: Understanding the different forms and types of team cognition content, emergence, and measurement is an important step to estimating the effect of team cognition on team outcomes. Although shared cognition among team members creates a positive climate for teamwork and is known to predict team trust and collective efficacy (Cannon-Bowers and Salas, 2001; DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus, 2010), team cognition is particularly influential to the underlying behavioral processes that are the makeup of teamwork. Empirical studies have documented the reciprocal relationship between behavioral processes and shared cognition (Mathieu et al., 2000; Stout et al., 1999). Team cognition theories such as those of SMMs give us an explanation of how SMMs among team members can help teams adapt more efficiently to new tasks and challenges because of their shared understanding of fellow team members' knowledge strengths (Cannon-Bowers et al., 1995; Mathieu et al., 2000). In a study conducted by Kanki and Foushee (1989), history of flying together was found to contribute to a flight crew's overall cognition and communication skills, underscoring the link between team cognition and process. The findings of such studies suggest that shared and/or complementary team cognition can act as a supportive structure for informing the behaviors of team members.\nMethod: This manuscript reports the results of an update to DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus' (2010) meta-analysis of the role of team cognition in team process and performance. We replicated the analyses using an updated sample of studies of team cognition. Their original sample was comprised of 65 independent studies (reporting results gleaned from 3,738 groups and approximately 18,240 individuals). Our updated database was nearly twice the size of the original database, and includes findings from 128 independent studies reporting results from 4,943 teams (total approximately 19,575 individuals). To build our database, we began with DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus' (2010) comprehensive database of the team cognition literature, and replicated their original search strategy to identify studies published since the completion of their database. In accordance with their original search strategy, we conducted a comprehensive search of the PsycInfo, ABI Inform, and Google Scholar databases using relevant keywords/phrases (e.g. group OR team AND cognition, mental models, shared cognition, transactive memory, schemas, knowledge structure, cognitive structure, cognitive map, conceptual framework, and shared situation awareness). In addition, we manually searched the references cited in studies that were identified as relevant to the constructs of interest. We used multiple databases and snowballed our reference lists in order to compile the most complete database possible (Ones et al., 2017). In order to be included in the meta-analytic database, studies must have examined team cognition in relation to either team process or team performance, and reported sufficient information in which to compute a bivariate correlation between team cognition and the relevant outcome. A list of the studies included in the meta-analytic database is available upon request.\nResults: Tables I-IV present meta-analytic results for the role of team cognition in team process and performance. In these tables, we report the number of correlations meta-analyzed (k), number of teams (n), the sample size weighted mean observed correlation (r), the standard deviation of r (SDr), the sample size mean observed correlation corrected for unreliability in the predictor and criterion (r), the standard deviation of r (SDr), the 80 percent credibility value around r (80%CV), the 95 percent confidence interval around r (95%CI), and the percent variance due to corrected artifacts (%ARTV). A r may be considered significant when its credibility interval does not include 0, as this would suggest that 90 percent of the true effect sizes for that relationship are greater than 0. rs may be interpreted as being meaningfully different from one another when one r is not included in the confidence interval of the comparison r (Bobko and Roth, 2008; Kisamore, 2008; Kisamore and Brannick, 2008).\nDiscussion: With the trend toward teamwork growing every year (Jones, 2009; Wuchty et al., 2007), revisiting questions like those posed in DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus (2010) becomes critical. Meta-analyses do an adequate job of summarizing extant literature and highlighting major trends of the moment; however, they have the potential to become obsolete when their databases no longer reflect the extant literature (Ones et al., 2017). With advancements in technology, the changing nature of work, and more taxing work environments, the trends of the last several decades may not hold in the future. Thus, periodical re-examination of meta-analyses should be conducted in order to have the most current and useful understanding of the literature. In 2010, DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus found that team cognition had a significantly positive relationship with both team behavioral process and team performance. However, with nearly twice the number of studies on team cognition now available, we sought to understand whether and to what extent that relationship holds. Importantly, our results suggest that even with a balance of studies conducted in more contemporary teams and work environments, the overall role of team cognition in team process and performance holds in both direction and magnitude. Furthermore, the more precise analyses related to nature of emergence and content of cognition tended to be consistent with the 2010 findings.\nConclusions: As reported by DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus (2010), team process and performance are critically linked to team cognition, and this insight is replicated in the current meta-analysis. Interestingly, our new finding that compilational cognition is more important for team process while compositional cognition is more important for team performance highlights the changing nature of teams at work. Since the creation of the prior database, work teams and their tasks and dynamics have begun to change. More distribution, globalization, virtual communication, and sophistication in work tools, technologies, and processes have created new demands on teams, and have changed what aspects of team cognition are needed when. Future research must recognize and replicate the changing nature of teamwork if we are to fully understand the role of team cognition in teamwork process and performance. Finally, we hope to highlight the importance of updating meta-analyses with databases that include all current, relevant primary studies. As the nature of work and work teams change, updating our understanding of the role of key constructs in the workplace becomes crucial to advancing knowledge in the field.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Team cognition is known to be an important predictor of team process and performance. DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus (2010) reported the results of an extensive meta-analytic examination into the role of team cognition in team process and performance, and documented the unique contribution of team cognition to these outcomes while controlling for the motivational dynamics of the team. Research on team cognition has exploded since the publication of DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus' meta-analysis, which raises the question: to what extent do the effect sizes reported in their 2010 meta-analysis still hold with the inclusion of newly published research? The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors updated DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus' meta-analytic database with newly published studies, nearly doubling its size, and reran their original analyses examining the role of team cognition in team process and performance.\nFindings: Overall, results show consistent effects for team cognition in team process and performance. However, whereas originally compilational cognition was more strongly related to both team process and team performance than was compositional cognition, in the updated database, compilational cognition is more strongly related to team process and compositional cognition is more strongly related to team performance.\nOriginality/value: Meta-analyses are only as generalizable as the databases they are comprised of. Periodic updates are necessary to incorporate newly published studies and confirm that prior findings still hold. This study confirms that the findings of DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus' (2010) team cognition meta-analysis continue to generalize to today's teams.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The asymmetric impact of other-blame regret versus self-blame regret on negative word of mouth: Empirical evidence from China	[ "Negative word of mouth", "Anger", "Blame attribution", "Sadness", "Other-blame regret", "Self-blame regret" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Post-purchase regret, as a painful judgment or emotional state of feeling sorry (Landman, 1993), has been found to directly relate to lower consumer satisfaction (Inman et al., 1997; Taylor and Schneider, 1998), reduced repurchase intention (Tsiros and Mittal, 2000), brand switching (Zeelenberg and Pieters, 1999) and negative word of mouth (hereafter NWOM; Chebab, 2010; Garcia and Perez, 2011; Zeelenberg and Pieters, 1999, 2004). While the former ones mainly affect individual consumers, the latter affects a large group of other consumers, as word of mouth (WOM) is the informal communication to other consumers in their networks concerning the product purchasing and usage experience of particular products or brands (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Westbrook, 1987).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development: 2.1 Other-blame regret vs self-blame regret\n3. Study1a: the impacts of O-regret and S-regret on negative word of mouth: Study 1a was designed to test whether and how consumers with O-regret or S-regret behave differently in transmitting NWOM. Experimental design is ideal for testing theoretically derived hypotheses because it can have a better control of variables to ensure internal validity (Calder et al., 1981; Wang and Mowen, 1997). To achieve this goal, we manipulate the reasons for regret. When manipulating O-regret, the participants were told that the product had some quality problems which implied that the retailer should be blamed. When manipulating S-regret, participants were informed that the product did not fit personal preference which meant that decision maker her/himself should be blamed.\n4. Study 1b: the mediating role of anger and sadness: While the results from Study 1a supported our hypothesis that participants who experienced O-regret transmitted more NWOM than those who experienced S-regret, to demonstrate the external validity with a real-world consumer sample, we conducted Study 1b, which measured consumer recalled experience of regret and NWOM behavior to replicate the result from Study 1a. In addition, we tested the mediation hypotheses regarding anger and sadness in the relationship between O-regret vs S-regret and NWOM.\n5. Study 2: regret condition and purchased price: 5.1 Design and procedure\n6. Study 3: regret condition and regret context: 6.1 Design and procedure\n7. Study 4: regret condition and return policy: 7.1 Design and procedure\n8. General discussion: A robust finding from five studies provides a consistent and strong support for H1, which states that consumers who experience O-regret transmit more NWOM than those who experience S-regret, although they may feel the same level of regret. Such a relationship is explained by different negative emotions such as anger and sadness that play mediating roles in different regret conditions. Accordingly, we conclude that anger is a dominant emotion when consumers experience O-regret and mediates the impact of regret on NWOM (H2a). On the other hand, sadness is a dominant emotion when consumers experience S-regret, and it mediates the impact of regret on NWOM (H2b).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to distinguish two regret conditions, other-blame regret (O-regret) and self-blame regret (S-regret), and investigate the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of the relationship between regret and negative word of mouth (NWOM).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Four experiments and one survey study test hypotheses regarding how O-regret and S-regret influence NWOM through mediating mechanism of anger and sadness and how the impact of regret on NWOM is moderated by boundary conditions.\nFindings: The results show that consumers who experience O-regret transmit more NWOM than those who experience S-regret. Anger is a dominant emotion when consumers experience O-regret and mediates the impact of regret on NWOM, and sadness is a dominant emotion when consumers experience S-regret and mediates the impact of regret on NWOM. In addition, purchased price (full vs discount price), regret context (private vs public context) and return policy (strict vs lenient policy) are found to moderate the effect of regret on NWOM.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study was conducted in China, which has a unique business environment that may differ from other countries. Therefore, this research opens a new avenue to further examine such a phenomenon in countries where a more lenient return policy is a standard business practice. Cross-nation studies comparing how different return policies and other business environment conditions are warranted in future research.\nPractical implications: The study provides several insights for marketers considering the management of NWOM by understanding consumer O-regret and S-regret in either online or offline retailing situations.\nOriginality/value: This paper contributes to the extant literature by distinguishing different outcome regrets. The theoretical conceptualization and empirical findings shed further lights on the relationship between regret and other negative emotions and how O-regret and S-regret lead to different impacts on NWOM through different paths of mediation mechanism.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Improving public sector service delivery: a developing economy experience	[ "Ghana", "Social security", "Claim processing time", "Lean systems" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The Ghana National Pension Act of 2008 (Act 766) stipulates a contributory three-tier pension scheme consisting of: a mandatory basic national social security scheme; a mandatory occupational pension scheme; and finally, a voluntary provident fund and personal pension scheme. In Ghana, the agency responsible for the collection of contributions and the payment of retirement benefits under the first-tier scheme - basic national social security scheme - is the Pension Trust Company (PTC). The second- and third-tier schemes - occupational pension scheme and the provident fund scheme, respectively - are usually privately managed by trustees approved by boards of organisations. This study therefore focuses on the social security scheme which is managed by PTC as it appears to be challenged by unduly longer claim processing time.\n2. Social security scheme in Ghana: Social security schemes are available in most countries - both developing and developed countries though the extent of coverage varies in both developing and developed countries. The social security legislation in Ghana was enacted in 1965 (Asibuo, 1976). The emergence of the system was precipitated by the change in the socio-economic structure in Ghana - reflected in establishment of industries, urbanisation, rural-urban migration, rapid population growth and the spread of formal education - that followed the attainment of independence from colonial rule in 1957. Boon (2007) observed that before the institution of a formal social security system in Ghana, the indigenous Ghanaian society had a traditional form of social protection. The traditional form of social security, in Ghana, had been based on the extended family system as well as one's children to address risks from disability, sickness, loss of a key bread winner of a household, old age and victims of natural disasters. However, with the advent of globalisation, the Ghanaian society is getting westernised. An impact of this is a gradual and systematic disintegration of the extended family structure which had been relied upon to provide the traditional social security, and thus, necessitating the need for other means of attaining social protection (Boon, 2007).\n3. The lean principle in public service organisations: Most public organisations, under the pressures of myriad stakeholders and their expectations, have struggled to achieve efficiency in their operations (Corrigan and Joyce, 2000; Radnor and McGuire, 2004; Greiling, 2005). Historically, public services seem to be lower on the ladder of efficiency relative to their counterparts in the private sector. This is because, for a very long time, most providers of public services have not faced the threat of competition. Usually the patrons of public services are more or less captive users with little or no choice of providers. This situation makes most public service organisations to be more supplier driven than customer driven. And very often there are no performance metrics to guide behaviour and decision making However, recent deregulation policies in public services - healthcare, insurance, banking, etc. - coupled with pressures on public expenditures have made it imperative for managers of public service organisations to constantly search for new and better ways of driving productivity upward while at the same time ensuring effectiveness in meeting the needs of citizens (Lenk, 2002; Karwan and Markland, 2006). For example, in the UK, the government has introduced reforms that permit patients to choose where they go for medical treatments with provisions made to follow patients with funding (Bhatia and Drew, 2006). Similarly, in Ghana, with the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme in 2003, many private medical institutions have been admitted to the scheme and thus provide choices for patients.\n4. General claim processing at PTC: We document in this section the process flow for the claim process at PTC, Ghana. The claim or benefit processing at PTC begins with the submission of an application letter by the claimant to the claimant's PTC branch. On the receipt of the letter, an application form (SS4) is filled at the PTC branch and the necessary due diligence or clearance including verification of credentials is carried out before the final payment of benefit to the claimant. In the case where the member is not cleared under the Age 54+ project, the member is referred to the Trust's Clearance Office for clearance. After the branch receives clearance from the Clearance Office, the branch forwards the claimant's details to Pension House for final payment. Figure 1 is a flow chart of the entire process.\n5. Claim processing under Age 54+ project: The board and executives of the Trust initiated the Age 54+ project to ensure that the processing time for benefits payment is reduced. The project employed young graduates who were to follow up with telephone calls (after letters have been issued) to members who were aged 54+ years to ensure that both their personal and financial data were complete to ensure faster processing of claims at the point of members' retirements. This project targeted this age category (54+) because though the normal retirement age by the Trust is 60 years, members could qualify for voluntary retirement from age 55 years. Under the Age 54+ project, acquisition of a blue card indicates evidence of being part or captured under the Age 54+ project. This pre-processing step is an example of the conversion of internal setup to external setup such that processing delays are minimised with regard to record verifications when the claimant achieves retirement age. Data errors are reduced ahead of time and valuable labour hours are not being spent to fix those errors when the actual claim processing is taking place. The possession of the blue card is also a signal or indication (i.e. kanban principle) that the claimant is ready to be processed for retirement benefits. The procedure for the acquisition of the blue card is as shown in Figure 4.\n6. Data and method: The data for this study were obtained from the benefits system of PTC, Ghana, for the period 2009-2013. Given that the data are from one organisation, this might be considered a case study. However, as a paradigm, this study falls in the realm of a quantitative study as opposed to an interpretivist case study. At the same time, the data came from the archived records of the organisation. Given that organisations in developing countries are often not willing to share their records with researchers, the unit of analysis is the processing of claim. Even though the Age 54+ project commenced in 2003, data were available only from 2009 to 2013. The data consist of a series of benefits processing times for two groups of 56,000 claimants - those cleared under the Age 54+ project and those cleared under the old processing system. Descriptive statistics involving the mean benefits processing time, the minimum and maximum processing times and standard deviations were computed and compared for the two groups of benefits processing times. To visually ascertain the increasing or decreasing pattern of claim processing times under the two different scenarios, trend graphs were employed. Box plots were constructed to visually ascertain the normality or skewness of the distribution of the processing times of claimants under the Age 54+ project and those under the old processing system.\n7. Results: The Age 54+ project was implemented to reduce the processing time between claim lodgement date and claim payment date by correcting problems associated with both personal and financial data on contributors. That is to say, mistakes and omissions in respect of contributors' personal and financial data are identified and fixed prior to the actual processing task when the contributor reaches the retirement age.\n8. Discussion and conclusions: This study sought to ascertain, if the implementation of a process improvement project at a public sector organisation in a developing country led to efficiency and productivity gains and further to use the lean operations principles as a lens to decipher how and why the improvements occurred. The project had a single objective of having the data (personal and financial) of all contributors to the Trust - with age 54 years and above - cleansed before the retirement age of 60 years so as to reduce the overall claim processing time from the date of lodgement of claim to the payment date. This adjustment in the claims process is akin to the lean concept of converting internal setups into external setups (i.e. SMED) in order to reduce the overall process time. Also, the Trust not waiting until the age of retirement before processing of retirement benefits begins but flagging and signalling members who are aged 54 and above for prior processing indicates \"a pull\" instead of \"a push\" principle (i.e. kanban). This has the potential of eliminating waste and ensuring speed in claim processing. The cleansing of the data was aimed at eliminating or reducing data processing errors when people feel rushed to perform activities. The evidence of having completed the Age 54+ project process is a possession of a \"blue card\" which is required to be submitted to a benefit officer at the time of application for retirement benefits. With regard to lean concepts, the \"blue card\" represents a kanban system, in that it signals the readiness of the claims processing task to accept the new claim being presented. The Age 54+ project is a simple but effective way of responding to the excessive delays, which also represents waste according to lean principles, in benefits processing at the Trust. The project did not involve a drastic change in the operation of the Trust with respect to claim processing. The philosophy which underpins the project is basically a \"Let's Start in Time\" idea and \"Let's Reduce or Eliminate errors prior to the Start of the Claim\". This has, on the average, reduced the claim processing time at the Trust by 20 per cent compared to the old processing system as of 2013.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The Pension Trust Company (PTC) in Ghana is the sole agency responsible for the management of the first-tier pension scheme as well as processing of claims submitted by beneficiaries for this scheme. The claim processing system at PTC was wrought with significant delays resulting in severe customer dissatisfaction and hardship to retirees. Hence, a new system - Age 54+ project - was developed to address the problems related to claims processing. The purpose of this paper is to report on the efficiency gains from the new claim processing system implemented at PTC and to use the philosophies behind the lean operations concept to explain the results.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data for this study were obtained from the benefits system of PTC for the period 2009-2013. The data consist of a series of benefits processing time for two groups of 56,000 claimants - those cleared under the Age 54+ project and those cleared under the old processing system. The processes of the two claim processing systems were analysed and their processing times compared.\nFindings: The new system - Age 54+ - decreased the average processing time for new claims by 20 per cent. The new system is a simple approach which is driven by a \"Let's Start in Time\" idea.\nOriginality/value: The operations management literature suggests that process redesign approaches and the implementation of continuous improvement techniques represent mechanisms for achieving performance improvements at governmental agencies. This study shows and discusses the redesign of a social security scheme process using a lean operation concept of waste elimination method and application of kanban to deliver performance improvement.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Student team integrating aspects of sustainability in practical design education	[ "Japan", "Sustainable design", "Industrial design", "Eco-design", "Design education for sustainability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the activities and attitudes of undergraduate students toward eco-product development. The main title of this study is a part of a series related to design education for sustainability (DEfS), which is a new field for industrial design education and design professionals (Ramirez, 2006; McKeown,2002; Diehl and Brezet, 2005; Casais et al., 2012; WCED, 1987).\n2. Justification for choosing the theme and case study: This research is justified by the lack of reference literature that pertains to DEfS in Japan. This fact is confirmed in the papers published between 2003 and 2013 by the International Symposium on Eco-Design in Japan (ECDIM, 2003/2013) and between 1997 and 2011 by the Special Issue of the Japanese Society for the Science of Design (JSSD, 2011, 1997). There is no evidence of publications in Japan that discuss the integration of aspects of environmental sustainability in design education and practice.\n3. Main purpose of study: As described in Section 2, DEfS has been a new field for Japanese educators on undergraduate and graduate courses. An appropriate collection of references for teaching DEfS also appears to be lacking. In light of these two factors, the author identified the following four basic questions (pertaining to the activities, attitudes and inclination of students working on a design project).\n4. Method, profile and research limitation: 4.1 Method\n5. Results: This section describes the basic approaches to sustainable design and tools given to the student team to direct their design activities and offer ways to explore and propose sustainable concepts. Figure 2 summarizes the sequence of students' activities towards eco-product development.\n6. Discussion: Barriers encountered by the student team when designing eco-products: Based on the results of Sections 5.2 and 5.3, the author found that the support tool for design education has an important role in the DfS context. The support tool becomes an important bridge between the theoretical studies and the practice of DfS. The student team noted the importance and different approaches of each tool in the relation to quality and quantity aspects.\n7. Conclusion: In this research, the student team explored socio-cultural, sustainable consumption and user approaches. Their experimental proposed designs were characterized as short-term strategies. Their design activities, attitudes and inclination towards sustainability were characterized as proactive. The student team demonstrated an interest in exploring details of a new concept of the adapted ESW, which they expressed has a strong relationship with sustainability principles.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the first experiences (activities, attitudes and inclinations) of an undergraduate student team with eco-design activities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Undergraduate students of an industrial design course were invited to participate in the design project. The activities of students were carried out in the class titled in Japanese \"Sogo Project\" (Overall Project). The project is experimental learning based on pedagogical case studies that students propose practical designs with a sustainable approach.\nFindings: According to the activities and attitudes of the student team, they showed interest in focusing on sustainable consumption and consequently leant towards a socio-cultural rather than a technological eco-design approach in their works. The barriers to design education for sustainable design were found, and the student team expressed that the available support tool during their design process was complex. They also expressed that the tool was not compatible with their academic skills and background.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper has limited participants, resources, time and contextual scale. Few Japanese educators are skilled in eco-design, and eco-design modules are also poorly integrated into undergraduate and graduate industrial-design courses at Japanese universities.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to an initial discussion in the field of Japanese industrial-design education regarding the principles of and barriers to design education for sustainability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Sponsorship selections: corporate culture, beliefs and motivations	[ "Corporate culture", "Sponsorship", "Sponsorship selection" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In 2015 annual global sponsorship expenditure exceeded US$57 billion (IEG, 2016) and sponsorship is accepted by practitioners and academics within the industry as an effective strategic marketing tactic (Cornwell and Humphreys, 2013). Nonetheless, sponsorship has attracted external criticism as a financially wasteful divergence from core business, driven by an indulgent corporate culture or the personal interests of senior executives (Andrews, 2012). Consequently, there is increased pressure from both corporate and community stakeholders for greater levels of transparency and professionalism in sponsorship selection (Meenaghan, 2013).\nConceptual framework: Sponsorship selection policy and process\nMethodology: The exploratory study comprised in-depth interviews with eight sponsorship managers of large companies in Australia with sponsorship budgets in excess of $1 million. Interviews were an appropriate method for data collection as they provided the opportunity for dialogue and to explore the sometimes complex answers given by experts (Zikmund et al., 2013). Additionally, due to the commercial and sometimes confidential nature of the discussions and the interviewees being senior executives located across three states within Australia, it was more practicable to conduct one-on-one, face-to-face interviews rather than to arrange group discussion. Respondents were selected from a sample of companies undertaking sponsorship. The sample was purposively selected to provide a broad representation of sponsorship portfolios and objectives as well corporate cultures to explore the influence these factors may have on sponsorship selections.\nFindings and discussion: The findings regarding the connection between sponsorship policy and the selection and the moderating influence of: corporate culture; and the beliefs and motivations of sponsorship managers are discussed in this section.\nImplications: Sponsorship has become pervasive at public events as companies strive for a marketing advantage by engaging with audiences during the excitement of public events. Yet sponsorship is often viewed as a corporate indulgence on behalf of executives as it is difficult to demonstrate how it specifically delivers a commercial return on investment. Companies are employing policies to apply rigour to sponsorship selection in efforts to rationalise sponsorship expenditure. Nonetheless, the implementation of sponsorship policy is reliant upon the experience and often subjective judgements of individuals who are delegated the responsibilities of sponsorship selection and management.\nConclusion: In conclusion, there is little doubt sponsorship will continue to grow as a strategic marketing tactic and justification and accountability for this expenditure is likely to play a more significant role in the future. Therefore, a deeper understanding of influences on sponsorship selections helps businesses refine their decision-making processes to maximise subsequent economic impacts. It also provides rights holders with insights into often hidden triggers for such decisions thereby maximising their chances of success in securing sustainable economic support.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Sponsorship can be an effective strategic marketing tool yet it attracts criticism as a corporate indulgence shaped by the personal interests of senior executives. While research into the outcomes of sponsorship is extensive, the practices involved in sponsorship selections have been largely ignored. Today, sponsorship selection in large corporations is recommended to be a formal process involving evaluation criteria aligned to corporate policy and strategic priorities. Yet, in reality, corporate culture influences sponsorship selection, as do sponsorship managers' beliefs about sponsorship types and motivations. The purpose of this paper is to explore sponsorship selection practices and to consider the interplay between corporate culture and sponsorship managers' beliefs about sponsorship types and their motivations. The findings provide not only new interpretation of the literature but also reveal a detailed picture of sponsorship selection.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This exploratory qualitative study comprises in-depth interviews with senior sponsorship managers from eight large Australian companies that use sponsorship as a strategic marketing tactic.\nFindings: This study concludes that the sponsorship selection process is strongly influenced by corporate culture as well as the sponsorship manager's beliefs about sponsorship types and their motivations.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the sponsorship management research stream by providing important insights into under-researched factors that influence the sponsorship selection process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Goal orientation, academic competences and early career success	[ "Young adults", "Career satisfaction", "Individual psychology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Career success is an important goal for most of the young professionals. It is, of course, in the interest of these professionals themselves, but also in that of the organizations given that employees' personal success can eventually contribute to organizational success (Ng et al., 2005). Even in these more challenging economic times, gaining a deeper insight into determinants of early career success is of importance given the continued importance of organizations to attract and retain talented young professionals (the so-called war-for-talent). This makes enhanced insight in determinants of career success an important human resource issue. Organizations invest tremendous effort into hiring top-talent from business schools. If these young professionals are satisfied with their career progress and development within the organization, it is more likely that they will stay on as productive employees.\nMethods: Respondents\nResults: The first step was calculating a person's dominant achievement goal. For a goal to be counted as dominant, one should have chosen that particular goal all three times, giving a score of 3. In our sample, 84 percent held a dominant achievement goal, which is comparable to Van Yperen's (2006) findings. The highest percentage holds a mastery-approach goal (110 respondents, 45 percent), followed by a performance-approach goal (74 respondents, 30 percent). The remaining two dominant achievement goals were chosen by only a limited number of people, that is 7 percent (18 respondents) with a mastery-avoidance goal and 2 percent (4 respondents) with a performance-avoidance goal. Given the limited number of people with an avoidance goal orientation, the remainder of this study will focus on both approach orientations. For both, a dummy variable was created with a value of 1 or 0. Table I gives the descriptives and intercorrelations of the variables.\nDiscussion: This study addressed the extent that the relation between academic competences and career success is influenced by a person's goal orientation. The results confirmed the hypothesis that a mastery orientation would be more beneficial for subjective career success than a performance orientation. However, the hypothesis that a performance orientation would be stronger related to objective career success had to be rejected. Here, after entering the control variables, neither goal orientations added additional variance. The second hypothesis focusing on the moderating influence of goal orientation was again confirmed for mastery orientation only. No moderation was found in relation to objective career success. Overall, having a high mastery or a high performance goal orientation worked out positive in relation to subjective career success for those with low levels of academic competence and for those with low average grades.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to focus on early career success as determined by a combination of what young professionals learned at school (in terms of their grades and academic competences) and how this, together with their self-regulatory focus, influenced their early objective career success in terms of salary growth and subjective career success, in terms of career satisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using an online survey, 247 alumni from a major business school in The Netherlands participated.\nFindings: The results showed that, within this sample, a person's goal orientation was an important determinant of subjective and objective career success. A master orientation was more beneficial than a performance orientation. In addition, a high mastery or a high performance orientation buffered the potential negative influence of low levels of academic competence and grades on career satisfaction.\nOriginality/value: The study showed the limited predictive value of grades and academic competences to predict early career success.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Design principles for transforming making programs into online settings at public libraries	[ "Communities of Practice", "Public libraries", "Makerspace", "Informal learning", "Making", "C4P", "Connected learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Public libraries continue to facilitate community engagement and knowledge creation during COVID-19; however, there is little evidence that their endeavors encompass transforming existing making programs into online settings (PLA, 2020). Given the extension of the society's contingency planning in remote work and online learning, libraries will be expected to expand their online endeavors to continue their mission as knowledge creation institutions.\nC4P and connected learning framework: We bring together the C4P framework (Hoadley and Kilner, 2005) and the connected learning framework (Ito et al., 2013) in our analysis. C4P stands for content, conversation, connections, (information) context, and purpose that facilitates learning within CoP in online learning environments. CoP, first coined by Lave and Wenger (1991), emphasizes that learning resides among practice and community (Hoadley, 2012; Looi et al., 2008). Hoadley and Kilner (2005) developed the C4P framework in accordance with a type of CoP, knowledge-building community; unlike other types of CoP where learning happens unintentionally, knowledge-building community members share a common goal of knowledge creation and learning. In C4P framework, content refers to artifacts that function as vehicles of knowledge and initiate a unidirectional communication. Conversation means dialogues and discussions, which entail bidirectional interactions for information exchange. Connections involve members making interpersonal contacts thereby building a relationship. Context indicates information context that enables community members to evaluate the relevance of given information. Lastly, purpose provides the rationale for the establishment of the community. The five elements enable online community members to build knowledge effectively (Hoadley and Kilner, 2005).\nMethodology: We reviewed existing literature and practitioner reports on informal learning projects that involve making and STEM learning, family learning and online learning. Given the practical nature of this paper, our analysis started with literature reviews of makerspaces from the public library (Willett, 2015) and educational research (Vossoughi and Bevan, 2014), and expanded our search to identify specific articles for youths, families and adults by leveraging our previous research (Choi and Pursel, 2016; Jung et al., 2016; Kim and Zimmerman, 2019). We searched for emergent cases in response to COVID-19 from existing and new community groups (CoBuild19, 2020; K-12 Remote Learning Resources, 2020; Programming Librarian Interest Group, 2014; Teaching During COVID-19, 2020) to survey how learning was supported during COVID-19 for community members. We attended to the types of learning activities that were implemented, and how community members shared their learning processes and outcomes. We reviewed a report on informal STEM learning (National Research Council, 2009) and online learning (Keengwe and Kidd, 2010) to identify facilitation techniques relevant to youths, families and adults in informal and/or online settings.\nDesign principles: We present the 11 design principles to transform existing making CoPs at public libraries into online settings around five key areas (Table 1). We highlight that access to technology (e.g. computers) and the internet is a requirement to apply the proposed design principles because CoP members need them to engage in virtual-making programs. We also highlight that the design principles are intended to serve library staff who aim to transform their existing making programs into online maker communities. We also acknowledge that drop-in programs for families with young children may have different characteristics than traditional CoPs; however, families who regularly attend these programs can transform into an online knowledge-building community with a shared goal during COVID-19. As such, each design principle provides additional guidelines for families with young children, if deemed appropriate.\nProgram design: Establish a shared, interest-driven purpose\nTools and materials: Provide instructions to engage in online platforms\nFacilitation: Facilitate \"hanging out\" conversations first\nProcess documentation and sharing: Use technology for documenting and sharing\nFeedback: Provide responsive feedback through inquiry cycles\nConclusion: In this paper, we propose evidence-based design principles around the five areas - program design, facilitation, tools and materials, process documentation and sharing, and feedback - for public libraries to build online, remote making programs during COVID-19. We integrate and apply theories related to the communities of practice and the connected learning to provide concrete guidelines and pathways throughout 11 design principles for different types of learner groups (i.e. youths, adults and families with young children) and diverse online making and tinkering activities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to investigate design principles for transforming existing making communities of practice within public libraries into online knowledge-building communities to support youths, families with young children and adult members' making and tinkering during COVID-19.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Building upon C4P and connected learning framework, the authors analyze existing literature and practitioner reports on informal learning projects related to making and STEM learning, family learning and online learning as well as emergent cases of innovative approaches in response to COVID-19 from public libraries, informal learning institutions and community groups.\nFindings: The authors suggest 11 design principles around five areas: program design, facilitation, tools and materials, process documentation and sharing and feedback.\nOriginality/value: This work contributes to the information and learning sciences concerned with community engagement and knowledge creation by suggesting a design model to transform and sustain existing making communities of practice within public libraries into online knowledge-building communities during COVID-19.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Analyzing promotions of racial/ethnic minority CEOs	[ "Leadership", "Race/ethnicity", "Glass cliff", "Organizational diversity", "Race/ethnic privilege" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Twenty years ago, there was one Fortune 500 company led by a person of color; today that number is 21 (Diversity Inc, 2012). Kenneth Chenault of American Express, Antonio Perez of Eastman Kodak Co, and Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo represent just a few of the growing list of minorities leading America's largest firms (Zweigenhaft and Domhoff, 2011). Growing awareness of this trend has led scholars to consider the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities ascend to top leadership positions (Marable and Clarke, 2009; Thomas and Gabarro, 1999; Zweigenhaft and Domhoff, 2011).\nTheory: Glass cliffs\nNational context: The term \"Fortune 500\" refers to the ranking of the largest private publicly held US companies. The list is compiled annually by Fortune magazine, and rankings are based on gross revenue. By analyzing CEO transitions within the Fortune 500, our analysis focusses on leadership decisions in highly visible and influential firms.\nData and methods: Procedure\nResults: We test three hypotheses: whether racial/ethnic minorities are more likely than white males to be appointed CEO in weakly performing firms (glass cliff); whether racial/ethnic minorities are more likely than white males to be appointed CEO in strongly performing firms (bold moves); and whether racial/ethnic minority CEOs are replaced by white males if firm performance weakens during their tenure (savior effect). Descriptive statistics and correlations are presented in Table II.\nDiscussion: Racial/ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in top leadership positions. While the barriers that limit upward mobility have been well documented, understudied are the mechanisms that allow these barriers to be breached. We seek to identify the mechanisms that increase opportunities of obtaining leadership positions for racial/ethnic minorities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities are promoted to top leadership positions in American corporations. In addition to testing the glass cliff theory for racial/ethnic minorities, the paper also develops and test two additional theoretical mechanisms: bold moves and the savior effect. While the glass cliff theory predicts racial/ethnic minorities will be promoted to struggling firms, the bold moves theory predicts the opposite, that racial/ethnic minorities will be promoted to strong firms. The savior effect predicts that minority CEOs will be replaced by white male leaders if firm performance struggles during their tenure.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper relies on conditional logistic regression to analyze all CEO transitions among Fortune 500 companies over a 15-year period.\nFindings: Consistent with the bold moves thesis but contrary to the predictions of glass cliff theory, the results suggest that racial/ethnic minorities are more likely than white executives to be promoted CEO in strongly performing firms. As predicted by the savior effect theory, the paper also finds that when firm performance struggles under the leadership of racial/minority CEOs, these leaders are likely to be replaced by white CEOs.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings contradict theory of the glass cliff and suggest additional mechanisms that shape the promotion probability of minority leaders.\nPractical implications: Race and ethnicity shape promotion and replacement decisions for top leadership positions in important ways. While minority leaders are not set up to fail, as glass cliff theory would predict, the authors do find that confidence in the leadership of minority leaders may be tenuous. To overcome the risks of replacement of minority leaders, firms should seek to eliminate bias by allowing minority leaders enough time and resources to overcome declines in firm performance and increase the transparency of replacement decisions.\nOriginality/value: This is one of the first studies to test the glass cliff thesis with regard to racial/ethnic minorities. The paper also develops and tests two new mechanisms related to leader succession: bold moves and the savior effect.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An ontology-assisted analysis in aligning business process with e-commerce standards	[ "Business planning", "Electronic commerce", "Integration", "Extensible Markup Language" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Research background: Internet has changed the way business conducted between companies worldwide. Firms are now used to exchange business information electronically over internet. Since, the mid-1990s, wave after wave of web technology standards emerge to support the electronic business information exchange. Standards like Extensible Markup Language (XML), internet electronic data exchange (I-EDI), RosettaNet[1], ebXML[2], Web Ontology Language (OWL), and semantic web surge and sweep electronic commerce worldwide (RosettaNet Consortium, 2006; ebXML business process specification schema (BPSS), 2006; OWL, 2004). These standards impact on contemporary corporations in many aspects. These standards are proposed to provide a uniform way of business information exchange mechanisms. Semantic not syntactic integration emerges to be the issue that hinders the plan and progress of business-to-business integration electronic commerce (B2Bi EC), which in turn causes time, cost, and reinvention every time there is a change in the public process, there is a change in the standard, and there is a change in the partnership.The traditional method to tackle the issue can be divided into the programming (ad hoc) approach and the mapping table (syntactic) method. The programming approach solves the problem in a one to one fashion but the result easily becomes the unmanageable \"spaghetti\" chaos. The mapping table seems to be an easy and convenient approach. However, it only deals with the specific data values not the data definition. An exponentially growing number of trading partners emerge in B2Bi EC. Programming is no longer an effective and flexible way. Mapping table is too primitive and inadequate. The new complexity of data semantic in the business information exchange makes both approaches even harder to tackle the problem (Stojanovic et al., 2002). We believe that internet growth makes B2Bi climb to a higher level of exchange, that is, the exchange of business meanings and business constraints. A knowledge-intensive and system-to-system semantic integration model and method is in need.\n2 Research issue: B2Bi is to exchange business information between different firms and interoperate the public processes over internet. The traditional ways of trading include telephone, fax, and e-mail. These approaches introduce faults, redundancies, and wastes. Electronic data interchange is a 1990s and transaction-based approach. However, the change of EDI specification is neither on line or real time. EDI lacks the ability to quickly respond to business changes and suffers from the scalability in the presence of an exponentially growing number of users. Internet EDI is the next stage of B2Bi development. And new B2Bi standards have been proposed based on XML. They indeed provide a more on line and real time method than traditional EDI. However, companies still struggle with the difficulty of heterogeneity and interoperability in the exchange and execution of processes and protocols. In essence, an enhanced approach needs to provide the technology compatibility and the knowledge representation.Electronic commerce within and across national boundaries is universal. Most firms if not all have problems in one way or another with business process integration and business model interoperability. On both methodological and pragmatic levels, due to increasing diversity in web pages, web services, data sources, and programming languages in all countries, developing an analysis framework of cross-national B2Bi resolution is important at international, national, and intra-national levels. This study will develop an analysis framework and a method to explore the way integration and interoperability over schema and semantics can be achieved in B2Bi EC. The dynamics of internet and intelligence of XML and ontology interplay with inter-organizational context, making it a base for exploring the model and method.Various approaches have been proposed to study B2Bi issues. However, they lack the process perspective and the semantic representation. Their interoperability is based on ad hocracy. Much is needed in the systematic and methodological enhancement. This research intends to tackle the inadequacy of B2Bi standard implementation in forms. An ontology-assisted analysis framework is created to reconcile and represent the conflicts and correspondences in the B2Bi EC issue. Based on the literature, in general, B2Bi framework has three fundamental layers to deal with (Cut et al., 2002; Gasevic et al., 2004). They are the communication layer, the content layer, and the process layer. These layers represent the important mechanism and management in B2Bi such as the coupling among partners, the autonomy, and the security. In essence, they mean the specifications of the message formats, the transport protocol, the procedure, and the security mechanism.\n3 Research method: 3.1 Analysis-driven ontology modeling\n4 An experimental study: 4.1 A prototype system\n5 Discussion: 5.1 Research implication\n6 Conclusion and future work: 6.1 Conclusion\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this research is to articulate an analysis framework and a method for the cross-national business-to-business integration electronic commerce (B2Bi EC) by exploring an ontology-assisted schema and semantics resolution in the business process alignment with electronic commerce standards.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper presents an ontology-assisted analysis method and alignment model in the implementation of the B2B electronic commerce standard specification over the existing trading partners' public processes in the syntactic and semantic integration and interoperability. An application of the Unified Modeling Language is made to analyze the public process in the domain and in the standard. Terms, concepts, relations, and links are created from the analysis results and converted into an ontology representation. Web Ontology Language is introduced to formulate the analyzed knowledge and experience to align the domain and the standard. There are correspondences and conflicts in the process of alignment. They are resolved via the shared and reusable ontology which is a convergence of the domain ontology and the standard ontology. The converged and shared ontology is achieved via a set of rules and heuristics that are created in the research.\nFindings: - The key of success in the B2Bi EC lies in the ability to accomplish the process interoperability and the schema comparability. Three main tasks have to be achieved to fulfill the requirements. This research constructs a prototype to implement the method. The prototype is used to illustrate the feasibility and validity of the method. A set of starter experiments has been conducted in use of a straight-through example of a purchase order process in the alignment with the RosettaNet standard and the ebXML standard. The starter experiment serves as the baseline to demonstrate that the method is feasible and valid.\nOriginality/value: - A syntactic and semantic analysis method and alignment model are developed and demonstrated in the research. Integration and interoperability are accomplished in use of the systematic and analytic method.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Analysis of entrepreneurship perception and business developmental strategy of silk in Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia	[ "Silk", "Entrepreneurship", "Business model canvas", "Business development strategy", "Canvas", "Wajo Regency" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: National economic growth in the past 10 years (2006-2015) has been in trouble, because consistent with the trend of national economic activity. National economic growth cannot be measured separate from investment, inflation and import and export activities, which directly affect the economic business activity of Indonesia in general and economic activities of each province. According to statistical data in 2015, the level of entrepreneurship perception of Indonesians reached 3.3 per cent of Indonesian population applying for a job in the economic sector. This indicates that the desire to be entrepreneurs is still low. Meanwhile, statistical data in 2015 for the scale of South Sulawesi people show that the participation in entrepreneurship of the people applying for and creating a job field has just been 2.9 per cent. The result of this percentage is a matter of consideration for the South Sulawesi Government to encourage the sensitivity level and simultaneously attempt to improve entrepreneurship perception in creating different business fields.\n2. Literature review: Perception is an important psychological aspect for a person in responding to the presence of various aspects and the symptoms around. Perception implies a broad definition, concerning internal and external factors. Many experts have given different definitions for perception, although it principally has a similar meaning. According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, perception is a direct response (acceptance) to something. The process by which a person identifies things is through their five senses.\n3. Methodology: The location of the study was Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi Province, i.e. predominantly the silk industry. The population of this study was silk weavers (544 people) running the business of silk weaving. The sample of this study was 235 respondents. The data used in this study came from Grant Research (Kadir et al., 2016). To prove the hypothesis stated by the author, BMC was used to identify entrepreneurship perception, and SWOT analysis was conducted to understand the strategy of weaving business development in Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1 Entrepreneurship perception of silk weaving with business model canvas approach\n5. Conclusion and recommendation: Based on the results and discussion ststed above, the following concluions can be drawn:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the entrepreneurship perception and business developmental strategy of silk business in Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study subject was the silk industry located in Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi Province. The study population was 544 silk weavers running the business of silk weaving. The study sample consisted of 235 respondents. To prove the hypothesis stated by the author, the canvas business model analysis method was used to identify entrepreneurship perception, and SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis was conducted to understand the potential of the strategy of weaving business development in Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.\nFindings: Business model canvas (BMC) is a complex business model that becomes simple through a canvas approach, drawing a sheet of the canvas containing a map of nine elements (box), allowing businessmen to identify the business potential. The nine elements of the canvas that should be understood and considered for running a business are customer segment, value proportion, channel, customer relationship, revenue steam, key resource, key activities, key partnership and cost structure. To improve farmers' entrepreneurship perception, it would be nice for the weavers who run the silk business should constantly consider the nine elements of BMCso that in running their businesses, they can understand different considerations and create a progressive and developing silk industry.\nOriginality/value: This research is about merger two concept of business development in entrepreneurship to increase revenues, with the location of study as originality (no previous research for this relationship): Auditor in Wajo regency South Sulawesi Province in Indonesia. Based on the background stated above, this study aims to analyze entrepreneurship perception and silk industry developmental strategy in Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Who benefits from participative management?	[ "Participative management", "Teachers", "Personality measurement", "Performance measures", "Israel" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: An extensive body of research has shown that participative management - defined as joint decision making or at least shared influence in decision making by a superior and his or her employees (Koopman and Wierdsma, 1998) - offers a variety of potential benefits to the overall school organization and to its employees (Day et al., 2005; Gebert et al., 2003). Nevertheless, studies (Sato et al., 2002) have also indicated that teacher involvement in the decision-making process can generate job-related stress and role ambiguity and can create tension and conflict among teachers, principals, and administrators. Indeed, for some teachers, job role enhancement may actually be a source of additional stress.Occupational stress is a growing problem resulting in substantial cost to individual employees and to work organizations (Hart and Cooper, 2001). Hence, organizations have been compelled to show greater concern for workers' health, and the consensus belief that \"healthier-happier employees are power\" is becoming widespread (Schaufeli, 2004). Indeed, the huge costs of teacher strain can include impaired health and dysfunctional teacher behavior, with obvious implications upon student learning (Dorman, 2003). Moreover, the consequences of teacher stress affect society as a whole in terms of the costs of absenteeism, lost teaching time and turnover (Santavirta et al., 2007). Therefore, the question is: which teachers benefit from a participative management environment, and which do not? Based on the person-environment fit theory (Kristof, 1996) and on cognitive-relational stress theory of Lazarus and Folkman (1984), we propose that personality may play a crucial role in the impact of participative management on teacher outcomes. For teachers' personality traits, we employ the Big Five personality taxonomy, namely:1. extroversion (E);2. agreeableness (A);3. conscientiousness (C);4. neuroticism (N); and5. openness to experiences (O).Accordingly, we set out to explore the moderating role of teacher personality traits on the relationship between participative management and the outcomes of performance, satisfaction and strain (see Figure 1).\n2. Teacher personality traits and participative management outcomes: Participative management practices are commonly perceived as offering a variety of potential benefits for the organization and for workers' mental health and job satisfaction (Aryee and Chen, 2006; Kim, 2002). Nevertheless, such an environment, which is marked by shared decision making and a high level of interaction and cooperation among teachers and between teachers and principals (Blase and Blase, 1994), may actually be harmful for some, as it generates additional pressure and perceived stress due to added challenges, responsibility and accountability.In the last decade, several calls have been made to examine the role of personality in stress and job outcomes (Barrick and Mount, 2005). The five-factor model of personality, commonly referred to as the \"Big Five\" in the personality literature, has become the predominant model for specifying personality structure. This model provides an integrated framework to describe and measure personality according to five principal domains:1. extroversion (E);2. agreeableness (A);3. conscientiousness (C);4. neuroticism (N); and5. openness to experiences (O) (Costa and McCrae, 1992).The Big Five personality taxonomy has been convincingly validated across different cultures, occupations, rating sources, and measures (Barrick and Mount, 1991). Recent studies (Moss and Ngu, 2006; O'Brien and DeLongis, 1996) have found the Big Five personality traits to be meaningfully associated with many work-related behaviors and outcomes that are of interest and concern to managers and organizations.The present study model is based on the person-environment (P-E) fit theory and on the cognitive-relational stress theory of Lazarus and Folkman (1984). According to the P-E fit theory, positive outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction) will occur when there is similarity between an individual and the work environment, or when one entity provides what the other needs. For example, the work environment supplies what the individual needs (need-supply fit), or the individual provides abilities demanded by the work environment (demand-ability fit). The theory also emphasizes that negative outcomes will occur (e.g. strain, turnover) when there is dissimilarity between the individual and the work environment (Kristof, 1996). Yet, the broader literature on fit has demonstrated that the fit between people and their jobs, teams, and organizations has an impact upon a wide variety of outcomes and on how employees experience strain (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005; Xie and Schaubroeck, 2001).Furthermore, individual responses to stressful situations can vary greatly, and certain people are more likely to experience high levels of strain on the job than others (Fontana and Abouserie, 1993). According to the cognitive-relational approach (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984), appraisal mediates how people experience their environment. People constantly monitor the conditions in their environment to determine whether these conditions are likely to affect their wellbeing (primary appraisal), and if so, to see what can be done about this (secondary appraisal). Individuals appraise a situation as threatening when they see that their coping resources are inadequate to cope with the event. Responses to threat include high subjective stress and poor task performance (Tomaka et al., 1993). On the other hand, individuals appraise a situation as challenging when they assess their coping abilities as exceeding the situational demands. Challenge responses include low subjective strain and successful task performance.Therefore, the basic assumption of the present study is that teachers who are motivated to perform challenging work requiring collaboration and autonomy may achieve higher levels of performance and satisfaction because their personality factors may match the environmental factors associated with participative management. Likewise, a work environment that does not offer teachers the opportunities they seek because their resources do not match the demands of the participative environment may lead these teachers to negative outcomes and behaviors. Furthermore, they may perceive the participative management as threatening to their wellbeing.Here we posit that the Big Five traits moderate the relationships between participative management and the outcomes of performance, satisfaction and strain among teachers. Hence, we focus on higher-level factors as opposed to lower-level traits.2.1 Extraversion\n3. Research hypotheses: Teachers' personality traits will moderate the relationships between participative management and teacher performance, satisfaction and strain.H1. The relationship between participative management and performance will be positive for teachers high in extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience and low in neuroticism. In contrast, the relationship between participative management and performance will be negative for teachers low in extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience and high in neuroticism.H2. The relationship between participative management and satisfaction will be positive for teachers high in extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience and low in neuroticism. In contrast, the relationship between participative management and satisfaction will be negative for teachers low in extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience and high in neuroticism.H3. The relationship between participative management and strain will be negative for teachers high in extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience and low in neuroticism. In contrast, the relationship between participative management and strain will be positive for teachers low in extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience and high in neuroticism.\n4. Method: 4.1 Participants and procedure\n5. Results: Table I shows the means, standard deviations, and intercorrelation matrix for the study variables. An examination of the intercorrelation patterns shown in Table I yielded several insights. First, a significant correlation was found between performance and agreeableness (r=0.166, p<0.05) and performance and extroversion (r=0.185, p<0.05). Second, with respect to teacher satisfaction, positive and significant correlations was found between satisfaction and conscientiousness (r=0.348, p<0.001), satisfaction and extroversion (r=0.371, p<0.001), and satisfaction and agreeableness (r=0.198, p<0.05). Likewise, a negative correlation was found between satisfaction and neuroticism (r=-0.305, p<0.001). Finally, the correlation between teacher strain and neuroticism was positive and significant (r=0.517, p<0.001), whereas the correlations were negative between strain and conscientiousness (r=-0.174, p<0.05), strain and extroversion (r=-0.315, p<0.001), and strain and agreeableness (r=-0.244, p< 0.01).Table II shows that with respect to the moderating effect of the Big Five personality factors on the relationship between participative management and teacher outcomes, the control variables accounted for a negligible percentage of the variance in predicting performance (F=0.904, p>0.05), satisfaction (F=0.828, p>0.05) and strain (F=1.276, p>0.05). The joint main effects of performance, satisfaction and strain predictors accounted for 11 percent (F=2.496, p<0.05), 28 percent (F=7.450, p<0.001) and 32 percent (F=8.997, p<0.001), respectively. The first-order interaction effects between participative management and the five personality factors, entered in Step 3, accounted for an additional 8 percent of the variance in performance (F=2.744, p<0.01), for a further 5 percent of the variance in satisfaction (F=5.666, p<0.001) and for an additional 4 percent of the variance in strain (F=6.417, p<0.001).5.1 Extraversion\n6. Discussion: Although some theoretical and empirical research (Blase and Blase, 1994; Somech, 2006) supports the overall benefit of a participative management work environment, the question of whether greater teacher participation in the decision-making process is always appropriate remains open. The results of the present study demonstrate the intervening effects of teacher personality factors. In particular, the results highlighted the moderating effects of the personality dimensions of extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism on the relationship between participative management and teacher performance, satisfaction and strain. These findings provided additional support for the person-environment fit model and suggest that a better fit between teacher personality traits and participative management factors may enhance performance and satisfaction and reduce strain among some teachers.6.1 Extroversion\n7. Managerial implications: This study, if successfully replicated, can have important practical implications for administrators and school leaders. The present findings highlight that principals should be aware of how different followers react. When deciding upon the extent of teacher involvement, principals should consider the personality of each teacher. That is, although for some teachers (those who are highly conscientious, agreeable, and extroverted, for instance) participative management has a positive influence on performance, satisfaction and strain, for other teachers, particularly those who are highly neurotic, an environment with less responsibility and interaction might be more suitable. Therefore, principal must become acquainted with teachers as individuals, promote their strengths, enable them to perform, and remove barriers to their success. Hence, principals should become more aware of the effects of teachers' personality traits when deciding who should participate, and they should develop more appropriate criteria for participation (Bauer and Green, 1996). Thus, they must have the capacity for flexible participative management and the required skills to determine, according to improved criteria, how far to involve teachers in the decision-making process, while providing a response to the needs of the teachers as well as those of the school. For teachers who encounter difficulties conforming to participative management practices, we are not saying that principals should not involve such teachers in the decision-making process. In fact, the question arises of how principals can still benefit from involving such teachers in the decision-making process. For example, a principal may create an atmosphere that provides significant support for such teachers within the high level of interpersonal interaction and responsibility required in a participative management environment, thus helping them overcome their strain.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study seeks to explore the moderating role of teachers' personality traits from the Big Five typology on the relationship between participative management and teacher outcomes with respect to performance, satisfaction and strain. The study suggests that participative management may produce different results depending on teachers' personality factors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Data were collected from a survey of 153 elementary school teachers and their principals in Northern and Central Israel. Teachers were asked to complete questionnaires about participative management, workplace satisfaction and strain, as well as to fill in the Big Five personality questionnaire. Teacher performance was evaluated by the school principal.\nFindings: - Hierarchical regression analyses show that the personality dimensions of extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism served as moderators of the relation between participative management and teacher performance, satisfaction and strain. However, openness to experience was not found to have a moderating impact on those relations.\nOriginality/value: - Many educational research studies have emphasized the benefits of participative management practices for school organizations and teachers, while ignoring the potential negative impact of teacher participation in the decision-making process. The present study contributes to understanding and predicting the impact of participative management on teachers in particular and on school organization effectiveness in general. From the practical perspective, this research points to the necessity of including personality factors to better understand the impact of participative management on teacher outcomes and indicates that participative management may not suit all teachers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Size of training firms - the role of firms, luck, and ability in young workers' careers	[ "Firm size", "Mobility", "Unemployment", "Apprenticeship", "Vocational training", "Ability", "Young workers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Educational decisions have long-lasting effects on labor market outcomes (see, e.g., Card, 1999; Heckman et al., 2006). However, not only pre-school education and school choice matter for chances in future working life (Cunha and Heckman, 2007; Hoxby, 2003), but also decisions on vocational education and training. The choice of the employer (Card et al., 2013) and the first years in the labor market are decisive for occupational careers (von Wachter and Bender, 2006).\n2. Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence in the literature: 2.1 Size of training firm matters\n3. Data: The data set used in our study is the Sample of Integrated Labor Market Biographies provided by the Institute for Employment Research in Nuremberg. It is a 2 percent random sample of the universe of German employees registered by the social security system and spans the years from 1975 to 2010. The data contains daily information on individuals' labor market, benefit receipts and training participation history. The information on employment periods origins in employers' compulsory social security notifications while information on benefit receipt and program participation are generated directly within the Federal Employment Agency. Civil servants, self-employed or individuals out of labor force, are not included in the data.\n4. Empirical approach: We aim on estimating the effect of training firm size on long-run unemployment exposure and acknowledge the possibility that innate worker ability is related to training firm size. A basic model ignoring the possible confounding influence of ability is the following:\n5. Results: 5.1 Descriptive evidence\n6. Discussion and implications: We use a large administrative data set that follows graduated apprentices during their working life and show that training in large and medium-sized firms is associated with considerably less unemployment. These findings, however, may simply be the result of sorting processes: larger training plants with higher wage levels attract and choose the most able young workers. Therefore, we use a proxy for ability to estimate and control for the impact of ability on long-run unemployment. We assume that rank-order tournaments for the most attractive training positions take place and take into account an institutional peculiarity of the German training system, the empirically observable regional immobility of apprentices. Accordingly, we can use a region- and cohort-specific ranking based on training plants' size and plant-level median wages to proxy for apprentices' ability.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze how long-run unemployment of former apprentices depends on the size of their training firm and their ability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors use a large administrative data set that follows graduated apprentices during their working life. They show that training in large and medium-sized firms is associated with considerably less unemployment. This, however, may simply be the result of sorting processes, i.e. larger training firms with higher wage levels attract and choose the most able young workers. Therefore, the authors use a proxy for ability to estimate and control for the impact of ability on long-run unemployment. They assume that rank-order tournaments for the most attractive training positions take place and take into account an institutional peculiarity of the German training system, the empirically observable regional immobility of apprentices. Accordingly, they use a region-specific ranking based on training plants' size or median wages, respectively, to proxy for apprentices' ability.\nFindings: The negative association between training plant size and long-run unemployment is muted but still statistically well determined even after controlling for the rank of an individual's training firm in the local plant size distribution or the local wage distribution, respectively. Thus, the rank itself is a predictor for long-run unemployment of apprentices. The fact that the position in the local size distribution matters conditional on plant size shows that there is a local competition for training places.\nPractical implications: Lacking mobility may increases aggregate unemployment, as mobility reduces the risk of unemployment.\nSocial implications: The results imply that supporting regional mobility of young workers, e.g., by informing them better about existing mobility subsidies and dormitories for apprentices and by creating additional mobility incentives is warranted.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study to investigate long-run unemployment of former apprentices. Furthermore, the authors develop new variables to proxy for ability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Impact of nutrition knowledge on behaviour towards health claims on foodstuffs	[ "Nutrition", "Health foods", "Promotional methods", "Consumer behaviour", "Diet", "Ireland" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Spending on food eaten outside the home is increasing. In the USA in 1970, 26 per cent of all food spending was on food prepared and consumed outside of the home; by 2005, that share had risen to 41 per cent (USDA, 2008). In Britain, spending on food and drink products prepared and consumed outside the home grew by 102.2 per cent between 1992 and 2004 (ONS, 2006). Furthermore, dietary habits are changing and there is a worldwide increase in the understanding of the diet-disease relationship (WHO, 2003). From a former emphasis on survival, through hunger satisfaction and more recently food safety, food sciences now aim at developing foods to promote well-being and health while at the same time, reducing the risk of some major diseases (Roberfroid, 1999). Additionally in recent decades, foods on the marketplace are also positioned for sensory satisfaction and social occasions (Von Alvensleben, 2001). It is this \"health\" function that is of interest in this paper and has led to the development of products, on the marketplace, which are designed to improve some aspect of human health. They are known loosely (there is no legally agreed definition) as \"functional foods\" and are those which, in addition to their basic nutritional value, contain nutrients or other substances or have a nutritional composition that may prevent or reduce the risk of a diet-related disease or enhance a certain physiological function (Diplock et al., 1999). Functional foods are intended for consumption as part of a normal diet (No-Seong Kwak, 2001).In 2003, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published recommendations to encourage healthier food choices and reduce the risk of chronic disease attributed to inappropriate diets (WHO, 2003). These healthier food choices were to result in an overall reduction in fat intake and an increase in fibre consumption. In recent years, the food and drink (and recently the pharmaceutical) industry has spent billions of dollars on the research and development of functional foods. In promoting these WHO messages and functional foods, an assumption is made that exposing an individual to new nutrition related information leads to a gain in knowledge, prompting changes in attitude which in turn, will result in improved dietary behaviour (O'Brien and Davies, 2007). In fact, the factors influencing our food choices are several and include issues such as nutrient content, physical/chemical properties of the food, physiological effects and psychological effect (Landstrom, 2008) in addition to value, economics, consumer acceptability etc. Considering all these issues, the process of actually improving consumption patterns involves understanding the influences on human behaviour (Jones and Jew, 2007). Research conducted by Lanstrom identified that people believed that functional foods were being used to falsely compensate for an unhealthy lifestyle (Landstrom et al., 2009) and the prevention of heart disease/cardiovascular diseases, prevention of stomach/intestine cancer, lowering cholesterol and lowering blood pressure were listed as the disease/health aspect consumers would most prefer these foods to influence (Bech-Larsen and Grunert, 2003). What remains a subject of debate, is the extent to which consumers are prepared to change their daily habits and diets in order to minimise the risk of developing these conditions.Health claims are defined in European legislation, as any claim that states, suggests or implies that a relationship exists between a food category, a food, or one of its constituents and health (European Parliament and Council, 2006). It is through the use of health claims on labels that manufacturer's can communicate the potential benefits of a functional food.Nutrition knowledge and dietary behaviour\nMethodology: Recruitment of internet panel members\nResults: The sample comprised 458 females (69 per cent) and 207 males (31 per cent) and the mean age was 42 years which corresponds well with the average age of food shoppers in Ireland, which is 41 years (CSO Ireland, 2005). Of the sample, 56 per cent were aged 42 or younger - \"Younger age group\" and 44 per cent were aged 43 or older - \"Older age group\"; 75 per cent of the sample were married, living with a partner or in a relationship and 75 per cent of the sample were the main food preparer. Overall, 90 per cent of the sample reported that they were in good, very good or excellent health.Nutrition knowledge and credibility\nDiscussion: The results presented here identify that, in this population sample, with the exception of \"This yogurt will strengthen your bones and teeth\", nutrition knowledge did not impact on the credibility of the health claims. A high level of knowledge of nutrition knowledge did not lead to an increase in credibility of a claim. However, in the case of \"yogurt and bones and teeth\", it did. The relationship between dairy products and bones/teeth is likely to be better known by those with high levels of nutrition knowledge as it has been long established by the scientific and health promotion community. In the USA, for example, the recommended intakes of calcium have been promoted through the consumption of dairy products in federal nutrition policy documents, for over 20 years (Lanou et al., 2005). This message is likely to be better known and/or understood by those with a high level of nutrition knowledge and this sub-group found the claim more credible than those whose nutrition knowledge was low. This finding supports that of Van Kleef et al. (2005) who identified that the credibility of a functional food concept correlates negatively with its uniqueness and the more familiar consumers are with a food/health relationship, the more credible they are likely to find the health claim. Notwithstanding this however, a study, extrapolating beyond nutrition knowledge and examining knowledge of other public health messages and their impact on peoples attitudes towards health claims on foods would make a good contribution to this knowledge base.Food carriers impacted on the credibility of the claim with yogurt having a higher credibility than any of the other carriers in the study, followed by cereal, then pasta and finally chocolate. Urala et al. (2003) stated that consumers might only consider consuming functional foods if they are perceived healthier than their conventional counterparts. It is not surprising therefore, that chocolate, which is known as a hedonistic, \"treat\" product, was lowest in terms of credibility as a carrier of a health claim. \"Yoghurt\" was the food that carried more health claims than any other in Ireland (Lalor et al., 2010) and therefore it is reasonable to assume that consumers would be more familiar with health claims on yogurt than on other products as they are more prevalent in the supermarket.Health claims on yogurt and cereals were more credible than those presented on pasta and chocolate. For purchasers of yogurts and cereals, there was a statistical difference in credibility for three out of the four health claims presented. For purchaser of pasta and chocolate, there was no difference between credibility and non-credibility. Previous work has found a similar result where consumers' search for nutrition information in a given food category depends on how they perceive that category. Consumers may ignore nutrition information for fun foods, such as candy, because these foods meet hedonistic needs (Balasubramanian and Cole, 2002). A study of people's perceptions of the \"healthiness\" of these products could have added to this study but, while they should be interpreted cautiously, the results here do indicate that health claims would be more acceptable to consumers on yogurts and cereals, than they would be on pasta and chocolate.When examining purchasing behaviour of products with health claims, this study demonstrated no significant difference between gender, nutritional knowledge or age group (with the exception of claims to lower cholesterol). The food industry is expecting that consumers, after years of being bombarded with negative health messages to reduce the intake of fat, cholesterol and sodium are ready to welcome foods that emphasise the positive benefits of newly added ingredients (Arvanitoyannis and Van Houwelingen-Koukaliaroglou, 2005). However, the findings from this study show that the presence of health claims has limited impact on people's behaviour towards these products.Products claiming to lower cholesterol were purchased more in the previous month than any of the other products and were purchased more among the older age group than the younger age group. This may be explained by the fact that lowering cholesterol and heart disease, are primarily conditions of concern to older people. Given that heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in the USA accounting for over 40 per cent of deaths in those aged 65 years and above (Lakatta, 2002) and accounts for 35 per cent of death among the total population in Ireland and is the main cause of death for those over 65 years (CSO Ireland, 2006), it seems that older people are more likely to concern themselves with their heart health and therefore products making these claims are statistically more likely to be purchased by older people.A limitation of this study is that the panel are younger and more formally educated than the general public. They were also more likely to be female. The gender bias may be because the survey was food and health based and therefore may not have appealed to men as a more generally themed survey might have done. The results of this study should be considered therefore with this limitation in mind.This study looked at impact of credibility and nutrition knowledge on purchasing behaviour towards products making claims. Further work to ascertain whether price, taste, brand loyalty or other such issues will motivate people to purchase these products should be conducted. In addition, this study focussed only on positive messages to improve health. Further research into products with nutrients that should be avoided in excessive quantities, would also contribute to this knowledge base.\nConclusion: The results of this study indicate that nutrition knowledge does not impact on credibility of health claims and suggest that people do not purchase products because of their health claim. In addition, health claims are likely to be more credible on certain food products than they are on others. Given that different foods have different functions, informing consumers of their potential role in improving public health and attempts to improve their credibility will require entirely different approaches.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study aims to investigate whether nutrition knowledge impacts on the credibility and purchase behaviour of foodstuffs that make health claims.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The UCD Food and Health Survey is a monthly online survey, which began in November 2008. In March 2009, participants were asked a series of questions pertaining to nutrition and health claims and 665 completed questionnaires were included for analysis. Participants' level of nutrition knowledge was measured using a combined and modified version of Parmenter and Wardle's General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (1999) and that of Hawkes and Nowak (1998). Perceived credibility was gauged using a semantic differential scale and the questionnaire was designed to also assess participants' purchasing behaviour of functional foods.\nFindings: - Females scored significantly higher than males for nutrition knowledge (p=0.004) but there was no significant difference in nutrition knowledge between age groups. \"Reduces feelings of hunger\" was deemed the most credible claim. With the exception of \"This yogurt drink will strengthen your bones and teeth\", there was no difference in credibility between high and low nutrition knowledge groups. Health claims were more credible to participants when found on yogurt and breakfast cereal when compared with pasta and chocolate. Products claiming to reduce cholesterol were purchased more in the previous month than any of the other products and the same product was purchased statistically more often by those participants in the older age group.\nResearch limitations/implications: - A limitation of this study was that the panel were younger and more formally educated than the general public. They were also more likely to be female. The gender bias may be because the survey was food and health-based and therefore may not have appealed to men as a more generally themed survey might have done. The results of this study should be considered therefore with this limitation in mind.\nPractical implications: - People do not consider products with health claims to be a uniform category of foodstuffs and participants' level of nutrition knowledge does not have a significant impact on their behaviour towards products carrying health claims.\nOriginality/value: - Knowledge of nutrition does not impact on people's reactions to products with health claims and different foods demonstrate different levels of credibility as carriers for health claims.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Going global: the historical contingency of baseball hall of famer developmental networks	[ "Developmental networks", "Career development", "Mentoring", "Institutional/industry logics", "Extraordinary career success", "United States of America", "Time series analysis", "High flyers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: My life started in baseball with the groundwork that was laid by others ... Jackie Robinson opened the door for me ... Larry Doby - he was the first black player to play in the American League ... I don't think we can talk about our success without turning to those players and saying, \"We're grateful you were there. We thank you, we owe you\" (Reggie Jackson, Major League Baseball Player, National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee, Class of 1993).\nIntroduction: As Reggie Jackson observed, in terms of acceptable sources of talent, Major League Baseball (MLB) changed profoundly over the years. Indeed, there may be no other profession whose changes are as emblematic of changes at the larger US cultural and societal levels (McGimpsey, 2000; Rader et al., 2008). Yet, there has been little research to date on how broad changes in an institutionalized field like MLB can affect the careers of individuals. As Jackson suggested in citing the breaking of the color barrier in MLB, institutional changes induced talent management changes and, in turn, had implications for individuals' opportunities for achievement, making it possible for players like Robinson, Doby, and Jackson to have the chance to have extraordinary careers in MLB. In this paper, we thus focus on how changes in institutional logics and cultural sensibilities may affect the career development of individuals working within it. We empirically test whether such macro level changes impact the developmental and mentoring relationships of hall of famers such as Reggie Jackson.Economic and demographic changes along with globalization, hypercompetition, continuous improvement, and the need for an increasingly skilled and adaptable workforce (Harrington and Hall, 2007), continue to feed the ongoing organizational need for increasingly higher levels of employee productivity and performance. These changes have prompted organizations to build not only the skills of the leadership team (Kouzes and Posner, 2008) but also lower level \"star\" (Bendapudi and Leone, 2001; Trank et al., 2002) or superkeeper1 (Berger, 2004; Zingheim and Schuster, 2004) employees. The loss or absence of such employees severely restricts organizational growth because of their disproportionately powerful impact on current and future organizational performance (Berger, 2004; Zingheim and Schuster, 2004). Thus, the development of employees, especially those in positions most critical to the economic success of the organization, has become increasingly important. As Jackson notes (above), MLB is no exception as MLB racially integrated and initiated a global search for talent at a time that largely preceded such changes in American society as a whole. These changes not only manifested themselves in the increasing diversity of MLB rosters but as the game of baseball became more of a business, baseball teams invested more heavily in the search for talent and made changes in how they were organized in order to maximize the development of that talent.Although careers scholars have recognized that individuals use a constellation (Kram, 1985) or developmental network (Higgins and Kram, 2001) of relationships to provide them with career, psychosocial, and role-modeling support (Higgins, 2001; Higgins and Thomas, 2001), little attention has been given to how such networks may change over time in response to macro-level forces that may arise from societal, cultural or institutional shifts. Moreover, institutional scholars, who have mapped the effects of institutional shifts primarily as they affect managers and executives (e.g. Lounsbury, 2001; Thornton and Ocasio, 1999), have paid only limited attention to how such broad shifts may impact employees including lower level contributors whose performance may be especially important to long-term organizational performance (Berger, 2004; Zingheim and Schuster, 2004) as is the case in Major League Baseball.The objective in this study is to contextualize developmental network changes within larger cultural and institutional changes and investigate how these networks changed over time. We aim to contribute to both the career development and institutional theory literatures by investigating the correspondence between macro-level institutional shifts and micro-level individual careers. This study will focus especially on shifts from a more staid \"game\" to a more globally-responsive \"market\" logic in MLB and corresponding changes in the developmental networks of high performing field members, including individual hitters and pitchers. Like others who have studied similar multilevel phenomena (see Cousens and Slack, 2005; Greenwood and Suddaby, 2006; Lounsbury, 2001, 2002; Mizruchi et al., 2006; Thornton and Ocasio, 1999), we believe that societal, industry, organizational, and individual level changes are not discrete but nested and that broad shifts towards phenomena such as an increased focus on maximizing investments and globalization also impact on the context in which individuals make choices about their developmental relationships and skill building.\nCareer theory and developmental networks: Career theories including sponsored and contested mobility (Turner, 1960) emphasize the competitiveness of human capital in describing career advancement while empirical studies show that social capital and human capital are correlated with career success (see Ng et al. (2005) meta-analysis). Mentoring and developmental network theories emphasize the importance of social learning (Bandura, 1976) from mentors and developers inside and outside the organization (Higgins and Kram, 2001; Kram, 1985). These theories place skill-building and social relationships as key to individual development; however, their theoretical focus is at the individual or dyadic level with little mention of higher level influences.It is important to first highlight mentoring and developmental network linkages. Early research on mentoring focused on intra-organizational mentorship between a higher status, higher level, more senior member of an organization (the mentor), and a less experienced or less senior organizational member (the protege), in which this more junior member gained career and psychosocial assistance (Kram, 1985; Levinson et al., 1978). Over time, peer mentoring (Eby, 1997; Kram and Isabella, 1985) emerged as another important developmental alternative. More recently, researchers have argued that traditional mentoring has transformed into a process that extends beyond the services of any single mentor and is instead composed of shorter-duration developmental relationships with several developers who may collectively originate from one or more different social realms (Higgins and Kram, 2001) or career communities (Parker et al., 2004; Cotton et al., 2011). Therefore, research attention has now shifted to a \"constellation\" of people, or multiple \"developers\", who provide different kinds of career and/or psychosocial support (Higgins and Kram, 2001) to the protege in the form of a developmental network.An individual's developmental network consists of self-identified relationships, which can vary in the strength and types of support involved, with mentoring as the most intense and powerful one-on-one developmental relationship (Wanberg et al., 2003, p. 41). In addition, as a protege's developmental network structure changes over time (Cummings and Higgins, 2006), individuals draw support from different people at different times. Though many studies on mentoring and role modeling targeted younger employees at early career stages (e.g. Ibarra, 1999; Whitely et al., 1992), increasing attention has been paid to employees at middle and late career stages (e.g. Gibson, 2003; Gibson and Barron, 2003) as well as high performers across their entire careers (Cotton et al., 2011). Findings from these studies strongly suggest that developmental relationships are important for individuals regardless of their career or life stage. However, in order to identify the most important developers in a protege's entire career, a longer-term, \"full career\" perspective would seem prudent so as to not overemphasize the impact of a single developer as measured in a single time period as is typical in the vast majority of developmental network studies (see reviews by Chandler et al., 2011; Molloy, 2005). Looking at developers over the course of an entire career seems especially relevant as individuals often change jobs frequently and have to undergo multiple learning cycles across during their careers (Cotton et al., 2011; Hall, 2002) making the impact of a single developer difficult to put in perspective when looking at a single point in a person's career.Finally, but no less important to this study, is the fact that prior research on developmental networks has primarily utilized traditional measures of career success as the dependent variables, including: career/work satisfaction (Bozionelos, 2003; Higgins and Thomas, 2001; Murphy and Kram, 2010; Singh et al., 2009; van Emmerik, 2004), salary/income (Kirchmeyer, 2005; Murphy and Kram, 2010; Singh et al., 2009), and promotions/advancement (Bozionelos, 2003; Kirchmeyer, 2005; Singh et al., 2009). While these are important measures of individual career success, they may not capture the broader aspects of cumulative performance and achievement over the course of an individual's career that can also be critical to team and organizational success (Zabusky and Barley, 1996). Therefore, in order to address this gap, we will explore more fully how the structure and content of one's developmental network are associated with consensually conferred (Nicholson and de Waal-Andrews, 2005), long term career achievers, who may be critical in today's highly competitive global environment.\nInstitutional logics, firm practices, and individual realities: Institutional theory points to the influence of a broader set of contextual dynamics at the industrial or societal levels that extend beyond organizational boundaries (Fligstein, 1990; Friedland and Alford, 1991; Powell, 1991; Davis and Greve, 1997; Meyer et al., 1997). This broader institutional context can be characterized by logics that vary across historical periods (Thornton and Ocasio, 1999) and link to individual behavior (Friedland and Alford, 1991; Thornton and Ocasio, 1999). Researchers have demonstrated that institutional logics vary significantly between different societal sectors and within sectors in different historical periods. Consciously and unconsciously, actors draw on these institutional logics for meaningful frames of reference, sense making, identity, and action (e.g. Glynn and Lounsbury, 2005; Rao et al., 2005; Jones and Livne-Tarandach, 2008). The effect of such logics is to foster more homogenous beliefs and practices within a field and such effects likely affect individual choices about developmental network relationships. Thus, shifts in institutional logics over time should relate to shifts in developmental network characteristics.For example, Thornton and Ocasio (1999) demonstrated how the field of book publishing shifted over time from a professional logic, concerned with standards of quality, aesthetics, and content of books, to a market logic, concerned with commercialism and profitability. Along with this logic shift, came a shift in leadership such that executives went primarily from being former book editors to financiers and lawyers. Thus, Thornton and Ocasio (1999) provide evidence that, as institutional logics change, so do the career foci of key organizational members.Moreover, while institutional fields exert strong isomorphic pressures for conformity (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), there are also processes at play that affect how individuals may be affected by such pressures (Giddens, 1976). For example, Barley and Tolbert (1997) illustrated how macro-level institutions can differentially affect individual action through local interpretation, adaptation, and adoption. One important filter through which broader level institutional logics shape individual action is through formal and informal patterns of relational interaction. In effect, the interpersonal interactions that occur through developmental networks may modify institutional influences through individual agency. This is often achieved by establishing, strengthening, or loosening relational ties with influential others available to one's network (Monge and Eisenberg, 1987; Zeitz, 1980). More generally, Higgins and Kram (2001, p. 273) argued that: \"individuals can effect changes in their developmental networks and can simultaneously be constrained by their work environments in the types of developmental networks they are able to develop\" and mentoring and developmental scholars point to the \"great promise\" (Chandler et al., 2011, p. 553) of looking at institutional logics. Despite the potential of looking at the effect of logics and mentoring, this will be the first study to address how these logics affect developmental network relationships.\nResearch setting and methods: Research setting\nMethods: Individual level sample\nResults: Shifting institutional logics\nDiscussion and implications: To date, there has been little research on how cultural changes can affect the institutional logics that characterize professions and, in turn, how these logics ultimately shape career dynamics for individuals who are not at the upper echelons of an organization. Our study addresses this gap by offering evidence that shifts in the institutional logic within a field are associated with commensurate shifts in the career-spanning development of individuals, reflecting changes in the skills individuals need to succeed in these altered industry contexts as demonstrated by the developmental networks of MLB hall of famers.Theoretical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the changing of institutional logics in an established field shapes the developmental networks of high-achievers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This research combines time series analysis of more than 80 years of historical data (1922-2004) with qualitative analysis of induction speeches of 99 hall of fame players from the same period.\nFindings: - Findings indicate that a change in field logics from a more staid \"insular\" logic to a market or more business-oriented logic coincided with changes in key players' developmental networks. In particular, the key players' self-identified developmental relationships become both more numerous and more diverse in nature. Results of the time series analysis connect the shift in logic with the late 1950s which was an important time in Major League Baseball's history. It was during this period that, for the first time, each team had at least one African American player on their roster and each team had an average of at least one full-time scout based in a country outside the USA - both indicators of MLB's increasingly global search for talent.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The study focuses on extraordinary career performers (versus all performers) in an all-male professional sport where the nature of the sport and the number of organizations remains relatively stable over time.\nPractical implications: - These findings show how changes to industry level logics can affect individual level changes in mentoring and developmental networks. In particular, they demonstrate how organizations can create and remove potential developer roles as their respective logics change from era to era.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first known study to explore the effect of macro level changes on mentoring and developmental networks at the individual level.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Strategic knowledge management and enterprise social media	[ "Social Capital", "Intellectual Capital", "Social networks", "Knowledge management", "Human Capital", "Social media" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Scholars from disciplines as disparate as sociology, management science, economics and knowledge management (KM) agree that information technology (IT) has transformed all phases of economic and business activity (Davenport et al., 1997; Soto-Acosta et al., 2016; Evetts, 2009; Corso et al., 2003). Knowledge, yielded from advanced information quality and availability, has replaced matter and energy as the primary resource and sidelined traditional physical and financial assets in terms of organizational importance (Drucker, 1999). In response, in the Journal of Knowledge Management, terms such as post-industrial societies (Pyoria, 2005), information revolutions (Bollinger and Smith, 2001) and knowledge-based economies (Uit Beijerse, 1999) have been used to discuss IT-mediated knowledge (Hussi, 2004; Bollinger and Smith, 2001) as a key strategic resource for decision-makers. More specifically, when such IT-mediated knowledge is used to improve strategic processes, core competencies, business performance and value creation, it is commonly referred to as strategic knowledge management (Ratten et al., 2016; Silva et al., 2017; Carlucci et al., 2004)[1].\n2. \"Social\" knowledge management: Knowledge is \"information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection\" (Davenport et al., 1998, p. 43), and few doubt its value (Lehrer, 2000). It is a source of competitive advantage and the sustaining characteristic in modern economies (Adler, 2001; Drucker, 1993). In this context, five characteristics of knowledge generate critical strategic implications for management:\n3. Intellectual capital: a measure of value: Intellectual capital, according to Feiwel (1975), was first proposed more than 50 years ago by economist John Kenneth Galbraith, who introduced it as a source of competitive advantage, defining it as the difference between an organization's market value and book value. Intellectual capital is of particular importance in industries that are heavily reliant on knowledge-intensive activities (Snell and Dean, 1992; Swart and Kinnie, 2003). The foundation of this argument was that in comparison to tangible forms of capital, those that are physical and financial, knowledge-based intellectual assets are harder to replicate (Teece, 2000). Intellectual capital is made up of knowledge, expertise and experience, which is codified in the form of information and intellectual property where it can create value and be protected (Stewart, 1998). The central premise of intellectual capital theory is that a firm's core competences and competitive advantages are embedded in the knowledge of the organization's members, forming a core resource that materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results (Drucker, 1967).\n4. Secondary data analysis: Having established the role of intellectual capital in considering the value of ESM, we investigated secondary data sources to generate a practical grounding to our theorizing in the final section. While the creation of an exhaustive, formal typology of \"social\" firms is outside the scope of this article, we adopted the procedures recommended for a high level categorization of organizations (Doty and Glick, 1994; Rich, 1992). These have been previously used for the creation of a typology of information systems (Cram and Brohman, 2012). We looked at the typology from two standpoints:\n5. Conceptual frameworks: At the outset of this paper, we discussed two related observations:\n6. Concluding thoughts: Undeniably, social media has changed how we communicate - as individuals, we talk to friends online, as consumers we share electronic word of mouth and connect with brands and as private collaborators we co-create value when we add content to forums, Wikipedia or the movie review site IMDb, to name a few. These new communication patterns, with their pros and cons, are only interrupted by work, where talking to colleagues, superiors, employees, suppliers, partners and other stakeholders often relies exclusively on \"old fashioned\" technologies (e.g. email and phone). Particularly, as a new generation enters the workforce, of those who never had to learn or adopt social media skills but who have \"naturally\" grown up with and alongside social media, increasing number of firms question whether their (anti-) social media policies at work still make sense.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine if (and how), enterprise social media (ESM) can be understood as a strategic knowledge management phenomenon to improve organizational performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper uses intellectual capital theory and its functional building blocks to organize different types of the ESM platforms, based on secondary data. It then connects these findings to the underling intellectual capital tenets to introduce a conceptual model that explicates how ESM impacts strategic knowledge management, and vice versa.\nFindings: This paper concludes that ESM provides a unique complement to traditional strategic knowledge management. The authors argue that ESM differs substantially from other contexts in which intellectual capital has been applied, and extend intellectual capital with three appropriate dimensions (human, social and structural capital). Given the potentially disruptive nature of ESM, this framework helps firms understand the nature of the changes that are needed.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides the first review of the business needs that are served by the software functions and management processes under the ESM banner. This original contribution takes the intellectual capital and strategic knowledge management discussions from their usual high levels of abstraction and relates them to the real world of ESM, focusing on outcomes. Its unique \"Intellectual Capital Framework for the Socially Oriented Enterprise\" includes distinct, testable propositions that provide a practical approach to strategically planning, implementing and optimizing ESM.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reading newspapers on the Internet: the influence of web sites' attributes	[ "Newspapers", "Internet", "Readers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, the development of the Internet has affected the way in which most businesses work. Newspaper publishing is one of the activities that has been more affected by the development of the Internet. In fact, the appearance of the new digital media has implied important changes in this sector (Bush and Gilbert, 2002). It is possible to note the existence of several changes related to the way in which the editorial staff work and how the news is shown to the readers (Greer and Mensing, 2003; Dans, 2000). Besides, the advantages of digital media have thus brought about a revolution in modern journalism.In this context, the main aim of this paper is to analyze the key factors that could affect the choice of digital newspapers. More specifically, this research focuses on the study of the effect of usability of the digital newspapers, reputation, trust, privacy and familiarity with the web sites, on the final choice of digital dailies.This is important because this service has a growing relevance on the web, there are key advantages related to the new medium and there is a lack of studies related to the analysis of readers' behavior. This approach enables us to fully exploit the enormous opportunities for analysis.Taking this goal as a point of reference, the following section analyses the relevance of the newspaper business on the Internet; the third section focuses on identifying the main variables and on establishing the research model and hypotheses. The fourth section presents the research methodology. Later, the procedure of validating scales is explained and the model is contrasted. The study concludes by providing a number of main conclusions, managerial implications and future research lines.\n2. The relevance of the newspaper sector on the Internet: The advantages of the new digital media in terms of both supply and demand have brought a revolution in modern journalism. The use of these new systems is characterized by the speed with which news reach the reader, the low cost of distributing information, the possibility to update news constantly, and the opportunity to establish more direct contact and interact with users, who have come to play an important role in the design of journalistic offer.The enormous advantages of the new digital media have boosted the service in both quantitative and qualitative terms, resulting in a proliferation of increasingly specialized electronic journals. Indeed, there are currently over 4,200 digital newspapers worldwide (Editor & Publisher, 2005). All these journalistic firms have contributed to implement definitively the digital business as a real communication media.Moreover, digital news and newspapers are among the services most sought by Internet users (Consoli, 1997; Levins and Growing, 1998; Newspaper Association of America, 2003). According to Nielsen (2003), news sites and digital newspapers are among the most widely demanded and visited web sites among the Internet community worldwide. Kaye and Johnson (2004) affirm that the main aim of accessing the Internet is to read breaking news and search for up-to-the minute information, only exceeded by the use of e-mail. Similarly, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2000) affirmed that one out of three Americans visited online newspapers and anticipated sharp growth in the number of users consulting current news items on these sites.\n3. Framework analysis: hypotheses: 3.1. Reading digital newspapers\n4. Methodology: With the aim to develop scales to measure the variables that influence on the reading of digital newspapers, we undertook an exhaustive literature review and searched for existing scales that could be suitably adapted. Having established the context of the analysis and designed a series of questions that would pick up the various factors involved, the information contained in the preliminary scales was presented to a group of academic and business experts for their remarks on both formal and conceptual issues. The experts' group was selected in accordance with their professional experience and knowledge of the context from both the academic and the professional perspectives. Specifically, the group was multidisciplinary as it included seven experts in different areas such as Marketing, Sociology, Journalism and New Technologies. Once we received the experts' suggestions, we revised the questionnaire in order to include the different comments.The next step was to carry out the survey itself. Considering the inexistence of Internet users' censuses it was necessary to use alternative ways to select the sample. In this line, the volunteer sampling is a growingly applied practice when studies are conducted on the Internet (e.g. Steenkamp and Geyskens, 2006; Algesheimer et al., 2005; Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2006; Flavian et al., 2006; Flavian and Gurrea, 2006). Thus, the final questionnaire was then published on a web site designed specifically for the purposes of our research. This site presented the research and offered the possibility of downloading the questionnaire.Besides, we have used the three resources in order to justify the representative character of the sample and to achieve a significant participation rate: we prepared an advertising campaign consisting of the placing of banners on high-traffic on-line media, as well as messages on discussion groups and mailing lists. In addition, we held a prize draw among all those who had properly completed their questionnaire. Variables were measured using 7-point Likert scales.Also, as a prior step in the analysis of the scales' reliability, dimensionality and validity, we carried out an exploratory study of the data obtained in order to detect any atypical or missing cases in the sample, according to Hair et al. (1999).The total number of valid responses obtained in the period April-July 2006 was 239 (readers of electronic newspapers written in Spanish language). The representative nature of the sample could be guaranteed by the similarity of the profile of the interviewees with that usually obtained in recent studies about Internet users, such as AECE (2005) or AIMC (2005). More specifically, the majority of the interviewees were male, aged between 25 and 34, a high level of education and over five years' experience with computers and Internet use.\n5. Reliability and validity analysis: In order to obtain scales that would allow us validly and reliably to quantify the behavior of newspaper readers, we undertook a process of fine tuning structured in two stages. First, we conducted a reliability and dimensionality analysis and second, we checked the content and construct validity of the proposed scales.5.1 Exploratory analysis of reliability\n6. Structural model analysis: Once the measurement scales were designed and validated, we proceeded to contrast the different hypotheses which made up the structural model of analysis (see Figure 2). In the case of the multi-dimensional variable (trust), the indicators that were taken for causal analysis were derived from the arithmetical average of the items that composed each of the dimensions. This habitual research practice allowed us to reduce the number of parameters to be estimated and therefore made model adjustment and comprehension easier (Bentler, 1995; Jaccard and Wan, 1996). Nevertheless, these measurements could not have been used without the guarantees that were offered by the previously carried out reliability, dimensionality and validity analyses which were based on the second order factorial model and confirmed the existence of robust multi-dimensional structure.The goodness-of-fit was over or close to the recommended limits (see Figure 2 and Table V). With regard to the proposed hypotheses, it was noted that usability influences the final choice of digital newspapers. Therefore, it was not possible to reject hypothesis H1. Also, we proposed the possible existence of positive effects of reputation and trust on reading electronic dailies. However, it was not possible to demonstrate these relationships. On the contrary, the intensity of these no significant effects is very light. So we should reject hypotheses H2 and H3.These results could be considered surprising. It seems reasonable that aspects such as reputation or trust to the newspapers play a remarkable role in the reading decision. However, a good number of readers declare that the consult of current news does not involve risk, because it is possible to correct a mistake easily, only visiting another newspaper web site. This ease of comparison and change involves a smaller perceived risk and consequently, the role played by factors related to guarantee a correct choice (e.g. reputation, trust) is not significant.It was not possible to accept the hypothesis H4. We did not find evidences for the relationship between the privacy and the choice of digital press for reading news. A plausible explanation for this result would be based on the fact that, although the privacy of data is a key aspect in electronic commerce on the net, the journalistic business presents some peculiarities that could lower its relevance. In fact, users fear to disclose private or banking data, in general. But, except in the case of subscriptions to special services, newspapers hardly ever request private information Anyway, the requested data are scarce, exactly the opposite of what occurs in commercial web sites.Finally, it was possible to corroborate the existence of a clear relationship between familiarity with the web sites and the choice of them. Consequently, we must accept hypothesis H5.\n7. Conclusions, managerial implications, limitations and future research: Newspaper sector is one of the activities most influenced by the development of the digital channel. In the last few years, the offer and demand of this service on the net are increasing their relevance. In this context, this research takes as a point of reference the need of analyzing in depth digital newspapers readers' behavior. More specifically, there is an important lack of literature related to this topic and it is interesting to study the key factors that affect the final decision of reading news on the Internet.The empirical analysis has allowed us to note a clear and intense effect of usability and familiarity with the web sites on the choice of electronic newspaper for reading current news. This fact emphasizes the relevance of the ease of use for users of any web site.However, reputation and trust to the web sites do not influence significantly the choice of digital dailies. In this way, we must note that readers do not perceive risk or costs derived from making wrong choices, because the change of news' supplier is really fast and easy. Moreover, blogs present a growing acceptance among digital press readers. These web sites have not the level of reputation of the digital newspapers of the most important editorial groups and, however, have an increasing demand.Also, privacy has not a significant influence on the final reading of digital newspapers. This could be explained by the fact that readers do not usually give personal data to the daily web site, except in the case of subscriptions to special services. In this case, the information is not too private or delicate.These results would have significant implications for management. In fact, the main aspects which justify digital newspaper reading should be borne in mind by management personnel in this kind of news medium, in order to promote its use. In fact, journalistic firms could find a new source for its development by taking advantage of the Internet possibilities. In this way, they could have undoubted future opportunities.Also, newspaper editorial firms should make efforts to improve the levels of usability of their web sites. Thus, users could perceive the reading of news on the Internet as an easy and comfortable task that let them have a good time. In the same way, digital dailies should develop and implement strategies in order to ensure loyal readers that could be familiarized with the new medium. This fact would motivate the consultation of current information in the electronic channel. Besides, journalistic firms should make efforts to analyze and gain knowledge about readers' needs. This action could be easier through the electronic channel because it is possible to track users' behavior in a web site. Anyway, the knowledge of readers' goals and preferences could be a starting-point for developing marketing strategies. Thus, firms would offer readers what they want, whenever and wherever they need.Among the limitations of our study, we would mention in first place is the fact that the sample is made up from Spanish language newspapers' readers. Nevertheless, the relevance of the sample could be guaranteed because the Spanish language is the fourth language used on the Internet (Internet World Stats, 2006). Consequently, the range of our study is fairly extensive. Nevertheless, it could be convenient to validate the model with a wider and international sample.Also, it would be interesting to analyze the effects of usability and trust to digital newspapers, on readers' satisfaction (Flavian et al., 2006). Finally, it would be interesting to analyze some moderating effects in the model. Specifically, it could be convenient to include the moderating effect of Internet user experience. Thus, it seems reasonable to think that readers with a greater level of Internet experience show a deeper knowledge of the digital channel. Consequently, they could be considered as individuals with higher propensity to use the electronic press.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to analyze key factors that could influence the choice of digital newspapers: usability of newspaper web sites, reputation, trust, privacy and familiarity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A survey on the Internet was applied. The scales were validated and refined, after which the hypotheses were tested by way of a structural equation model.\nFindings: - The results support an intense effect of usability and familiarity with web sites on the choice of electronic newspaper. However, reputation, privacy and trust in the web sites do not influence significantly the final choice of digital dailies. This is due to the readers who do not perceive risk and costs derived by choosing mistakes or giving data, because the change of news supplier is really fast and easy.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The main aspects which justify digital newspaper reading should be considered by the management in order to develop its use. Also, newspaper firms should make efforts to improve the levels of usability of their web sites. Moreover, digital dailies should develop strategies in order to ensure the loyalty of readers who could be familiarized with the new medium.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of the first studies that analyze online press reader behavior on the Internet. The paper identifies the main factors related to web sites that affect reading newspapers on the Internet.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Feedback fears for the "Me, Me, Me" generation: How to tread carefully in dishing out criticism	[ "Performance appraisal", "Assessment", "Young people", "Feedback", "Assertiveness", "Interpersonal communications" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Some say that the worst time for adults is when their children become grumpy, irritable, argumentative - in a nutshell \"stroppy\" - teenagers. Try criticizing them for anything and they are likely to become sulky or sullen. Whether those adults are teachers or parents, who are merely doing their best to help youngsters do the right thing, they will recognize the signs of resistance.\nBeware of stereotypes in assessing a generation's characteristics: The Millennial Generation is quickly entering the workplace and replacing previous generations, notably the Baby Boomers. It is inevitable that these new kids on the block will have different outlooks and characteristics than previous generations, having been brought up in a very different world, so it is necessary for employers and organizations to understand and work cohesively with them. As a generation brought up on praise rather than criticism enters the workforce, the manner in which negative feedback is delivered will need to accommodate the employee's sensitivity toward personal criticism. It is likely that millennials will feel attacked or angry as a result of the constructive criticism, as this generation has been nurtured to feel high levels of self-worth and praise from their superiors.\nManager needs a mixture of sensitivity and assertiveness: Addressing the question \"How can managers criticize this most-praised generation of millennials?\" Emylee Anderson of Bradley University, Illinois, et al. say: \"Managers are accustomed to deliver feedback to Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, which has evolved into an everyday, repetitive task since the workforce has been structured to function in accordance with these generations. However, a new generation with new demands requires modification in order to avoid the setbacks of a foreseeable cultural clash.\nComment: This review is based on \"Giving negative feedback to millennials: How can managers criticize the \"most praised\" generation\" by Anderson et al. (2016). The authors examine the generational differences between employees born between the early 1980s and around 2000 and older workers, offering advice to managers in how to offer workplace feedback to people generally more used to constant praise than criticism.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Demographic data indicate that the millennial generation is entering the workforce and will become an increasingly significant component of the workforce in the near future. The Millennial generation appears to have significant differences in values, attitudes and expectations regarding work than prior generations. The paper seeks to draw attention to one specific area of management practice - delivering negative feedback - and explore how the knowledge may be changing as a new generation of workers enter the workplace.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The literature on the millennial generation was reviewed and research undertaken on giving negative feedback to identify issues that are significant with respect to the manner in which managers give negative information to this new generation of workers.\nFindings: To be effective, negative feedback to millennials needs to be consistent and ongoing. The feedback must be perceived by millennials as benefiting them now or in the future. Managers must be assertive enough to make sure the employee understands the concerns, but sensitive to the fact that many millennials have difficulty accepting such feedback.\nOriginality/value: To date, there has been little attempt by management researchers to address the organizational implications of the generational shift that is occurring.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Tony Lowe and the Interdisciplinary and Critical Perspectives on Accounting Project: Reflections on the contributions of a unique scholar	[ "The Interdisciplinary and Critical Perspectives on Accounting Project", "The “Sheffield School”", "Tony Lowe" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Ernest Anthony Lowe, Emeritus Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at the University of Sheffield, died peacefully in Sheffield on 5 March 2014 aged 85. Tony Lowe, a quite unique accounting scholar, was unquestionably the \"father figure\" of what has come to be known as the \"Sheffield School\" where he was Professor of Accounting and Financial Management from 1971 to 1985. He has also been seen as one of the key founders of what Roslender and Dillard (2003) and Broadbent and Laughlin (2013) label the \"Interdisciplinary and Critical Perspectives on Accounting (ICPA) Project\"[1].\n2. Tony Lowe and the \"Sheffield School\": 2.1 An unconventional beginning\n3. The \"Sheffield School\" and the start of the ICPA Project: These three values were the major attributes of all those listed above who could be seen as the \"community of practice\" that constituted the \"Sheffield School\". They were values that remain central to the thinking of these individuals albeit expressed in sometimes rather different ways than Tony Lowe would have expressed them himself. Now I want to return more directly to the ICPA Project and show how the early developments in this project can be seen as an outgrowth of what was happening in the MCWG and in Sheffield and was driven by the above \"community of practice\" values.\n4. A concluding thought: Throughout Tony Lowe's long and distinguished career he believed in the power of creating \"communities of practice\" where critical interactive debate could occur and from which understanding could be generated. He also believed in the importance of going beyond understanding to critical engagement with this understanding leading to possible change for the better in the role of accounting in organisations and society. He also placed a high priority on teaching and learning in a two-way process between the taught and the teacher to accompany rigorous research. He never tired on these priorities or lost sight of them as key values to drive quality research and quality learning. They are values that are the core foundation of the ICPA Project and Tony Lowe would turn in his grave if he felt that as heirs to this intellectual space that has been created we fill it with mindless discussion that does not concentrate on the use of a wide range of social science perspectives to understand and change the role of accounting as practised in organisations and society.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the life of Tony Lowe, Emeritus Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at the University of Sheffield, who died on 5 March 2014. It celebrates Tony Lowe's considerable direct contributions to accounting knowledge and, possibly more significantly, his indirect contribution through his enabling of a range of those associated with him at Sheffield to become scholars of distinction in their own right.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Publication review, personal reflections and argument.\nFindings: Apart from providing insight into Tony Lowe's direct contribution to accounting knowledge through an analysis of a range of significant sole authored and joint authored publications, the paper gives rather more attention to his more indirect enabling contribution. In this regard it traces the development of initially the Management Control Association and subsequently the \"Sheffield School\" to Tony Lowe, clarifying the values that underlie these groups. It also clarifies how some of the key elements that have allowed the now global Interdisciplinary and Critical Perspectives on Accounting (ICPA) Project to exist and flourish are traceable to Tony Lowe and the \"Sheffield School\" he created.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper provides an important historical analysis of the direct and indirect influence of a unique scholar on the beginnings and development of particularly the now global ICPA Project. This history is personal and maybe selective and possibly limited because of this but hopefully will encourage others to investigate the claims further.\nOriginality/value: The history of the ICPA Project has only partially been told before. This is another part of this history that has not been analysed before on which further work can build.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The performance appraisal congruency scale: an assessment of person-environment fit	[ "Performance appraisal", "Organizational behaviour", "Attitudes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: It has been more than a decade since Balzer and Sulsky (1990) noted that performance appraisal research had focused on issues important to academics (i.e. rater accuracy) instead of variables important to employees and organizations (i.e. attitudes toward performance appraisal systems as a whole). Murphy and Cleveland (1995) called these practical and reaction aspects of performance appraisal systems \"neglected criteria.\" Although there has been some research into these neglected criteria (Cawley et al., 1998; Dipboye and de Pontbriand, 1981), the number of studies is still relatively low compared to those addressing psychometric and methodological issues (Sulsky and Keown, 1998).The theoretical framework used to guide this research is the person-environment fit (P-E fit) model. P-E fit has been one of the most studied topics in industrial and organizational psychology with the literature spanning over a century (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). There are several types of fit that fall under the umbrella of P-E fit, including person-organization (P-O), person-job (P-J), person-group (P-G) and person-supervisor (P-S). \"P-E fit is broadly defined as the compatibility between an individual and a work environment that occurs when their characteristics are well matched\" (Kristof-Brown et al., p. 281).The current research is grounded in complementary or needs-supplies fit, as employees' performance appraisal system needs are ones that an organization can supply (Schneider, 1987). While P-E fit (i.e. congruency) has been linked to important outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and actual turnover (Boxx et al., 1991; O'Reilly et al., 1991) it has not been used within a performance appraisal framework. For the current study, we developed a measure of P-E fit within the context of the organization's performance appraisal system. This measure examined the congruence between employees' \"ideal\" performance appraisal systems and their employing organization's \"current\" performance appraisal system. This measure of congruence was then related to several attitudinal outcomes. These outcomes included satisfaction with, perceived fairness of, and utility of their current performance appraisal system. The rationale for using these three attitudinal outcomes is that their importance in the performance appraisal literature has been well-established. Each of these will be discussed in turn.Performance appraisal satisfaction\nResearch approach: Two studies were conducted so as to assess the viability of the hypotheses. In Study 1 we conduced a qualitative study with subject matter experts to generate the items needed to assess performance appraisal congruency. In Study 2, we used that items generated from Study 1 as well as outcomes measures to directly assess the hypotheses using a survey administered on the internet.\nStudy 1: Owing to the need to gauge and explore the motivations and attitudes toward performance appraisal systems for developing a standardized instrument, subject matter experts (SMEs) were interviewed to determine their perceptions of performance appraisal systems. It was deemed important to compare these perceptions with their current and ideal performance appraisal system. To this end a semi-structured interview was developed to assess the current as well as ideal facets used in performance appraisal systems as well as their perceptions of performance evaluation.Method\nStudy 2: Using the items developed, we conducted a web-based survey designed to assess the congruency between employees' current and ideal performance appraisal systems. The results were used to test our hypotheses regarding the relationship between performance appraisal congruency and organizational attitudes. The survey was administered using an online format where responses were submitted electronically. Participants were selected through the use of a database of alumni from a large western Canadian university. An e-mail invitation was sent out to solicit participation. The e-mail also included the link to the survey web page. The survey web page included a brief invitation to participate as well as a consent form. On completion of the survey a short debriefing page was provided to participants.Method\nDiscussion and conclusions: Our results suggest that perceived congruency between current and ideal performance appraisal systems predict a variety of relevant performance appraisal attitudinal variables. Congruency scores of employees' current versus ideal performance appraisal systems positively and significantly predicted overall system satisfaction, as well as perceived system usefulness and fairness. These variables are arguably important when assessing system effectiveness. That is, an effective system should not only be psychometrically sound; we believe an effective system implies also that employees hold positive attitudes toward the system. These findings support the utility of the use of the P-E fit model in performance management systems. While P-E fit has been used in several other personnel domains (e.g. Kristof-Brown et al., 2005), to this point it has been neglected in explaining and understanding performance management systems.One implication arising from this is that greater research and applied attention should be given to the issue of system congruency. That is, if employees perceive that the performance appraisal system is congruent with their expectations, then positive outcomes should be expected (i.e. higher job satisfaction, greater perceptions of the system being useful and fair). Future research should assess more proximal outcomes that would be of interest to organizations, such as the relationships with performance system satisfaction and employee commitment and turnover.Limitations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to construct an instrument to assess employee-perceived performance appraisal congruency and then to use the scale to predict employee attitudes about their performance appraisal systems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The scale was developed using 28 subject-matter experts and researcher knowledge of the extant literature. The scale was then completed by a sample of 135 individuals using internet administration.\nFindings: - Regression analyses showed that performance appraisal congruency predicted overall system satisfaction, perceived usefulness and fairness. Supplementary analyses of the performance appraisal congruency items were conducted so as to refine the original instrument for future research.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Limitations of the study include: the interviews conducted to develop the instrument were conducted in a single organization; the study used an internet sample that was made up of university alumni; all measures were self-report; and single item measures were used as the criterion variables. The findings support the utility of the use of the P-E fit model in performance management systems. Future research should assess outcomes that would be of interest to organizations, such as the relationships with performance system satisfaction and employee commitment and turnover.\nPractical implications: - If employees perceive that the performance appraisal system is congruent with their expectations, then positive outcomes should be expected.\nOriginality/value: - While congruency has been linked to important outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and actual turnover, it has not been used within a performance appraisal framework.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Educator challenges using participatory methods in group-based patient education	[ "Participation", "Competence", "Empowerment", "Educational practice", "Health education", "Diabetes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction/background: In 1986, the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (World Health Organisation, 1986) stated that the roles of educators and patients in traditional didactic group-based patient education did not necessarily support patients in changing life habits. It was suggested that we should put an end to the idea of chronic disease as the only decisive element in patients' lives and begin focussing on quality of life and psychosocial aspects as well (Caraher, 1998). Consequently, a new paradigm arose of patient education as a combination of conveying disease-specific knowledge, exploring patient experiences and training of practical skills. The relationship between patients and educators in patient education subsequently developed from a formal relationship between an expert and a patient into a joint relationship where the educator is seen as an expert in disease-specific knowledge and the patient is seen as an expert in his/her own life and at turning knowledge into relevant targeted action (Hoving et al., 2010).\nAim of the study: Little attention has been paid to ways in which educators implement suggested education approaches and methods in group-based patient education. This study explored the challenges educators experience when putting a new education model, The Health Education Juggler, into practice focussing on participatory and patient-centered teaching in chronic illness after having attended a one-day seminar. The Health Education Juggler refers to how educators continually have to manage different roles when undertaking participatory, group-based patient education.\nMethods: The model The Health Education Juggler consists of four roles; embracer, facilitator, translator, initiator. The embracer makes sure that participants feel safe by promoting trust, credibility and togetherness in the group. The facilitator's main role is to maintain an overview of the education session. The translator communicates professional knowledge at the relevant times and the initiator motivates action in patients.\nResults: The current study revealed three main findings which are elaborated in the following section:\nDiscussion: Main findings\nStrengths and theoretical contribution of the study: Strengths of the study include the theoretical and systematic approach to the analysis, which clearly proved useful in identifying challenges met by educators. Using ANT made it appropriate to focus on the educator interpretation of the model during data collection and analysis. The combination of interviews and observations strengthens the internal validity of the study. The relatively long in-depth interviews were appropriate and, for some educators, clearly rewarding and taking the form of personal supervision in relation to teaching practices.\nLimitations of the study: Limitations include interviewees' perceptions of the interviewer which inevitably influenced the interviews. Similarly, researcher subjectivity influenced what was heard and observed during interviews and observations and subsequent analysis (Malterud, 2003; Williams and Morrow, 2009). Finally, variations in characteristics such as patient groups and education and experience of educators may have significantly influenced the findings. Our understanding and interpretation of challenges when implementing The Health Education Juggler might have been different with other researchers and other educators. The backgrounds of the researchers and affiliation with the researchers who designed the model have influenced the observations and interpretations in ways that we cannot identify ourselves. Also, the application of the model was dependent on educator beliefs and attitudes toward patient-centeredness and participation.\nFurther research: Further research is needed to validate the Health Education Juggler as a model of educator roles in participatory, person-centered patient education. Studies of the model used in supervision and training of educators are also needed to establish model capabilities. The results of ongoing studies of the use of the model, as well as other patient education models will widen our understanding of the Health Education Juggler (Hansen et al., 2013). This includes the use of health education tools to support educators in using participatory methods and juggling education roles. Further, the model was developed in a specific cultural context in Denmark, and the generalizability of the concept is not yet established.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore educators' experiences of putting a participatory and patient-centered education model, \"The Health Education Juggler,\" into practice after having attended a one-day seminar. The model consists of four educator roles in participatory group-based patient education in chronic illness: embracer (takes care of the group), facilitator (generates dialogue and participation), translator (communicates professional knowledge) and initiator (motivates action in patients).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Qualitative analysis of observations of eight group-based patient education sessions and seven in-depth semi-structured interviews with 11 educators.\nFindings: Educators find it difficult to include disease-specific knowledge when working with a flexible patient-centered approach. They tend to stay in the role they find most comfortable during education sessions (most often that of embracer), rather than adopting new and more challenging roles in the teaching process. Educators theoretically understand the role of facilitator, but they do not know how to perform in this role in practice. The ability to juggle all educator roles depends on the ability to master each.\nPractical implications: The Health Education Juggler model shows promise in promoting participation and patient-centeredness and as a reflection tool for educators and an analytic tool for quality assessment of patient education. These findings support further development of model use.\nOriginality/value: This model of educator roles in group-based patient education in chronic illness provides a new approach to patient education. It indicates the need for various professional competencies among educators to provide patient-centered education in a flexible way, with a strong focus on patient-identified problems and challenges, social learning processes and generation of internal motivation in patients.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Implementing e-learning in Northern Ireland: prospects and challenges	[ "E‐learning", "Knowledge management", "Northern Ireland", "Communication technologies", "Education and training" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Northern Ireland is presently going through a period of significant economic, social and political change as a society emerging from conflict. This impacts on all aspects of life including education and dictates a need to move towards the concept of a learning society and a vision to facilitate this move. In the last decade one of the goals has been to engage more of the population in learning, which is seen as a possible vehicle for promoting new citizenship agenda. In Northern Ireland, there is a move towards a knowledge-based society as the region is one of the fastest growing in the UK. There is the need to attain improved social capital and combat illiteracy through promotion of uptake of basic skills. The role of ICT in the delivery of learning to new audiences has heightened the interest in e-learning. The provision of financial support from national and European sources to the voluntary and community sectors has paved way for community-based learning creating grounds for the formal education sector to work with the informal sector and a transition from didactic teaching methods to supporting and promoting flexible and independent learning.\nRecent trends in teaching and learning: In a large-scale Canadian study (Livingstone, 2000) it has been reported that people now spend an average of 15 hours per week on informal learning; this could be related to employment, housework, community work and areas of general interest. It is important to facilitate students' ability to learn successfully on individualised basis. The structure of teaching and learning is one that seeks to promote individual learning identities. Issues surrounding the learning styles of individuals are becoming more and more important. Research goals are directed at tailoring individual learning programmes to empower citizens and widen access to non-traditional students. Ways are being devised to address different learning styles and how teachers can respond to them. Clarifications are being sought about the relationship between qualifications, skills and learning. Distinction between vocational and academic education is being made. Vocational education is difficult to accredit. Academic education is difficult to use. One may ask, is there a stand off between them both? Lack of motivation and other barriers such as low confidence on the part of learner is one area for attention. New methods of support developed through ICT are seen as part of the solution to such problems. However, it should be emphasised that it is important to understand how these methods alter or affect pedagogy. Accepting responsibility for ones own learning and the use of reflective practice in learning are some of the methods being employed. There are also differences in the approaches to learning with students engaging more with non-traditional approaches like project-based learning, work-based learning and portfolio building. E-learning is a potentially new development. It requires new teaching cultures that accounts for e-teaching and its implications for e-learning.Policies and strategies\nParameters of success in e-learning implementation: E-Learning is another way of teaching and learning. It comprises instructions delivered through all electronic media including the internet, intranets, extranets, satellite broadcasts, audio/video tapes, interactive TV and CD-ROMs (Govindasamy, 2002). It facilitates access to knowledge that is relevant and useful. E-Learning involves encompasses the delivery of education and training to anyone, anytime and anywhere. The development and delivery of e-learning in recent times by several organizations and institutes is underpinned by a desire to solve authentic, learning, teaching and performance problems. The success of e-learning depends on how learning takes place online, that is, the underlying pedagogy and the real value of e-learning lies in our ability to deploy its attributes to train the right people to gain the right knowledge and skills at the right time.The successful implementation of e-learning depends on the adherence to underlying pedagogical principles that are embedded in the e-learning experiences. Though these principles apply to both the e-learning and the traditional classroom delivery method, they are yet to be included in the former (Bixler and Spotts, 2000). These pedagogical principles should form the basis for inclusion of features in e-learning management systems. Bixler and Spotts has identified seven parameters affecting the successful implementation of e-learning. They are:1. institutional support;2. course development;3. teaching and learning;4. course structure;5. student support;6. faculty support; and7. evaluation and assessment.The availability of strong institutional support is crucial for e-learning deployment and success. The changing roles of staff must be recognised and acknowledged. Support strategies must be developed for management of the transformation processes. Standards must be set and applied consistently. Although the teaching and learning process encourages a flexible and independent approach to knowledge acquisition, the notion of student support is markedly different from the traditional method. Students learn as a result of interaction with programmed instructional systems that have been long thought out and automated in some instances.Assessment reinforces the learning approach a student adopts and is an indispensable part of teaching and learning. Evaluation and assessment of learning should be based on higher order thinking skills, so that students may adopt a deep holistic approach to e-learning (Twomey, 1996).\nAdvantages and disadvantages of e-learning: The advantages of e-learning must outweigh its disadvantages for its implementation to be worthwhile. Amongst the many advantages of e-learning are that it is less expensive to deliver. E-learning is self-paced, provides consistent content, faster and works anywhere and at anytime for learners. The instructional materials are easily updated and permits the use of multimedia which leads to reinforced learning through the use of video, audio, quizzes and other forms of interaction. E-learning can improve retention, provide immediate feedback and allows learners to customize learning materials to meet their individual needs (Kirsh, 2002; Turk and Robertson, 2000). E-learning provides for risk-free simulation environments for acquisition of valuables skills in fields involving leadership and decision making. The disadvantages are that it may cost more to develop and requires new skills for the production of content. The associated technology might be intimidating, at times confusing, frustrating and costly. E-learning requires on the part of the learner, more responsibility and self-discipline to keep up with an unconstrained and robust learning process.\nEducation in Northern Ireland and e-learning developments: Networking and collaboration\nThe role of the sectors: Northern Ireland's knowledge-based economy is recorded as the fastest growing regional economy in the UK (FDI, 2003). Due to available labour, affordable cost and world-class research in its universities, Northern Ireland has become home to multinational companies like Nortel, Analog Devices and Seagate. Investment by multinationals has increased by 45 per cent over the past half decade. This continues to act as catalyst in regional development and growth of its indigenous hi-tech industry. There are 200 such hi-tech companies in Northern Ireland producing almost PS2 billion in revenue, 80 per cent of which is generated from sales outside of the region. ICT, software electronics and e-business account for most of the foreign direct investment, measured at 88 per cent in 2001/2002. Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) is the main driving organisation for the region's economic development. It ensures development of cluster strength and application of knowledge and research for revitalising the local economy. It does this by continuous pooling of resources between industry, academia and government.Government departments and statutory agencies\nBusiness: The business sector is playing a major role in the implementation of e-learning in Northern Ireland. Some of the major players include BT, Hewlett Packard (HP), NTL, to name but a few. In 2003 HP was awarded a $100 million contract to provide and manage the technology infrastructure for the Classroom 2000 (C2K) education project in Northern Ireland. This is considered as a ten-year government initiative, designed to connect the largest number of pupils, teachers and administrators in the world. It is designed to enable every child from primary school through university throughout Northern Ireland to have an internet address and to access virtual classrooms.\nE-learning implementation case studies: In Northern Ireland, the use of e-learning for enhancing quality and improving accessibility to education, training and employment is generally seen as one of the keystones for building the regional knowledge-based society. At all levels, most sectors have their own action plan for encouraging the use of ICT in education and training, often involving direct support for local e-learning pilot projects.The successful implementation of e-learning in Northern Ireland is best reflected in the series of available case studies comprising several awards received and projects that have either been completed or are ongoing. Details of such awards that mark achievements in the use of ICT and e-learning in the region are available at: www.c2kni.org.ukOver recent years four Northern Ireland teachers have been winners of the UK ICT good Practice Awards organised by BECTA (BECTA, 2003).The success of the NOF training reported in the educational technology Strategy Review is down to dedication and commitment by teachers and school librarians, effective senior management support for the training, the integration of ICT training and development into the school development and staff training plans and the creation of a supportive network of teachers across the schools. Further details on conditions of success can be found for primary, special and post-primary schools at: www.nof.org.uk/index.cfm?loc=ict&inc=studies and at: http://webforia.nine.org.uk/nofstudies.htm\"Good practice with ICT\" is a School Support Programme and the Dissemination of Good Practice Initiative which supports the Northern Ireland School Improvement Programme and provides the opportunity for schools to bid for additional resources to develop and improve their existing good practice and innovation. The sharing of good practice as identified by schools is a powerful tool in the ongoing work of improving educational standards and effectiveness. Examples of good practice with ICT at Mersey Street Primary School and Ballyclare High School can be found at: http://webforia.nine.org.uk/ict.htmSome projects that have been developed include Author On Line, Cultural Ireland and Cross Connect. Author on-Line (AOL) is a concept developed between NINE / C2K and the Western Education and Library Board (WELB). The aim of the project was to develop a use for ICT that will create a new learning environment which is stimulating but not intrusive and an environment which will encourage learners to become independent through changes in attitudes to reading and promote the concept of learning through enjoyment. The project, \"Cultural Ireland\", was set up in 2000 as a collaborative music technology initiative to promote and develop creativity in education using ICT tools and involves four WELB primary schools with schools in the Republic of Ireland and schools in Washington DC, USA. Cross Connect was set up in the WELB. Primarily, it uses videoconferencing to enrich teaching and learning in a variety of areas. Further details on these and other relevant projects are available at: http://www.c2kni.org.uk/etstrat/cases/GridClub is the official C2K education web site available to every primary school in Northern Ireland. It offers a wide range of activities, puzzles and games designed to make learning fun. It is made up of public and protected areas and can be used at home as well as at school to help with homework and school projects GridClub has three mediators based in Northern Ireland whose roles are to provide help and support to teachers, parents and children throughout the province. Further details are available at: www.gridclub.com/. The C2k Consultants comprise a small team of full and part-time consultants, mainly practising teachers and lecturers, who work collaboratively with organizations across the education service to pump-prime new developments in virtual and managed learning environments and in the effective use of software titles provided to schools on the C2k managed service. Further details of their work are available at: www.cdar.org/E-learning and the future\nConclusion: E-learning and the use of ICT is playing a key role in Northern Ireland in shaping teaching and learning, the curriculum and entitlement framework, assessment, students profiles, leadership and collaborative working involving teachers and students. Pilots of online learning courses for GCSE pupils have begun testing the feasibility of providing specialist expertise in online teaching and assessment and exploring the potential of e-learning to extend and enhance access to programmes for pupils in schools. It is envisaged that the first year seven pupils will make their choices under the new arrangements in the year 2009/2010.The education system in Northern Ireland has entered a period of significant change. For the most part this has been revolutionary as the region sets itself up to compete in the global market. Students at all levels are beginning to be more active and aware of technological capabilities and are entering varying phases of using e-learning via interaction online. Public, private and voluntary organisation are engaging the digital generation and providing information for learning online. Some of these have been made possible with help from Ufi, DEL and DENI. Sweeping changes have ushered in a phase of transformation that presents many opportunities with some challenges and risks too. What remains is the fact that everyone must react to these changes to meet the needs of the modern day technologically driven society and promote information flow to bridge the emerging digital divide.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Aims to examine trends in the development of e-learning in Northern Ireland, report on existing policies, practices and issues affecting its implementation across the sectors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The present study draws on e-learning policies and strategies that have been developed for Northern Ireland. Examples were drawn from case studies in schools and institutions and analyzed. Resulting knowledge and technology transfer across the sectors were evaluated.\nFindings: - E-learning and the use of ICT is playing key role in shaping teaching and learning in Northern Ireland. Its implementation is providing innovative and creative ways for knowledge and technology transfer. It is facilitating the establishment of a skilled community and workforce for a knowledge society. Associated with the positive changes and opportunities of the technological capabilities are some challenges and risks, some of which involve reaction of individuals and organizations to changes and dealing with the problem of increasing digital divide.\nPractical implications: - This paper critically evaluates some of the benefits of e-learning in a society experiencing significant changes and assesses its potential in addressing the growing digital divide.\nOriginality/value: - Highlights recent advances in e-learning in the higher and further education sectors in the region and addresses some of the implications for the public, private and voluntary sectors.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consequences of customer experience quality on franchises and non-franchises models	[ "EXQ", "Purchase intention", "Customer experience", "Franchises" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The franchise sector in Brazil consists of approximately 146 thousand units of nearly three thousand networks generating more than 1m jobs. In 2017, the sector's revenues increased approximately 8 percent compared to 2016 (ABF - Associacao Brasileira de Franchising, 2017). These numbers indicate emerging markets as destinations for larger investments by international franchisors. After 2008, entry into developing countries became a viable means of expanding franchises (Welsh et al., 2006).\n2. Theoretical framework: Franchising is a form of cooperation between firms in which two types of entrepreneurs share tangible/intangible resources to increase business performance. The franchisor benefits from the expansion leveraging financial capital and acquiring local market knowledge, while the franchisee benefits from brand equity and organizational routines (Piot-Lepetit et al., 2014). In franchising, franchisors provide at least two important resources: brand and operational routines. Brand is a key to competitive advantage in industries that are franchised, enabling the sharing of knowledge that can favor the quality of the client's experience, minimizing transaction costs for the end customer (Wu, 2015). Quality control of franchises is essential for franchisors to safeguard the capital of their brand. In return, franchisees achieve operational efficiency and effectiveness, acquiring proven operational procedures and management support from its franchisors. Standardization generally leads to higher productivity and lower costs for franchise systems (Lin et al., 2014).\n3. Methods: The population of the study comprises of any Brazilian individual who claimed to know stores of exclusive brands, for the case of franchises, businesses using standardization processes and a brand name that are owned by a franchisor (Wu, 2015; Chiou and Droge, 2015), and multi-brand stores for the case of non-franchises, defined as stores that sell products of different brands. The sample of the research regarding franchises comprises of 523 individuals who said they knew exclusive brand stores, whereas that of non-franchises counted on 574 respondents who said they knew multi-brand stores.\n4. Analysis: 4.1 Validation of the measuring model\n5. Discussion: The results discussed are based on purchasing experiences in which respondents were invited to recall and relive. Both for franchises (named as exclusive stores) and non-franchises (named multi-brand stores), we offered examples of operations from various retail segments, remembering mainly that non-franchises are companies that sell products of various brands, have local operations and in some cases have own production and franchises are stores that sell products of a single brand, usually have national or global operations and operate with standardized processes defined by the franchisor.\n6. Conclusion: As conclusions for the study, we find that developing the customer experience quality on franchises may result in increased brand equity, perceived quality, brand trustworthiness and purchase intention. In the comparison between franchises and non-franchises, the results show that franchise customers have a better purchase intention, by giving indications of better quality and brand trustworthiness when compared to non-franchises. This comparison shows indications of the competitive advantage of franchises over non-franchises, justifying the investments that market companies have been making in the development of new franchise networks.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to verify the differences of the influence of customer experience quality on brand equity, brand trustworthiness, perceived quality, perceived risk and purchase intention of franchise customers and non-franchise customers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: After developing two questionnaires, the authors collected 523 responses from Brazilian franchise users (Questionnaire 1) and 574 of non-franchise users (Questionnaire 2). The authors proceed to a confirmatory factor analysis, based on covariance (CB-SEM). In order to compare the results between franchises and non-franchises, the authors have performed a multi-group analysis with support of AMOS.\nFindings: The results show that customer experience quality of the franchise customers tends to result in a better purchase intention, giving indications of better quality and brand trustworthiness when compared to non-franchises. This comparison shows indications of the competitive advantage of franchises over non-franchises, justifying the investments that market companies have been making in the development of the customer experience quality.\nOriginality/value: The research contributes to the understanding of the impact of the customer experience quality on brand equity, brand trustworthiness, perceived quality, perceived risk and purchase intention that directly affects the performance of the franchises, empirically investigating the customer experience quality in the context of franchises using the adapted EXQ scale. Complementarily, it is compared with non-franchises to observe the differences between them.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Contingency theory, performance management and organisational effectiveness in the third sector : A theoretical framework	[ "Performance measurement", "Third sector", "Performance management", "Organizational effectiveness", "Contingency theory", "Performance management and control framework" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: This paper develops a theoretical framework that explains how performance management (PM) affects organisational effectiveness in the third sector from a contingency theory perspective. In the last decade, PM and organisational effectiveness in the \"third sector\"[1] has gained the attention of the management accounting field as well as international development and public administration perspectives (Greiling, 2010; Greatbanks et al., 2010; Moxham, 2010; Chenhall, 2007; Yap and Ferreira, 2011; Wadongo and Abdel-Kader, 2011). There have been calls for contingency research on PM to be extended to the third sector (Chenhall, 2007; Ferreira and Otley, 2009). Despite these calls, empirical studies investigating contingency variables influencing the use of PM systems in the third sector remain to be explored.\n2. PM in the third sector: 2.1 Theoretical underpinnings\n3. Literature review: 3.1 Contingency variables and PM\n4. Theoretical framework development: A variety of theoretical fits have been used to categorise contingency-based research in PM field: selection approach, congruence (matching fit or misfit), interaction fit, systems approach, intervening variable approach and structural modelling. The selection approach examines the pairs of contingency variables and PM systems (Luft and Shields, 2003). The congruence approaches examine how different combinations of levels of the contingency variables and PM systems lead to a higher organisational effectiveness than other combinations (Ferreira and Otley, 2010). The interaction fit approach examines the influence of particular aspects of context on the nature or strength of a relationship between PM and organisational effectiveness (Chenhall, 2007). An overview of the literature reveals that most studies in the PM field seem to rely on the selection approach and the interaction fit of selected contextual variables (Chapman, 1997). Earlier Drazin and Van de Ven (1985, p. 358) argued that, \"[...] a major limitation of many studies has been an overly narrow focus on only one or a few contextual dimensions, which limit the studies from exploring the effects of multiple and conflicting contingencies on organisation design and performance\". This selection fit of one factor at a time, is believed to be problematic due to a shared commonality between the contingency variables (Ferreira and Otley, 2010; Fisher, 1995; Otley, 1980). In particular, studies in the third sector suffer from this selection fit problem. The systems approach examines how contingency variables and multiple aspects of PM systems interact in a variety of ways to enhance organisational effectiveness (Selto et al., 1995; Sowa et al., 2004). The intervening variable approach examines the relationship between PM systems and organisational effectiveness through an intervening contextual variable (Bisbe and Otley, 2004; Shields et al., 2000). Fisher (1995, p. 24) proposed that \"the ultimate goal of contingency control research should be to develop and test a comprehensive model that includes multiple control systems, multiple contingent variables, and multiple outcome variables\".\n5. Conclusion: Drawing upon contingency theory, we have proposed a theoretical framework explaining how the contingency variables affect PM and organisational effectiveness in the third sector. The underlying principles for developing the theoretical framework are mainly based on the preceding theoretical justification and empirical research in management accounting and international development fields. We discussed the justification for contingency theory as well as its weaknesses in PM research. We have also highlighted how a modified PMCF could be used to identify PM in the third sector. The organisational effectiveness could be measured using four domains relevant to the organisation. The propositions are presented in three categories.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework that explains how performance management (PM) affects the organisational effectiveness in the third sector.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors adopt a two stage process in developing the theoretical framework; a systematic review of literature and theoretical developments of the framework. The underlying principles for developing the theoretical framework are mainly based on prior theoretical justification and empirical research in management accounting and international development fields.\nFindings: Drawing upon contingency theory, the authors propose a theoretical framework explaining how the contingency variables affect PM and organisational effectiveness in the third sector. The authors discuss the justification for contingency theory as well as its weaknesses in the PM research. The authors also highlight how a modified Performance Management and Control Framework could be used to identify PM practices in the third sector. The organisational effectiveness can be measured using the four domains the authors suggest in this paper. Finally the authors put forward propositions that can be empirically tested in future studies.\nResearch limitations/implications: This conceptual paper opens an opportunity for future empirical research to cross-validate the model in a large survey through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.\nPractical implications: This paper helps researchers and practitioners to understand how modern PM tools integrate with third sector characteristics to optimise the effectiveness of individual organisations.\nOriginality/value: Integrating insights across disciplines, this paper strengthens cumulative knowledge on conceptualisation of PM and effectiveness within the third sector.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Digital-physical product development: a qualitative analysis	[ "New product development", "Agile", "Digital innovation", "Digital-physical", "Digitized products", "Smart products" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In today's fierce technology-driven competition with Internet of Things and Services, Servitization and Smart Manufacturing/Industry 4.0, companies are increasingly engaging with digital-physical product development by adding digital technology to previous non-digital products (Yoo et al., 2010; Porter and Heppelmann, 2015; Ardito et al., 2017). Digital-physical product development is the process of transforming ideas into commercial products, which include both a software and a tangible component (Hendler and Boer, forthcoming). A concrete example is the world's first smart shoe from Digitsole(r), which automatically tightens, warms up or cools down your feet and connects to a mobile application with sensor information on, e.g., distance traveled and temperature.\n2. Theoretical background: According to a literature review by Hendler and Boer (forthcoming), theory on digital-physical product development is emerging, scattered, descriptive and rarely considers the full complexity of the phenomenon. The literatures on software and physical product development have been developed relatively independently (Karlsson and Loven, 2005; Svahn and Henfridsson, 2012). Literature on embedded software development focusses primarily on technical aspects (Haghighatkhah et al., 2017). Research on topics that may include digital-physical product development, such as complex product, product-service system, mechatronics and cyber-physical system development does uncover relevant themes such as design for product evolvement after launch, multi-disciplinarity, systems engineering and life-cycle costs (e.g. Baines et al., 2007; Wolfenstetter et al., 2016; Bialasiewicz, 2017; Maleki et al., 2017). However, theory on how to organize and manage the process is underdeveloped. The specific gaps relating to the objective guiding this research are explicated below.\n3. Method: The present research is based on a multiple-case study design with three digital-physical product development projects as the units of analysis. This method enables exploring and retaining the holistic and meaningful characteristics of a complex and contemporary social phenomenon embedded in its context (Yin, 2009). While providing empirical evidence for investigating the research objective, the case study is used deductively to illustrate the research model (Figure 1) by giving concrete examples and illustrating the nature and scope of the conceptual relationships. This is a less common but valid use of case studies for conceptual theory building (e.g. Wacker, 1998; Siggelkow, 2007; see Caniato et al., 2018).\n4. Results: 4.1 The digital and physical product development process characteristics\n5. Discussion: This research contributes to conceptual theory building within the immature field of digital-physical product development. It uses deductive reasoning by taking a starting point in a literature-based research model, exemplifying the model and developing twelve case study-based propositions on its constructs and relationships - see Figure 3.\n6. Conclusion: 6.1 Contribution\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how digital and physical product development can be successfully coordinated and which new product development and contextual practices are suitable for the combined digital-physical product development process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a multiple-case study within one company with three digital-physical product development projects as the units of analysis. The data collection and analysis are guided by an existing research model. The case study is used deductively to illustrate the model.\nFindings: When combining digital and physical development processes, one or both need to change. This may lead to sub-optimization of one or both of the processes but optimizes the combined digital-physical process. Various development and coordination practices as well as contextual measures must be put into place to improve fit to the digital-physical process characteristics and mixed materiality.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper illustrates the research model with case evidence and suggests tentative theory in the form of propositions. Further research needs to explore the impact of the practices and contextual measures proposed.\nPractical implications: This research proposes a range of conditions facilitating the successful development of digital-physical products.\nOriginality/value: This paper is among the first to empirically explore the complex process of digital-physical product development. Taking a process perspective and focusing on organizational and managerial practices and the influence of context, organization theory is used as the theoretical lens.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Empty truck trips problem at container terminals: A review of causes, benefits, constraints and solution approaches	[ "Supply chain collaboration (SCC)", "Carbon emission", "Congestion", "Collaborative logistics network (CLN)", "Transport collaboration" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The important role of a port in its supply chain has been emphasized in many studies over time (Panayides and Song, 2008). As an example, to highlight the importance of a port in its supply chain, the study by Cetin and Cerit (2010) reconfirms the assertion, \"[...] seaports can be defined as the subsystems of the supply chain and indispensable links in the transport chain that facilitate the flow of cargo and passengers.\" Wiegmans et al. (2008) further re-emphasize that leading shipping lines evaluate ports based on the quality of their inland connections, among other important criteria. The importance of inland connections has been additionally supported by many studies, such as Gouvernal et al. (2006) and Leachman (2008). Having a timely and sufficient access to a port's hinterland is important for its competitiveness (Notteboom, 1997; Slack, 1999; Notteboom and Rodrigue, 2005; Fleming and Baird, 2010); but especially from a practical perspective, this largely depends on the quality and adequacy of the facilities of transport services (Van Der Horst and De Langen, 2008; Roso et al., 2009). However, good and easy access to transport services by importer and exporters, depends on the many factors that have to be taken into account; one of the important factors is the extent of cooperation between a number of actors in the supply chain, such as shippers and carriers (Langen, 2004; Franc and Van der Horst, 2010). The problem associated with the lack of coordination to promote greater collaboration between these self-interested actors contributes to the limited access to hinterland transport services (Panayides, 2002; Van Der Horst and De Langen, 2008).\nLiterature review: The literature related to the empty trips problem has three key streams of focus (Figure 1). All streams may have crossed into the mainstream, which covers challenging collaboration issues for carriers and shippers. Thus each stream contributing to the broader supply chain collaboration.\nResearch methodology: Given the mentioned limitations (Figure 2) of the existing reviewed studies pertinent to the empty trips problem at container terminals of the leading ports, this current study endeavours to identify potentially useful information on the empty mileage issue. The objective is to intervene appropriately by providing a comprehensive review that will identify its different but interconnected aspects and characteristics. To finally ensure a clear compilation of all the literature reviewed here and to confirm a more logical and structured research framework that reflects the factors that affect the empty mileage issue for the synthesis of the study, this study adopts a content analysis. A literature review is a content analysis from a methodological perspective to assess the contents of studies (Seuring and Muller, 2008). Hsieh and Shannon (2005) defines qualitative content analysis as a research methodology \"[...] for the subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification process of coding and identifying themes or patterns\". The steps for content analysis are outlined below.\nCauses of empty truck trips: A typical container truck may perform many road trips each day in order to complete export or import jobs for shippers. In each of these trips, the objective is to complete a part of an export or import process. Thus, for example, a single export job may generate multiple trips and each of these trips may be partially or greatly underutilized; this can be the source of empty truck trips. To understand the sources of the empty trips problem further, delve into the root causes and offer a partial description of the process that a carrier needs to go through in order to undertake an export or an import task, readers are referred to the study by Islam et al. (2013).\nBenefits of reducing empty truck trips: Many benefits are obvious if carriers work together to develop cooperation strategies with shippers and other stakeholders in the supply chain. Innovative strategies, backed by cooperation and good management, may assist carriers in the exchange of best practices to reduce the number of empty trips. Hence collaboration between carriers and shippers brings about the best outcomes (for a list of collaboration benefits between road carriers and shippers, see Esper and Williams, 2003) for their businesses and helps the supply chain, in the broader sense, to thrive in multiple ways that are also sustainable - economically, environmentally and socially (for more information on such sustainable benefits, see Goodwin, 1993; McKinnon, 1996). In one of its sustainability-related reports, highlights the benefits of reducing empty trips: \"[...] it not only improves the carbon footprint, but is also very appealing from an economic perspective\". The sustainable benefits (Figure 7) from empty trips reduction are further elaborated here and classified into three major categories (i.e. the triple bottom line) (Figure 8).\nConstraints of reducing empty truck trips: Despite the importance of efficient space management of freight trucks, there is limited literature reporting on the truck-sharing constraints of the empty trips problem to be found in a range of research domains pertaining to freight transportation. In fact, the literature can be divided into two streams of thought, depending on the prevalence of types of vehicles referred to in research papers, as shown in Figure 9. However, the majority of the results from the limited literature relate mainly to general vehicles (e.g. freight truck transportation) for the retail industry, as opposed to the maritime industry and giving only generalized descriptions related to that cluster of companies; for a comprehensive list of references to the research on general vehicle-sharing constraints, see McKinnon (1996, 2007), McKinnon and Ge (2006) and McKinnon et al. (2010). In contrast, unlike these studies, for a reference on containerized truck-sharing constraints for the maritime industry, see Islam and Olsen (2014).\nMechanism(s) to reduce empty truck trips: Two concepts that are likely to be particularly useful to transport decision makers in making joint transport plans with other trading partners and the execution of those plans, are the concepts of the, collaborative logistics network (CLN) and shared-transportation. These two potential collaboration mechanisms to reduce empty truck trips have been described in the following.\nResearch implications: It is important to address all of these socio-economic issues (e.g. VMT, traffic congestion and environmental pollution) in order to make a specific and pragmatic contribution to the supply chain domain. Hence, to assist academics in the adoption of the truck-sharing concept in order to reduce the chances of incurring empty trips by container trucks, this study aims to analyse the pros and cons of sharing a container truck. This approach has been further refined by identifying its (the truck-sharing concept) most important characteristics, such as the constraints of the concept. In view of that, this is expected for transport and logistics researchers at this point to borrow ideas (i.e. the findings of this study) from other disciplines. Already logistics has borrowed many theories from other disciplines, including, but not limited to, accounting, management, computing, economics, marketing and mathematics.\nManagerial implications: The findings of this research have implications for the study of both freight transportation and maritime logistics in the reduction of the number of empty trips made by container trucks. For an example, the concept highlighted in this study is the applications of a collaboration logistics network or shared-transportation, which can be considered as an alternative and sustainable transportation option for carriers in order to meet increased demands of future transport capacity, as well as the demands from the market for efficient transport solutions for all stakeholders. In summary, all these preliminary discussions (e.g. truck-sharing causes, benefits, and constraints) accentuate the utility of CLN or shared-transportation concept (a collaborative transport setting) over the conventional freight transportation processes (a non-collaborative transport setting) in maritime logistics and its transport chains.\nConclusion and future research: The overall economic contribution of a port makes it an indispensable part of its supply chain. However, in reality, the expected role of a port in its supply chain is in question in today's rapidly changing business environment because of non-sustainable transportation practices. An important opportunity worthy of consideration is the huge number of empty truck trips that occur in a port. However, as far as the authors are concerned, only a limited amount of literature is to be found that relates to the problem of empty truck trips; although the existing literature does cross the boundaries of many disciplines, for example, from supply chain collaboration to coordination problems in hinterland transport networks, and to the traditional backhauling problem. It is also evident that research gaps exist from the overview of the literature presented. Therefore, new critical perspectives, based on a comprehensive review and synthesis, on empty truck trips are deemed necessary to fill the majority of the research gap in the existing literature and to bridge the connection between theory and practice for both academics and practitioners.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore, through a synthesis of the literature, the causes, benefits, constraints and ways for reducing the number of empty trips made by container trucks. Reduced empty truck trips contribute to sustainable transportation practices in the port territory.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To contribute in the current body of the literature, through a comprehensive synthesis of the studies, this study examines many perspectives surrounding the empty truck trips at container terminals. Hence different, but relevant operational aspects of empty truck trips are explored. This study adopts a content analysis as the research methodology.\nFindings: Different perspectives, which are drawn from the reviewed literature, identify a research gap in published research in the area of transport collaboration (of supply chain collaboration) and coordination problems in hinterland transport chains (of maritime logistics), and the literature relating to backhauling (of vehicle routing problems with backhauls). To cover that research gap in the literature, this study attempts to highlight and synthesize the important empty-trips studies currently available into a coherent and understandable form.\nPractical implications: As an integral part of encouraging collaboration in the container transportation industry, this research may be effective in persuading port authorities to evaluate and to help transport managers to reply to specific enquiries of truck-sharing arrangements.\nSocial implications: The utilization of available empty space of container trucks is a feasible option of increasing transport capacity and achieving sustainable transportation benefits.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides a contemporary lens to view the relationship between empty trips and their applications in the carrier industry, in order to resolve the perceived issues of non-sustainable transportation and their implications for the society.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Facilitating tacit knowledge transfer: routine compatibility, trustworthiness, and integration in M & As	[ "Trust", "Knowledge transfer", "Tacit knowledge", "Integration", "Mergers and acquisitions", "Organizational routines" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Existing literature establishes a crucial distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge (Nonaka and Von Krogh, 2009; Polanyi, 1966; van den Berg, 2013). Research increasingly focuses on tacit knowledge as a potential source of sustained competitive advantage (Harlow, 2008; Lecuona and Reitzig, 2014), because its lack of codifiability precludes easy appropriation by competing firms (Barney, 1991; Grant, 1996). At the same time, this lack of codifiability hinders the transfer of tacit knowledge between cooperative firms (Inkpen and Pien, 2006) and within firms (Kogut and Zander, 1996; Vaara et al., 2012). Mergers and acquisitions (M\n2. Theory: 2.1 Tacit versus explicit knowledge\n3. Research methods: 3.1 Data\n4. Results: Four sets of results are presented, which calls for a system of equations that accounts for the likely correlation of residual values across models, such as seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). SUR produces distinct coefficients and standard errors for each equation, but determines the covariance structure jointly across equations. If residual terms are indeed correlated, the resulting estimates are more efficient than in ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. A Breusch and Pagan (1980) test of independence confirms this correlation by rejecting the null hypothesis of no cross-equation correlation (kh2 = 13.30, p\n5. Discussion: Knowledge transfer is an integral aspect of the M\n6. Conclusion: This study provides empirical support for the idea that knowledge in general, and tacit knowledge in particular, helps explain performance differences in M\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to theorize how tacit knowledge influences implementation success in mergers and acquisitions (M\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research draws from a survey of 86 M\nFindings: There is strong empirical support that tacit routine compatibility leads to success in sales but not operations and further support for the differential moderating roles of trustworthiness and integration.\nPractical implications: Managers should make implementation choices based on the type of knowledge being transferred and where that knowledge will reside post-integration. Routine compatibility, trustworthiness and integration facilitate knowledge transfer in M\nOriginality/value: The type of knowledge is a critical distinction for the value of M\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A benchmarking study of experiences with electronic government	[ "Government", "Internet", "Success", "Change management", "Communication technologies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: These days, the use of the internet and the information and communication technologies (ICT) as a whole has become an essential part of many government organizations (Steyaert, 2000). This movement by government organizations towards more IT-based improvement enablers is called electronic government (EG). EG is significant in that it facilitates the delivery of government services in electronic form, and this can in turn lead to a considerable reduction of service cost, an increase in the satisfaction of government customers (i.e. citizens, other government agencies, or business organizations). EG also increases accessibility, accuracy and privacy of information being exchanged among stakeholders of EG processes (Abie et al., 2004).Just like electronic commerce which has been defined as:The use of electronic transmission mediums (telecommunications) to engage in the exchange, including buying and selling, of products and services requiring transportation, either physically or digitally, from location to location (Greenstein and Feinman, 2000, p. 2).EG is about the same process except that it is a relationship that links government organizations with each other, and to citizens and business organizations where the aim is to deliver services electronically.An increasing number of countries have implemented EG with expectation to lower costs, provide satisfactory services to their citizens and improve communication amongst their government organizations (Kalakota and Whinston, 1996). However, several surveys and reports show that a variety of strategic approaches and projects frameworks have been used in EG implementation. Accordingly, the level of success is also different amongst implementers. This leads to the need to benchmark a variety of EG experiences in different contexts and cultures. This kind of benchmarking studies helps uncover the factors of success, the priorities of implementation in EG initiatives, and the effective approaches to be followed.This paper studies a selected number of countries adopting EG. It highlights the driving forces behind EG applications, the regulatory issues, the organizational bodies introduced to back up implementation efforts, and the major projects. The paper starts with a review of EG relevant literature, a description of the research methodology adopted, and then goes on into the discussion of the cases and their review analysis.\nLiterature review and research approach: EG is seen as a tool to \"transforms and rationalizes public sector work through the use of ICT, which may include wide area networks, the Internet, mobile computing, and mobile telephony\" (Schware and Deane, 2003, p. 10). EG is seen as a tool that enable government to provide citizens with easier and electronic access to information and modernized services through personal computers, kiosks, telephones and other resources (Banerjee and Chau, 2004). This means that citizens, for example, no longer need to claim services over-the-counter. EG deployment can be phased into six stages (Wong, 2000). These are: information dissemination via websites; two-way transaction via an internet connectivity; multipurpose portals; portal personalization; clustering of common services; and full integration and enterprise transformation.Hackney and McBride (1995) argue that the failure of many ICT-based projects in the public sector is mostly due to the fact that the change expected has not occurred and the new systems have amounted to the waste of scarce organizational resources. This is in line with Al-Kibsi et al.'s (2001) argument that:... 15 per cent of e-government's benefits stem from technology solutions; the rest come from streamlining the delivery of services. The two together can produce dramatic cost savings per transaction.This raise the issue of the importance of studies that benchmark the different approaches followed by countries that have undertaken EG projects, and the objective of this research paper is to address this need. For this purpose, six countries were chosen as potential cases for this study. The selection was made so that the cases can be comparable to each other, whilst in the same time provide richness to the study in terms of their coverage of the different EG dimensions. The study focuses on the startup-up initiatives of EG, systems and implementation approaches, projects organization and management, major EG projects, EG developments, and assessment and evaluation of the EG efforts.\nCases background and description: This paper describes a number of leading practices in e-government of six countries, namely Canada, the USA, the UK, Dubai Government, the Republic of Singapore, and Malaysia. Table I presents a brief comparison of major EG characteristics at these countries. These characteristics are considered as measures and contributing factors to the success of EG efforts.The Canadian Government made good progress in EG by providing information and services to its people through the internet. These services have placed it among the leading countries in providing its people with services, which pivot around the internet (Accenture, 2002). The Canadian Government started providing the services in stages. The first priority was to provide and reorganize the main gateway through the internet. In February of 2001, the Canadian Government launched its modified and developed site (www.canada.gc.ca). The information and government services site consisted of three portals; the first portal to serve the people, the second for business people and corporations, and the third to serve the international clients.In the case of the USA in 1992, the General Service Administration's Office (GSAO), which is specialized in the General Policies of the American Government, outlined an agenda and an integrated vision for the project of electronic portal for the American Government, which is defined later by the name WebGov (Portals in the US Country Report, 2001). This project had the full support from the highest level in which the President of the USA stated his support and desire to launch the American EG gateway within 90 days of that date. The GSAO, the President Management Council, and the Chief Information Officer's Council became main supporters for this project. The project was also supported by 22 American federal agencies, which sponsored the project by supplying members to establish the first administration council (cross-agency) to coordinate between agencies.In 1999, the UK Cabinet Office issued a document on their decision to enhance and modernize the government and the manner in providing the government services to the people (British Government, 2002). The document specified its target of making 100 percent of the government services available online through the internet by 2008 (Prime Minister Tony Blair's Speech). However, in March of 2000, the Prime Minister set a target of making all government services available through internet access by 2005, and established a mechanism to monitor all government administrations' progress towards achieving this target. In April 2000, the general strategy of the e-government was published and the Office of the e-Envoy was created to ensure and monitor the application of the UK Government's vision of providing 100 percent electronic services through the internet by 2005 (Blair, 2002; UK e-Envoy Strategy, 2002).In Dubai, the Crown Prince of Dubai announced the launch of the \"E-Government Initiative\" to revolutionize the public service in Dubai. In his statement he said, \"Dubai must be the business center in the modern Knowledge Economy.\" The theme of his vision was to simplify the interaction between people and companies who interact with the government, and to participate in building Dubai as a business center. In describing how to achieve this vision and make it real, the Crown Prince of Dubai said, \"We must reinvent the government in order for Dubai to become a leader in the Knowledge Age.\" This can be achieved by raising the level of services, which are provided to the private sector and the public, and the compatibility of all services and government procedures with the knowledge age. To this effect a high council was established. To implement the vision of the e-government, the government of Dubai and the committee, which supervises the project have to study the experience of the other countries, which have implemented the e-government and find out their success, failure, obstacles and incentives. A private consulting firm was hired to assist in the project.The journey of the Singaporean Government with the e-government started in 1997 with the emergence of the concept of providing information and services to the citizens through the internet. The objective of this vision was to provide the information and the services, which suit the citizen's needs, and not according to what the government agencies would like to make available of the information services. The interest of this project was at the highest political level (Singaporean Development of Communication and Information Authority). In Singapore's Prime Minister's speech in the opening of Asia Telecommunications in 2000, he announced the launch of the Singapore e-government project. In his speech, he mentioned the plan of making Singapore a main economic power in the area of information economy by the year 2010. The objective of this idea was to enable the citizens to use this gateway from the elementary school and all of their life, and manage all kind of related civil activities with the government from education, consultations related to the vocational area, finding a job, making wedding reservations, moving to another house, etc. (www.peg.org.uk/agenda.xalter).The Malaysian Government decided to strengthen its economic growth with another progress in the area of ICT in order to secure its superiority and competitive advantage in the era of new knowledge economy. The government also wanted to secure services provided to the citizens, business people and companies in the best and fastest way to secure the flow of information which helps in speeding up decision making and business handling. One of the most important projects related to this era was the implementation of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). The Prime Minister of Malaysia directed the establishment of a variety of administrations and councils to participate in this project. In 1997, the Malaysia Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) was established to modernize the Malaysian administration within the Prime Minister's office (MAMPU).\nCases discussion and analysis: Startup-up initiatives\nConclusion: This paper has presented and discussed six cases of leading EG practice. The analysis has focused on the driving forces and characteristics of EG initiatives, the regulations and legislations that have been enforced to support EG efforts, the government bodies that have been established to facilitate and implement EG strategies, the major projects that have been set-up for EG implementation, the future visions and projects and the level of success in EG efforts.To summarize and benefit from these studies of EG, there are some lessons learned and recommendations which can help in implementing the EG and succeeding in this area. Firstly, it is important that an in-depth/thorough study be done at a country level in order to come up with specific and clear objectives in preparation of a clear vision for EG.EG cannot be possible and successful without a commitment and full support from the highest levels of authorities. This will enable an integration of all government legislations, which in turn play a major role in implementing the services, and flexible networks between government agencies as well as with businesses and citizens.EG efforts cannot also be successful without designing a justified framework with contracted IT companies. Furthermore, the cooperation between the government and the private sector can save in experience and cost. It is also important to have the EG efforts centered on human efforts and designing services rather than on just IT factors. This emphasizes the importance of educating users and spreading the knowledge of IT and the use of electronic access channels such as the internet. This leads to more availability of media and the stations of connection to the internet, as well as people to use computers.EG is not achievable without improving the administration's procedures and concepts of government employees. This involves the establishment and introduction of new legislations for electronic transactions to be as legitimate as document transactions. This needs cooperation among special lawyers, technological corporations, and the judiciary system. Finally, EG needs a huge investment and financial support, but it can produce income and reduce government expenses.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to analyse several reported case studies of electronic government (EG) application to uncover the driving forces behind EG application, the approaches and methods adopted and the levels of success of their associated initiatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Six countries were chosen as potential cases for this study. The selection was made so that the cases can be comparable to each other, whilst in the same time provide richness to the study in terms of their coverage of the different EG dimensions.\nFindings: - This study shows comparison of various EG methodologies employed by a selected group of six countries and concludes with criteria for improvement in EG services implementation based on a thorough study of EG strategies and past major project implementations.\nPractical implications: - The level of success posted by selected cases is different amongst implementers, which leads to the need for benchmarking a variety of EG experiences in different contexts and cultures.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides a review of EG relevant literature, and a detailed discussion of the cases and their review analysis. This kind of benchmarking study helps uncover the factors of success, the priorities of implementation in EG initiatives, and the effective approaches to be followed.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Why leadership matters: empowering teachers to implement formative assessment	[ "Assessment", "Leadership", "Teachers", "Learning", "United States of America" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: This case study explores how a Midwestern US high school implemented a comprehensive formative assessment program by creating time in the schedule and space in the building for professional conversations about student achievement, which includes teaching, learning, and assessment. The focus of this research is to understand the evolving roles of the individuals on the school leadership team as a catalyst for innovation in instruction and classroom assessment. Without question, the implementation of a new formative assessment system in this school has required the expertise and support of people in positions of administrative leadership in the building, in particular, the school principal. The creation of building level teams of teachers to serve as a community to advance teaching and learning inspired a unique approach to shared leadership in the spirit of instructional improvement.\nProfessional learning communities: The model of teacher in-servicing for school improvement used by the school district in this case is a Professional Learning Community, or PLC: a collaborative team of teachers which meets regularly outside of school hours to hone their teaching craft and improve pedagogical practices (Louis et al., 1996; Rinehart et al., 1998; Scribner et al., 1999). The interaction of teachers outside of their classrooms is the focus of the school improvement model, and the theoretical framework used to analyze the PLC comes from Louis et al. (1996). In addition to exploring the role of educators in formal leadership positions, school characteristics and structures designed to specifically support the PLC are analyzed, and the responsibility teachers take for student learning using formative assessment is evaluated.\nFormative assessment: Good teaching requires frequent feedback from students to check not only learning progress, but also to monitor the efficacy of the pedagogical processes selected by the teacher (Heritage, 2007). One of the ways teachers can monitor learning is to give students formative assessments to provide teachers with data that can be used to encourage students to be self-reflective about their learning progress (Black et al., 2003). Formative assessments are generally thought of as metacognitive tools designed to support instruction in order to facilitate the creation of a learning profile for students to track their progress over time. The purpose of these assessments is to provide fast, daily feedback on student academic performance across the curriculum. There has been research in the field of educational measurement in the past few years on the use of formative assessments to raise standards of achievement and to lead to higher quality learning (Black et al., 2004; Black and Wiliam, 1998; Shepard, 2000).Stiggins (2002) has called for the use of classroom assessments both in the service of student learning and as a tool for school improvement. Specifically, he argues that teachers can glean valuable information about student learning when the quality of teacher-developed classroom assessments is sound. Popham (2008) goes so far as to call this new way to think about assessment as \"Transformative Assessment.\" In this model, educators identify learning progressions (the sequence set of sub-skills a student will learn in a given unit of study) and invent ways to ascertain the extent to which students have mastered them (formative assessments). This stands in contrast to more traditional ways of assessing student knowledge at the end of a unit of study (summative assessments), and is different from the once-a-year high-stakes State tests that are used for State accountability reporting purposes. Rather, assessment for learning, as conceived by Black et al. (2003), is an approach to teaching that includes embedded assessment activities (which may or may not include paper/pencil tests) to provide teachers with feedback on student learning so further instruction can be tailored to fit the needs of the learners. What is more, Black et al. (2003, p. 113) believe it is the responsibility of the people in formal leadership positions to provide the \"leadership, stimulus, and support\" to make assessment for learning possible.Despite the research evidence to support the power of formative assessment processes to improve teaching and learning, these practices are not necessarily being implemented in classrooms. Some educators lament new teachers are graduating from preparation programs that have left them under-prepared to develop their own psychometrically sound classroom assessments to be used in the service of student learning (Stiggins, 1999), and many veteran teachers are not exactly sure what it means to use assessment data formatively. In the face of this steep learning curve, educators working to meet the accountability pressures of the No Child Left Behind Act (2002) are engaged in what Halverson et al. (2007) term a \"revolution\" in school leadership, where assessment data are used to inform instruction in an effort to increase student achievement (Halverson et al., 2007). The underlying assumption grounding this research is that when teachers understand and apply formative assessment principles to their pedagogical practice, student learning is improved. Similarly, research from the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative suggests when teachers use data to inform teaching, schools are able to raise the achievement of low-performing students by targeting instruction to the skills individual students need (Symonds, 2004). Without question, the school leader plays a key role in setting policies and providing opportunities for professional development so teachers can successfully use assessment for learning.State context\nMethodology: A qualitative case study design was used to investigate leadership practices, the changes in teacher assessment practices, and how the school administrators served as catalysts for the school improvement initiative. The case itself was selected purposefully and strategically, based on its promise to provide the researcher with an information-rich site worthy of in-depth study (Patton, 2002).Research questions\nResearch findings: This section is a detailed description of the types of formative assessment activities that are being utilized at East High School, and also an outline of the professional development activities the staff engaged in during the 2009-2010 school year. These activities are placed in the context of the unique leadership structures that facilitate this work. Without question, the success of the change initiative hinged on the complex relationships between teachers and school leaders. The administrators and teacher leaders in the school district in this case study have embraced an expanded role for teacher-created, classroom assessments that are used to inform pedagogical practice. According to the district Strategic Planning statement on the web site, one of the Core Values is: \"The district will keep current with staff training ... including teamwork, communication, and creative thinking.\" To explain how the culture at East High School evolved to allow for weekly meetings of teams of teachers training each other on formative assessment, the district superintendent and the school principal were asked specifically to define the leadership models that define their vision for school leadership. Because leadership is always situated (Spillane et al., 2004, p. 19), it is important to explore the web of interaction between and among the organization's participants. The next section breaks down how the superintendent, building principal, and lead teacher in the BLT view leadership as a tool for school improvement.Superintendent Brown's leadership model\nImplications for practice: Elmore (2000, p. 13) writes school \"improvement, then, is change with direction, sustained over time, that moves entire systems, raising the average level of quality and performance, while at the same time, decreasing the variation among units, and engaging people in analysis and understanding of why some actions seem to work and others don't\"\". The first research question driving this study was: What is the role of the school administrator in the adoption and implementation of assessment for learning? Without question, the built in time for reflection and teacher conversation in professional learning communities is an important practical implication for administrators. For sustained change, teachers need practical support in the form of time for teacher learning and collaboration. Also of importance is the mental stimulus that comes from teacher-initiated professional development activities.The second research question was \"How do the superintendent and principal provide the scaffolding - the \"leadership, stimulus, and support\" (Black et al., 2003) - to the BLTs to make the assessment for learning possible. More than just time in the schedule for changing practice, the school leaders also served as instructional leaders by learning the research and pedagogical goals of assessment for learning. Principal Stevens attended the same professional development sessions with his faculty. This allowed him to anticipate exactly what kinds of supports the teachers would need as they implemented a new kind of practice. In addition, it better positioned him to understand how classroom practice was changing in his building. Perhaps the most valuable lesson for administrators striving to be instructional leaders is that as pedagogical practices evolve, it is insufficient for teachers to be the only staff people engaging in new learning. The knowledge base of the teacher-leader must also grow.\nConclusions: Leithwood et al. (2004, p. 4) argue that labeling leadership structures often leads to \"leadership by adjective\" approaches. These differentially-labeled approaches overlook the fact that leadership structures need to accomplish the same objectives: to help a school set new directions and help those involved in the school move in those directions. Both the principal and the superintendent were familiar with the terms \"distributed leadership\" and \"instructional leadership.\" However, their understandings of these terms in practice did not always match the ways the terms are used by educational researchers. For example, the superintendent indeed has distributed responsibility for school improvement across the district, but this distribution does not extend, as the researchers of the Distributed Leadership Project (Spillane et al., 2001) have suggested, to the practice of leading classroom instruction.Being held accountable for student learning has made school leaders wrestle with how to distribute school leadership, what it means to be an instructional leader, and how a school organization can support and nurture a culture of learning. In some instances, the curricular expertise of the teaching staff makes them more likely candidates for instructional leadership than school administrators who have been trained as managers. In this case study, the key catalyst for change was the building principal. Principal Stevens has created interdisciplinary teams of teachers across grade levels and subjects in order to facilitate conversations about school improvement as the State requirements for assessment evolve. Without question, the professional learning communities could not exist without administrative support of innovation and change: specifically, time to meet, money to support new curriculum, and training.The assessment for learning team at the State department of education expects that the use of model lessons from East High School will form the foundations for professional inservices that will be used State-wide in the coming years, as Iowa schools match their classroom assessment practices to the Iowa Core Curriculum. In particular, the efforts made by the school administrators in this case study are worth analysis to understand how they worked to build capacity for change in classroom instructional practices in this district. It is clear from the field work observing teachers negotiating ways to use formative assessment in the service of student learning that teacher innovation can be facilitated by people in formal positions of school leadership: a point that will be critical to emulate in other districts attempting to adopt this kind of curricular and organizational change to improve student learning.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The focus of this research is to understand the role of the district superintendent, the building principal, and the school leadership team of classroom teachers as catalysts for innovation in instruction and classroom assessment. School characteristics and structures designed to specifically support professional learning communities are to be analyzed, and the responsibility teachers take for student learning using formative assessment is evaluated.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The setting for the study is a small, Midwestern high school in the USA. The high school has a staff of 38 teachers, 15 of whom are on the Formative Assessment Building Leadership Team. The high school principal and district superintendent also participated in the study. The study took the form of a qualitative case study. The data sources were transcripts and artifacts from eight months of interviews, and building-wide teacher meetings. Professional development inservices were also analyzed.\nFindings: - The principal served as a catalyst for building teacher knowledge and implementation of formative assessment practices. The success of the change initiative hinged on relationships between teachers and school leaders. Teachers used assessment in the service of student learning.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Because this is a case study, the findings themselves are not designed to be generalizable to other contexts.\nPractical implications: - Understanding the role school leadership will play in the implementation of a new State-wide policy initiative for curriculum improvement is critical to uncovering the capacity required for formative assessment to be successfully implemented on a large scale.\nSocial implications: - There has been research in the field of educational measurement in the past few years on the use of formative assessments to raise standards of achievement and to lead to higher quality learning. This is an analysis of the complex dynamic between school leaders and teachers in the service of implementing assessment for learning.\nOriginality/value: - The implementation of formative assessment on a large scale is a concern not only in the State in this research study, but in schools around the country. An exploration of the leadership capacity needed to originate and sustain this school improvement initiative is novel to the field.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Relative importance of country of service delivery, country of person and country of brand in hybrid service evaluation: a conjoint analysis approach	[ "Service marketing", "Service quality", "Country image", "Conjoint analysis", "Country of origin effect", "Credence service" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The pressure of global competition has made many companies look for ways to reduce costs and secure market opportunities. With declining trends in trade barriers and import tariffs, as a consequence of free trade practices, many companies today execute offshoring strategies to achieve such objectives. Offshoring, a strategy conducted by relocating of some business operations to alternative countries where costs (e.g. labor) are considerably cheaper, has become the preferred alternative by companies in order to reduce costs, allocate resources more efficiently and/or bring the companies closer to their markets (Blinder, 2006). For example, a TV brand based in the US might manufacture in the Philippines, China and/or India, with components sourced from China and Indonesia; the results are so-called \"hybrid\" products.\nConceptual background: The principle of congruity introduced by Osgood and Tannenbaum (1955) posits that consumers prefer to accept information that is congruent rather than incongruent in relation to their beliefs when they are exposed to both types of information at the same time. Incongruent information will create dissonance in the minds of consumers so that they tend to avoid it and look for congruent information that strengthens their beliefs. For example, if an advertisement is endorsed by a celebrity that does not match the advertised product, consumers may judge the advertisement negatively because they perceive incongruence between it and the endorser. However, Osgood and Tannenbaum (1955) also state that if two incongruent objects are presented, there will be a mutual shift toward one another, with both heading in a more congruent direction. This means that when an object with a negative perceived image is paired with another object with a positive perceived image, the evaluation of the object with the negative perceived image will be less negative, and vice versa, where the evaluation of object with positive perceived image will be less positive (Muller, 2008). Furthermore, Josiassen and Assaf (2010) found that greater perceived congruency between a country's image and product enhances the relationship between product evaluation and COO image. Similarly, Chao (2001) reported that perceived congruency positively moderates COO effects on consumers' product evaluation. In the context of hybrid products, the perception of congruity is known as perceived similarity (fit) between the country images of a product with multiple COOs. For instance, perceived fit between the country of design and country of manufacture affects perceptions of product quality, through reflection of symbolic meanings, such as prestigious brands (Hamzaoui-Essoussi and Merunka, 2007).\nMethodology: Full profile conjoint analysis\nResults: To validate the results of the conjoint analysis experimental design, Pearson's r, Kendall's tau and Kendall's tau for holdouts analysis were employed. These tests calculate whether the co-variation between the observed and estimated variables reflects a strong causal relationship from one variable to another (Hair et al., 2010). The correlation between COB, COSD and COP was examined to determine the internal validity of the conjoint analysis model. The correlations are high (above 0.89) for all three tests and significant in the three service types, indicating that the conjoint analysis design delivered the required internal validity, and also confirming the ability of the proposed distinct COO dimensions of COB, COSD and COP to each significantly influence perceptions of ESQ.\nDiscussion: Previous research examined the effects of COO on service quality mainly as a single dimension cue, by associating the quality of the service with the image of the country where either the brand is originated or the service is delivered (Sharma, 2012; Josiassen and Assaf, 2010). While, to some extent, this limited approach may be useful, in the assessment of international services quality (as found for hybrid tangible products) this is an oversimplification that ignores the other potential COO influences informing consumer expectations and evaluations. Addressing this gap, this research confirms that COO, in an international services context, is multidimensional rather than unidimensional. The study reveals that two other distinct COO dimensions are also deemed important in consumers' expectations of service quality. Extending the work of Aruan and Crouch (2016), this study contributes to both the COO and services literature by providing strong evidence that COSD and COP represent important and distinct dimensions of the COO construct for international services, each contributing customer expectations of overall service quality. It is important to note that where the effect of a single COO dimension does not create conflict in consumers' minds, the simultaneous effects of multiple COO dimensions can trigger conflicting perceptions, particularly when the COO dimensions are incongruent. This research makes additional contributions to both the COO and services theory by showing that the contribution of each COO dimension varies significantly depending on service type (search, experience and credence), which represent different levels of perceived risk in the minds of consumers. For example, COB was found to be most important for airlines (experience service), while COP dominated quality perceptions for education (credence service).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the relative importance of country of brand (COB), country of service delivery (COSD) and country of person (COP) in consumer evaluation of hybrid services.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using data (N = 1,071) from Australia, Indonesia and Singapore, a conjoint analysis experimental design explored empirically the importance of country of origin (COO) effects in three service contexts: search, experience and credence.\nFindings: The analysis reveals that the relative importance of COP was the highest for credence services, while COB was the strongest for experience services.\nPractical implications: For firms operating offshore, companies must understand that the COO construct is multi-dimensional for services, as it is for tangible products and not limited only to COB as traditionally thought. At least two other distinct dimensions - COSD and COP - can play significant roles as predictors of service quality expectations. Companies must consider the implications of service type, according to the search-experience-credence continuum to inform staffing decisions and managing customer expectations.\nOriginality/value: This research contributes to the literature by extending the understanding of country image effects in the context of hybrid service provisions, particularly in the view of customer expectations of services with multiple country-of-origins. Although there have been several studies examining the effects of COO on services evaluation, no empirical study has examined the effects of multiple COOs simultaneously from the perspective of location where the service is delivered (COSD) and individuals who deliver the service (COP), in addition to the effect of COB origin.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Food-based experiences as antecedents of destination loyalty	[ "Loyalty", "Quality of life", "Experiential marketing", "Culinary tourism", "Place attachment", "Memorability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The experiential trend that is challenging the modern tourism industry is pushing tourism practitioners to look into new strategies and products for the achievement of the satisfaction and loyalty of a new experiential consumer. Modern tourists expect to live an once-in-a-lifetime experience when travelling (Hall and Gossling, 2012), therefore it seems important to put forward new solutions capable of changing traditional tourism offerings into unique events. Food is a resource especially likely to provide a multi-sensorial experience; it is experiential in nature and is becoming sensual, ritualistic and symbolic, rather than just functional to a nourishing need (Ellis et al., 2018; Hall et al., 2003). Smelling and tasting are perceived as an experiential practice increasingly used by tourists agents to offer the most authentic aspects of the local culture, through a participative encounter with typical food and drinks. Culinary activities are exploratory in nature and lead tourists to attain a deep knowledge of local idiosyncrasies (Molz, 2007) which, in turn, can determine a special bond between consumers and places (Lin, 2014). Based on Crouch and Ritchie (2005) this research assumes that the competitiveness of tourism destinations is measured on the basis of their ability to deliver memorable experiences. Special flavours and dishes can induce positive feelings in consumers, and the reminiscence of its memory can drive future loyal behaviours, which can benefit a tourism destination in terms of intention to revisit (Kauppinen-Raisanen et al., 2013; Kim, 2018; Kim and Ritchie, 2014; Lin and Mao, 2015; Lopez-Guzman and Sanchez-Canizares, 2012; Richards, 2012).\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 Memorability of culinary experiences\n3. Materials and methods: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Results: 4.1 Characteristics of the sample\n5. Discussion of results: The results achieved in the present research confirm the importance of considering new experiential variables as significant determinants of positive marketing outcomes in the current tourism market. It has been found that MEM is a new fundamental component of the tourism activities capable of driving future LOYD. Therefore, in line with findings of previous works (Ali et al., 2014, 2016; Hoch and Deighton, 1989; Kim, 2014; Kim and Ritchie, 2014; Kim et al., 2012; Loureiro, 2014), this research confirms the relationship between MEM and positive outcomes. The results achieved are in line with previous works, which demonstrate that perceived improvements in QoL and PA, prompted by holiday experiences, are driving elements for positive future intentions and loyal behaviours (Kim et al., 2012, 2015; Lam and So, 2013; Lee et al., 2014; Lin, 2014; Loureiro, 2014; Tsai, 2016). Although R2 shows moderate-weak values, the results achieved in this research are still valuable considering the novelty of the research topic, the variables involved and the causal relationships hypothesised. LOYD is the outcome variable of the model and the most explained in terms of variance (52.8 per cent), confirming the appropriateness of the general structure of the model and, specifically that MEM, QoL and PA are proper determinants for LOYD. The role of MEM stands out in the determination of the predictive power of the model, as it explains the 40.5 per cent of QoL, the 27 per cent of PA and the 23.8 per cent of LOYD. These figures are in line with previous researches, which considered the same variables linked by similar causal relationships and study contexts (Ali et al., 2016; Lee and Shen, 2013; Lin, 2014; Loureiro, 2014; Nawijn, 2011; Tsai, 2016).\n6. Conclusions: This research arises from the general consideration of whether the connections between experiential variables could provide innovative tourism models capable of increasing destinations' competitiveness and consumer's loyalty. The rise of the experience economy (Pine and Gilmore, 1998, 1999; Schmitt, 1999) introduced a new way of understating tourism consumption by both consumers and practitioners. Tourism service providers are now in the need of turning their product/service into an experiential offering in order to stay competitive in modern markets. Tourists approach consumption with the expectation of achieving experiential value, beyond functionality. According to Alagoz and Ekici (2014), consumers are nowadays emotional as much as they are rational.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the value of experientiality as a determining factor for destination loyalty (LOYD) in the context of culinary tourism. The present research sees in memorability (MEM), Quality of Life (QoL) and place attachment (PA) experiential variables driving future loyal intentions to revisit a certain place.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The causal relationships between the concepts have been analysed using structural equation modelling and the partial least squares technique.\nFindings: Results achieved confirmed that new concepts should be considered in order to reach a better understanding of the current experiential phenomenon and to provide destinations and practitioners with new strategies in line with the requirements of the sector and the modern consumers' expectations.\nResearch limitations/implications: Due to the application of a convenience sample, results should be understood within the context of this case study.\nPractical implications: The conclusion of this research highlights the importance of delivering food-based experiences to travellers with the aim of generating a positive impact in individuals' lives, beyond the holiday time. This can result in QoL and PA which are strong antecedent of future loyal intentions towards a destination.\nOriginality/value: This work represent one the first attempts to measure the experiential value of food-based experiences lived on holidays and its effect on marketing results. This research outlines useful strategies for enhancing the competitiveness of destinations in the new experiential scenario.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Computer-mediated communication and social networking tools at work	[ "Computer‐mediated communication (CMC)", "Social network tools", "Social network analysis", "Work performance", "Communication", "Social networks" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Communication is an important part of human activities. One of the core values of information systems (IS) is the utilization of technologies to facilitate communication in the workplace (Quan-Haase et al., 2005). Accordingly, various computer-mediated-communication (CMC) technologies have been proposed and designed to enhance performance through improvements in communication. Under the larger umbrella of CMC technologies, social networking tools are designed to facilitate interlocutors' communication so as to strengthen their social relationships. Typical tools used in the workplace include instant messenger (IM), e-mail, knowledge sharing forums and company blogs. These CMC and social tools have recently become increasingly recognized as important for the workplace. Specifically, Deloitte (Gandal and Sharma, 2009) predicts that the key technological trend in this decade will be the use of information technology (IT) to shape social networks in organizations and subsequently enhance organizational performance. Social networking tools have gained momentum in practice. However, academic research has rarely investigated the impact of these technologies on the quality of social networks and interaction.Parallel to the above practitioners' observations, there is a tradition of academic research focusing on technology adoption. This stream of research, for instance, media richness theory (Daft and Lengel, 1986) and technology adoption model (Davis, 1989), studied the influencing factors for individual or organizational choices with respect to media or technology adoption and use. In contrast to the focus of factors influencing technology adoption, a recent research area emphasizes the media and technology performance, namely, the outcomes of utilizing media or technology. Notably, media synchronicity theory (MST) focuses on the capability of media to support synchronicity, termed as a shared pattern of coordinated behaviour among individuals working together (Dennis et al., 2008). MST also contends that the use of multiple media, either concurrently or consecutively, will lead to better communication and subsequently task performance because media synchronization can provide an ideal combination of media capabilities. MST, as \"a theory of communication performance\" (p. 579), thus offers a basis for theorizing how the use of CMC tools can spawn high-quality communication among buyers and sellers. Although MST has provided us with a conceptual cornerstone to investigate a technology's performance in the workplace, its empirical verification and its applications in examining CMC and social networking tools' performance in the workplace warrants investigation.In order to address the above-mentioned research gaps, in this research we investigate the effectiveness of CMC and social networking tools on work performance through social network theory (Rogers, 1986) and MST (Dennis et al., 2008). Specifically, we examine three CMC and social networking tools, namely, IM, e-mail and knowledge sharing forums, used in the workplace because of their popularity (cf., Gandal and Sharma, 2009). We argue that these three social networking tools can function as work task-oriented CMC tools. At the same time, these three CMC tools have the capability to shape well-connected social networks for the interlocutors at work, merging the interpersonal and work relationships together with the aid of CMC tools. With the utilization of these tools, quality communication process, interactivity and relationship networks among interlocutors can be established and strengthened, subsequently leading to enhanced individual work performance.In the next section, we provide the theoretical justification for these arguments and develop corresponding hypotheses. We then describe the research context and the survey method, focusing on a work team covering 59 team members in a bank. Following the structural equation modelling and social network analyses, we summarize the findings and suggestions for the research. We conclude the chapter with implications and contributions.\n2. Theoretical development: We rely on social network theory (Rogers, 1986) and MST (Dennis et al., 2008) to develop the research model. Specially, Rogers (1986) defined communication as \"a process in which participants create and share information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding\" and therefore a communication network is described as \"the interpersonal linkages created by the sharing of information in the interpersonal communication structure, that is, the network\". MST (Dennis et al., 2008) focuses on the ability of media to support synchronicity, a shared pattern of coordinated behaviour among individuals as they work together. CMC tools used at work are designed to enhance the communication which may subsequently influence the work performance (cf., Quan-Haase et al., 2005). Following these three streams of conceptual discussions, we propose that three specific CMC and social networking tools, namely, IM, e-mail and knowledge forums, have the potential to enhance individual employees' work performance by facilitating their communication process, enabling interactivity and building relationship networks in the workplace. The theoretical model is summarized in Figure 1. We detail the justifications to the hypotheses below.2.1 The effects of IM used at work\n3. Methodology: We operationalize the constructs based on the literature. The independent variables, IM, e-mail and knowledge forum used at work were measured based on the conceptualization provided by Kraut et al. (1992). We followed Dennis et al.'s (2008) conceptualization of MST to operationalize communication process as conveyance and convergence processes. The measures of interactivity covered active control, two-way communication and synchronicity, following (Liu, 2003; Lowry et al., 2009). Relationship network captured the basic elements of the web of personal relationships, following Buckley et al. (2006). We measured the dependent variable - work performance - in terms of an employee's work standard, work quality and work performance level, using the scales from Rodwell et al. (1998).We verify the above research model with organizational data. Global Bank (a pseudonym), an international bank headquartered in London, UK, is the focal point of this research. Global Bank emphasizes providing localized services to globally-distributed customers. Currently three CMC and social networking tools are employed in the company, namely IBM SameTime (an IM tool), Microsoft SharePoint portal (a knowledge sharing forum) and corporate Lotus Notes e-mail system. Appendix 1 lists the screen dumps of these three tools used in Global Bank. We selected Global Bank as the research focus because of its utilization of these three specific CMC and social networking tools in the workplace. Meanwhile, one of the authors worked in one major office of Global Bank, the Hong Kong office, with 61 staff in total. In order to verify the research model, he observed and collected survey responses from 59 employees in that office in 2010, yielding a response rate of 96.7 per cent. The data collected from one particular office, but not all branches of Global Bank, allows us to draw a meaningful social network diagram based on a naturally and physically connected workforce. Table I contains the demographic summary of all 59 respondents.In addition to the structural research model, we also collected the data on the social networks of these 59 employees, intending to draw a network diagram of the respondents using the social network analysis software UCINET.\n4. Data analysis: 4.1 Measurement validation\n5. Key findings, implications and future research: 5.1 Key findings\n6. Conclusion: Communication is essential in the workplace. Along with the technology advancement, new CMC and social networking tools have become available to facilitate the communication and knowledge dissemination in organizational context. The utilization of such technology as IM, e-mail and knowledge forum has led to an increasingly mobile but better connected workforce. This study provides a compelling rationale to embed CMC and social networking tools into the work context. The implementation of these CMC and social networking tools are necessary for a company to shape employees' work performance and therefore remain competitive and agile in today's market and in the future. We believe more theoretical research and practical development will emerge in this field.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Advances in information technology (IT) have resulted in the development of various computer-mediated communication (CMC) and social networking tools. However, quantifying the benefits of utilizing these tools in the organizational context remains a challenge. In this study, the authors aim to investigate the effects of three specific tools, viz. instant messenger, email and knowledge forum, on facilitating the communication and social network at work, and their subsequent influence on individuals' work performance. Together with a social network diagram, the proposed model is validated by a survey of 59 employees of a company which embeds these three CMC and social networking tools in the work process. The key findings, implications and future research are discussed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors verify the research model with data from the Hong Kong office of an international bank headquartered in London, UK. They also collected the data on the social networks of 59 employees to draw a network diagram of the respondents using the social network analysis software UCINET.\nFindings: - The research model is fully supported by the survey data. Meanwhile, the social networks analysis also suggests the linkage of using IM at work and the high level of degree and high level of closeness.\nOriginality/value: - This study provided an empirical verification of media performance theories, evidenced by interactive tools such as IM and email. This research also directly linked the elements of social network, viz. degree, closeness and betweenness, with the CMC and social network tools, the communication, interactivity, relationship, and work performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer perceptions of fresh leafy vegetables in Japan: An application of word co-occurrence network analysis	[ "Consumer perceptions", "Centrality", "Text analysis", "Community detection", "Leafy vegetables", "Word co-occurrence network" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Maintaining a sufficient intake of vegetables is essential for health and wellness (FAO, 2015). However, per capita vegetable consumption in Japan has been declining and does not meet the target intake level (350 g per day per capita) identified by the Japanese Government (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2017). The Japanese (particularly those from younger generations) have been increasing their consumption of high-fat foods, such as meat and dairy products (Tokoyama et al., 2002; Morinaka et al., 2013). With married women increasingly working outside the home and with smaller families, many Japanese prefer eating out or purchasing pre-cooked meals (Miura and Higashi, 2017; Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2017). Both of these options frequently involve the consumption of small amounts of vegetables. Since fresh leafy vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins C and K, fibre, folate, and iron, and play a protective role against a number of chronic diseases (Van Duyn and Pivonka, 2000), promoting their consumption is an important policy issue in Japan (Komiyama, 2012).\nWord co-occurrence network analysis: Graph definition\nData and procedure: Online bulletin board survey\nResults: Simple tabulation results\nConclusions: This study demonstrates how word co-occurrence network analysis can be used to investigate consumer perceptions for a product, in this case fresh leafy vegetables. We conducted an online bulletin board survey of Japanese consumers to collect comments on the reasons for eating fresh leafy vegetables and analysed responses using free text-mining software (KH Coder).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate Japanese consumer perceptions of the benefits of consuming fresh leafy vegetables.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An online bulletin board survey was conducted in Japan to collect responses to an open-ended question about reasons for consuming fresh leafy vegetables. A total of 897 responses were analysed using word co-occurrence network analysis. A community detection method and centrality measures were used to interpret the resulting network map.\nFindings: Using a community detection algorithm, the authors identify six major groups of words that represent respondents' core motives for consuming leafy vegetables. While Japanese consumers view health benefits to be most important, sensory factors, such as texture, colour, and palatability, and convenience factors also influence attitudes. The authors find that centrality measures can be useful in identifying keywords that appear in various contexts of consumer responses.\nOriginality/value: This is the first paper to use a quantitative text analysis to examine consumer perceptions for fresh leafy vegetables. The analysis also provides pointers for creating visually interpretable co-occurrence network maps from textual data and discusses the role of community structure and centrality in interpreting such maps.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Assessment of the effectiveness of green practices in the management of two supply chains	[ "Complexity", "Green supply chain management", "Green practices", "Green innovation", "Green management", "Green strategy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The scarcity of natural resources and increased pollution in urban environments, as well as climate change, has increased concerns about environmental impacts of manufacture activity (Gopalakrishnan et al., 2012). Public agencies and consumers have forced manufacturing companies to introduce the so-called green practices in their operations strategies (Walker et al., 2008), increasing their eco-efficiency or environmental performance (Zhu and Sarkis, 2007). Some companies even claim for regulations that are more restrictive, in order to gain competitive advantage and differentiate themselves from weaker competitors (Kleindorfer et al., 2005). In general, environmental practices have increased long-term competitiveness in some industries (Paulraj, 2009). For example, technology-based equipment manufacturers have increased their competitiveness incorporating environmentally friendly features in their products (Borchardt et al., 2009) and associated services (Borchardt et al., 2011). Synthesizing, green practices can play an important role in operations strategy of manufacturing companies, not only as a single compliance to regulation, but also as a competition driver (Ferretti et al., 2007).\nTheoretical review: GSCM: Firms operating in multi-stage networks, as SC, usually focus on cost reduction and logistics efficiency as well as on greening their operations by GSCM implementations (Frota Neto et al., 2008). The main goals of GSCM are to improve both economic and environmental performance by means of risk reduction (Rao and Holt, 2005), eco-efficiency promotion (Zhu et al., 2005), and environmental impact mitigation in the SC (Seuring and Muller, 2008). Therefore, the main objective of GSCM should be improving the environmental performance of the SC as a whole. Additional efforts must be made to integrate this objective into managerial decisions models (Ferretti et al., 2007).\nThe assessment model: Reviewed studies of Table I were essential for the construction of the model. Although different names, the essential notion behind the constructs is repetitive. A focus group conducted by the researcher with three scholars (the researcher and two other scholars, currently members of the same research group) and three practitioners of environmental management in industry (formerly members of the same research group) classified the reviewed constructs. The studies from Table I were presented to the participants, who criticized and scrutinized their constructs, one by one. After discussion and some nomenclature adequacy on each one, the group classified the constructs according to the main interest behind their scopes. The average number of constructs in the models is 3.2. Therefore, three constructs seemed to be a good amount to embrace green activities in SC.\nMethodological concerns: The research method is the quali-quantitative modeling. The qualitative part organized the green practices. The quantitative part involves the use of AHP to prioritize green practices. Qualitative modeling concerns representation and reasoning about entities, objects, sub-systems, and systems in a symbolic and relational manner, without mathematical elements as differential or algebraic equations (Forbus, 2008). It is a research method concerned with conceptual knowledge, suitable for representation of concepts, relationships, hypotheses, and assumptions within and between objects, providing the necessary framework for further research, based on mathematical models (Bredeweg and Forbus, 2003). Qualitative modeling provides the structure and the mathematical components needed to formulate quantitative models, if needed. The resulting framework summarizes the modeler's current thinking concerning the amount and identity of components of a system and the relationships among them (Kelsey et al., 2014).\nReal-cases applications: results: First case: footwear industry\nDiscussion: In the first case, the overall value reached 50.97 percent of the maximum possible performance. In the second case, it reached 56.89 percent. Comparing the judgments, the SC of the first case wins in three indicators (measurement and control of performance, green process, and green distribution) and loses in eight (cooperation with partners and adaptation, complexity management and communication, barriers, eco-design, green products, green purchasing, green manufacturing, and reverse logistics). There are five ties (green strategy formulation, drivers, green market, disposal, and pollution mitigation). In particular, green market claims for attention; both companies evaluated their situation as very bad.\nConclusion: The paper discussed and organized green practices already mentioned in the literature used in greening the SC. Based on previous research and supported by experts, a theoretical model was developed and tested in two SC, reaching the purpose of the paper and answering the research question. The model assessed the effectiveness of each practice used by SCM and calculated an overall value for the effectiveness of GSCM in two SC. The main conclusion of the research is that in both cases, although the organized efforts of the companies, the implementation of GSCM is still incomplete, with unsatisfactory performance in many green practices, demanding control actions in order to improve the overall performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce and test a model for numerical evaluation of the effectiveness of green practices implemented in two industrial supply chains (SCs). Two real case applications were made: footwear and metal-mechanics industry.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research method is quali-quantitative modeling. By literature review, a model based on three constructs was proposed (green strategy, green innovation, and green operations), organized in 16 categorical indicators, prioritized with analytic hierarchy process. Three practitioners of each focal companies assessed the indicators fulfilling scales (very good to very bad).\nFindings: The overall performance reached 51 and 57 percent, respectively of the maximum possible. The indicators that most jeopardized the performance were complexity management and communication, barriers to green supply chain management, green products, and green market (first case) and innovation in processes, and green market (second case).\nResearch limitations/implications: The model cannot be generalized or extended to other SCs. Further refinement and testing are required.\nPractical implications: Managers and practitioners can improve the eco-efficiency of SC, focusing on the green practices that should be prioritized in greening strategies for the entire chain.\nSocial implications: Improvement of eco-efficiency is positively correlated with corporate social responsibility.\nOriginality/value: The model can produce a numerical overall value that represents the level or degree of implementation of green practices in the context of a SC management.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Corporate governance and board practices by Greek shipping management companies	[ "Corporate governance", "Boards of directors", "Freight forwarding", "Greece", "Marine transport" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In a challenging, internationalised environment, modern corporations increasingly operate on rule-based systems rather than on relationship-based ones. This brings to fore, the importance of corporate governance (CG) and the relationship between the people who manage corporations (corporate insiders) and all others who invest resources in corporations in a country.Despite the importance of CG little emphasis has been given by the shipping industry. Literature relevant to corporate governance issues remains limited (Randoy et al., 2003, Syriopoulos and Theotokas, 2007). With regard to Greek shipping, the literature review reveals a growing body of knowledge on aspects related to the management and the strategies of companies, including research on aspects of their strategic planning (Koufopoulos et al., 2005); competitiveness (Lagoudis and Theotokas, 2007); family character (Harlaftis, 1996; Theotokas, 1998); entrepreneurial philosophy of Greek ship-owners (Theotokas, 1998); investment strategies (Thanopoulou, 1995); significance of the large number of small shipping companies (Thanopoulou and Theotokas, 2007); aspects of social responsibility (Fafaliou et al., 2006); and frameworks for the analysis of the success of Greek shipping companies (Harlaftis, 1996; Theotokas, 1998; Harlaftis and Theotokas, 2004; Theotokas, 2007).However, Greek shipping companies appear to be a very interesting case for analysis, due to several structural traits that they appear to have. The vast majority of the companies are family owned and controlled firms that base their internal integration on a strong corporate culture. They are companies of mainly small and medium size that operate competitively in the international freight markets complying with several standards of their financiers with regard to their internal articulation. They are also obliged to organise and control the decision making process to ensure that their operation conforms to standards and rules and meets the expectations of their customers with regard to safety and quality. Having all these in mind, the investigation of corporate governance in the Greek shipping is considered to be a challenging empirical exercise indeed.This paper illustrates the governance issues in Greek Shipping companies that border on board's roles in the corporate strategy process, appraisals of directors, and relationships between boards, CEOs and top management. It also discusses the relationship between board characteristics and functions of the board.\nLiterature review: CG Dimensions\nMethodology: The sample of this study consists of Greek shipping companies drawn from the Skolarikos database (2006), with five or more vessels. All companies are based in Greece and are active in international freight markets. In most cases, these companies operate as branches of mother companies registered in third countries and are bound to the requirements of the Law 89/67. This legislative framework does not impose any requirements or restrictions to the companies' governance structure. Structured questionnaires were dispatched to 179 Greek shipping companies' managing directors, in November 2006, accompanied by a personalized letter. Two additional mail waves were carried out in December 2006 and January 2007. Of those, 22 questionnaires were returned back to us due to a wrong address and 28 responses were received indicating the unwillingness of the Managing Director to provide such data. Overall, 32 responses were received (20.3 per cent), of which five questionnaires were disregarded due to incomplete answers. The present data analysis is based on 27 responses (17.2 per cent).Measurements\nResearch findings: The survey results capture the current corporate governance practices in the Greek shipping industry as regards to the Board of Directors' characteristics, the board involvement in the strategic planning process, the board relationship with the CEO and the top management team.Board size\nConclusions: The empirical findings of this study have revealed a number of critical issues as regards to corporate governance practices in the Greek maritime industry. Greek shipping companies are found to be family owned and managed, with the founding member of the family holding a leading position. These traits are in accordance with previous empirical studies (Theotokas, 1998; Harlaftis and Theotokas, 2004; Theotokas, 2007; Thanopoulou and Theotokas, 2007). Taking into account that the registered tonnage of Greek ownership is continually growing for the last 40 years and that Greek-owned shipping is by far the leading maritime power of the world, one could support the argument of James (1999) that the extended horizons of the Greek family firms provide the incentives for decision makers to invest in a way that optimises returns, while at the same time allows them to avoid agency costs that separation of ownership from control could create.Greek shipping companies have a small board size ranging between five to seven board members. They also exhibit a balanced board leadership structure and more than half of the firms were seen to have the same person as CEO and board chairman. This in turn indicates that boards are under considerable influence by the CEO, in line with Harrison et al. (1988), and have less ability to take any control actions over him (Beatty and Zajac, 1994). This outcome is similar to the studies of Harlaftis (1996) and Theotokas (1998), who present the family structure of shipping business as well as research on the Greek listed firms (HOCG, 2007; 2008). The non-independence of Greek maritime boards is further supported by the number of inside directors on the board, accounting for more than 75 per cent of the board, in conjunction with the limited number of external but affiliated directors. Maritime companies seem to favour the opinion that executive directors can enhance board decision-making, due to their knowledge of day-to-day operations, as Baysinger and Hoskisson (1990) have stated and their ability to integrate intra-firm functions (Hill and Snell, 1988).It has been argued that firms with a lower proportion of external directors and with CEOs acting as Chairmen are more likely to experience failures (Scherrer, 2003). This does not seem to be confirmed in the case of the Greek shipping companies. Based on the findings that for the majority of the firms, board leadership is not independent, CEO and Chairman seats are held by the same person, who coincides to be a member of the founding family, and Greek shipping firms have small boards, one could support the finding of Mishra et al. (2001) that all these factors ultimately enhance the value of the firm.Empirical findings indicate that Greek boards significantly contribute to all stages of the strategic process from analysis to formulation and finally implementation. The boards' frequency of meetings is also an indication of their involvement in the emergent strategy development process that characterizes shipping companies, especially those active in the bulk shipping freight markets. This involvement may be further facilitated by the high average number of internal directors, not to mention the high percentage of the companies that have no external members in their board. These findings indicate that shipping organisations are characterized by an emergent strategy-development process, which is more fluid and fragmented, leading to the conclusion of Demb and Neubauer (1992) that there is less chance for non-executive directors to intervene or to submit their opinion.The boards of directors in Greek shipping firms closely monitor the actions and performance of the top management team, since the majority of the respondents were communicating to management performance results and were involved in the strategy process. However, Greek shipping boards appear to be hesitant in evaluating both the CEO and their own performance. This finding is related to the family character of the companies and the fact that there is no need for the existence of stricter control mechanisms, as the interests of the owning family are represented by both the CEO and the Board.Intense competition in the freight markets along with consolidation enforces shipping companies to adjust their governance structures. Adoption of corporate structure will entail several advantages to firms, the most important being the access to capital for investment and the enhancement of their corporate image. The empirical findings of this study show that although the governance system of the Greek shipping companies is still structured around the founding family, they have started to adopt more structured governance systems.Further research on corporate governance is needed under a more systematic perspective and a holistic approach, where all the important subsystems are considered and their effects on the corporation's governance structures are thoroughly evaluated and measured. Corporate governance is not just about playing \"watchdog\" over management, it is more about enhancing corporate strategic choices, acknowledging and responding to the interests and concerns of stakeholders, developing and bolstering managerial competencies and skills and ultimately protecting and maximizing shareholder wealth.The study of the Greek shipping companies shed some light and contributes to the ongoing, emerging and extremely important research stream that relates to the small and entrepreneurial firms. It is an indisputable fact that \"family firms\" constitute a great amount of firms around the world (IFERA, 2003) and they do contribute to wealth creation (LaPorta et al., 1999). Although within organizational strategy and finance research streams the issue of corporate governance among \"family\" or \"small firms\" are poorly researched (Hermalin and Weisbach, 2003; Huse, 2000) strong arguments have been put forwarded regarding the added value that boards can offer in smaller unquoted firms (Johannison and Huse, 2000). The authors believe that further research can explore issues relating to the board roles in family controlled firms, like general advice and counsel, arbitration, networking, and discipline of management (Ward and Handy, 1988; Whisler, 1988; George et al., 2001). In addition, a more detailed approach is needed for classifying boards based on their ratio of internal, external, affiliated or independent directors, extending the work by Schwartz and Barnes (1991). Furthermore, a deeper investigation of whether family ownership is a vehicle of either aligning the interests of family block holders and management or a legitimate alternative through which family members can expropriate wealth of outsiders (debt holders/shareholders) should be conducted as it is extremely relevant within the context of the Greek shipping companies.This research highlights some important elements of corporate governance in a dynamic sector operating internationally and at the same time being characterized by the \"family\" factor as a dominant feature. Although the sampled companies do not operate in the capital market, they may be advised that due to increased legislative pressures for more transparency and accountability, they should consider reconfiguring their boards in a way that greater independent monitoring will be in place.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Corporate governance is an area of interest to researchers, stakeholders and the general public. In recent times, there has been an increased concern about the effectiveness of the board within corporate organizations due to corporate scandals and accounting irregularities of some well known firms, which highlighted the inefficiency of monitoring corporate boards and the overseeing of managerial decision making. This paper aims to investigate the effects that a number of factors such as organisational demography, organisational size, ownership type, board size, CEO duality and CEO dependence/independence have on board configuration.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper reviews the literature on organisational demography and board structure characteristics. Primary data were gathered from 27 management shipping companies having their head office in Greece.\nFindings: - Findings show high levels of influence of the CEOs on the Board of Directors, since in most cases the CEO is the Chairman of the Board and high levels of control asked by the top management teams in almost all strategic decision processes.\nOriginality/value: - The paper's contribution lies primarily on investigating issues relating to corporate governance in an extremely dynamic, highly extrovert, truly international and at the same time family owned sector; the shipping industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How to not only survive but thrive during recession: a multi-wave, discovery-oriented study	[ "Recession", "Marketing", "Innovation", "Economic cycles", "Marketing strategy", "United States of America", "Organizational performance" ]	[ { "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: Journalists and scholars have referred to the recession of the late 2000s as the \"Great Recession\" (Cochrane, 2010), and the National Bureau of Economic Research (2010) reports that the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended during June 2009. Many economists conclude that this recession is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in terms of length (18 months) and breadth - 86 percent of industries had reduced production during this period (Isidore, 2009). This study investigates what marketing actions companies performed during the Great Recession, and what was the resulting effect on firms' performance.The primary cause of the Great Recession was a shortage of liquidity within US banks, leading to a collapse of financial institutions such as Lehmann Brothers, declines in domestic and international equity markets, and finally a need for governments to rescue the banks (Verick and Islam, 2010). The US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Levin and Coburn, 2011) identified four areas that led to the liquidity shortage and the resulting financial crisis:1. high risk mortgage lending;2. regulators failing to control the lending practices of these mortgage lenders;3. inflated ratings assigned to subprime mortgages by the credit rating agencies; and4. the role of investment banks in sustaining and subsidizing these practices.These four identified areas led to the creation of the $US8 trillion housing bubble and its inevitable collapse, and which ultimately crippled financial institutions worldwide (Levin and Coburn, 2011).American consumers were especially hard hit. During the recession, almost 40 percent of US households saw a family member unemployed, found themselves behind in their house payments, or discovered that their mortgages were underwater (Hurd and Rohwedder, 2010). These setbacks led to a severe reduction in household spending and, in combination with a dramatic drop in the financial markets, a cutback in business investment (Bivens and Mishel, 2011). According to the Wall Street Journal, US households spend less and save more and some are concerned that consumer spending may diminish for years, similar to spending patterns after the Great Depression (Evans, 2009).It is against this backdrop that the authors investigate how firms respond in economic downturns and determine, as some scholars have suggested (Piercy et al., 2010), whether this recession has led to different reactions from firms. The purpose of this study is to discover what marketing actions companies performed, what was the impact to the firm, and why the actions taken either helped them to excel, simply survive, or cease to exist.\nLiterature review: During economic downturns, managers are oftentimes pressured by internal and external stakeholders to reduce the firm's marketing spending (Kotler and Caslione, 2009; Srinivasan et al., 2005). Yet Kotler and Caslione (2009) argue that the worst thing a company can do during a recession is to mandate wholesale cuts, such as all departments cut 15 percent of their budgets. Research into previous recessions has shown that firms that continue to invest in marketing have produced superior results (e.g. Hunt, 2009; Mattsson, 2009; Srinivasan et al., 2005). Srinivasan et al.(2005) found in their study that while recessions threaten firms financially, not all firms are affected in the same way. They surveyed 154 managers from assorted industries and of companies of various sizes. The authors discovered that not only are marketing investments important during a recession but firms that already had established brands, ample resources, and an entrepreneurial culture would derive the most benefit. Thus, marketing managers can navigate a recession by employing \"proactive marketing\", where the firm sees an economic downturn as an opportunity to invest more heavily in marketing (Hillier and Baxter, 2001; Srinivasan et al., 2005).Piercy et al. (2010) argue that the Great Recession has created a paradigm shift in the way business is done. Because of new information technologies, reduced capital financing, and a growing cynicism towards business and government, buyers have become more frugal in their purchasing. As such, new opportunities exist for companies who can adapt to this new economy. Piercy et al. (2010) recommend that firms scrutinize their business strategies and look to:* adapt to the changing economic environment;* better analyze market information;* refocus marketing communications; and* adopt a value-oriented business model.They suggest that these four recommendations are crucial if firms are to excel in the post-recession environment.Raggio and Leone (2009) present alternative strategies to surviving the recession - a \"just good enough\" strategy and an \"altered amortization\" strategy. These authors define the \"just good enough\" strategy as offering products at the lowest price while still meeting customers' minimum quality expectations. The \"altered amortization\" strategy advises that the product should be positioned as the better value over the long-term. Raggio and Leone (2009) contend that during a recession, buyers will base their purchase decisions on either the \"just good enough\" approach or the \"altered amortization\" approach. If companies adopt other positioning strategies, such as budget pricing or premium pricing, and do not adjust to the new buying behavior, they will likely lose customers and struggle to survive. Raggio and Leone (2009) further argue that the \"just good enough\" approach will diminish brand equity over time, while \"altered amortization\" will maintain the equity of the brand.Srinivasan and Lilien (2009) investigated two marketing strategies and their effects during economic declines. They examined over 3,800 companies and the impact that their advertising and R&D had on reported profits spanning the last six recessions. Their research found that advertising spending during recessions increased the profits of consumer and business-to-business organizations, but R&D investments led to decreased profits. The impact to profits was not only true during the recessions but afterwards as well. However, service firms experienced no change in profits from advertising or R&D expenditures during recessionary periods (Srinivasan and Lilien, 2009).\nMethodology: This study follows the discovery-oriented approach (Menon et al., 1999), which includes the use of insights from the current literature and those collected from the field, followed by empirical testing. The approach concludes by returning to the field and looking for answers to the more controversial findings. Consequently, the study consists of three phases:1. a pilot study;2. a quantitative survey; and3. in-depth interviews and a focus group interview.The pilot study was an instrumental part of the analysis as the study gave valuable insights into the changes occurring in the field of marketing during the current recession. Eight in-depth interviews conducted with participants from a variety of industries where they discuss how the Great Recession has affected their businesses, and the resulting impact on marketing.The second phase of this study was a quantitative survey. Authors e-mailed the invitations to potential informants with a link to the questionnaire by way of the online survey company SurveyMonkey.com, during December 2010, to 11,000 senior marketing and general management executives in the USA. The authors sent two follow up e-mails as reminders. The sample consisted of 212 responses, of which 22 were incomplete. The final sample consisted of 190 responses, yielding a response rate of 1.73 percent. Recent surveys targeting higher level executives of business-to-business firms have typically yielded low response rates (e.g. Eggert et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2007). The respondents held titles such as CEO, CMO, VP of Sales and Marketing, Senior Marketing Manager, and Director of Marketing. As such, a low response rate is not unexpected (Wilson, 1999) and, considering the study's focus, only 190 completed surveys were expected.The sample consists largely of business-to-business companies; 65.2 percent of the sample are B2B executives and managers. Twelve percent (12.2 percent) of the responding executives are from consumer companies, and the remaining 22.5 percent of the respondents work for firms that provide products and services to both businesses and consumers. This ratio is consistent with the overall population of US firms (Brennan et al., 2010). The vast majority of the companies in the sample, i.e. 74.0 percent, have more than 1,000 employees. The respondents work in a number of industries: the four largest were financial services (17.4 percent), manufacturing (12.8 percent), transportation and storage (11.6 percent), and professional services (9.9 percent). Tables I and II summarize the size and age of the companies in the sample.Operationalization of the constructs\nResults and discussion: This study compares high and low performing companies during the Great Recession in terms of the use of firm resources, the impact on marketing activities, new marketing, and company employees. The authors used independent t-tests to analyze the differences between the two groups - i.e. firms that outperformed the industry versus those that did not - in SPSS Version 18. Tables III-V summarize the differences between high and low performing companies in terms of the marketing adjustments they made, the effects on employees, and their use of new marketing technologies in response to the Great Recession, respectively.Adjustments to marketing activities\nManagerial implications: Companies that were most successful through the dramatic downturn of the Great Recession did not cut their way to prosperity. Instead of spending on advertising or cutting employees, high performing companies focused on their strategic accounts. The most successful companies innovated their way to prosperity. They viewed the recession as an opportunity to work closely with their strategic accounts, understand the challenges the Great Recession posed to these accounts, and then develop innovative solutions that simultaneously reduced the strategic account's costs and increased the supplier's share of the strategic account's wallet. Innovations included new products and services as well as new solutions based on new bundles of existing products and services. One senior marketer stated:Innovation is recession-proof because it makes the customer more productive while reducing their costs.Several executives explained in focus group interviews:If anything, the recession accelerated adoption of our new technologies. It eliminated the inertia. People had to act.Another successful strategy used during recession was a pragmatic CRM strategy. Not all the high performers felt they could be innovative and entrepreneurial. This group focused on customer satisfaction, increased customer service, and customer relationship management. These \"pragmatists\" also monitored competitive attacks on their strategic accounts and countered them aggressively. Another managerial implication is that almost everyone is actively experimenting with digital marketing. Furthermore, the best performers are the most active - albeit starting from a very low base level of activity.\nConclusion: This study sheds light on the marketing actions companies undertook, the impact to the firm's performance, and why these actions either helped them to excel, simply survive, or cease to exist during Great Recession. The study consisted of three phases:1. a pilot study;2. a survey; and3. field interviews and a focus groups interview.The authors found that successful companies invest in current customer relationships by strengthening their key account teams and working with their clients who are suffering financial difficulties by loosening credit policies. Successful firms also took the opportunity to find innovative was to address the downturn, for example, by experimenting with new marketing techniques such as social media and crowd-sourcing.The study has its limitations, which open possibilities for future research avenues. First, the vast majority of the respondents were senior managers, mainly in marketing, from large business-to-business companies. While the ratio of respondents mirrors the make-up of US firms, the findings may better more applicable to business-to-business companies than to consumer-oriented ones. A future study that explores the differences between business-to-business and consumers firms would be interesting. Secondly, the study is based on perceived performance measures, that is, what the respondents believed the company's performance to be during recession. While authors confirmed some of the firms' financial data through secondary data, the authors could not always verify the perception of some managers against actual industry performance. Future research could use published financial data to select firms for study to ensure representation of low and high performing firms.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study aims to investigate the marketing actions that companies performed during the Great Recession, and the resulting effect on firms' performance. The purpose is to discover what marketing actions companies performed, what was the impact to the firm, and why the actions taken either helped them to excel, simply survive, or cease to exist.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study uses a discovery-oriented approach, consisting of a pilot study, a survey, field interviews and a focus group interview.\nFindings: - The findings suggest that successful companies invest in current customer relationships by strengthening their key account teams and by working with their clients who are suffering financial difficulties. Successful firms also began implementing new marketing techniques such as social media and crowd-sourcing.\nOriginality/value: - This study contributes to previous research in marketing that focuses on marketing activities during recessions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Recent philosophy and the fiction/non-fiction distinction	[ "Aesthetics", "Kendall Walton", "Paradox of fiction", "Peter Lamarque", "Philosophy of fiction", "Philosophy of literature" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Perhaps oddly, for a discipline that thinks of itself as engaging in the disinterested pursuit of truth, philosophy is a fairly Balkanized subject. Even within the Anglophone world, one can distinguish different hostile camps. In particular, there is \"analytic philosophy\" and \"continental philosophy\" - neither name being particularly appropriate to what it describes. Each school is best understood through its tradition. Analytic philosophy finds its legacy in Locke and Hume of the eighteenth century, through the Logical Positivists in the early twentieth, to philosophers such as David Lewis and David Armstrong. Continental philosophy has streams that come from post-Kantian German philosophy, as well as modern French philosophy. Quite what the difference is between these two schools, and whether or not it matters much, are tendentious matters. Broadly, within the Anglophone world (and others, such as Scandinavia) analytic philosophy dominates philosophy departments, but philosophy that is done in other departments such as Art History and English, tends to be continental. Hence, it is no surprise to find that continental philosophy and literature move in step - the classification of works under labels such as Romanticism, Modernism and Post-Modernism being common to them both (Kearney and Rasmussen, 2001).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of recent philosophical argument concerning the distinction between fiction and non-fiction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A critical view of the literature.\nFindings: A consensus that had emerged that defined fiction in terms of the imagination, and imagination in terms of its functional role, has recently been questioned.\nResearch limitations/implications: The overview was written by a contributor to the field, and so may be considered partial.\nPractical implications: There might be some implications regarding the ways books are classified.\nOriginality/value: The paper is not original, in that it puts forward points made elsewhere, however it is a completely up-to-date review of the field.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Modularity in supply chains: a multiple case study in the construction industry	[ "Supply chain management", "Construction industry" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The supply chain implications of modularization are receiving increasing attention in the literature on purchasing and supply management (Doran, 2003; Gadde and Jellbo, 2002; Salvador et al., 2002). Modularity provides the kind of flexibility that enables firms to serve a variety of customer needs. An advantage of modularity in relation to supply chain design is that pursuing product variations has only a limited impact on production and assembly processes. Modular production and assembly allows a firm to differentiate its product to a high degree by combining a limited number of standard parts (Muffato, 1999). Carliss et al. (1997) speak of building a complex product or process from smaller subsystems that can be designed independently yet function together as a whole. In the modular consortium concept (Collins et al., 1997; Pires, 1998) one even speaks of a modular supply chain: the final product is separated into sub-assemblies (modules) which are delegated to specific module suppliers.Research that combines modularity with concepts from supply chain management is an emerging area (Salvador et al., 2002). Illustrative of this is Doran's (2003) work in which the nature of buyer-supplier relationships is addressed in a modular supply context. According to Doran, modularity changes the role of first-tier suppliers. Besides a review of relevant literature, he offers three exploratory case studies that add to the conceptual insight. The exploratory nature of the case studies is justified by the newness of the subject. The focus is on developing competencies in a modular supply setting. In the present paper, modularity is addressed against a supply chain management background as well. We will elaborate on Fine's (1998, 2000) refinement of the concept of modularity that includes certain time- and space-related aspects. Fine claims that the degree of modularity in the final output product has a one-to-one correspondence with the degree of modularity in the transformation processes and supply chains. His claim is a direct consequence of the addition of a third perspective on modularity, namely that of \"supply chain modularity\" in addition to product and process modularity.The objective of this study is to assess the applicability of Fine's concept as a tool to describe and analyze the alignment of product, process and supply chain architectures. Similar to Doran's contribution, we decided to use an exploratory case study approach. To fully accommodate the time and space-related aspects of Fine's modularity concept the construction industry was chosen as the case environment. Increasing competition, a growing demand for variety, and high inhabitant mobility are major drivers for construction firms to consider new types of product, process, and supply chain design. These firms try to find a balance between the demand for individualized housing solutions versus the economies of scale benefits of mass production by adopting modularized product architectures, production processes, and supply chains. In this project-based industry, time and space-related aspects determine the way transformation processes and supply chains are organized: each construction project has a temporary character and takes place on a different location. Managerially, our research may thus help construction companies to determine the appropriate degree of modularity. The outline of this paper is as follows. In the first section, we elaborate on Fine's three-dimensional approach, by adding supply chain modularity to product and process modularity. In the second section, this concept is tuned to construction. The research method and the case studies are presented in the next sections, while the final sections contain the discussion and conclusions.\nFine's three-dimensional modularity concept: Concepts such as \"platforms,\" \"design for manufacturing\" and \"concurrent engineering\" seek to improve manufacturing performance by relating the design of products to the actual production system (Wheelwright and Clark, 1992). These concepts integrate common processes with common product architectures (shared components and interfaces) (Meyer and Dalal, 2002). Fine (1998) claims that modular products not only tend to be designed and built by modular processes but also by modular supply chains. In other words, he adds a third perspective on modularity, namely that of \"supply chain modularity\" in addition to product and process modularity. In this section, we review Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept.Product modularity\nFine's modularity concept and construction: In this section, we tune Fine's three-dimensional modularity model to construction. This necessitates a more precise definition of some of its elements in order to make this model suitable for analyzing modularity in the construction industry.Product modularity\nEmpirical assessment of Fine's modularity concept: Exploratory research approach\nCase study results: The Koopmans case\nDiscussion: In this section, we will assess the applicability of Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept when applied to construction. The case results show that Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept works well to describe the modularity degree of certain products, processes and supply chains. Cases one and three represent the endpoints of Fine's claim as projected onto the construction industry. Case one can be categorized as a firm with a modular product, modular process as well as modular supply chain. Case three is a typical example of an integrated product, integrated process as well as an integrated supply chain. However, the second case is far from straightforward, as a distinction has to be made between modular and integrated aspects in all three dimensions. The product architecture of case two is hybrid. The exterior of the building of this case firm has an integrated character. The interior can be composed of different products and is organized on a modular basis. The construction process of the exterior is concentrated on the construction site: production is centered on one location and requires a relatively long execution time. The interior is manufactured in multiple factories: production is scattered over different locations. Firms involved in the supply chain of the exterior have long-term relations with this case firm: between these parties a relatively high organizational and geographical proximity exists. The suppliers providing the interior are autonomous parties with low degrees of these proximities.However, in spite of the fit between Fine's model and the observations from case one and three, all three cases demonstrate that the Fine's three-dimensional concept is still very rough in nature and exhibits several shortcomings. Fine's concept needs to be refined when it is used to analyze the modularity of products, processes, and supply chains. In the next subsections, the appropriateness of the product, process and supply chain dimension of Fine's modularity concept as tool to analyze this alignment will be evaluated.Product modularity and layers of the product architecture\nConclusions: The objective of this study is to assess the applicability of Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept as a tool to describe and analyze the alignment of product, process, and supply chain architectures. The case results show that Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept works well to describe this alignment. The concept, however, needs to be refined when it is used to analyze the modularity of products, processes, and supply chains.Assessing the concept of product modularity showed that on different levels, different types of modularity might occur. Fine's analysis of product modularity needs a more detailed specified product architecture; separating different hierarchical layers allows generalising and comparing findings on product modularity over multiple cases of different industries. Based on such a framework a methodology can be developed for developing product platform architectures in the specific setting of the building industry.With respect to the degree of process modularity, a major problem is that Fine is not clear on the systems' boundaries of this type of modularity. The space aspect of the process modularity concept can be related to the analysis of the territorial economy of firms, the area over which firms conduct their operations. The time aspect of process modularity can be related to a product life-cycle perspective of the components of a product and the concept of interface reversibility.When analysing supply chain modularity, concepts from the literature on strategic co-ordination are in particular needed to refine the dichotomy in the Fine framework; more specifically, the concept of modular production networks combining different degrees of geographic, organizational, cultural, and electronic proximity is required.Starting from these concepts, several lines of research are in order for a further elaboration of product, process, and supply chain modularity. Systematic engineering design methods can be developed and applied in the specific context of the construction industry as well as in other industries. Related to this line of research is the life-cycle perspective on module development, focusing on the analysis of interface reversibility. Applying the concept of modular networks in construction demands research into conditions and barriers for interorganizational ICT in project-based industries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The objective of this study is to assess the applicability of Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept as a tool to describe and to analyze the alignment of product, process, and supply chain architectures. Fine claims that the degree of modularity in the final output product has a one-to-one correspondence with the degree of modularity in transformation processes and supply chains.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - An exploratory three-company case study is used to investigate Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept.\nFindings: - Empirical research shows that Fine's three-dimensional modularity concept works well for descriptive purposes. However, the concept needs refinement when it is used for analytical purposes. For process modularity, the spatial aspect can be related to the concept of the territorial economy of firms, while the time aspect can be elaborated using a product life-cycle perspective and the concept of interface reversibility. With respect to supply chain modularity, the concept of modular production networks, which specifies combinations of different degrees of geographic, organizational, cultural, and electronic proximity, is appropriate. In the specific setting of the building industry, a methodology for developing product platform architectures would refine the dimension of product modularity.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Starting from the above-mentioned concepts, several strands of research are outlined for a further elaboration of product (developing a methodology for developing product platform architectures), process (taking a life-cycle perspective on module development), and supply chain modularity (analyzing conditions for the application of modular networks).\nOriginality/value: - The application of systematic engineering design methods, interface reversibility, and interorganizational ICT allows firms to align product, process, and supply chain modularity.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Department vs discount retail store patronage: effects of self-image congruence	[ "Discount stores", "Self-image congruence", "Department stores", "Online and offline retail store patronage" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: What motivates a consumer to select a high-end over a low-end retail outlet? What dictates their choices of how much money and time to spend shopping and which brands and products to buy? Previous studies have suggested that store patronage decisions are influenced by psychological factors such as self-concept and self-image (Graeff, 1996, 1997; Heath and Scott, 1998; Jamal and Goode 2001; Sirgy et al., 1997, 2000). Self-concept is defined as the representation of the thoughts and feelings by which individuals identify themselves. Theorists contend that consumers seek to purchase products that match their self-concept; these purchases, in turn, allow consumers to project ideal, or preferred, self-images into their social group interactions (Dolich, 1969; Sirgy, 1982). As a component of self-concept, self-image refers to how individuals perceive themselves (Sirgy, 1982). Graeff (1997) and Rosenberg (1979) contended that self-image is strongly related to a consumer's perception of his or her public appearance and other personal qualities (e.g. abilities, personalities). Researchers have found that consumers choose particular retail stores that also are consistent with, and thus maintain, their preferred self-image (Chebat et al., 2006; O'Cass and Grace, 2008).\nStudy 1: toward a model for self-image congruence in retail store patronage: For Study 1, we compared consumers with high and low need for self-image congruence in their patronage of two types of retail stores (department vs discount clothing stores) using two product categories (apparel and home decor).\nMethods: Data collection and sample\nResults from the structural model: To check for construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on constructs with multi-item indicators: concern about appearance, need for self-image congruence, name-brand consumption, high-end (e.g. department store) retail store patronage and low-end retail store patronage. AMOS 18 software with maximum likelihood estimation was used for the analysis. Before CFA analysis, six questions from the dataset related to \"appearance\" were chosen. Only four of six items were retained after CFA. Appendix 2 shows standardized factor loadings, composite reliability and average variance extracted values. The result of CFA indicated good fit statistics of model 1 (kh2 = 838.26, p < 0.001 df = 67, GFI = 0.97, AGFI = 0.95, NNFI = 0.88, NFI = 0.91, CFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.06). These indices of CFI or IFI were greater than 0.90 as the cutoff (Bollen, 1989), and RMSEA was between 0.05 and 0.10 (MacCallum et al., 1996). The kh2/df test (Hooper, Coughlan, and Mullen, 2008) was not desirable because of the use of secondary data, but we improved this fit in Study 2 using primary data.\nDiscussion: The results of the study revealed a strong causal connection between concern about appearance and need for self-image congruence; specifically, we found that interest in appearing, for example, young and professional, influences need for self-image congruity. Second, we also found that preference for name-brand products was positively linked to department store patronage and negatively linked to discount store patronage, perhaps because consumers have more access to name-brand or expensive products in department stores. As expected, need for self-image congruence was strongly linked to brand preference (Dolich, 1969; Kressmann et al., 2006). Consumers with high need for self-image congruence prefer well-known branded products as a means to project their preferred images via brands, even if they obtain branded products cheaply in discount stores. A third finding states that high need for self-image congruence is related to department store patronage. Existing research says that consumers' need for self-image congruence is related to a preference for brands (Dolich, 1969; Graeff 1996; Jamal and Goode 2001; Kressmann et al., 2006), and store patronage (Ibrahim and Najjar, 2007; Sirgy et al., 2000). However, we also unexpectedly found a statistically significant, albeit weak, positive relationship between need for self-image congruence and discount store patronage.\nStudy 2: self-image congruence and retail store patronage: Background\nMethod: To provide insight into our research questions and test our proposed hypotheses, we conducted an online survey. Hypothesized relationships were tested, and we analyzed these relationships using ANOVA and structural equation modeling (SEM).\nResults: To test the hypothesized paths, we used SEM in conjunction with LISREL, version 9.20. We tested the convergent and discriminant validities of the constructs. After the measurement confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tests, the suggested structural models (SEM) were tested.\nDiscussion: Our study contributes to an understanding of consumer behavior at different levels of self-image congruence (high vs low), for two types of retail store patronage choice (high-end-department vs low-end-discount), and two channels of retail stores (offline vs online) mediated by consumer values (materialism and frugality). In Study 2, we found a relationship between concern about appearance and need for self-image congruence. This finding extends Study 1 and the literature on appearance, self-schema and self-image congruence (Markus, 1977; Jung and Lee, 2006; Graeff, 1997) to include the influence of these constructs on store patronage. Appearance is known to be important in social interaction. A higher concern for appearance leads to higher need for self-image congruence between the consumer and name-brand products, as the consumer attempts to project an ideal self-image in public.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper explores the antecedents and consequences of consumers' need for self-image congruence on their retail patronage of department (high-end) and discount (low-end) stores to purchase name-brand products in two product categories, apparel and home decor. It also compared online to offline shopping and considered two mediator variables, frugality and materialism.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper analyzed the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling (SEM) and MANOVA. Study 1 suggested the model using secondary data, and Study 2 measured and confirmed the relationships using scenario-based online survey data. An MANOVA test was used to compare the shopping behavior of consumers with high and low need for self-image congruence.\nFindings: A strong causal link was found between concern with appearance and need for self-image congruence, and a positive relationship between need for self-image congruence and high- and low-end retail store patronage offline and online. While the group with high (vs low) need for self-image congruence was more likely to patronize department stores, unexpectedly, both the high and low self-image congruence groups were equally likely to shop at discount stores.\nPractical implications: The findings suggest that marketing messages focusing on concern for appearance may succeed by tapping into consumers' need for self-image congruence with brand product/retail store images. Results also showed that consumers with high self-image congruence often patronize discount retail stores, suggesting marketing opportunities for low-end retailers.\nOriginality/value: Because consumers with high need for self-image congruence patronize both department and discount stores, it is suggested that self-image congruity may be multi-dimensional. The current study is also the first to examine structural relationships to test patronage behavior between department and discount stores offline and online.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring the transformative potential of management control systems in organisational change towards sustainability	[ "Management control systems", "Sustainability", "Organisational change", "Transformation", "Levers of control", "Multiple bottom-lines" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Social and environmental sustainability represent increasingly important concerns for corporations, governments, civil society organisations and accounting academics. Research in this domain has increasingly focussed on the internal workings of organisations, particularly corporations, and the potential for organisational change towards greater sustainability (Passetti et al., 2014; Adams and McNicholas, 2007; Burritt and Schaltegger, 2014). This research recognises that significant organisational, economic and social change is needed in order to ameliorate the most severe effects of climate change and move towards more sustainable environmental, social and economic systems (Gray, 2016; Gray et al., 2018; Brown and Dillard, 2018; IPCC, 2014).\n2. MCS, sustainability and change: This section first examines the literature on the role of MCS in organisational change in general. The first subsection shows that the prior literature in this area implicitly or explicitly focuses on change towards greater commercialisation. The second subsection considers prior studies that have examined change in the sustainability context and finds that these studies tend to strongly equate success in sustainability with financial success. The third subsection articulates how sustainability is approached in this study and the implications this has for research in this domain.\n3. LOC and change towards sustainability: The theoretical framing of MCS in this paper is based on the LOC framework developed by Simons (1995). This provides a comprehensive framework through which MCS can be theorised, and a lens through which changes in MCS can be observed over time. The LOC framework is appropriate for the exploratory nature of the current study as it allows for a wide range of controls to be included in the analysis. Simons' framework is comprised of four integral parts that aid managers in designing control systems that foster innovation and creativity, while not compromising on efficiency and effectiveness (Simons, 1995). The four LOC - belief systems, boundary systems, diagnostic controls, and interactive controls are summarised in Table I.\n4. Research method: A longitudinal case study approach was used to explore changes that occurred in the case organisation's MCS over the period 2000-2008. This study is primarily exploratory in nature (see Scapens, 2004), given the preliminary nature of investigation into the impact of direction of change on MCS effectiveness.\n5. The dynamic role of MCS in organisational change - case study findings: 5.1 Background and external factors\n6. Transformative or incremental change in the elements of MCS: The findings of this study show that the changes observed in MCS eventually led to a continued focus on the business case and dominance of commercial imperatives within Construct Ltd. This was ultimately the case, even though the initial approach adopted by the company seemed to be aimed at moving at least some distance away from a pure commercialisation approach in considering the sustainability dimensions of business activity.\n7. Exploring factors affecting the non-transformative role of MCS: In order to better understand why MCS were not transformative in Construct Ltd, the analysis turns to the critical literature on the role and nature of MCS. Taking a historical perspective, Miller (2001) argues that MCS are fundamentally rooted within the economic rationalist paradigm. In particular, Miller (2001) traces the origins of standard costing to scientific management, which emerged in the USA in the early 1900s. His analysis shows that management accounting practices such as standard costing are fundamentally mechanisms of control that are put in place to govern individual employees. MCS are thus seen as mechanisms designed to make individual employees accountable to the corporation. In design and practice, they are not apolitical, amoral systems designed to improve functional efficiency and effectiveness. This interpretation contrasts with the functionalist treatment of MCS in the mainstream accounting literature.\n8. Conclusions and implications: The in-depth case study of changes in the elements of MCS at Construct Ltd, and associated organisational changes, provides important insights into the role of MCS in change towards sustainability. The findings of this research extend our understanding of the potential role of MCS, and management accounting more broadly, in change towards sustainability, where this aspiration requires a simultaneous and equal consideration of social and environmental factors alongside economic and financial ones (Gray, 2010; Lehman, 1999; Spence, 2009; Fergus and Rowney, 2005).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of management control systems (MCS) in organisational change towards sustainability. In particular, it examines the extent to which MCS may be instrumental in transformative organisational change in this sphere.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Through an in-depth case study of an Australian multinational corporation in the property sector, this paper explores the possibilities for MCS to influence organisational change towards a multi-bottom-line, balanced approach to social and environmental challenges facing corporations. MCS are conceptualised using Simons' (1995) Levers of Control framework. On the question of sustainability, the approach adopted in this paper contrasts with much of the prior literature that largely takes a predominantly pragmatist approach and equates sustainability performance with financial performance. The prior literature generally reports a positive role for MCS in organisational change efforts. By contrast, drawing on the typology developed by Hopwood et al. (2005), this paper views sustainability as requiring a balancing of economic, social and environmental concerns.\nFindings: The findings indicate that although MCS are not irrelevant, they do not play a transformative role in enabling deep-seated organisational change towards sustainability. The critical literature on the nature of MCS is drawn upon to explore the reasons for the observed non-role.\nOriginality/value: The analysis sheds light on factors that may influence the effectiveness of conventional notions of MCS in organisational change. The findings contribute to the debate regarding the suitability of continued efforts at using conventional notions of management accounting and MCS in enabling organisational change towards greater social and environmental sustainability. The paper also highlights the value of a critical examination of the usefulness of management accounting and control practices in the context of organisational change towards sustainability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A Knowledge Lens for information literacy: conceptual framework and case study	[ "Information literacy", "Innovation", "Complexity", "Knowledge management", "Communities of practice", "Race relations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Conceptualizations of information literacy have shifted from a focus on identifying universal standards for finding information, to outlining dynamic skills, subjectivities, and creation processes that develop this information. This can be seen in literature on information literacy in the workforce, which calls for a broader socio-cultural approach that is \"more complex than skills training, and allows for the differing needs and contexts of workplaces\" (Weiner, 2011, p. 8). The current research furthers work in this area by conceptualizing information literacy through the lens of knowledge. This Knowledge Lens is more than a mere buzz word (Tuominen, 2007) or set of \"'cherry-picked' ideas to form [a new] conception [of information literacy]\" (Stordy, 2015, p. 458). Rather, it is the addition of extant literature in Knowledge Management (KM) and organizational learning to continue the development of a conceptualization of information literacy that works outside of the classroom.\nLiterature review: This section will look first at paradigm shifts in information literacy in order to place the Knowledge Lens within existing momentum and changes in the conceptualization of information literacy. This includes a discussion of challenges facing the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) in moving information literacy instruction to a more prominent place in education. It is suggested that the structure and language of the Knowledge Lens helps reposition the importance of information literacy. Next, definitions of important terms are offered. These are necessary to understand the conceptualization of the Knowledge Lens, especially as it concerns transitions among information, knowledge, and knowing. After the definitions are offered, the model for the Knowledge Lens is provided. The three primary elements of this lens are then situated in relation to existing literature in the fields of KM and organizational learning, providing a solid conceptual foundation for its operationalization.\nConceptual model: These definitions were used to develop a conceptual model that serves as the foundation for the Knowledge Lens for information literacy (Figure 1). The model comes out of the researcher's own experience both teaching and researching in the areas of information literacy and KM, and is backed extensively by existing literature. It includes the three components of the Knowledge Lens: integration, creation in relation, and imprecision. This section will describe the model and further elaborate on each component. It is important to keep in mind the initial goal of this research:To conceptualize information literacy as the ability to question and overcome the barriers of beliefs and assumptions in order to integrate information in a meaningful way that sparks collective knowledge creation to provide solutions that - although imperfect - are good enough.\nCase study: A year-long case study, in which participants engaged in a CoP, was used to both highlight and inform this refocused information literacy. Case studies have been used extensively in LIS research (Hider and Pymm, 2008), and provide \"in-depth analysis of a case\" (Creswell, 2014, p. 14). This approach provides a rich set of data to more fully capture the complexities of this refocused instruction in information literacy. Case studies must be analyzed in context, but one can still look at ways in which this case has implications for other cases: \"The process [...] is transferable even when the [case] may be different in content and context\" (Simons, 2009, p. 166). The research protocol, including all measurement tools, was approved by the university's institutional review board prior to the start of the research.\nResults: This section outlines the final goal of this research - to determine the outcomes of this new view of information literacy through a case study of a designed CoP focused on race relations in South Carolina.\nDiscussion: The conceptualization of the Knowledge Lens, operationalized in a designed CoP, was able to guide a group of people to a questioning of assumptions and beliefs in order to integrate new information from new sources, utilize the uniqueness of group members to create something new, and act on these ideas with the freedom that comes from not needing to be perfect. It shows that information literacy instruction - when grounded in a firm conceptualization of information, knowledge, and knowing - can help individuals move from the tension of wanting to do something to actually doing something. This section will highlight each component of the Knowledge Lens, along with a discussion of what the results suggest. Although a clear cause and effect relationship cannot be determined from the results, several patterns were discovered that suggest important relationships.\nConclusions: The stated goals of the current research were to conceptualize a Knowledge Lens for information literacy, operationalize it in a CoP, and determine the outcomes of this approach. The conceptualization included an awareness of barriers to integration, an ability to create in relationship with others, and an understanding of the imprecise and contextual nature of problem solving. This was operationalized in a guidebook for a designed CoP. Participants met for one year, and the results of post interviews revealed important insights about the value of both the Knowledge Lens and its operationalization in a CoP. Outcomes suggest that the Knoweldge Lens for information literacy, operationalized in a CoP, can help groups uncover barriers to information, engage in collaborative knowledge creation, and work with - rather than against - imprecision.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Knowledge Lens for information literacy. This lens shifts the focus and potential outcomes of information literacy in three ways. First, it promotes self-reflection as a means of integrating information. Second, it promotes creation, emphasizing it as a social process. Third, it promotes the ability and value of working with imprecision and lack of direction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The author designed a Community of Practice (CoP) with a loosely structured guidebook to operationalize the Knowledge Lens. The initial stated purpose of the CoP was to provide innovative solutions to issues of race relations in South Carolina. A group of 19 participants - representing four churches - met twice a month for one year. After one year, a core group of 6 participants were interviewed to identify elements of this new lens.\nFindings: Participants indicated that they changed in many ways after the CoP, suggesting that the Knowledge Lens increases the impact of literacy work. In particular, they were able to utilize internal tension to spark innovation, found value in direct engagement with one another without the need to first codify their thinking, and increased their reliance on information encountering.\nOriginality/value: Information literacy has attempted to move beyond stale concepts, and the Knowledge Lens facilitates this movement. It takes information literacy beyond the mere provision of access to existing information. It recognizes barriers to information integration. And it involves individuals in co-creation to solve problems that lack an existing codified solution.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
CPS administrators train to become lawyers: Scheme offers new opportunities for employees whose career options were restricted	[ "Career development", "Lawyers", "Computer based learning", "Equal opportunities" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Britain's biggest law firm is training its administrators and caseworkers to become lawyers, in response to a significant rise in demand for its services.\nLaw-scholarship scheme: \"Many were denied the opportunity to work directly in law, despite working for the country's biggest law firm,\" said learning-operations manager Stevie Richards. \"Some had no qualifications at all, some had a degree and others had qualifications in different disciplines. The employees ranged in age from 16 to 50-plus.\"The law-scholarship scheme (LSS), endorsed by both the Bar Council and the Law Society, has been designed so that all staff, some of whom have been with the CPS since 1986 and have a wealth of experience in criminal prosecution, can benefit from a qualification in law.Qualifications under the LSS were split into four stages:1. AS or A level and National Vocational Qualification level 3;2. law degree, or equivalent;3. the Legal Practice Course (for those wishing to become solicitors) or Bar Vocational Course (for people who desired to train as barristers); and4. the training contract, or pupillage.The aim was for CPS staff to qualify as solicitors or barristers, although it recognized that simply improving legal knowledge would benefit both staff and the service.The CPS learning and development team liaised with area training officers to ensure that the scheme was being managed properly, and former Solicitor General Harriet Harman secured sufficient Government resources to implement it fully.E-learning has played an important role in the LSS.\"The CPS previously used classroom-based training, but this proved expensive and time-consuming,\" said the head of e-learning, Sharron Hughes. \"Because of our geographical spread, trainees sometimes had to travel considerable distances.\"Another fundamental problem with traditional training is the need to incorporate and reflect recent legislative changes so that staff are given the most accurate information. It was imperative that any new method could accommodate swift content changes.\"The aim was to make the training flexible, accessible and easy to use, while at the same time ensuring an effective transfer of knowledge and ability in both legal and non-legal staff.\nThe virtual prosecution college: With an e-learning design company, the CPS developed the virtual prosecution college, covering three broad areas - law, leadership and management, and business support - with an induction module covering equality and diversity aimed at all new entrants.The prosecution college currently offers more than 100 hours of managed e-learning with 16 separate online courses. Around 2,500 users, almost one-third of the CPS's staff, have registered.The college has become the \"hub\" for learning and development opportunities within the CPS, and all employees can gain access to the e-learning portal from their desktops and from home. Courses range from a single module, taking as little as 30 minutes to complete, to 17 modules requiring almost eight hours.Moving from traditional classroom-based training to a blended approach has increased learning flexibility at both individual and operational levels, with decreased staff absence and less disruption to work patterns. Learning costs have also been greatly reduced.\"The prosecution college has cultivated a new approach to self-managed learning, bridging a gap within the service and fostering a cohesive and supportive learning environment,\" said Sharron Hughes. \"It addresses a wide range of professional, personal and organizational learning needs.\"Meanwhile, the LSS has also been a central plank of the CPS's equality policy, opening up the service and its legal work to everyone from any background. In the 2005-2006 intake, 51 scholars were aged between 16 and 25, 140 aged 25-34, 116 aged 34-54 and one over 55. Around 70 percent of scholars are women and 30 percent from a black or ethnic-minority group. Of the scholars, 10 percent, a total of 55, are now qualified barristers or solicitors.Both the LSS and Prosecution College were highly commended in the latest UK National Training Awards.\nNote: David Pollitt, Human Resource Management International Digest editor, wrote this article.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of the paper is to describe the law-scholarship scheme, which enables administrators and caseworkers at the Crown Prosecution Service to become lawyers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper highlights the reasons the scheme was introduced, the way in which it operates and some of the outcomes. It emphasizes the role of e-learning in implementation of the scheme.\nFindings: - The paper reveals that the law-scholarship scheme has become a central plank of the CPS's equality policy, opening up the service and its legal work to people from any background. In the 2005-2006 intake, 51 scholars were aged between 16 and 25, 140 aged 25-34, 116 aged 34-54 and one over 55. Around 70 percent of scholars are women and 30 percent from a black or ethnic-minority group.\nPractical implications: - The paper emphasizes the importance of making the most of the talents of existing employees.\nOriginality/value: - The paper demonstrates that, although the aim was for CPS staff to qualify as solicitors or barristers, the organization recognized that simply improving legal knowledge would benefit both staff and the service.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of network relationships in small wineries' internationalization: A case study from Marche, Italy	[ "Tourism", "Export", "Conceptual/theoretical", "Wines", "Psychometric/qualitative", "International business" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The paper aims to examine the role of tourist-generated and other network relationships in small Italian wineries' internationalization. It will advance the literature on wine tourism, as this literature has rather focused on who wine tourists are (Asero and Patti, 2011; Charters and Ali-Knight, 2002; Colombini, 2015; Molina et al., 2015), how to attract them (Beames, 2003; Byrd et al., 2016; Carlsen and Boksberger, 2015; Getz and Brown, 2006; Quadri-Felitti and Fiore, 2016; Quintal et al., 2015; Sartori et al., 2012), how local residents perceive them (Xu et al., 2016) and how they advance local economic development (Jones et al., 2015) than on how they affect wineries' export activities. Although according to Alonso et al. (2012, p. 643), \"winery entrepreneurs increasingly perceive wine tourism and tourism-related enterprises as important facets of their business strategy\", only a few authors have studied how wineries benefit from tourists' networks and if, as a result, they start exporting. The failures of internationalization resulting from relying on tourists' contacts have received even less research attention (Francioni and Musso, 2015; Francioni et al., 2017). Moreover, only a few studies have shown how other network relationships affect wineries' internationalization (Dalmoro, 2013; Nunes and Franco, 2015). Thus, it is possible to agree with Alonso et al. (2012, p. 656) that \"the supply side of wine tourism remains underresearched, particularly from the perspective of winery owners and managers\".\nLiterature review: In wine business literature, networks are defined as \"inter-connected organizational relationships\" (Dalmoro, 2013, p. 96). According to the network approach, \"internationalization is carried out through resource commitments in international businesses, which are embedded in networks\" (Eriksson et al., 2014, p. 1074). Internationalization can be caused/influenced by changes in a firm's network position and associated relationships (Coviello and Munro, 1995). A domestic firm can create relationships with foreign networks through its customers, suppliers or competitors (Dalmoro, 2013; Johanson and Mattsson, 1988) and, through them, internationalize (Chetty and Blankenburg Holm, 2000).\nResearch methodology: The case study method is suitable for developing new empirically valid theoretical/practical insights (Eisenhardt, 1989; Miles and Huberman, 1994) and combining new empirical insights with previous studies' results (Yin, 1994). Using this method enables conducting research if a small sample base makes statistical generalization impossible (Chetty, 1996). Also, Awuah et al. (2011), Chetty and Blankenburg Holm (2000), Coviello (2006), Coviello and Munro (1995), Johanson and Vahlne (2009) and Nunes and Franco (2015) suggested using this method for studying the role of networks in internationalization. This paper is based on 14 cases. A multiple case study was chosen to decrease observer bias and the risk of misjudging single events (Eisenhardt, 1991) and increase the results' generalizability (Hillebrand et al., 2001). Still, as Italy attracts 4-6 million foreign wine tourists a year (Colombini, 2015) and about 21,700 agricultural tourism farms - including 1,000 located in the Marche region - have opened doors to the public (ISTAT, 2015), it has to be noted that selecting other cases could have led to different results.\nResearch results: Case 1\nDiscussion: Speed and nature of case firms' internationalization\nConclusions: This paper explained how 14 Italian wineries from Marche benefited from network relationships in their internationalization and discussed which problems they faced. International tourism was one of the most important sources for creating the contacts necessary for their internationalization: the case firms created relationships/networks in tourists' home markets and, as a result, expanded there either through selling to the tourists themselves or to the importers they recommended. In addition, they relied on contacts created at trade fairs or by friends/relatives.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the role of tourist-generated and other network relationships in small Italian wineries' internationalization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: It is based on 14 cases of which four are discussed in detail. All 14 cases are summarized in two tables and analyzed in the Discussion section.\nFindings: Most firms did not pre-plan their foreign activities. International wine tourism was a major source for creating the contacts necessary for their internationalization: they created relationships/networks in tourists' home markets and, as a result, expanded there either through selling directly to tourists or to the importers they recommended. In addition, they relied on contacts created at trade fairs or by friends/relatives. Some internationalization attempts failed, as the firms were passive and lacked long-term strategic plans. Thus, these producers have not fully realized the potential of wine tourists' contacts and other network relationships in their internationalization.\nOriginality/value: It shows how wineries benefited from tourists' networks and other co-operative relationships and how, as a result, they started exporting, but also which problems they faced. These topics have not received considerable research attention yet.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding the relationships of critical factors to Facebook educational usage intention	[ "Facebook", "Education", "Social networks", "Information systems success model", "Social influence" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: 1.1. Growth of Facebook: everywhere but in learning and education?\n2. Theoretical background and research hypotheses: This section presents the theoretical background and literature review to develop the conceptual model and research hypotheses. This study investigated the applicability of DeLone and McLean's (2003) modified IS success model to explore the learner acceptance of Facebook. The model revealed that a system can be evaluated in terms of information, system, function, and service quality.\n3. Research design: The questionnaire items in this study were based on previous studies (Wang and Lin, 2011; DeLone and McLean, 2003; Hsu and Lu, 2004; Rivis and Sheeran, 2003). The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part used nominal scales to collect demographic information, including gender, age, education level, occupation, and Facebook experience. The second part measured social influence, information quality, system quality, function quality, and intention to use Facebook services. Each item was measured on a five-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to neutral (3) to strongly agree (5). To ensure content validity, all measurement items used in the survey were modified and validated using relevant research. The construct and source measurement items included: social influence (Wang and Lin, 2011; Hsu and Lu, 2004; Rivis and Sheeran, 2003), information quality (Wang and Lin, 2011; DeLone and McLean, 2003), system quality (DeLone and McLean, 2003; Wang and Lin, 2011), function quality (Wang and Lin, 2011), and usage intention (Hsu and Lu, 2004; Wang and Lin, 2011).\n4. Data analysis results: 4.1. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)\n5. Findings and discussion: The internet, communication technologies, and mobile devices are continuously changing the influence of social networking as a critical channel (Chen et al., 2012; Shen, 2013; Wu et al., 2013). In this study, an IS success structural model is tested to explain the educational use of Facebook. The results of this study generally support the results of previous IS success model studies (Wang and Lin, 2011; Dong et al., 2014) and TAM-related studies (Al-Debei et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2012; Yang et al., 2010). The research results show that social influence and information quality are critical and direct determinants that affect users' continuous intention to use Facebook in learning. Except the path between social influence and usage intention in age subgroups, the relationships of the proposed model are stable, and there were no significant differences among the gender subgroups and the three age subgroups that were examined by the multiple group comparison test.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise a framework that integrates information quality, system quality, function quality, and social influence based on the information system (IS) success model, to explore the relationship among these factors, which might be the key determinants of Facebook educational usage intention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An internet survey was conducted to collect empirical data from 221 Facebook users on their experiences of using Facebook. This study applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to demonstrate the proposed model's construct relations and multiple group analysis.\nFindings: The results of this study show that social influence and information quality are critical and direct determinants that affect users' continuous intention to use Facebook in learning; social influence also indirectly affect Facebook usage intention through the mediating effect of information quality. Except the path between social influence and usage intention in age subgroups, the relationships among these determining factors in the proposed model are stable, and there were no significant differences among gender subgroups and age subgroups examined using the multiple group comparison test.\nOriginality/value: The findings provide a better understanding of the IS success model that influences the Facebook educational usage intention for researchers and practitioners.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Racial dissimilarity and diversity climate effect organizational identification	[ "Organizational identification", "Dissimilarity", "Psychological diversity climate" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over the last decade, a resurgence of diversity climate studies have occurred (McKay et al., 2011; Avery et al., 2007; Goyal and Sangya, 2013). This research has become more prevalent and important due to the continual increase of diversity in the workforce (Bureau of Labor, 2008). As organizations respond to changes through various initiatives, there remains a lack in understanding how these responses affect workers (Kidder et al., 2004; Mor Barak et al., 1998; Greeff, 2015). The management of diversity within organizations has, in large part, focused on the initiative of increasing representation of women and minorities to positions of power (Allen and Montgomery, 2001; Gonzalez, 2010). This initiative, however, can present unique challenges, as dissimilarity between supervisors and subordinates affects employee perceptions differently (Choi, 2013; Schaffer and Riordan, 2013). While mixed findings as to the impact of demographics remains, race receives the most support (Schaffer and Riordan, 2013).\nPDCs relationship with OID: In order to satisfy societal pressures regarding diversity, organizations have begun incorporating diversity into identity through policies and actions (Cole and Salimath, 2013; Bartkus and Glassman, 2008). Assessment of an organization's identity establishes what members believe to be important to the organization (Gatewood et al., 1993; Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998) and, thus, creates an internal climate. Climate is \"the meaning people attach to, or make sense of, clusters of psychologically related events\" (Schneider and Reichers, 1983, p. 21). Climate is a function of situational attributes with direct ties to individual experiences in the work environment (Gent et al., 1979); thus, individuals' perception of the organization's identity as valuing diversity and their experience with actions that support this perception combine to create PDC (McKay et al., 2007; Thomas and Wise, 1999). In other words, organizations that promote and signal the value of diversity through the policies and procedures they enact are more likely to be perceived by employees as supportive and fair and, thus, maintain a positive diversity climate (Herdman and McMillan-Capehart, 2010; Triana and Garcia, 2009). These perceptions subsequently influence organizationally relevant outcomes, such as identification (Cole and Cooper, 2014).\nMethodology: Sample and procedures\nAnalysis and results: Hypotheses tests\nDiscussion: The results of this study reveal a significant relationship between PDC and OID, strengthening support for this new vein of research (Cole and Cooper, 2014) and the motive of self-enhancement (Cooper and Thatcher, 2010). Our study differs from previous studies that evaluate the organizational environment or community for demographic heterogeneity (Singh and Selvarajan, 2013) and instead, we use diversity climate as the main indicator of diversity perceptions within the organization. Using this approach, it is evident that programs directed at increasing diversity and equality are perceived as positive and thus attractive to many employees. Given this, and increased organizational engagement in such activities (Zanoni et al., 2010; Thomas and Wise, 1999), we explore how employees may differ in their perceptions of the organization's diversity climate, thus, discussion of boundary conditions examined follows.\nLimitations and conclusion: While we believe that our study is well developed, like all studies, it is not without limitations providing potential for future research. The first limitation is the potential for common method bias. While we attempted to minimize this threat by utilizing psychological separation techniques between the predictor and criterion variables (Podsakoff et al., 2003) in the form of cognitive questions unrelated to the study at hand, this does not eliminate the threat, as each survey was self-reported.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between psychological diversity climate (PDC) and organizational identification (OID) when influenced by racial dissimilarity between the subordinate and supervisor.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Ordinary least squares hierarchical regression analysis was run for hypotheses testing.\nFindings: Three of the four hypothesized relationships were supported. Support was found for the direct relationship between PDC and OID. The moderator race was significant thus also supported. The moderator of dissimilarity was not supported. Finally the three-way interaction with race and dissimilarity was supported.\nPractical implications: OID is an important variable for overall organizational success. OID influences a wealth of organizationally relevant outcomes including turnover intentions. Considering higher turnover exists for minority employees, understanding how diversity climate perceptions vary by employee race and therefore impact OID differently, helps managers when making decisions about various initiatives.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first the authors know of to investigate the impact of dissimilarity on the PDC-OID relationship.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Entrepreneurial orientation in small firms - values-attitudes-behavior approach	[ "Attitudes", "Small-to-medium-sized enterprises", "Behaviour", "Values", "Entrepreneurial orientation", "Multivariate analysis" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Personal values are at the very core of the diverse world of human behavior and every decision and action is a manifestation of those values (Uy, 2011). The link between values, attitudes, and behavior has been recognized in numerous business and management studies (e.g. Connor and Becker, 2003; Defever et al., 2011). Moreover, Hemingway (2005) points out that there is a consensus among most researchers that values are predictors of actual behavior through instrumental concepts like desires, attitudes, or intentions. Taking into account the crucial role of entrepreneurial behavior in economic development, recent calls for micro-foundations in explaining firms' strategic behavior, and the re-emergence of interest in personality factors in entrepreneurship research, there is clearly a need for studies providing a coherent framework and empirical testing of the mechanisms through which the individual entrepreneur's values affect the strategically important firm-level behaviors in SMEs.\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 The concept of EO\n3. Research design: 3.1 Sampling and data collection\n4. Results: 4.1 Descriptive statistics and correlations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and also apply the values-attitudes-behavior framework in the context of entrepreneurial behavior.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A quantitative approach is used to test the hypothesis. The paper employs empirical survey data and partial least squares path modeling in the analyses.\nFindings: The analyses reveal that owner-manager's intrinsic work values are strongest drivers of innovative and proactive behaviors, but also other work values are related to EO. Furthermore, growth-oriented attitude is positively related to innovativeness and proactiveness, while more survival-oriented managers exhibit less risk-taking behavior.\nResearch limitations/implications: In this exploratory study the authors did not control for sector differences. Yet, as sector characteristics may influence the drivers of EO behavior.\nPractical implications: The paper provides implications for policy makers and practitioners. Entrepreneurial activities and start-ups play a crucial role in many countries as they are vital for economic growths and the countries' well-being. Given this importance any effective public policy intended to promote new firm creation or entrepreneurial growth of existing small businesses will have to recognize the heterogeneity of entrepreneurs and identify the potential or existing entrepreneurs who are likely to be affected by such policies.\nOriginality/value: The paper is one of the first works linking the entrepreneur's work values and attitudes to EO.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The consideration of trees in rights of light cases Part 2	[ "Software", "Rights to light", "Measurement of trees", "Point cloud", "Crown transparency" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the previous paper \"The Consideration of Trees in Rights to Light Cases Part 1\", the case was made that trees have been ignored in rights of light cases for what were, ostensibly, practical reasons and that there is now no legal or practical reason why this practice should continue. This viewpoint is supported by Cooper (2015) in his paper entitled \"Easements: The Right to Light and Trees\" where it was argued that the use of modern technology makes it possible to accurately assess the impact of trees on daylight to a room in existing circumstances and that one of the implications of this could be that the effective damage that would be caused by a proposed development might be reduced significantly.\nMethodology: It is recognised that the organic nature of trees create wide varieties of shape and size as well as the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees. For the purposes of this research, it has been decided to concentrate specifically on one common deciduous tree for which a considerable amount of research already exists in terms of measurement both of size and of daylight penetration.\nSelection and consideration of the English Oak (Quercus Robur): A number of tree types have been considered at various times of year but in order to formulate a baseline methodology it has been decided to assess only one type of deciduous tree, the English Oak, against the following variables:\nDevelopment of software solutions: This paper has demonstrated that it is possible to measure a tree or trees in terms of height and crown spread and to estimate with a reasonable degree of accuracy what the growth will have been in the previous year, but it has also demonstrated that manual methods of assessment of the light obstruction by trees cannot be undertaken with any degree of accuracy. However, survey techniques using 3D Laser Point Cloud can produce an accurate model that may be used within a computer programme that assesses light injury within the AutoCAD or REVIT environment (other software does exist but is not yet commercially available). The issue to be resolved is that the survey may be undertaken at any point during the year when a potential cause of action arises but for the purposes of rights to light calculations the model should be based upon the least foliage being on the tree, as previously explained.\nConclusion: In this second paper, the aim was to investigate the following:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to continue the research set out in the consideration of trees in rights of light cases Part 1. To consider whether it is possible to measure a tree with sufficient accuracy that the impact on daylight within a building can be predicted in a way that can be applied in rights to light cases.\nDesign/methodology/approach: By reading published research on tree growth rates, crown transparency and theoretical modelling it is intended to determine the available methodologies for predicting light transmission through tree crowns. Then by inspecting common oak trees in all parts of the country, it is intended to review whether the available methodologies are capable of producing a relatively accurate result using manual methods or whether it is necessary to devise a software solution.\nFindings: The research found that whilst theoretical methods exist for predicting light obstruction by trees, these could not be used in practice and that manual methodologies would not provide sufficient accuracy. However, survey techniques such as 3D Point Cloud can be taken further with the development of a software solution that uses an algorithm to predict branch size and location where these are not visible in a survey.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research concentrates on the theoretical aspect of assessing trees in rights to light cases. It is usually necessary for a live legal case to occur before research into software takes place. It will be necessary to develop the software and then test survey a tree in full leaf and in the absence of foliage to determine whether the algorithm is sufficiently accurate and this will take time.\nPractical implications: This research concentrates on the theoretical aspect of assessing trees in rights to light cases. It is usually necessary for a live legal case to occur before research into software takes place and the conclusion reached was that it will be necessary to develop the software and then test survey a tree in full leaf and in the absence of foliage to determine whether an algorithm is sufficiently accurate and this will take time. It has also been demonstrated that trees may be considered as existing obstructions in rights to light cases and that once software has been developed and tested then it will enable developers to show that their proposals have less impact on the daylight within an adjoining property than would be the case if trees are ignored.\nSocial implications: In many instances, the economic development of a site, especially social housing, is limited by the rights to light of adjoining owners. Where it can be shown that the light levels enjoyed by those owners are already impaired by existing trees then this may assist the developer.\nOriginality/value: At this point no one else has researched this subject to the extent contained in this paper.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The epistemology of knowledge and the knowledge process cycle: beyond the "objectivist" vs "interpretivist"	[ "Intellectual capital", "Knowledge management", "Knowledge processes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The current debates on the epistemology of \"knowledge\" and \"intellectual capital\" are interesting but varied in quality, and for the most part lack a common understanding. This paper takes the debate on epistemology a step or two further, specifically the debate as it is captured in Bernard Marr's (2005) collection.To some extent Marr et al. are right that what really matters is to develop the practical applications of knowledge management, as it is possible to live with some ambiguity. However, there are several areas where progress can be made, which will be explored in this paper. There are, for instance, questions about what constitutes knowledge and intellectual capital, and whether we are dealing with different \"aspects\" or \"types\" of knowledge, intellectual capital, and epistemologies.To start with, intellectual capital can be defined as a term that describes how we:1. develop;2. measure;3. report on; and4. manage:* intellectual work;* intellectual workers;* intellectual products and services; and* intellectual environments.To do this it is necessary to know about:* knowledge, its ...* components; their* production; and their* epistemologies: what is knowledge, how is it discovered, generated, and how is it managed and shared?\n2. The problem: The discussion about the nature of knowledge usually centres on whether it is:* An object or meaning?* An object or a process?* Subjective or objective?* Tacit or explicit?* Positivist or interpretivist?* Representationalist or constructivist?This does not, unfortunately, help us very much. The answer to all these questions is: \"both, it depends\". In other words knowledge (in all its different components forms) can be any one or more of these things, in different contexts. This paper will reformulate the problem as a more functional, practical, question, starting at the simplest level, i.e. words and signs, by asking: \"What has to be done to produce the various component elements of knowledge?\"\n3. The debate so far ...: It might be useful to situate this discussion within some of the current epistemological debates on knowledge and intellectual capital.3.1 The knowledge society\n4. The Knowledge Process Cycle (KPC): The KPC (see Figure 1) has been formulated as an iterative and cumulative cycle (revised from Williams, 2006). This allows us to map out the basic phases, the transitions between the phases, and the different types of communities that are required for each of these phases.Figure 1 outlines the basic, cumulative, semiotic and epistemological cycle. However, the knowledge process cycle is more complex and multidirectional than this. It might be better to call it the \"knowledge process field\" instead, but the \"Knowledge Process Cycle\" (KPC) is a good place to start. The complexity, two way links, and cross links can be added once the basics have been established (see Figure 2).4.1 Epistemological requirements\n5. Tacit and explicit: Spender and Marr (2005, p. 189) make some interesting points about tacit and explicit knowledge. In particular, they raise the issue of knowledge which is embedded in action, where \"an explanation of the performance is not sufficient for someone else to acquire the performance\". This meets the requirements for epistemological distinctness, as this knowledge is acquired through action, and may be stored in what is often referred to as \"muscular memory\" or \"subconscious memory\". This is a very different way of acquiring knowledge than discussing it, or acquiring the knowledge by observation.It would be interesting, though, to see what they would make of the widespread transcription of exactly such \"embedded knowledge\", in the process of extracting machine-tool competencies from skilled trades-people, and then embedding those competencies in numerically controlled tools - or more recently, digitally controlled tools. It would be useful to maintain the epistemological distinction between the different ways in which a person could acquire knowledge - by action or by instruction, but then to complement this with the notion that knowledge embedded in human action can, quite often now, be made explicit, and re-embedded in programmable machine action, in which case it changes into a form of knowledge that can be exchanged, and acquired, from machine to machine, even if not from machine to human.This process of making tacit knowledge explicit has been fruitfully explored in the KM literature. What is often left out is the rest of the cycle: i.e. after tacit to explicit, back again from the explicit to the taci:.It might be useful to speak of tacit knowledge not [only] as knowledge that has not yet been made explicit but, contrarily, knowledge which was explicit, and which through practice, fine-tuning and personal mastery has become internalised. This process of utilizing and consolidating knowledge takes place through the articulation of knowledge into the subconscious - old-fashioned mastery ... As a particular capability is mastered, it is also shifted across from the explicit, conscious domain to the subconscious domain; leaving the conscious mind free to consider the next series of explicit issues and decisions before it.In this sense tacit knowledge increases, rather than decreases, with mastery, learning and the spread of knowledge. (Williams, 2006).\n6. Knowledge sharing: The KPC provides a framework which can be used to revisit the perennial KM problem of how knowledge is shared. The most useful approaches are those, like Snowden (2002), which point out the intimate relationship between [strategic] knowledge and context, and how this relates to complexity. However, we can take this a bit further (see Figure 3): if we examine the six phases of the KPC, and their different communities and different epistemological requirements, we can start to unpack the issue into its component parts. Some knowledge is almost impossible to share, much has to be shared, within at least a core community, and some is so sharable that it often has to be locked up in patents etc.Data and Ante-formal information are produced by informal, often creative uses of language, and require sharing. If \"every use becomes a sign of itself\", this can only be true within a linguistic/semiotic community which shares both the uses and the signs. So a double articulation of sharing is required right at the top of the cycle.Ante-formal information on the other hand can also be used for exclusion: the language of micro-cultures is built on shared terms and expressions, both to consolidate the group, internally, and to exclude others from it, externally.Formal information and knowledge not only requires sharing, but is premised on it. This means it is not just shareable; it is so shareable that expensive legal expertise and institutions are required to keep people from sharing it, by locking it up in patents and copyright. In other words, its epistemology and its management often part ways, and take the form of a fundamental paradox. There is of course the recent bloom of shared content within creative commons protocols, which tries to shift the emphasis back onto sharing, although it too is based in copyright, as it still excludes unacknowledged borrowing and commercial exploitation (\"some rights reserved\"), so in a sense it redefines sharing-within-acknowledgement, and thereby a new frameworks for sharing within a \"rights\" framework.Now that the digitalisation of media is almost ubiquitous, and media artefacts can be shared globally at virtually no cost, shareable formal information and knowledge offers immense opportunities, but it is still brings new problems with it. The combination of a highly exchangeable format (formal information) and highly shareable digital media creates unique dilemmas, such as the issue as to whether the genome for anthrax, smallpox, etc. should be published at all, and the question of what happens to scientific investigation if they do not get published.Strategic knowledge, defined as the fit between procedural information and contextual analysis is however difficult to share, for the obvious reason that it is highly contextualised. It can best be shared as analogies, metaphors, best practices, narratives, fables, cartoons, but seldom in its original form (Kurtz and Snowden, 2007). Further, because knowledge (defined in this way) is the basis for design, strategy and management, it is also the basis for competitive advantage, and it would not make sense to share it outside the firm, even if it was more shareable.The pendulum starts to swing out again to more sharing, in communities of practitioners, which are alliances of like minded professionals, trades people, etc, who, share, protect and maintain how they function with their group, how they regulate membership of their group, and how they manage their intellectual assets. Communities of practitioners are similar to discourse communities, in the Foucauldian sense (see Williams, 2005). They typically share a broad strategic framework, and do not necessarily share details of their operational strategies.6.1 Breadth and scope of sharing across the KPC\n7. Applying the KPC to asset management: A key issue in an applied field like intellectual capital management is the way in which frameworks such as the KPC can help in the (internal) management and measurement and (external) communication of the value of organisational assets. As Spender and Marr (2005, p. 189) point out: \"little attempt has been made to identify the ways the different views of knowledge resources (data, information, knowledge) affect the means we must employ to measure and manage these knowledge resources in our organisations\".There is a need to find a way to manage, measure, and communicate the value of IC assets. Within the framework of the KPC (above), there is not just a single type of asset, but rather several different types of assets, according to the different functions of each of the different forms of knowledge, within the different communities of practitioners associated with each of them.If these distinctions are not made, difficulties are bound to arise. Neither the \"positivistic\" view nor the \"Interpretative\" view (nor its more unusual variant, the \"organic\" view) of organisational assets, will adequately cover all forms of knowledge and information (Spender and Marr, 2005, pp. 189-91). A \"single view\" of the matter is neither adequate nor satisfactory. Rather, by working within an integrated KPC (of which the one developed here is not the only option - see Saint-Onge and Armstrong, 2004, for instance) we can extrapolate an integrated model for the management of various IC assets.The question is: how can we differentiate the indicators and metrics for the various phases of the Cycle, and avoid the confusion of the rather startling conclusion (Spender and Marr, 2005, p. 190) that \"these resource bundles [of intellectual capital] affect performance with causal ambiguity\". The relationships between the constituents of these \"resource bundles\" clearly need to be mapped out, but it will not help if we continue to base our analysis on \"three knowledge types ... data, meaning, and the ability to generate proficient practice\" (Spender and Marr, 2005, p. 190). We need a bit more than that. The problem with the distinction between \"data\" and \"meaning\" is that although it coincides, more or less, with the distinction between data and information, it tends to reinforce the widespread epistemological confusion that arises from the notion that \"data\" can be separated from \"meaning\" in the first place and furthermore, this notion does not account for the radically different managerial and epistemological requirements of the different constituent phases of the knowledge process cycle.7.1 Equity and capital\n8. The genealogy of the knowledge process cycle: In the debate on the \"globalised economy\" and the \"internet society\" there is little systematic work that can help us ground the debate in epistemology. The global economy and global society of the early twenty-first century might better be understood by applying a broad genealogy to the KPC. A mapping of some of the changes and relationships between elements of the KPC across historical periods, to show some of the different epistemological, social, and economic influences on the Cycle (see Figure 2) highlights some of the current, as well as the historical dynamics within the Knowledge Process \"Cycle,\" which might better be called the Knowledge Process \"Field\". Even this broad brush-stroke genealogical mapping illustrates that it is not a neat, one-way \"cycle\", but rather a dynamic, multi-directional, changeable, and multi-dimensional \"field\".\n9. Conclusion: The fundamental tenets of semiotics, linguistics and linguistic philosophy have been applied to key epistemological issues of the way we define, acquire and manage knowledge. This provides a theoretical foundation for the KPC, and the analysis of the various communities, functions, transcriptions, and articulations of each of the phases of the Cycle. It also provides the basis for a re-examination and a resolution of the epistemological confusions that arise from attempts to separate data from meaning. The framework of the KPC (or Field) also provides the basis for separating out the valuable functions of both the objectivist and the interpretivist approaches to knowledge (and the firm), so that they can be incorporated into a single, coherent model, rather than being seen as competitive and contradictory.This article has also examined the way in which tacit and explicit modes of knowledge function in the KPC, the way tacit mastery can increase with learning and the acquisition of knowledge, and the notion of IT systems as \"embedded\" tacit knowledge.The notion of \"capital\" and particularly \"intellectual capital\" has been re-examined, and some suggestions made on how \"capital\" and \"equity\" might better be deployed, to clarify how knowledge and equity is acquired, communicated and managed. Intellectual property is one of the few elements of the Knowledge Cycle that is clearly and unambiguously \"capital\". Most of the rest are more akin to \"equity\".The genealogy of the KPC maps out some of the broad trends leading up to the present, in which data and formal information have become intricately and functionally linked, ante-formal information feeds into formal information and knowledge, as well as intersecting more directly with knowledge, ecologies of practice, experience, ethics, and even faith. This genealogical account illustrates the dynamic and changeable nature of the KPC, or Field.This analysis is, however, an analysis of the genealogy of the KPC in \"Western\" cultures. The analysis is bound to differ for other cultures, and this raises interesting issues of cross-cultural, multi-cultural, and global-cultural analyses, which might throw some light on issues of \"globalisation\" and \"micro-global\" cultures (Cetina, 2005), and the role of various epistemologies and forms of knowledge in those cultures. It also raises interesting issues about the process of intellectual \"capitalisation\" in the countries around, and associated with, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to critique current epistemologies of knowledge and intellectual capital, and provide a way forward within an integrated framework.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The principles of linguistic philosophy and semiotics provide the basis for a rigorous analysis of the production of signs and of knowledge. The Knowledge Process Cycle is used to explore this further, to analyse how different types of communities produce a range of different kinds of information and knowledge, and to formulate a more coherent, theoretically rigorous epistemology.\nFindings: - The current epistemological confusions can be resolved, by taking into account the arbitrary and conventional nature of signs, and the different epistemological requirements of the different phases of the Knowledge Cycle.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This research focuses on the confusions around \"objectivist\" and \"interpretivist\" epistemologies, and on how an analysis of the articulations of the various phases of the knowledge process cycle can resolve these confusions. A more detailed analysis of strategic knowledge and communities of practice will be explored in further research.\nPractical implications: - Both knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) will benefit from a resolution of the confusions surrounding the roles of \"objectivist\" and \"interpretivist\" epistemologies, and from a more nuanced understanding of the production of knowledge. Reporting on IC would benefit from finer distinctions, and from a more rigorous epistemology.\nOriginality/value: - The paper brings together concepts and analytical tools from different disciplines (KM, IC, applied linguistics, linguistic philosophy, and semiotics) to develop a new approach to the epistemology of knowledge and intellectual capital.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
n-Culturals: modeling the multicultural identity	[ "Identity salience", "Multicultural continuum", "Multicultural identity", "Multicultural phenomenon", "n-Culturals" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The reality of the world is that you learn from diversity, but are comforted by commonality.\nIntroduction: Although the influence of culture on organizations through trade, immigration and exchange of information and ideas has pervaded through the centuries, it is only in recent decades that the degree and intensity of cultural influence have spiked as a result of globalization (Sam and Berry, 2010). From a population perspective, globalization is largely the result of low birth rates among the established population in the industrialized world and the concomitant increase in the proportion of immigrants. In turn, globalization has produced multicultural work environments where a large percentage of a nation's workforce is drawn from a variety of cultural backgrounds (Healey, 2005; Okoro and Washington, 2012; MacKenzie and Forde, 2009). As a result, there has been increased interest in understanding the effects of multicultural individuals in organizational contexts. Given the changing patterns in the world's workforce, an increasing number of employees and managers have more than one cultural profile. These individuals function based on cognitive frameworks that are influenced to a greater or lesser extent by their exposure to more than one culture. Thus, a more nuanced and complex theory of cross-cultural management is needed to understand the impact that these individuals are having and can have on organizations (see Leung et al., 2005). Hence, we need to have a clearer understanding of cultural diversity within individuals and its influence on outcomes in an organizational context. The question \"who am I?\" is of critical importance for cross-cultural international management research (Sackmann and Phillips, 2004). In addition, we also need to link this understanding of cultural diversity in individuals with maintaining the importance of diverse cultural values and identities within organizations (Nkomo and Hoobler, 2014).\nMulticulturalism and multicultural identity: A number of definitions of multicultural individuals exist in the literature (e.g. Adler, 1977; Benet-Martinez, 2012; Nguyen and Benet-Martinez, 2010) that suggests that these individuals are by-products of multiculturalism or the condition of being exposed to multiple cultures. These individuals encompass those who are of mixed ethnicity, those who have lived in multiple countries (such as expatriates), international students, immigrants, other types of sojourners and children who have been raised in multicultural households (Benet-Martinez, 2012; also see Tadmor and Tetlock, 2006). Indicators of multicultural identity include behaviors such as language use, choice of friends, media preferences and self-categorization as belonging to more than one cultural group (Benet-Martinez, 2012), which may include having strong attachments with and loyalties to different cultures (Nguyen and Benet-Martinez, 2010). The psychology literature has generally settled on the idea that bicultural and multicultural individuals can be defined as having been exposed to and having internalized two or more cultures (Benet-Martinez, 2012; Hong et al., 2000). This definition underlies much of the research on multicultural individuals to date in international management, psychology and sociology[1].\nThe n-cultural construct: Previous research provides a solid platform of empirical evidence on which to develop a more nuanced theory of multicultural identity. We label this theory n-Culturalism, named for the complex type that exists on one extreme of a continuum of multicultural identities, that is, the n-Cultural. A number of important factors about the nature of multicultural identity have been highlighted in existing literature. First, active cultural identity depends on knowledge of a new culture. However, acquiring knowledge of the new culture does not necessarily lead to identification with (Hong et al., 2007) or commitment to that new culture. Further, the management of multiple cultural orientations can take a number of forms that vary in the extent to which the resultant cultural identities are integrated. We build on these ideas of \"knowledge of\" and \"identification with\" multiple cultures to stress the importance of the degree to which one is cognitively and emotionally linked to an identity, the degree of acceptance and actualization of goals and values associated with the identity (including its roles and expectations), plus the willingness to exert effort to maintain the identity. The crucial factor in creating a theory of multicultural identity is to recognize that these elements exist within individuals to a greater or lesser extent, and that their combination results in comprehensive understanding of the entire range of multicultural identities. This provides an improved basis on which to explain and predict the behavior of individuals in an organizational context. We begin with the ideal type - the n-Cultural - and show how combining the following elements: first,knowledge of multiple cultures; second,identification with two or more cultures; third, internalization of the values, attitudes, beliefs and behavioral assumptions of each of these cultures; and fourth,commitment to maintaining these identities, results in n-Culturals being creative synthesizers (e.g. Bochner, 1981). Thus, the term \"n-Culturals\" describes individuals who are on the extreme boundary of current descriptions of multicultural individuals. Figure 1 provides a graphic representation of the four constituent elements of the cultural influence ofknowledge, identification, internalization and commitment. Each element is an independent component of multicultural identity that only completely coalesces at the extreme of the continuum of cultural identities, that is, the n-Cultural. In the following, we discuss each of these elements in turn.\nContinuum of multicultural identities: Previous classifications of multiculturals have relied on establishing multicultural types based on the presence or absence of some characteristic or along a set of dimensions. However, while these typologies call attention to the idea that there are many ways to experience multiculturalism, they are conceptually flawed in that they often confuse types of multiculturalism with indicators of multiculturalism (see Benet-Martinez, 2012), or they exclude some individuals with multiple cultural identities from the classification as well as fail to consider the interaction of two cultures (see Liao and Thomas, 2009: Rudmin, 2003). We label the following classification a \"continuum\" because each multicultural identity exists at a point on the range of multicultural identities based on the extent to which subordinate elements are present. However, each is not a discreet type but an example based on an inflexion point on the range of mono- to n-Cultural.\nManaging multiple identities: A major issue for individuals who live under the influence of two or more cultures is conflict of identity (Gong, 2007; Hong et al., 2000; Tadmor and Tetlock, 2006; Ward, 2008). Identity conflict or dissonance occurs only when individuals feel equally accountable to more than one cultural group (Tadmor and Tetlock, 2006). The relevant question to the present work is how do n-Culturals manage their potentially conflicting identities effectively? The basis of an n-Cultural's ability to manage multiple identities is grounded in the idea of developing higher order cognitive processes called integrative complexity (Tadmor and Tetlock, 2006). Integrative complexity is based on the idea that individuals have the capacity to acknowledge the legitimacy of competing perspectives (differentiation) on the same issue and to forge conceptual links (integration) among these perspectives. Integrative complexity is conceptually similar to the metacognitive element of CQ, that is, cultural metacognition (Earley and Ang, 2003; Thomas and Inkson, 2003). Cultural metacognition is a unique cognitive construct as it emerges from the interaction of its constituent elements, thus involving a higher level cognitive strategy, and is central to monitoring and regulating cognitive activity by taking account of cognitive resources and specific knowledge (Thomas, 2010). Thus, cultural metacognition works as a self-controlled and goal-directed process that aids individuals to cognitively and behaviorally adjust to the situational demands that are placed on their identity. It is this active and conscious aspect of the process that differentiates the n-Cultural from other individuals with multiple cultural influences on their identity.\nImplications and future research: There are numerous implications for modeling multicultural identity by recognizing the four underlying dimensions of knowledge, identification, internalization and commitment. These include clarifying and contributing to the array of multicultural identity organization typologies, and identifying the processes of becoming a multicultural person through the ways that people might experience and manage their multiple identities. Therefore, by understanding the ways in which n-Culturals develop, we will gain valuable insights into modeling this process. First, we present n-Culturals to be the epitome of multiculturalism. The n-Cultural construct delineates four constituent elements that form a stage-like process of developing multiculturality that exists at the extreme end of the multiculturalism continuum. We then propose n-Culturals to have developed higher order cognitive processes than enable them to maintain simultaneity of salience of all their cultural identities. Finally, we propose that n-Culturals have developed skills (e.g. manage and balance cultural conflict) that enable them to perform particular tasks that benefit the organizations that employ them. We now discuss these implications and themes for future research in greater detail.\nConclusion: In this paper we modeled the construct of multicultural identity in a manner that overcomes some of the deficiencies in previous categorizations of individuals who are influenced by more than one cultural identity. In so doing, we identify four dimensions of multicultural identity: knowledge; identification; internalization; and commitment. With this approach we recognize that cultural identities may be uniquely represented within each individual as they confront the task of defining themselves in terms of their culture. The critical feature in creating a theory of multicultural identity is the recognition that these elements exist within individuals to a greater or lesser extent. By examining the various combinations of elements, a continuum of multicultural identity could be created that is anchored in n-Culturals. These individuals are capable of creatively synthesizing all facets of their multiple identities, with this synthesis achieved through metacognitive ability that is developed by acknowledging the legitimacy of their various identities and forging conceptual links among them. Modeling multicultural identity in this way would provide a basis for better understanding the role that multicultural identity plays in influencing behavior.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend current conceptualizations of multicultural individuals by mapping the underlying elements of knowledge, identification, commitment and internalization as components of multicultural identity. It aims to extend discussions of how multicultural individuals manage their multiculturality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper draws primarily on extant works on multicultural individuals and identity. The paper reviews a number of concepts relevant to multicultural identity to introduce the existence of a population called n-Culturals who represent a complex type that exists on one extreme of a continuum of multicultural identity. The paper derives a theory of n-Culturalism which represents a more nuanced theory of the multicultural identity.\nFindings: n-Culturals recognizes that elements of multicultural identity exist within individuals to a greater or lesser extent and that their combination results in a comprehensive understanding of the entire range of multicultural identities. n-Culturalism extends current views that multicultural individuals maintain multiple saliences of their identities rather than switching modes to manage their multiculturality.\nResearch limitations/implications: The conceptual nature of the paper implies that there are no existing empirical data apart from anecdotal examples; at the same time this fact provides ample opportunities to test the theory.\nPractical implications: First, the findings provides an understanding of multiple cultural influences on acculturative stress and on performance across a range of domains as well as measuring multicultural identity. Second, by understanding the way in which n-Culturals develop the authors may gain valuable insights in modeling this process.\nOriginality/value: The paper develops a new theory of approaching the challenges faced by multicultural individuals, that is, how to manage their multiculturality. The theory goes beyond current views of switching modes or suppression, and suggests maintaining and balancing multiple identities.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Arts and humanities for executives' development: aphorisms as a new tool in the management toolbox	[ "Management development", "Reflection", "Creative thinking", "Humanities", "Management tools", "Aphorisms" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There is growing interest in the role \"humanities\" can play in organizations, both from a theoretical and a practical perspective. After several decades of domination of the scientific management approach within academia and organizations, new and diversified perspectives are emerging.\nNew role for arts and humanities in management: If one agrees that management is \"getting things done through other people,\" one cannot deny that making a company work is essentially a matter of dealing with people.\nAphorisms for management development: Though in certain respects similar, aphorisms are actually different from mottos (short, but not necessarily thoughtful), slogans (short, but mainly for persuasive purposes), proverbs, or adages (short, but not necessarily unexpected).\nConclusion: Aphorisms are at the crossroad of reason and emotion: one needs cognitive abilities to understand them, because it often requires a careful reading to grab them, but then they hit one's emotion, because the truth they reveal is usually able to touch the heart of the reader.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to answer the call for greater humanization of the corporation, introducing aphorisms as a new tool for developing management awareness, creativity, and multiple-perspective mind-set.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper elaborates on a theoretical base to suggest a new tool for management development.\nFindings: A firm is not only a technical system but rather a community of people, and due to increasing environmental complexity, humanities can provide managers with great help. In this line of thought, aphorisms are an under-considered literary genre that can prove helpful in humanizing the corporation.\nPractical implications: Aphorisms can assist management in several ways: they help to understand what the organization stands for and to focus organizational values; they contribute to define corporate identity to people inside and outside the organization; they favor open-minded examination of problems from multiple perspectives, giving way to unexpected possibilities; and they generate critical dialogue within the management team about strategic decisions.\nOriginality/value: Although several arts and disciplines have already been considered in management literature, as far as the authors know, this is the first paper attempting to introduce aphorisms in the management toolbox.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Predictors of investment intention in Indian stock markets: Extending the theory of planned behaviour	[ "Mediation", "Moderation", "Theory of planned behaviour", "Personality traits", "Financial knowledge", "Financial self efficacy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Individual participation in financial markets has risen sharply in recent times (Celerier et al., 2016). There are many reasons for this rise: first, financial market assets' profitability is unprecedented. Financial markets offer the possibilities of \"making money work\" and obtaining returns from invested capital. Second, the flexibility of financial market instruments means that an individual can quickly liquidate the funds they have invested. Lastly is diversity, which means that investors can find assets that suit their investment objectives, among the range of financial assets available. Moreover, there has been a rising trend towards accepting responsibility for one's own retirement money (Clark-Murphy and Soutar, 2004).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Brief description of the TPB\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Questionnaire design\n4. Data analysis and results: 4.1 Sample profile\n5. Discussion and implications: The present study attempts to understand an individual's intention to invest in the financial market in an Indian context by using TPB. It was observed that, among the basic constructs of TPB (i.e. attitude, subjective norms and FSE, which was used as a substitute for perceived behavioural control), attitude had the most significant relationship with investment intention (b=0.34*) (Phan and Zhou, 2014), which indicates that prospective Indian investors are more concerned about their attitudes while deciding whether to invest in financial markets (Gopi and Ramayah, 2007). This study also follows in line with the previous studies of Hong et al. (2004) and Shanmugham and Ramya (2012), who have shown that social interaction and social pressure are prime influencers of stock market participation and trading behaviour. In this study, it also has been observed that subjective norms clearly influence investment intentions (b=0.27), the reason for this could be that, in a situation where the information available to investors does not address factors such as privacy and security, prospective investors generally have to rely on their referent groups and trusted individuals (Gopi and Ramayah, 2007).\n6. Conclusion and scope for future research: This paper has contributed to a better understanding of why and when a prospective individual investor might engage in financial investment and whether their decision is differentiated by their financial knowledge and individual personality traits. We have provided evidence that individuals' intentions to invest in financial markets are influenced by different psychological factors such as attitude, subjective norms and FSE. This study is of great interest, as it tries to explain not only the drivers that are essential for the development of investment intention, but also the role of other psychological factors that go unnoticed most of the time. From one perspective, this study fills the gap that was present in previous studies that have failed to highlight the psychological aspect that needs to be strengthened in order to create investment intentions. Overall, this paper goes beyond the strict and narrow thoughts of creating and maintaining growth efficient portfolios only when one has high levels of financial capital; this study clearly presents the effective role of intangible assets, like FSE, personality traits, attitude, subjective norms and resources, like financial knowledge, that are essential for the development of investment intentions among non-investors.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand investment intention of prospective individual investors in a developing country (i.e. India) by using the \"Theory of Planned Behaviour\" (TPB) (where perceived behavioural control has been replaced with financial self-efficacy, FSE) and two additional constructs, i.e. financial knowledge and personality traits (i.e. risk-taking propensity and preference for innovation) have been introduced.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study uses quantitative and cross-sectional approach wherein questionnaire based survey was done to collect responses from prospective individual investors (920 usable responses). AMOS and SPSS have been used to establish the hypothesised relationship between the constructs.\nFindings: The results of the study suggested that attitude was responsible for partial mediation between the relationship of financial knowledge and investment intention, whereas financial self-efficacy was exerting a dual role on the relationship between personality traits and investment intention. Subjective norms, on the other hand, exerted a weak positive effect on investment intention.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study is limited to measure the investment intention in financial markets in case of prospective individual investors; it does not incorporate the actual investment behaviour, the study also fails to include demographic factors which play a vital role in investment decision making. Furthermore, the study has only considered objective dimension of financial knowledge.\nPractical implications: The findings will be useful for financial service providers who need to enhance the FSE and financial knowledge and design a \"behavioural portfolio\" according the personality traits of their clients.\nSocial implications: The up-liftment of financial confidence among individuals in order to motivate them to participate in financial markets and enjoy \"short-cuts\" towards financial success.\nOriginality/value: This study is one of the initial attempts in the context of the Indian Stock Market to introduce FSE as a dual (both mediating and moderating) construct between personality traits and investment intention using TPB, moreover, this study also provides the necessary impetus to analyse the relationship between financial knowledge and investment intention with attitude as the mediating variable.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer response to state-of-origin labels: the moderating role of residency	[ "Product origin", "Locally made", "Judgmental bias", "State residency", "Economic sustainability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The marketplace is often crowded with similar products with few differentiating functional features. Branding strategies using product origin information are one way in which companies hope to differentiate their offerings, capture the attention of consumers and earn their loyalty. For the past two to three decades, state governments across the USA have used such branding strategies or programs, wherein they allow farmers and local businesses to affix logos and stickers (e.g. Ohio Proud, CA Grown, Pride of Dakota) to their products to help small-scale entrepreneurs in their states better market their products. The types of products marketed vary from state to state, ranging from raw agricultural products to the processing and manufacturing of finished products (Anglen, 2018; Curret, 2007; Orr, 2006; Harney, 2011), but the majority of the products in state-of-origin programs are agricultural items, either fresh or processed. To date, there are 45 state-origin logos/labels, 20 of which use the words \"grown\" or \"fresh,\" and the remainder of which use \"made,\" \"proud,\" \"taste\" and \"preferred\" in their names or titles (Anglen, 2018). As food items are marketed increasingly as \"locally grown\" (Darby et al., 2008), local food sales have grown into a US$20bn industry (Anglen, 2018), and state-label programs often use the state origin labels to inform consumers about the origin of the product, it is pertinent to understand the role of state-of-origin (SOO) in consumers' decision-making.\nBackground and research hypotheses: Product origin\nStudy 1: Study 1 addresses two basic SOO effects: product-state associations (H1) and attitudinal biases (H2). To test these ideas, we surveyed participants from two Midwestern states (North Dakota and Ohio).\nStudy 2: Method\nGeneral discussion and conclusion: Summary of findings\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite the large number of studies on country of origin, little is known about the effects of state-level product origin information on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. Likewise, little is known about when the state-of-origin (SOO) information enhances, has no effect or has a negative effect on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. Primarily drawing on the country-of-origin literature, this study aims to examine the influence of SOO label information and the moderating role of state residency.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To test five hypotheses, the authors conducted a survey (Study 1) and an experiment (Study 2). The analyses included content analysis, regression and ANOVA.\nFindings: The findings show that for certain products, moderate-to-strong product-state associations exist. However, when the associations are weak, consumers show bias for products made in their (vs other) states. The findings also show that when consumers evaluate their state products, normative (vs cognitive) reasons drive their attitudes, but that when they assess products from states other than their state of residency, cognitive (vs normative) reasons drive attitudes. Additionally, economic sustainability seems a powerful motivator for buying products made in their state of residency.\nPractical implications: Companies should take advantage of positive biases for their products in the states in which they produce products. However, when companies market their products outside their states of production, in some cases, they should consider deemphasizing SOO information unless there is a strong product-state association present among consumers outside of the state.\nOriginality/value: This paper adds value by providing new insights for designing product origin labeling programs. Suggestions for future research and marketing strategies for practitioners who want to use SOO as a branding strategy are offered.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The implications of the school's cultural attributes in the relationships between participative leadership and teacher job satisfaction and burnout	[ "Participative leadership", "Conservation of resources theory", "Cultural attributes", "Implicit leadership theory", "Teachers’ well-being" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As a result of continuous reforms, increasing emphasis has been placed on teacher quality as the key to educational improvement (Spillane and Coldren, 2015). Substantial interest has developed in the role of teachers in decisions related to school operation. Research suggests that participative leadership, defined as joint decision making, or at least shared influence in decision making by a superior and his or her employees (Koopman and Wierdsma, 1998), may yield a number of positive effects, including improved school and teacher outcomes, because it can give employees opportunities to exert control over their work environment (De Nobile et al., 2013). Also, research has indicated a negative relationship between involvement in decision making and job stress (Lambert and Paoline, 2008). However, recent studies point out that participative leadership may also be a source of stress that leads to additional strain (Benoliel and Somech, 2010) with implications for teacher burnout and job satisfaction.\nTheoretical background and literature review: As the model of the single school leader is gradually being eroded, more attention is being paid to distributed forms of leadership through more democratic and participative approaches (Harris, 2013). The concept of participative leadership is only one of a wider set of interests pursued by others investigating distributed (Harris, 2013), democratic (Leithwood et al., 2004), and shared leadership (Wahlstrom and Louis, 2008), all of which describe the managerial approach of shared influence in decision making. According to the path-goal theory (House, 1971) that identifies four leadership categories that include participative behaviors, those that work in a participative leadership environment are more likely to express opinions and propose solutions. Research suggests that participative leadership carries with it the potential for achieving outcomes unattainable by the traditional rational-bureaucratic organizational structure of schools (Somech, 2010). From a pragmatic rationale, participative leadership practices are commonly seen as a motivational technique and perceived as offering a variety of benefits for school development and for teachers' mental health (Dufour and Marzano, 2011). However, studies (Benoliel and Somech, 2010) have also pointed out that participative leadership can lead to additional strain on already overburdened teachers.\nMethod: Participants and procedure\nResults: First, an attempt was made to identify differences between the three types of school (state-secular, state-religious, and ultra-orthodox) in relation to participative leadership. The findings of GLM analysis indicated that after controlling for principal's gender, there were significant differences in the teachers' perceptions of participative leadership between the three different types of school (F(339, 3)=2.34, p<0.10). In line with H1, it was found that teachers perceived a higher degree of participation in decision making in state-secular schools than in ultra-orthodox schools (M=3.17, SD=0.18; M=2.77, SD=0.09), respectively (Tables I and II).\nDiscussion: Participative leadership has become an important management practice for twenty-first century schools (Somech, 2010). Principals inviting teachers to take part in pedagogical as well as organizational decisions was found in recent studies to influence school and teacher outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and feelings of empowerment (Ngotngamwong, 2012). At the same time, research has indicated that participative leadership can lead to teachers' strain (Benoliel and Somech, 2010). Moreover, while a large number of studies have focused on individualistic cultures and shown positive results from participative leadership, research done in collective cultures has reflected a desire for strong and autocratic interpersonal and moral leadership (Truong and Hallinger, 2015). In light of these inconclusive findings, the ILT and COR theories, we investigated whether the cultural values of individualism-collectivism combined with power distance (Sagie and Aycan, 2003) are determining factors for predicting the influence of participative leadership on teacher job satisfaction and burnout.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: As a result of continuous reforms, increased emphasis has been placed on participative leadership as a means to improving school and teacher outcomes. However, along with the benefits of participative leadership comes the potential for strain and burnout, which stem from work intensification. Applying the implicit leadership theory and the conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose that differences in school's cultural attributes will influence the emergence of participative leaders and their influence on teachers' outcomes of job satisfaction and burnout.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected by survey from a sample of 367 teachers in Israel.\nFindings: First, the results of general linear model (GLM) analysis indicated significant differences in the teachers' perceptions of participative leadership between schools characterized by different cultural attributes. Second, the results of GLM indicated significant differences in the effects of participative leadership on teacher burnout across schools characterized by different cultural attributes.\nOriginality/value: This study has implications for policies involving the design and implementation of leadership tools for school management. Although research has emphasized the relationship between stressful job conditions associated with shared decision making and teachers' well-being and job satisfaction, the volume of comparative work in the educational field shedding light on the impact of school's cultural attributes on this question is limited. This study may assist principals in making their schools both more effective and more responsive to teacher expectations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Integrated portfolio planning of products and production systems	[ "Integration", "Advanced engineering", "Manufacturing and R&D interface", "Portfolio management", "Production development", "Production system portfolio" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The importance of achieved integration between manufacturing and research and development (R&D) in the new product development process (NPD) has long been documented (Adler, 1995; Lakemond et al., 2007; Swink et al., 2006). For example, Turkulainen and Ketokivi (2012) show that integration in the product development process has beneficial effects on multiple performance dimensions such as manufacturing unit costs, conformance quality, and volume flexibility and may even be a facilitator in the implementation of innovative strategies. However, despite the advantages identified, achieving integration between manufacturing and R&D is challenging for manufacturing companies (Olausson, 2009; Vandevelde and Van Dierdonck, 2003).\n2 Theoretical framework: 2.1 Portfolio management\n3 Research methodology: 3.1 Research strategy\n4 The NPD project and the task of developing the production system: The NPD project studied was divided into three work packages, WP1: product development, WP2: industrialization, and WP3: improvements after SoP. The new product under development was highly complex in line with previous products on the same platform. Due to the differences between the two product generations, the new product could not be assembled in the existing production system and consequently a completely new system was required including also the development of new conceptually and technologically advanced solutions on cell level. The case study targeted WP2, i.e. the industrialization, and thus included the responsibility for the development of the production system.\n5 Analysis and discussion: 5.1 Production system design aspects\n6 Designing an integrated product and production system portfolio: In this paper some critical challenges have been presented related to the introduction of an AE and production system portfolio corresponding to the AE/product portfolio. To date, this approach is less utilized as an interactive approach and a means to facilitate product and production system innovation. One explanation is that most of the current literature on the manufacturing/R&D interface is focused on comparing R&D with the manufacturing operation instead of production development, which is the correct comparison (Magnusson et al., 2006; Vandevelde and Van Dierdonck, 2003). Our literature review provided a greater understanding of the importance of having a portfolio strategy for development projects and how product development affects also production system development. Our empirical findings, summarized in Table III, further showed that thinking in terms of planning a production system portfolio and identifying corresponding requirements of new production technology had never been done before at the case study company although support for long-term planning was demanded. A tentative idea is hence to merge the portfolio perspective provided by Cooper et al. (1997, 2001) with a process of how to develop production systems in a structured way, as in Bellgran and Safsten (2010) or similar. In this way a conceptual model that can increase our understanding of how to develop a more interactive approach between product innovation and production system innovation could be achieved.\n7 Conclusions and implications: In the last decades the product development literature has made major improvements in explaining critical issues about efficient management of the product portfolio. The findings presented in this article expand on earlier research by presenting critical challenges related to the development of a production system portfolio. This proactive way of thinking leads to a portfolio of a number of tentative products and a portfolio of tentative production systems that match each other. However, our findings imply that the development of the production system is mainly based on the current system, which cause great difficulties to develop a portfolio comprising generations and updates of production systems for the future. With the common situation where the development of production system is still often carried out ad hoc having no long-term or strategic approach, our study increases the understanding of the problem area. These findings are particularly interesting since production systems that easily can be ramped-up to planned production volume are difficult to imitate by competitors and thus provides competitive advantages (Hayes et al., 2005; Pisano, 1997).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of the research presented is to analyse and discuss critical challenges related to the development of a production system portfolio.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study employs a longitudinal case study of an industrialization project at a global supplier in the automotive industry.\nFindings: This research makes two clear theoretical contributions. First, it extends the existing research on the manufacturing and R&D interface by proposing an innovative structure for production system development facilitating manufacturing companies in their efforts of being fast and cost-effective when introducing new products to the market. Second, this research identifies challenges related to the adoption of a production system portfolio and the necessary actions of a manufacturing company applying such a portfolio strategy.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings should be seen as a first attempt at assisting the development of a production system portfolio that matches the product portfolio. However, since the findings are based on only one case, the findings are to some extent context-specific and thus need to be complemented by more research.\nPractical implications: The research unveils challenges related to production system development and provides managers with a better understanding of some of the implications of the adoption of a portfolio strategy.\nOriginality/value: This empirical study is among the first to explore the implications of a production system portfolio strategy. It advances the understanding towards a fully integrated product and production system development.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Critical success factors of an effective repairs and maintenance service for social housing in the UK	[ "Facilities management", "Social housing", "Maintenance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In today's economic climate facilities management (FM) departments in the UK public sector are under increasing pressure to maintain the level of the service they provide and maximise value for money while they contend with reduced budgets and staffing levels.\nContext of facilities management: Today FM covers a wide variety of functions such as real estate management, change management, health and safety and contract management in addition to building maintenance and utilities supplies, in which the International Facility Management Association's (IFMA) definition clearly illustrates the rounded nature of sector, stating that FM is \"A profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology\"(International Facility Management Association, 2012).\nGovernment guidance and reports: In 2010, the UK Government reformed the social housing system \"to ensure that the system is more obviously fair; that good, affordable housing is available for those who genuinely need it; and that we get the best from our four million rented homes\" (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2010). Registered providers are subsequently under increasing pressure to provide a quality service, maximise value for money, while balancing reductions in budgets and personnel. All these factors must be considered against the recent rise in VAT (Dwyer, 2011) and threats to their primary income streams (rent) propagated by increased rental rates and reductions to housing benefit; accentuated by the manner in which housing benefit is paid i.e. direct to tenants.\nProcurement: It is often argued by large organisations that to provide a cost effective, efficient service that they must source their labour directly. For example, Guinness Northern Counties established their own in-house maintenance division in 2002 creating 200 local jobs and apprenticeships (Matthews, 2010). Riverhaven also deliver their repairs service and investment programmes in-house, as they could not obtain satisfactory performance from external contractors; and increased prices put an end to the partnering approach (Lawrence, 2004). While profits are still required by a Direct Labour Organisation (DLO), they are not commensurate to those of a large contractor; which must satisfy its shareholders. The reinvestment of profit can also create efficiencies that are beneficial to registered providers organisations. In addition, services provided can be shared between housing organisations, providing the company with the commercial freedom to grow.\nLean principles and innovation: Through the elimination of waste, quality and production times can be improved, and costs reduced; producing a Lean organisation. The term \"Lean\" can be defined as \"getting the right things, to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity while minimising waste and being open and responsive to change\" (Kempton, 2006). Kempton (2006) investigated the application of lean principles to the refurbishment of void properties in the UK although the interrogation of registered providers was sparse; insufficient primary data was analysed, the research related to the authors epistemology; though was recognised as a limitation of the study. The study discusses the difficulties faced when implementing lean principles to repair and refurbishment, as opposed to new build projects; due to the disparate nature of registered providers' stock. The implication is that effective implementation of lean principles can be applied to repairs and maintenance but it is dependent on a number of factors including the stocks' disbursement and its proximity to other owned stock.\nPerformance: As already discussed there is currently a great emphasis on publicly funded organisations achieving value for money and the public sector must find ways of working more efficiently in order to provide improved services at lower costs. In relation to social housing maintenance, one way this can be achieved is by identifying repair requirements quickly and fixing them first time. The pressures exerted on social housing providers existed before the current economic problems and in 2005 a study was published (Chartered Institute of Housing, 2005) which tried to identify ways of improving repair services for housing association tenants\nEstablishment of critical success factors: The literature review provides a summary of some of the key issues identified linking maintenance management strategy to social housing. Through reviewing a wider literature base, the findings were analysed using a thematic analysis approach (Grbich, 2007). Grbich (2007) states that thematic analysis is \"a process of data reduction and is one of the major forms of analytic options\". This is further defined by Boyatzis (1998) who breaks down thematic analysis into three phases, \"seeing\", \"encoding\" and \"interpreting\", in which Boyatzis explains that \"recognising a moment (seeing) precedes encoding it (seeing it as something), which in turn precedes interpretation\". In more simple terms, Grbich (2007) refers to data reduction as \"the process of reducing the data into meaningful groupings\", or themes. Subsequently, through the extensive literature review, 11 key themes were identified, to which the authors contend are the critical success factors needed in order to implement an effective maintenance service within registered providers in the UK. Table I provides a summary of the factors (in no particular order), with a brief description and the source material from which the factor was borne.\nResearch methodology: The next phase of the study focuses on determining the perceived level of importance given to each of these critical success factors by those responsible for social housing repairs in the Northwest as well as ascertaining to what degree each of them are put into practice by repairs teams throughout the region.\nData analysis: The study utilised both descriptive and inferential approaches to analyse the data using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences).\nSummary: The findings from the quantitative study confirm that the critical success factors identified within the literature review are all deemed to be \"very\" important by those responsible for social housing repairs in the Northwest, although sustainability and innovation are found to be the \"least\" important factors, receiving the smallest number of \"very\" votes; 51 per cent and 57 per cent respectively.\nFurther research: It would be interesting to examine the barriers to the consideration and implementation of both sustainability and innovation factors in repairs services. It is clear that, regardless of the wealth of guidance and research available that discuss their importance, sustainability and innovation are the least considered elements of a successful repairs and maintenance provision by those involved in the delivery of such services. Their very nature means that they are not going to disappear and industry bodies should be encouraged to portray this message and support their adoption throughout the sector by raising awareness of the benefits they can deliver.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the critical success factors of an effective repairs service by initially identifying what the important considerations are.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using quantitative research methods the study then examines how important each of the factors is considered from the perspective of those responsible for such services in the Northwest of England, the level of implementation throughout the region is also examined.\nFindings: Respondents felt that all 11 factors are perceived as \"very\" important but only nine are \"always\" implemented within their place of work. Sustainability and innovation are identified as the two factors that are least critical. It can also be said that although important and well implemented, the in-house skills factor does not appear to be considered as critical in comparison to the other factors.\nOriginality/value: The UK housing sector is under an enormous amount of pressure to meet the needs of a growing population in extremely uncertain financial conditions. Social housing is a potential solution but providers are currently contending with reduced budgets and cuts to staffing levels together with an expectation that service levels will be maintained and value for money maximised. Repairs and maintenance of their stock is at the forefront of their challenge to meet these expectations and it is therefore vital that the service they provide is effective.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Airline flight deck management techniques applied to business: Links personal performance to technical competence	[ "Leadership development", "Error analysis", "Learning", "Team working" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In 1977 two 747s collide in Tenerife killing 583 people.\nCLRM - decision-making process uses same algorithms: Professional pilots undergo intense, regular training to prepare them for every eventuality and emergency. Particular emphasis is placed on the ability to extract the correct information from a given situation, available equipment and crew; then process it within very restricted time limits and subsequently take appropriate action to correct and restore their circumstances to normal operations.A very important part of their training is relatively new and is called crew leadership resource management (CLRM) more commonly known as crew resource management. It is a mandatory regime that has been adopted by all major airlines throughout the world.I believe that the machinations of business and the commercial world are very similar to those of aviation. In acknowledging human error in corporate business may not result in physical casualties, a bad mistake can lead to a reverse in company fortunes.The command leadership resource management people management program (CLRM) offered by CTL has been adapted from the internationally mandatory training regime for airline crew and concentrates on the links binding personal performance to technical competence.These techniques are used to:* enhance employee interaction;* strengthen client relationships;* reduce losses in capital-intensive projects; and* mitigate human error.Strategic and tactical change within an organization invariably causes uncertainty that often results in reduced performance from key staff. This can be manifested at best by a level of disengagement or, at worst, by the withdrawal of responsibility and a reluctance to take decisions at any level - a breeding ground for corporate error with costly consequences.The direct costs of the event are usually obvious and can be assessed with reasonable speed and accuracy. Very few corporations evaluate the indirect costs of errors within their organizations such as senior management \"downtime\" involved in investigation, legal issues, deflection of media focus, securing and maintaining client/shareholder confidence, replacing/reproducing lost product or services, structural or systemic changes and possible re-staffing of project management or teams.\nKurt Lewin - appreciation of groups: The training program acknowledges the principle identified by Kurt Lewin, the father of social psychology who had a major impact on our appreciation of groups and how to work with them. Lewin's view was that behavior is a function of people and the environment - a change in one will cause the other to change. The consistent theme in his work was his concern for the integration of theory and practice symbolized in his best known quotation \"There is nothing so practical as a good theory\" (Lewin, 1951, p. 169) it is a lesson we still need to learn.\nCLRM management training course: CLRM teaches delegates how to:* solve problems in an ever-changing environment;* share information and tasks;* verbalize thought processes;* deal with the unexpected;* manage concurrent tasks;* develop situational awareness;* improve emotional intelligence;* communicate accurately and rapidly;* handle interruptions;* cope with change; and* delegate effectively.Unlike the health and safety approach which tends to be \"task based\" this program looks at the chemistry (action and reaction) between individuals and the level of magnetism that keeps them and the project on course. Thus the risk of a capital-intensive project overrunning the budget or timeline because of reduced or lack of co-operation between key players is reduced and the indirect cost burden stemming from an error will be mitigated.\nCLRM course in practice: The program is suitable for all companies that rely on teamwork to reach set goals and objectives. It has been designed to benefit all employees, but can be adjusted to comply with seniority, company policy and aspirations. It is more valid for those in management positions who have a good working understanding of the organization's objectives and activities, and for individuals who are, or will be, charged with increasing levels of responsibility.Designed for a maximum of 12 participants, the program is subdivided into three sessions. The first consists of a one-day tutorial that typically takes place in a conventional classroom. During the workshop, the history, principles and application of CLRM are explained.\n24-hour simulator: The second session, which normally follows within ten days of the first session, is a 24-hour \"full immersion\" period in the situation simulator. The simulator environment is unfamiliar to the participants and therefore highly conducive to the learning process and the working content of this session is typically equivalent to two full training days. Participants have the opportunity to react to a series of challenges using the CLRM theory gained from the first tutorial. Delegates process the task information, use the resources available and resolve the issues physically and in real time. The learning experience is more vivid than a paper-based classroom activity and the use of such \"do and learn\" techniques enhances the ability to retain information. Moreover, the simulator session enables organizations to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different individuals and the dynamics of the group, and so aid project personnel selection. An inevitable by-product is an immediate strengthening of group/team related skills that will provide a marked gain in performance.The most powerful aspect of the simulator experience is the focus on issues and dynamics that occur daily in the workplace. A higher level of learning retention is achieved through applying a real and practical approach to non-artificial tasks. Furthermore physical strength and discomfort are not a requirement, thus the course is suitable for males and females of all ages. Emphasis is placed on rapid and accurate communication between individuals and the professional facilitation centers around ensuring a higher level of understanding of the task to hand and the need created by an unfamiliar environment for optimum co-operation.The simulator is a 150-ton ship and the task is the preparation and management of the passage from Canary Wharf to a pre-determined destination outside London. Each delegate spends equal time on all aspects of the task from steering, navigating, managing and operating the ship in an ever-changing, minute to minute, real time on-board environment. No previous nautical skills or experience are enquired.The ship is licensed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and conforms to the workboat code of practice. At all times, there will be a licensed Master and competent crew on board who are responsible for the ship and its passengers at all times. With safety being paramount, the exercise route is kept within the confines of the Thames estuary.The third session is a half-day debriefing, which typically takes place at the client's offices. This session contains an overview of human error, plus its implications and a study of the indirect costs.\nThe client's experience: GBS Corporate Training plc acknowledges the relevance of the techniques and innovative learning format: \"The simplest and most powerful aspect is the ability of the simulator to stimulate issues and dynamics that occur every day in the workplace.\"While there are obvious differences between what happens in an aircraft flight deck and events in a business organization, solving problems in an ever-changing environment, sharing information and tasks, verbalizing thought processes, dealing with the unexpected, managing concurrent tasks, developing situational awareness, improving emotional intelligence, communicating accurately and rapidly, handling interruptions, coping with change and delegating effectively have an important role to play in both situations.Leadership skills at all levels of management are fundamental if corporate aspirations are to be driven to a successful conclusion. Most individuals need physical practice to invoke or improve on such skills.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Introduces Command Leadership and Resource Management (CLRM) and explains the application of this new and unusual method of transferring aviation related leadership skills to the commercial business environment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - CLRM is based on the theory of Kurt Lewin who stated that \"People are a function of behavior and environment: change one and the other will change\". The observation and assessment of individuals' reactions to environmental changes, the team's chemistry (action and reaction) and level of magnetism that keeps the team and the project on course through the application of airline flight deck management techniques.\nFindings: - Forces participants to observe and self assess their mental attributes and to physically test, stretch and employ latent leadership skills in a non artificial, non classroom based environment by facing issues and dynamics which occur daily in the workplace.\nPractical implications: - The application of team related activities such as employee interactions and communicational tasks invoke and improve leadership skills at all levels of management to drive corporate aspirations to successful conclusions.\nOriginality/value: - To the author's best knowledge and belief, the transfer of a mandatory form of aviation management training to the business world using a self contained environment to demonstrate this learning technique has not been previously practiced.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Measuring employee perception of performance management system effectiveness: Conceptualization and scale development	[ "Performance management", "Effectiveness", "Fairness", "Accuracy", "Appraisal" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Exhaustive research is needed to comprehend the effectiveness of performance management systems (PMS) in organizations, particularly from employee perspectives (Dewettinck and van Dijk, 2013; Mishra and Farooqi, 2013; Simmons, 2002). There has been a gradual evolution from performance appraisal systems (PAS) to PMS in practice (Sharma et al., 2008), and academics and practitioners make extensive use of the term \"PMS effectiveness\" (PMSE). They seem to presume the existence of relevant concepts and operational measures, which either do not exist or have not been properly defined. Hence, research in this area is at a standstill (Andersen et al., 2014). PMSE is crucial for organizations to be successful (Wendt, 2014; Blizzard, 2014; Cooke, 2008). Practitioner literature cautions that PMS is likely to fail if employees doubt its credibility. More than organizational reality, PMSE is determined by employee perceptions regarding its accuracy and fairness (Luthra and Jain, 2012). The new breed of PMS needs to put employee in the steering mode (Trosten-Bloom et al., 2014); however, there is a lack of clarity regarding employee perceptions of PMSE.\nLiterature review: Measures of PMS effectiveness have not been well conceptualized in literature and warrant further research (Biron et al., 2011; Thurston and McNall, 2010). Research has recently initiated reflections on \"performance management\" in preference to \"appraisal\" (DeNisi and Smith, 2014). For the current study, PMS is defined as being comprised of four primary stages: performance planning; feedback and coaching; review; and outcomes (Bernthal, 1996). There is a need to do much in scholarship to inform practice about effective performance management. PMS involves wide-ranging activities, with appraisal being its focal point (DeNisi, 2000). \"Appraisal\" is a managerially authorized event conducted once or twice annually. It involves employees' performance evaluations through the assignment of quantitative scores. Despite a shift in practice from \"appraisal\" to \"PMS\", the academic focus is moving in a similar direction but at a snail's pace (Claus and Briscoe, 2009; DeNisi and Pritchard, 2006). The terms \"performance management\" and \"appraisal\" are often used interchangeably (Furnham, 2004; Lawler, 2003; Gosselin et al., 1997), but these definitions suggest that appraisal is an important element of PMS (Biron et al., 2011). Performance management is a more evolved form of appraisal (Bretz et al., 1992). Thus, an approach that may be used to explore PMSE involves understanding employees' perceptions about appraisal through the review of pertinent appraisal literature (Selden and Sowa, 2011). Employees' acceptance of appraisal is a better way of evaluating its effectiveness than the conventional measures like rater errors (Tziner et al., 2000). Mostly, research has looked at appraisal effectiveness through the lens of performance measurement quality or appraisers' perceptions. However, lately there has been a shift from measurement focus in appraisal context to appraisee or broadly, employee focus from performance management perspective (Jawahar, 2007).\nThe scale development and validation process: Review of literature indicated absence of a standardized instrument which can be used or adapted to measure PMS accuracy. Hence, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to develop a psychometrically valid measure of \"employee perception of PMS accuracy\" distinct from their perception about its fairness. Further, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to adapt the organizational justice scale developed by Colquitt (2001) as a measure of \"employee perception of PMS fairness\". Finally, the existence of a two-factor (accuracy and fairness) construct of PMSE was empirically confirmed (Figure 2).\nDiscussion: The current study broadens the scholarship on performance management in significant ways. The limitation of previous studies, which used confounded measures for accuracy and fairness in the performance management context, has been overcome by using their psychometrically valid measures. For this, a scale was developed to measure \"employee perception of PMS accuracy\" and its distinctiveness from \"employee perception of PMS fairness\" was underscored. Rigorous statistical analyses (as elaborated earlier) were carried out to establish its psychometric properties.\nFuture research implications: The current study has key implications for both research and practice. First, there is a need for further theory building in the field of performance management (Den Hartog et al., 2004), and the current study allows additional insights for building frameworks for the extension of existing theories on performance management. Second, it presents future researchers with an opportunity to provide an additional assessment of the predictive validity of employees' perceived \"PMS accuracy\" and \"PMSE\" measures by examining their relationships with a range of employee and organizational outcomes in different socio-cultural and national contexts. Third, a measure for \"employee perception of PMSE\" opens up exciting vistas for future research. The measure can be used to untangle the relationship between PMS and organizational performance. It can be used to detect why even meticulously designed PMS are effective in one firm but not in another. Fourth, an examination of the influence of \"perceived PMSE\" on employee outcomes (i.e. motivation, engagement, performance and retention) can yield rich insights that future studies may embark upon. For richer insights, future researchers can investigate the strength of relationships between the various factors of PMS accuracy, fairness and effectiveness measures and a range of employee outcomes.\nManagerial implications: Practitioners have designed the best PMS from the organizational perspective, but these are still not perceived as being effective by employees. Lack of knowledge about the specific faults associated with different facets of performance management often makes a firm assume that the complete system is ineffective and thus redundant. Old systems are replaced by new without any understanding of the root causes behind their failure (Thurston and McNall, 2010). There are bright prospects of improving PMS and making these \"potentially transformative for organizations\" (Walsh and Fisher, 2005). This is specifically required in the Indian context to reduce employee scepticism towards performance management (Amba-Rao et al., 2000; Pareek and Rao, 2003). The perceived \"PMS accuracy\" and \"PMSE\" measures can serve as powerful investigative tools to measure \"employee perceptions regarding PMS\". This information can be used by management to map and contrast employee perceptions with those of their own. It can help organizations to identify and correct the shortcomings in their existing PMS. Such an understanding can assist in designing and implementing PMS that are acceptable to both the firm and its employees. In particular, the use of PMSE measures developed in this study can allow practitioners with access to information about the multiple intervention points in a PMS to tweak it to make it effective. It can facilitate realization of the attributes that form effective PMS to augment employee outcomes, such as engagement and retention (Saks, 2006; Selden and Sowa, 2011; Kuvaas, 2006).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Concerns about the effectiveness of performance management systems (PMS) have long-driven researchers and practitioners to explore ways of measuring it. It is imperative for organizations to understand, how employees perceive the effectiveness of their PMS, for positive employee outcomes. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to explore the operationalization of the construct \"employee perception of PMS effectiveness\" (PMSE). An evidence of construct validity for the \"two-factor PMS effectiveness\" measure with perceived \"PMS accuracy\" and \"PMS fairness\" as its two factors is provided. In addition, a scale to measure \"employee perception of PMS accuracy\" is developed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Mixed-methods research methodology.\nFindings: Findings confirmed the possible existence of the two-factor PMSE construct, with PMS accuracy and fairness as its factors. Construct validity is established through its correlations with important outcome variables. The development of a valid and reliable 12-item scale for perceived PMS accuracy (Cronbach a value=0.83) is an additional key contribution.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research presents opportunities for future empirical studies to examine the influence of PMS accuracy and effectiveness on employee outcomes (engagement, retention, etc.). Researchers may also cross-validate the PMSE measure in different socio-cultural contexts.\nPractical implications: The perceived PMS accuracy and effectiveness measures can serve as powerful investigative tools to measure employee perceptions regarding PMS. It can help organizations identify and correct the shortcomings in their existing PMS.\nOriginality/value: This is the first paper to offer a cogent conceptualization and operationalization of employee perceptions of PMS accuracy and effectiveness. Hence, it has key implications for academics and practitioners.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A new model for evaluating the effect of cloud computing on the e-learning development	[ "Development", "Service", "Education", "E-Learning", "Cloud computing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Towards the end of the twentieth century, dramatic societal changes took place with breakthroughs in the form of new information and communication technologies (Alexandersson and Limberg, 2012). Information technology (IT) has redefined and transformed the relationship between various stakeholders in the same business domain (Gerhardt and Mackenzie-Philps, 2018; Gupta et al., 2018). In recent years, cloud computing emerged as advanced technology that accelerated the innovations for education. e-Learning is one of the ways in which the gap between traditional and smart education is bridged (van Biljon and van der Merwe, 2018). The adoption of the internet in education has entirely re-structured the learning and training model. So for pacing the e-learning system to enhance the latest multimedia and communication technology, we need cloud computing, which seems to be the best solution. Cloud computing is an excellent alternative for academic organizations and institutions that have a low budget for hosting and operating their online learning systems (Siddiqui et al., 2019). The cloud e-learning innovation is recognized as an effective alternative technology over conventional e-learning (Patel and Padhiar, 2018). Moreover, IT is perceived as life's indispensable and effective element and has turned to be the modern culture's most distinctive characteristic (Bandera et al., 2018; Hanninen et al., 2018; Zareie and Jafari Navimipour, 2016). With the extensive use of computers in businesses, homes and academic institutions, as well as rapid advances in technology, there is an excellent chance to support and create learning with a new culture (Al-Zoube et al., 2010). Physical world, information space and human society can be integrated completely and connected with the help of different technologies like cloud and grid computing. For example, by Expert Cloud, the users without having any information about experts' location can request the expertise, knowledge and skill by using concepts of infrastructures of cloud computing and the internet (Fouladi and Navimipour, 2017; Jafari Navimipour, 2015). Because of the convenience of the internet in both entertainment and professional services availability, its importance in data sharing and transferring facilitator information hub has expanded recently (Jafari Navimipour and Sharifi Milani, 2015). For decades, organizations have had to constantly adapt themselves to technological changes. This is because of the rapid development of ICTs; this is especially true for educational organizations. To meet policy standards, these organizations were required to adjust their technologies; thus, improving capability to organize systems of learning and update models of teaching is essential (Yoosomboon and Wannapiroon, 2015). In communities of practice, learning takes place when participants engage in highly interactive practices. The notion of situated learning implies an iterative and recursive process, in which each actional context generates new meaning, understanding and learning and does not necessarily imply that in the process the learner acquires a set of fixed mental representations or self-contained structures (Powell and Pieczka, 2016). Cloud-based e-learning, a future of e-learning infrastructure, is migration of the cloud computing technology into the e-learning field, in which all the necessary IT resources are engaged in e-learning. Existing literature describes how e-learning services play an effective role in teaching and how cloud computing has an important role in the future of distance education (Alabbadi, 2011). Nevertheless, there are a number of risks and challenges of adopting cloud computing into e-learning services such as charge, bandwidth, security, user idea, forms and methods, management roles and resources (Watfa, 2016). Also, these resources can be delivered to educational businesses, students and institutions to rent computing resources, and they are virtualized (Masud and Huang, 2012). With a self-regulated, cost-efficient, flexible and reliable infrastructure, cloud computing provides an ecosystem of e-learning (Dong et al., 2009).\n2. Literature review: To have successfully connected online social media and cloud technology users to the internet, educational institutions that wish to apply learning models based on cloud should be ready in the aspects of their network systems and infrastructure needs (Yoosomboon and Wannapiroon, 2015). With some prominent features of cloud computing, it was very popular in many fields, particularly in learning and education (Bala, 2015; Milani and Navimipour, 2018). Improving the software architectures, the growth of technologies' standardization in a dramatic way and the internet's popularity paved the way for cloud computing (Hajizadeh and Jafari Navimipour, 2017). Google predicted that services and software in large numbers will move to the cloud someday. The rapid growth of cloud computing is demonstrated by the speed and ease with which companies can adopt the cloud model's economic benefits (Thompson et al., 2009; Xia et al., 2018). Gong et al. (2010a, 2010b) have discussed the characteristics of cloud computing. The key difference compared with other academic research is owning the model of business which helps the cloud flourish. By relieving IT companies from the requirement of setting up basic IT infrastructures, the cloud provides them with a significant benefit, and therefore, innovation is emphasized more, and their services are provided with a business value (Beloglazov et al., 2012; Hajizadeh and Jafari Navimipour, 2017). Cloud computing had since become the mainstream trend, and it was one of IT's most significant advancements in the past decade (Chen et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2019). It is a network system distributed on a large scale and implemented based on data centers. Generally, the cloud services can be classified based on a layer concept (Dinh et al., 2013; Mohammadi and Navimipour, 2017).\n3. Methodology: In the landscape of higher education, both as a ubiquitous computing tool and a powerful platform, cloud computing has significantly enhanced educational educators and researchers' engagement to improve, understand and practice, and thus, increase students' quality of learning outcomes (El Khatib and Opulencia, 2015). This paper's goal is examining the cloud computing influence on e-learning development. The research hypotheses and conceptual model, measurement model, target population and instruments are described in the remainder of this section.\n4. Results: By use of partial least squares, an analysis by structural equation modeling was performed (Chiu et al., 2009). An estimation procedure of least squares is used by PLS that while placing minimal demands on distributional assumptions, sample size, and measurement scales, it allows the flexibility to represent both formative and reflective latent constructs. Data analysis was conducted in the following two stages:\n5. Discussion and implication: Currently, many forms of conventional education are becoming unable to catch up with the changes of learning demand in time, not being suitable for requirements of developments in education and social progress and, therefore, networks of the computer have created opportunities for this issue. Nowadays, students are expecting more effective services from their institutions. Their classes do not get over with school timings. Rather, their learning continues 24 x 7, wherein they expect their educational institutions to keep pace with their demands. Owing to the effective usage and dynamic scalability, cloud computing turning into an attractive technology; it can be used in the condition of limited available resources. The e-learning platform can create a good learning environment for learners because it is based on the video, graphics, integrating text, the Web and other multimedia resources in the model of cloud computing. For traditional teaching resources' management, at the same time, it uses many current information technologies. Therefore, a model of research is presented to examine the influence of cloud computing on e-learning development. By a questionnaire administered to 106 academic staff of the Tabriz branch of IAU, the model was evaluated. In detail, as expected, cloud security and encryption, resource virtualization, on-demand self-service, ease of use, flexible, storage and capacity, elasticity and scalability and cost of service were found to be as important variables influencing e-learning development. Results of statistical analyses and hypothesis test indicate that the cloud has a direct effect on e-learning development. As indicated in Tables IV-VII, the sample t-test and the path coefficient results implied that quality of cloud services has a significant and positive influence on development of cloud-based e-learning (path coefficient = 0.15, t-value = 2.60). Quality of cloud services includes availability and reliability, cost flexibility, ease of use and waiting time. The influence between the cloud features and the development of cloud-based e-learning is positive and significant (path coefficient = 0.21, t-value = 4.41). Cloud features include the sub-indicators of pay-per-use, resource virtualization, fault tolerance and on-demand self-service. In addition, the university readiness influence on development of cloud-based e-learning is positive and significant (path coefficient = 0.34, t-value = 7.55). University readiness includes the sub-indicators of management support, network bandwidth, compatibility and technical support. In addition, the users' readiness (usage skills, knowledge, awareness and experience) impact on the development of cloud-based e-learning is significant (path coefficient = 0.41, t-value = 10.85). With the proliferation of cloud computing and similar paradigms like mobile cloud computing, e-learning technology has created waves in the education sector. The advantages brought to e-learning by cloud computing would easily become apparent by analyzing its characteristics. Developers of e-learning lower their dependency on professional knowledge and no longer needed to concern about the minor balance between resources and hardware. Second, e-learning systems' users to interact with the e-learning systems through an internet connection, would only need having some devices which are low-cost and lightweight, like a tablet or a smartphone. In the end, all data, progress reports or personal notes, used with the e-learning program would be backed up and saved automatically which greatly reduces the storage spaces and times of management of data with improved security. It is believed that cloud computing and e-learning system correlation would become the conventional approach that combined the fields of education and information technology. Therefore, the following implications and limitations are offered:\n6. Conclusion and limitations: Cloud is a model by which on-demand, convenient and ubiquitous access of network to many resources is enabled and can be released and provisioned fast with minimal interaction of service provider or management effort. With some prominent features as resulted by virtualization in resources' availability at any time and anywhere paying for the resources as per the usage on predefined-based metrics, and accessing the computational resources on the internet without reference to the service provider, one can recognize the cloud computing. In this research, we tried to describe the architecture of the cloud computing platform by the combination of the e-learning features, introduce the current e-learning characteristics and then analyze the cloud computing's concept and attach cloud computing to e-learning, all to give the cloud computing's advantages. From 108 academic staff of IAU, Tabriz branch, data were gathered. The structural model was tested by using SmartPLS 3.2, after performing acceptable validity and reliability checks. By the hypotheses of the research which are supported by a meticulous analysis, the measurement of the e-learning development had been provided.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite the importance of investigating the impact of cloud computing on the e-learning process, the relationship development between the two is not examined well. Thus, the main goal of this research is to assess how to improve the e-learning process by using cloud services. This paper aims to attempt to investigate the impact of cloud computing on e-learning development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper is based on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. For review-related work and statistical analysis of questionnaires, the SPSS 22 and SMART-PLS 3.2 software package are used.\nFindings: The results from the study show that e-learning development is significantly influenced by the quality of services, cloud features, university readiness and users' readiness.\nOriginality/value: The adoption of cloud technology within an instructional environment has the capacity of offering new opportunities for improvement and innovation for gaining knowledge of the process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Volunteering as a mechanism to reduce guilt over purchasing luxury items	[ "Luxury marketing", "Consumer psychology", "Consumption guilt", "Indulgent choice", "Moral licensing", "Moral self-concept" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this issue.\n1. Introduction: \"After all the hard work, you leave now!\" This is the advertising headline of a credit card, launched by Hyundai in 2002. Though the sponsoring firm did not like this headline, it has been a big success for years. As the above story shows, self-licensing is the tendency to rely on reasons and arguments such as effort and good deed to justify subsequent gratification, biased, or illegal behavior (Witt Huberts et al., 2012). When the justification comes from moral behaviors, it is called moral licensing. This concept is rooted in \"credentialing theory\" suggested by Monin and Miller (2001), who showed that establishing credentials as a non-prejudiced person allows people to express biased attitudes. Khan and Dhar (2006), in a consumer behavior domain, extended Monin and Miller's credentialing study into consumer behavior and showed that intending to help the needy in an initial task is likely to activate and establish moral credentials and thus liberate people to choose luxury over functional items.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Previous research on self-licensing\n3. The present study: The present study used a passive goal guidance model as a research framework in which volunteering is used as a long-term goal people pursue in life, the progress toward which leads people to deviate from the pursuit of that goal and behave in a deviant manner. This will be discussed further in later sections. Experiment 1 tests the consequences of a licensing effect on subsequent ratings between a luxury item and a value item. Experiment 1 confirms the previously demonstrated licensing effect and validates our dependent measures. Experiment 2 examines two varied levels of volunteering acts and the mediating role of moral self-evaluation in a more stringent way by comparing moral self-evaluation between the control condition and licensing condition, as well as comparing those ratings before and after the manipulation. Experiment 3 examines the mediating role of reduced guilt in the effect of licensing on intent-to-purchase ratings for indulgent items.\n4. Conclusion: Recent consumer choice research has focused on decisions that follow other decisions (Dhar and Simonson, 1999; Novemsky and Dhar, 2005) and multiple goal management (Laran and Janiszewski, 2009). This article examined how prior intent (or act) to perform volunteering licenses people to make subsequent indulgent decisions. This process is mediated by changes in both moral self-evaluation and reduced guilt in its effect of relative ratings on luxury and value brands. Our results demonstrated that the relative preference for a luxury brand over a value brand is higher if people intend to volunteer in the near or have done so in the past. This licensing effect occurs because this virtuous intent boosts moral self-evaluations and simultaneously reduces negative self-attributions (i.e. reduced guilt).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The present study aims to demonstrate that the volunteering licenses people to indulge in luxury purchase, and both heightened moral self-evaluation and reduced guilt mediate the effect of licensing on ratings of a luxury item by implementing three experimental studies. This study explained the moral licensing behavior using a passive goal guidance model: i.e., people license themselves to indulge when people perceive progress on one of their long-term goals.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this paper, three experiments were used to test hypotheses.\nFindings: The present paper is new in terms of three aspects. First, moral self-evaluation as a mediator is tested using a more stringent method in comparison to prior studies. Second, reduced guilt which had not yet been explicitly tested is established as a mediator. Third, the present study demonstrates that the passive goal guidance model as a valid theory in explaining the licensing behavior by showing that when people perceive progress in a long-term goal by helping others in need, they are more likely to engage in dysfunctional luxury brand purchases. Previous studies have used credentialing theory to explain this.\nOriginality/value: The present study established and confirmed that reduced guilt is a mediator in the licensing effect on the purchase of luxury items.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Why people participate in the sharing economy: an empirical investigation of Uber	[ "Sharing economy", "Collaborative consumption", "Access economy", "Extended valence framework", "Peer-to-peer ridesharing", "Uber" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The premise of the sharing economy is to unleash the value from underutilized personal commodities (Dillahunt and Malone, 2015). Specifically, the sharing economy in the contemporary context involves coordinating the acquisition and distribution of an underutilized resource for a fee or other forms of monetary compensation (Belk, 2014). Powered by advanced information technologies, the sharing economy presents an emerging trend that is transforming the society and the business world today. Organizations adopting sharing economy business models do not themselves own any commodity but develop platforms to connect providers and users of on-demand services. Fast-growing international corporates, such as Uber and Airbnb, have been proved successful in adopting such innovative business models (PwC, 2015).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 The sharing economy\n3. Research model and hypotheses: The research model was built on the extended valence framework (Kim et al., 2009). The framework suggests that user participation in technology-enabled commerce is influenced by perceived risks, perceived benefits, and trust. In this study, we conceptualized perceived risks as privacy risk and security risk, perceived benefits as enjoyment and economic reward, and trust as trust in the platform. Since the provision of sharing economy services hinges on the information and networking technologies, we also incorporated perceived platform qualities, consisting of information quality and system quality, into the proposed research model. Figure 1 depicts the research model.\n4. Research methodology: 4.1 Research design\n5. Data analysis: 5.1 Preliminary analysis\n6. Discussion: The sharing economy constitutes an emerging phenomenon and is receiving significant attention from both the public and academic community. This study aims to explain user participation in the sharing economy and to bridge research gaps as identified in the review of the prior literature. While previous studies on the sharing economy have focused on organizational-level issues and have been qualitative in nature, we drew on the extended valence framework and proposed a research model to empirically examine the effects of inhibiting, motivating, and technological factors on users' intention to participate in the sharing economy. We tested the research model with 295 responses collected from users of Uber. All the hypotheses were supported, providing strong statistical evidence that perceived risks, perceived benefits, and trust in the platform are important determinants of users' intention to participate in Uber. In addition, perceived platform qualities instill users' trust in the platform, playing a substantial role in influencing users' intention to participate in the sharing economy.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of inhibiting, motivating, and technological factors on users' intention to participate in the sharing economy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A self-reported online survey was conducted among Uber users in Hong Kong. A total of 295 valid responses were collected. The research model was empirically tested using the structural equation modeling technique.\nFindings: The results suggested that perceived risks, perceived benefits, trust in the platform, and perceived platform qualities were significant predictors of users' intention to participate in Uber.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study bridged the research gaps in the sharing economy literature by examining the effects of perceived risks, perceived benefits, and trust in the platform on users' intention to participate in the sharing economy. Moreover, this study enriched the extended valence framework by incorporating perceived platform qualities into the research model, responding to the calls for the inclusion of technological variables in information systems research.\nPractical implications: The findings provided practitioners with insights into enhancing users' intention to participate in the sharing economy.\nOriginality/value: This study presented one of the first attempts to systematically examine the effects of inhibiting, motivating, and technological factors on users' intention to participate in the sharing economy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Africa rising in an emerging world: an international marketing perspective	[ "International marketing", "Sub-Saharan Africa", "Subsistence consumption", "New marketing approaches" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The last four decades have witnessed major transformations in the business landscape in many Sub-Saharan African markets (Addison et al., 2002; Amankwah-Amoah, 2016; Frynas and Mellahi, 2003). Although disastrous events in the African continent have dominated scholarly and policy discussion on the state of affairs in Sub-Sahara Africa and its implications for businesses, the continent has witnessed substantial progress in business, industrial and social-economic growth in recent years (Kamoche et al., 2012; Pinkovskiy and Sala-i-Martin, 2014). For example, Africa is now a home to some of the fastest and vibrant global giants such as the Bidvest Group and Sonatrach, with an estimated sales in excess of USD 72bn (The African Report, 2013). These Africa originating businesses are prospering largely because Sub-Saharan Africa is currently one of the fastest-growing regions in the world in terms of economics and demographics (World Bank, 2016). These growth prospects are forcing major investors to review their perspectives about the continent as many are beginning to view Sub-Saharan Africa as an attractive location for foreign direct investments (FDI) (UNCTAD, 2012). In fact, in view of the changing dynamics and increasingly welcoming business-friendly policies adopted by many African Governments in recent years, an increasing number of industrialized Western and Eastern multinational enterprises such as Microsoft, General Electric and Haier have begun to look to Sub-Saharan Africa to scale up their growth (Khanna et al., 2005; Ozawa and Bellak, 2011). This ensuing competitive landscape taking shape across Sub-Saharan Africa has an increased pressure on local African firms to adopt market-centric principles while at the same time leveraging their local advantage to strengthen their competitiveness at home and abroad.\nAn emerging Africa: trends, challenges and international marketing opportunities: Several non-business-friendly events (including incidence of civil conflicts) have disrupted efforts by many Sub-Saharan African countries to increase their global market competitiveness. In recent years, however, several Sub-Saharan African nations such as Ivory Coast and Rwanda, which have experienced civil conflicts, have dramatically recovered and are undergoing rapid economic transformations (De Vries et al., 2015). Good governance, political stability and economic and institutional reforms have supported much of this progress (The Economist, 2016; Noman and Stiglitz, 2015). Furthermore, it has been argued that the rapid growth that many African countries are experiencing is premised on a growing young population, estimated to be about 1.2 bn and projected to be more than 2 bn by 2050 (The Economist, 2016; United Nations, 2015). This prospect of economic growth and demographic advantage provides opportunities for new business formation and growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (Nyuur et al., 2016; Darley et al., 2013). The evolving socio-economic and demographic landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa has also provided opportunity for existing businesses to explore new consumption patterns across the continent for new revenue streams and growth drivers.\nOverview of the special issue articles: The papers, which survived the review process and made it into this special issue, are insightful in their own right and present exciting scholarly works that explore international marketing activities within the unique contexts of Sub-Saharan African markets. In particular, the seven papers included in this special issue draw insights from multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives to present interesting scholarly discourse on international marketing practices of African firms. For example, Narteh and Acheampong (2018) use data from World Bank enterprise surveys to explore the relationship between foreign participation in African enterprises and internationalization intensity, and examined a number of interesting boundary conditions. The authors find that increased foreign participation in African enterprises helps boost internationalization intensity of African firms. A more interesting finding from this study is that as African firms become more successful in terms of financial performance and as their financial management skills, product quality levels and local market competition increased, the potency of foreign participation in the management of these enterprises diminishes. Interestingly, foreign participation is heightened as the African firms become larger and more inclined to venturing into foreign markets beyond Sub-Saharan Africa.\nConclusion and future research opportunities: This introductory paper sets out to review and synthesize the burgeoning streams of African marketing research with a focus on exploring how marketing strategies deployed by Sub-Saharan African businesses help inform scholarly knowledge on the international marketing management. Based on the review of the existing literature on marketing research on African firms and the papers included in this special issue, a number of promising avenue for future research are proposed. First, there remains a need for the development of indigenous concepts and issues to explain the effects of institution-based factors such as culture, language, norms and local traditions on marketing management in Africa (Newenham-Kahindi, 2009). In this direction, the question of how local culture influences the international and domestic marketing strategy of African firms represents a promising area of research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight important contemporary themes in international marketing strategy from the perspective of Sub-Saharan African firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach adopted is a review and synopsis of the existing body of research on international marketing research in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a discussion of the manuscripts included in the special issue.\nFindings: International marketing in Sub-Sahara Africa is growing steadily, driven largely by rapid changes in socio-economic and demographic characteristics of consumers in this market. The growing appetite of multinational enterprises to explore new growth opportunities on this continent and the increasing intra-Africa cross-border transactions is driving unique approaches to international marketing that are predicated on using non-traditional means to produce, communicate and distribute products and services.\nResearch limitations/implications: While the international marketing opportunities and challenges discussed in this paper are not exhaustive, the paper highlights important research themes that need consideration regarding international marketing research in Sub-Saharan Africa.\nOriginality/value: This introductory paper emphasizes the unique international business landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa and discusses its international marketing strategy implications. The paper further draws attention to a number of unanswered research questions that require additional research, and thus bring Sub-Saharan Africa to international marketing scholarly enquiry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Communications and business value: measuring the link	[ "Corporate communications", "Intangible assets", "Business performance", "Measurement" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In the past several years, determining the effectiveness of communications activities has become increasingly important both to communications professionals and to members of the C-suite. In 2004, the Communications Executive Council (CEC) published Report from the Front on Communications Performance Measurement: Results of Member Survey, which relayed the responses of hundreds of chief communication officers in major corporations; 79 percent of the respondents stated they believed communication performance measurement was more important than it had been three years earlier. Survey respondents also ranked \"Measuring and communicating effectiveness of the function\" as the second most important issue facing the communications industry.\nThe importance of measuring communications: Despite the ongoing debate about the relevance of measuring the results of communications efforts, measurement is important because:* it enables communications professionals to meet demands from CEO's and other senior managers;* it justifies communication budgets; and* it allows communications professionals to develop more effective communications strategies and apply those strategies to all C-level functions to prompt better business outcomes.Meeting demands from senior management\nThe insufficiency of current measurement efforts: Communications professionals have dedicated much of their time to determining what to measure and which measurement tools to use because they feel the need to demonstrate the value they add. As a result of these efforts, communications professionals are data rich and information poor - they can calculate advertising equivalencies, count clips, and analyze message pull-through - but existing tools are unable to demonstrate the links between communications activities and business outcomes or to account for the value those activities create. The failure is not in companies' willingness or ability to collect data - the average company uses 20 measures in its efforts to demonstrate communication value according to the Communications Executive Council (CEC) Report from the Front on Communications Performance Measurement - but what those companies do with the data after they collect it.To date, measurement tools have failed to evolve to the point where they can accurately reflect the value of communications (Creamer, 2004). This failure may explain the disparity between interest in measurement and the resources devoted to it. In December 2004, PR News reported the results of a survey it conducted with Counselors Academy, a division of the Public Relations Society of America composed of senior public relations professionals. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said that measuring the ROI of PR was their top concern in 2005. However, just a week earlier, PR News had reported that only 8 percent of respondents to another survey spent over $2,000 annually on media measurement, one of the most common forms of measurement. One agency leader calls the current inability to demonstrate the cause-and-effect relationship between PR input and business value the industry's \"Achilles heel\" (Marketing, 2004, p. 43).Communications professionals have been measuring the results of their activities for decades. As the ideas around measurement have evolved, so have the variety of measures available. From media tracking to issue analysis, measurement has become more sophisticated in recent years as technology has evolved to support more advanced tools and demands for corporate accountability have increased. Yet today's measurement efforts are still insufficient to meet the industry's demands.More meaningful data\nObstacles to developing measurement programs: If measurement is so important and there is such a clear need for using measurement data differently, why has this problem not been solved? Among the most commonly cited obstacles to the development of a solution is the more typical qualitative, rather than quantitative, bent of communications professionals, the majority of whom are educated in the arts and humanities and lack training in quantitative skills (Macnamara, 2004). Even if this has historically been true, the perception seems to be changing - according to results from a 2004 IPR roundtable, as communications curricula increasingly incorporate analytics and communications professionals come with MBAs, they have become more open to quantifying the results of their efforts. But there are even more deeply rooted obstacles to measurement.Concerns about the expense of measurement\nThe benefits of better measurement capabilities: Despite the obstacles, once the link between communications activities and business outcomes is clear, the communications industry and businesses will reap great benefits, including:* more respect for communications professionals and for the industry as a whole, leading to a seat at the table with senior management;* greater control over communications efforts, enabling communicators to craft better strategies;* increased funding, possibly diverting budget away from advertising; and* better business outcomes.A seat at the table\nA new measurement solution: As discussed above, to gain credibility with senior managers, earn recognition as strategic assets to corporations, and show that corporate communication adds as much, if not more, value than advertising, communications professionals must demonstrate that their efforts contribute to business outcomes. The communications industry has been missing a tool that can isolate the impact of communications activities from the many other factors that influence business outcomes and express the value created by these activities in terms that senior managers understand. Due to the current business environment, pressures to provide this evidence are only becoming stronger and the potential benefits are greater than ever before. We believe the key to making this possible is the ability to measure intangible assets using statistical analysis.The solution we have developed uses existing measurement data that many companies already have, applies a sophisticated statistical model to the data, and identifies the causal relationships between communications activities and business value. The key to making this possible is the ability to measure intangible assets using statistical analysis.Intangible assets\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This research examines the importance of measurement in the communications industry and business in general, the insufficiency of measurement in communications, how communications professionals' measurement needs are changing, obstacles to meeting measurement needs, and the potential benefits from understanding the link between intangibles and business value.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Research methods used to link communications activities to business outcomes included statistical analysis (collecting, evaluating, and drawing conclusions from data) of intangible assets, or non-accounting, non-financial business drivers such as people, ideas and relationships. Measurement data was based on information companies already owned, including media content analysis data and employee survey results.\nFindings: - Pilot studies have demonstrated that this model will provide greater insight into how intangibles such as communication activities contribute to business outcomes that matter to senior management and will eliminate the obstacles to measurement - concerns about expense, fear of results, and isolation of the effect of individual activities.\nOriginality/value: - This discussion is essential to understanding that the communications industry in particular and corporations as a whole need a way to add meaning to the data they already have; to link existing data to business outcomes; and to demonstrate that effective communications activities and other intangibles move organizations toward their business objectives.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Towards 100 years of educating the information professions at UCL SLAIS	[ "Libraries", "Archiving", "Records management", "Information management", "Professional education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The University College London (UCL) School of Library, Archive and Information Studies (SLAIS) has a long history of providing professional training and education - indeed as the home of the British School of Librarianship established in the wake of the First World War in 1919 (Shepherd, 2004), it has the longest history of any existing UK higher education establishment providing such a service. As such, its activities have developed proactively through the years to reflect the evolving demands of the information professions, expanding from its original compass of librarianship to include every field of records, archives and information management and science. It established the first UK archival programme in 1947 (with Liverpool also starting such a programme in the same year); it was the first to introduce a professional development MSc in Information Science (as opposed to a first professional qualification) in the 1980s; and most recently it has established the new UCL Centre for Publishing to build on the work of the Centre for Information Behaviour and the Evaluation of Research (CIBER) group at SLAIS, whose Virtual Scholar research programme has already attracted over PS1 million for research in electronic publishing and informatics (CIBER, 2005). Today SLAIS is the only UK school to embrace and teach all the information skills from the most traditional, such as palaeography and manuscript studies, to the most modern, such as web design and electronic publishing, across all the professional information disciplines, within a single department. It is in part to celebrate that fact, and in part to promulgate why we think such an approach is important, that this special issue of Aslib Proceedings has been assembled.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to introduce the theme of this special issue which contains a selection of papers written by the staff of UCL SLAIS.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The history of the School is briefly described and its philosophy of taking a broad and inclusive approach to professional education is reviewed.\nFindings: - There is considerable benefit to professional education in an institution which incorporates all branches of information work, and retains a sense of the value of traditional skills in tandem with an exploitation of new technologies. The contributors to this issue reflect this both by the range of disciplines which they represent and by the range of topics, from the most traditional to the most modern, and demonstrate the synergy between them.\nOriginality/value: - The article provides an introduction to the special issue and promotes the value of an inclusive approach to professional education in the information disciplines.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]

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