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Purchase intention of organic food under the influence of attributes, consumer trust and perceived value	[ "Organic food", "Sensory appeal", "Trust", "Perceived value", "Purchase intention" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Sustainability has been widely discussed in the current global scenario, thanks to people's growing ecological awareness and the emergence of pro-environmental movements (Bamberg & Moser, 2007). This has strengthened consumers' wish and need to get products that match this new perspective (Aertsens, Mondelaers, Verbeke, Buysse, & Van Huylenbroeck, 2011). They are consumers increasingly aware of the consequences of their consumption acts, which form a segment called \"green market,\" or the green consumer's market (Peattie, 2010). In the food sector, there is a significant increase of the demand for organic products. They are consumers who continually incorporate these products into their daily eating habits (Aschemann-Witzel & Hamm, 2010). This is explained by their changes of attitude, beliefs, values and motivations, and by a more critical position regarding food safety and the consumption of processed food (Wilcock, Pun, Khanona, & Aung, 2004; Nocella & Kennedy, 2012).\n2. Theoretical background: Purchase intention\n3. Method: This research is a survey-type descriptive and quantitative study, and relies on the application of a structured questionnaire. It relies on a non-probabilistic convenience sampling, which resulted in a sample of 310 consumers of organic food. After data treatment, the checking of missing values and multivariate extreme cases (by Mahalanobis distance), it ended up with 247 valid cases.\n4. Results: In order to achieve the research goals, we initially carried out EFAs for the constructs of attributes, perceived value, trust and purchase intention.\n5. Discussion: We reached several results throughout the study. Initially, regarding the sample profile, many respondents mentioned supermarkets as a place for buying organic food. This fact is in line with Guivant (2003), who mentioned the expansion of the organic food market in Brazil, which is no longer exclusive of specialized stores and street markets; supermarkets play a dominant role among supply channels.\n6. Conclusions: The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of attributes, perceived value and trust on the purchase intention of consumers of organic food. To do this, we collected data and submitted them to EFA and multiple regressions. Results indicated that emotional value, economic value, social value, trust and the sensory attribute affect purchase intention. The first was the strongest predictor, and the last emerged as a negative an unexpected result.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The consumption of organic food increases worldwide, which raises the need for studies that try to understand the variables that affect the consumption of this kind of food. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of attributes, consumer trust and perceived value on purchase intention of organic food.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A descriptive quantitative research was conducted through a survey of 247 valid cases of organic food consumers. For the purposes of analysis, exploratory factorial and linear regression analyzes were chosen.\nFindings: Exploratory factor analysis showed that all tested constructs were valid for the Brazilian context. Linear regression analyses showed that emotional value, consumer trust and the attribute \"sensory appeal\" affect the purchase intention of organic food. Emotional value had a stronger relationship and sensory appeal showed a negative relationship with purchase intention.\nPractical implications: Research results can help managers increase the likelihood of buying organic foods through strategic marketing management focused on emotional value and sensory appeal factors.\nOriginality/value: The study offers value to the study of organic foods in view that this theme is not much explored in the Brazilian scenario even with the market in an increasing pattern, as well as the combination of perceived value, attributes, trust and purchase intention as variables in a single prediction model.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
"In spite of the way the world is": What United States educators can learn from their counterparts in Cuba	[ "Comparative education", "Border pedagogy", "Critical border praxis" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This study of social educators in Cuba was conducted toward the end of the second Obama presidential administration in the USA at a time when commercial flights were commencing between the USA and Cuba. Since the research was conducted, however, the opportunities for dialogue among Cuban and educators are now closing due to recent decrees issued by the US national government. As of June 4, 2019 the Trump administration imposed new restrictions on Americans going to Cuba. The USA will not permit group educational and cultural trips known as \"people to people\" trips to the island the Treasury Department announced. In effect, the US Department of the Treasury seeks to discourage and intimidate would-be educational researchers with additional layers of bureaucratic procedures.\nEducation in Cuba: Educators perform their responsibilities under unique conditions influenced by that country's historical background, sociocultural conditions and government policies. These circumstances influence the present day curriculum, and, in some cases, place constraints on the discourses that take place in classrooms. In Cuba, education is the social institution that follows the Jose Marti's notion of \"To educate is to free.\"\nTheoretical framework: Paolo Freire visited Cuba to observe the successes of that country's literacy campaign, and Freire's experiences in Cuba influenced his overall perspectives. In effect, Cuban literacy workers undertook a \"conscientization\" process (Freire, 2005) and sought to awaken the minds of their students to the oppression that had pervaded their lives, through their teachings. In Cuba, the pedagogical approaches were much more explicit with regard to political topics; Freire favored a slower, discovery approach to the selection of active, generative themes (Kozol, 1978). Working-class learners in Brazil eventually generated topics very similar to those set forth in Cuba, the process of learning was of paramount importance to Freire. In Cuba, the urgency of the revolution and the economic and military threats posed by the USA engendered a more direct and politically charged approach to the problem of illiteracy (Supko, 1998, p. 12).\nQuestions guiding research: This study focused on how Cuban educators taught, discussed and addressed US international policies in classrooms. Cuban professors of pedagogy were asked to respond to a common set of face-to-face interview question, and structured observations were made at the various Cuban school sites. Overall, research focused on how Cuban educators taught, discussed and addressed US international policies in classrooms. The following questions guided research:\nMethod: As part of an educational exchange between US and Cuban universities, US educators applied for a program co-sponsored by the Pedagogical University Enrique Jose Varona, the University of Havana and participating US universities. US participants visited cultural sites, engaged in official functions, and presented workshops at the participating universities, a Havana university preparatory school, a rural public middle school, a Havana elementary school, government pre-school, cultural centers and an annual literacy conference. For the purposes of this study, the researcher interviewed and surveyed educators who taught university students in pedagogy. Ten professors of pedagogy participated by responding to open-ended questions. Another Cuban professor assisted in the bilingual interviews, providing translations whenever needed and serving to clarify communications, whether verbal or non-verbal. Informal interviews and translations were conducted with school administrators and teachers. Observations took place in middle school, preparatory high school and university school sites and classrooms. Data were collected from personal observations, photographs, video recordings and audio recordings.\nFindings: Research consisted of interviews, focus group sessions and observations conducted with Cuban university professors of pedagogy at school sites in and around Havana, Cuba. Transcriptions and notations provided the researcher with categories of data. The following sections elaborate on the four main emergent categories: curriculum emphasis, discussion of US international policies, comparative perspectives of government and society and self-reflections on Cuban education. The accounts of participants from their one-on-one interviews, focus group sessions and classroom visits are reported under the aforementioned headings.\nDiscussion: Cuban educators noted it was important for educators in the USA and Cuba to conduct educational exchanges and communications as current and historical problems are a part of discussions in Cuban classrooms. The proximity of Cuba to the USA allows for tensions that are part of the everyday lives of most educators and their students alike. At the same time, Cuba and the USA share a common history. From the hopes of Cubans for positive relations with the USA during the Cuban revolution against Spanish rule, when colonial Cuba played the role of a key site for the transport of supplies to modern disagreements, including the US trade embargo and treaty issues, there have always been important contacts between Cuba and the USA. US historical figures such Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr are deemed role models for Cuban students.\nImplications: If future relations between Cuba and the USA are deemed uncertain, critical border praxis has an essential role in addressing new sets of uncertainties. This study recommends that educational communities engage in discourses addressing ongoing issues facing our dynamic, fluid border environs. Critical border praxis provides conditions in which we, as educators and members of diverse communities of learners, become cross-borders and broaden our possibilities to achieve what had been considered the unattainable. Resources need to be prioritized and redirected toward educational efforts on national, state and local levels so critical border praxis becomes a reality. Both societies, Cuba and the USA, should make even larger investments in their educational systems. Through transnational and transborder engagements, such as educational exchanges, both US and Cuban educators are provided opportunities to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of their own educational systems. The role of education, formal and informal, then serves to transform perceptions one-by-one, school-by-school, community-by-community and to influence policy makers to reconstruct education country-by-country as part of pragmatic hope for an enduring Pax Universalis. Pax Universalis serves as a third space where transborder students and educators alike are positioned as co-creators of knowledge and agents of change.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide comparative perspectives on how educators teach issues that affect two countries with a history of governmental tensions. The investigation examines how teachers in Cuban classrooms engage in discourses on the recent developments in Cuban and US relations, including the teaching of historical and territorial issues. This research considers border pedagogy, critical border dialogism and critical border praxis as approaches for those who educate on the effects of US international policies. Ultimately, pragmatic hope offers the possibilities for an emergent third space for Cuban and US relations, including educational exchanges.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research took place in Cuba during an educational exchange to Cuban secondary and university educational sites. Cuban educators of pedagogy and social education engaged in dialogue and shared information on how they address US international policies during their classroom discussions. The researcher employed methodologies that followed Stake's (2000) model for a substantive case study. Impressions, data, records and salient elements at the observed site were recorded. Transcriptions were documented for face-to-face interviews and hour-long focus group sessions. Participants also logged responses to written survey questions. The study focused on how Cuban educators taught, discussed and addressed the US international policies in classrooms.\nFindings: Heteroglossia, meliorism, critical cosmopolitanism, nepantla, dialogic feminism and pragmatic hope were components of the data analysis. Heteroglossia was an essential consideration throughout the study as multiple interpretations of Cuban and US interconnectedness emerged. Meliorism factored into Cuban educators' commitments to their professions. Critical cosmopolitanism developed as educators put forth different conceptualizations of human rights and democracy. Nepantla emerged as a key aspect as indigenous and self-determined viewpoints emerged. Dialogic feminism was preeminent as patriarchy continues to exist, despite a new awareness of gender roles and gender violence. Pragmatic hope offers possibilities for a transnational community of inquiry and collaboration.\nResearch limitations/implications: The most obvious limitation to this study is, as a case study, the limited scope of perception.\nPractical implications: If future relations between Cuban and the US are deemed uncertain, critical border praxis has an essential role in addressing new sets of uncertainties. This study recommends that educational communities engage in discourses addressing ongoing issues facing the dynamic, fluid border environs. Critical border praxis provides conditions in which we, as educators and members of diverse communities of learners, become cross-borders and broaden the possibilities to achieve what had been considered the unattainable. Resources need to be prioritized and redirected toward educational efforts on national, state and local levels so critical border praxis becomes a reality.\nSocial implications: Through transnational and transborder engagements, such as educational exchanges, both US and Cuban educators are provided opportunities to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of their own educational systems. The role of education, formal and informal, then serves to transform perceptions one-by-one, school-by-school, community-by-community and to influence policy makers to reconstruct education country-by-country as part of pragmatic hope for an enduring Pax Universalis. Pax Universalis serves as a third space where transborder students and educators alike are positioned as co-creators of knowledge and agents of change.\nOriginality/value: This study proposes a new emergent third space resulting from critical border dialogism that utilizes border pedagogy and critical pedagogies of place to seek new zones of mutual respect and cooperation among educators. Common educational understandings are the key starting point for a critical border praxis that facilitates ongoing dialogue between the two countries and offers pragmatic hope for the futures of both nations and opportunities to ameliorate relationships. An emergent third space is possible through sustained critical border praxis, a praxis that seeks to address points of contention and the bridges that need crossing between the two neighboring countries.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Human resource management practices and organizational commitment: research methods, issues and future directions (2001-2016)	[ "HRM practices", "Content analysis", "Research methods", "Comprehensive review", "Organizational commitment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Studies that adopt sophisticated and sound research methods provide credible empirical findings in the human resource management (HRM) research discourse (Hayton et al., 2011). The findings of methodologically rigorous studies are, therefore, expected to contribute significantly to the body of knowledge and, thereby, lay a strong foundation for future research (Wall and Wood, 2005). Further, scientific evidence that emerges out of these studies is likely to assist HRM practitioners in their decision-making process with regard to adoption and operationalization of relevant HRM practices to elicit desirable outcomes (Rousseau and Barends, 2011). Considering the value of robust research methods for both researchers and HRM practitioners, this paper restricts its focus of this review to the following research question:\nSearch methodology: The authors undertook a systematic search and selection of relevant HRM-OC literature in three distinct stages.\nFindings: Research approach\nDiscussions and future directions: The primary purpose of this study is to provide an outline of the various research methods used by researchers during the period 2001-2016 in empirical studies that have investigated the relationship between HRM practices and OC. Consistent with the findings of past reviews on HRM-performance research discourse (e.g. Boselie et al., 2005; Paauwe, 2009), this review indicates excessive reliance of researchers on specific research methods (e.g. single-method approach, individual-level analysis, and cross-sectional design).\nConclusion: The purpose of this review is to summarize and outline the various research methods that researchers, across the world, have adopted to examine the influence of HRM practices or systems on OC.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline the various research methods adopted by researchers in studies that have investigated the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational commitment (OC).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors adopted a comprehensive review that covers empirical research on HRM-OC relationship, which was published between 2001 and 2016 in international peer-reviewed journals. A total of 63 empirical studies were included in this review. Authors adopted content analysis to synthesize the findings on the adopted research methods.\nFindings: This review clearly indicates the excessive reliance of researchers on specific research methods (i.e. surveys, individual-level analysis, and cross-sectional design). However, there is a steady increase in empirical studies that have adopted mixed-method, multi-actor, and multi-level research designs.\nOriginality/value: This review has attempted to explore advanced research methods that may offer assistance to overcome methodological limitations of the current HRM-OC literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Making work role transitions more successful: The importance of appropriate training	[ "Workplace learning", "Nursing", "Work roles", "Preceptors", "Work transitions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nNursing preceptors: Learning and development are critical to performance at both individual and firm level. In the quest to achieve such objectives, organizations routinely deploy a range of techniques. Mentoring and coaching are just some examples and can operate alongside various other formal and informal approaches.\nTraining inadequacies: One glaring deficiency is the seemingly ad hoc approach to formal training. Availability is far from guaranteed, while content irregularity across programs is very much the norm. Another alarming issue is the poor focus on evaluation of preceptees. This is particularly important, as many individuals moving into the teaching role feel limited in both confidence and ability to provide their charges with feedback. Not surprisingly, giving the final assessment is an even more daunting prospect.\nFactors that can aid success: Openness to change can make preceptorship an enriching experience. More importantly, it enables nurses to identify key qualities needed to be successful in the role. These include:\nComment: The review is based on: \"Work role transitions - expert nurses to novice preceptors\" by Miller et al. (2017), published in European Journal of Training and Development. The experiences of preceptor nurses are examined here. Challenges are identified as suggestions are made as to how improvements to training can help make work role transitions more successful.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.\nFindings: Challenges are inherent with any transition to a new work role. With appropriate training and support mechanisms in place, anxieties can be reduced so that individuals become better prepared to meet objectives and make the transition successful.\nPractical implications: The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The same old methodologies? Perspectives on OM research in the post-lean age	[ "Methodology", "Research methods", "Qualitative", "Quantitative" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: It may be a cliche but the world is changing - economically, technologically, politically, and socially. Correspondingly, the practice of operations management (OM) is changing. This is evident in the sheer scale and scope of global production and supply networks, the transformative effects of information and communication technologies (ICT), and in the fallout from the current economic recession and the Eurozone crisis.It is equally apparent that OM as an academic discipline is changing. The need to generate reflection, comment and debate on the impact of these intersecting changes motivated the formation of this panel[1] at the European Operations Management Association conference (EurOMA, 2011). OM scholarship is, almost by definition, close to practice. Will the evident changes we see around us affect what we research? Of equal interest to the panel was the question of how this research would be carried out and whether our existing methods were \"fit for purpose\".The paper is structured as follows. In Section 2 below, we look at the impact of the emerging context in which future OM research will be carried out. In Section 3, Mike Lewis revisits the question of research relevance in the context of publishing pressures on the academic research community. In Section 4, Ram Narasimhan examines the relationship between quantitative and qualitative methods in empirical OM research from a fundamental perspective. In Section 5, Chris Voss considers the range of methods open to us in OM research and their relative merits and challenges. In Section 6, Bart MacCarthy examines where our theory in OM comes from and how we can use it to achieve greater external validity. We have sought to present a coherent structure for the paper but naturally individuals have different opinions and perspectives on what they view as important and what they emphasise. We have not sought to resolve differences but do provide shared concluding comments.\n2 The changing landscape for OM research: We view the changing landscape first from the perspective of the OM discipline and then with a broader \"global\" lens. From a discipline perspective, the interplay between OM research and OM practice in the last three decades has been significant. Additionally, ICT have had (and continue to have) major effects across the operational landscape. From a global perspective, two areas that encapsulate the changing landscape are the sheer scale of globalization processes, and the fallout from the economic recession following the Lehman collapse. We briefly discuss these four contextual issues in the context of the OM research.The OM interplay with practice\n3 Fit for what purpose?: Michael Lewis\n4 Qualitative versus quantitative approaches in OM: Ram Narasimhan\n5 Diversity and research in OM: Chris Voss\n6 Towards greater external validity in OM research: Bart MacCarthy\n7 Concluding thoughts: Michael Lewis, Ram Narasimhan, Chris Voss, and Bart MacCarthy\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The world is changing - economically, technologically, politically, and socially. As an academic discipline, operations management (OM) is, almost by definition, close to practice. Are our OM research methods fit for purpose for the new age? This paper reflects on and develops the principal themes discussed in the \"OM Methodology\" Special Session at the 2011 EurOMA Conference in Cambridge, UK. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The emerging landscape in which future OM research will be conducted is discussed. The paper provides a range of perspectives on the research challenges facing the discipline with respect to what the authors research and how the authors research it. The range of methods open to us and their relative merits and challenges are debated.\nFindings: - The traditional research divide between quantitative modelling, often normative in outlook, and the more reflective modes of qualitative enquiry, with a wide spectrum of empirical work in between, is reflected in the different academic traditions, groupings, conferences, and publications across the discipline. Research should not be driven by methodological convenience but by the needs of a changing world. Rather than a sterile \"quants versus qual\" debate, the paper argues that a rich diversity of approaches can provide a reinforcing cycle to generate relevant, interesting and exciting research underpinned by robust and valid theory.\nOriginality/value: - The paper presents detailed reflections from leading researchers on contemporary and future OM research, arguing that research approaches must evolve that reflect the new realities to further enhance OM as a theoretically sound and practically relevant discipline.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The double-edge effect of retailers' cause-related marketing: When scepticism cools the warm-glow effect	[ "Altruism", "Scepticism", "Cause-related marketing", "Donation size", "Familiarity with cause-related marketing", "Warm glow" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to private organisations' strategies and campaigns pursuing the goal of respect for ethical values, people, community, and the environment (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2004). The specific CSR activity of cause-related marketing - linking product sales with donations to a cause (Muller et al., 2014; Krishna, 2011; Hajjat, 2003), also called charity incentives and donations (Strahilevitz and Myers, 1998) or donation-based promotions (Winterich and Barone, 2011) - attracts considerable attention, as evidenced by the significant amount of spending it represents in the USA - $1.7 billion in 2012, $1.78 billion in 2013 and a projected spend of $1.84 billion in 2014 (IEG, 2014). Cause-related marketing boosts both the retailer's image and purchase intent (Folse et al., 2010; Barone et al., 2007) in a highly visible way for consumers. It draws its effectiveness from its warm-glow effect (Imas, 2014; Arora and Henderson, 2007; Andreoni, 1989), i.e. the emotional benefit derived from helping a good cause through a cause-related marketing purchase. In retail, cause-related marketing has a long history (Cowton and Piercy, 1984) that is still being written (Peters et al., 2007). For example, Safeway, one of the largest food and drugs retailers in the USA, has run its 10% Back to School programme since 2005: 10 per cent of the sale price of\nCause-related marketing effectiveness: Positive effects of cause-related marketing\nHypotheses: The conceptual framework, depicted in Figure 1, draws on the ELM (Petty and Cacioppo, 1981). This model is particularly suitable for incorporating a cognitive-based mechanism into the traditional warm-glow explanation for cause-related marketing effectiveness. It identifies two routes for persuasion: a central route, where attitude change is based on \"active thinking about either the issue or object-relevant information provided by the message\" (Petty and Cacioppo, 1981, p. 256) and a peripheral route where attitude is the result of emotional responses and cognitive inferences directly associated with the issue or the object.\nMethod: A post-exposure inter-subject experiment is conducted in order to test the hypotheses (e.g. Ellen et al., 2000). It uses three experimental conditions, varying the donation size in a cause-related marketing offer by an office equipment retailer: large, medium, and small. In the large donation condition, the cause-related marketing offer carries a donation of EUR2, which is 50 per cent of the product price. In the medium donation condition, the offer carries a donation of EUR1.10, which is 30 per cent of the product price. Finally, in the small donation condition, the offer carries a donation of 20 cents, which is 5 per cent of the product price. The experiment was conducted with students. This is acceptable for two reasons. First, scepticism is not age-related, and can be found even among adolescents (Boush et al., 1994). Second, considering the sharp drop in donations among young adults aged 20-30 (Chang, 2014), investigating this population is interesting for retailers.\nResults: Quality of the measurement model\nGeneral discussion and conclusion: According to the previous literature, the success of cause-related marketing - linking product sales with donations to a cause - is mainly due to its capacity to create warm-glow feelings in consumers, i.e, an increasing utility because of feelings of pride in supporting a good cause. Yet as suggested by recent work on CSR in general (Leonidou and Skarmeas, 2015; Skarmeas and Leonidou, 2013; Barone et al., 2007), and cause-related marketing in particular (Chang and Cheng, 2015; Kim and Lee, 2009; Singh et al., 2009), cause-related marketing may trigger feelings of scepticism, especially when it is associated with large donations. The objective of this paper was to empirically test this potential negative effect of large donations in cause-related marketing. More precisely, drawing on ELM, the study presented here introduces consumer scepticism as a relevant underlying factor to examine cause-related marketing effectiveness, and hypothesises two alternative routes - one positive and one negative - that influence the warm glow, and ultimately attitudes towards the offer and the retailer. Findings from an experiment varying the donation size provide empirical support for the important detrimental effect of scepticism on the warm glow and, via a less positive attitude towards the offer, on attitude towards the retailer. Furthermore, the findings show that scepticism is a critical issue among people scoring low on altruism and high on familiarity with cause-related marketing. Taken altogether, these findings open the door to several theoretical and practical implications.\nLimitations and directions for future research: Despite the attention paid to the effect of cause-related marketing donation size on scepticism, this study has some limitations. The experiment focuses on a specific setting and sample (paper pads and young adults), which reduces the generalisability of results. Also, the ad hoc scale used, although it has the merit of being in line with the theoretical definition of scepticism towards cause-related marketing, needs more confirmation. Finally, the scope of the study is limited to just one specific cause/firm partnership, such that there is a room for several more studies. Future research could attempt to replicate the present findings in a different setting, with mature adult consumers. Future research could also investigate how the features of the cause/firm partnership influence reactions to cause-related marketing. For instance, does an association between one familiar and one unfamiliar cause/firm lead to the same level of scepticism? Is a long history of cause partnerships (like the Safeway example given in the introduction) a safeguard against scepticism? In investigating these issues, future research should integrate more positive outcomes (e.g. in terms of image, sales) and negative outcomes (e.g. in terms of distrust, discontent). In addition, research can examine the effect of cause-related marketing on retailers' private label brands and investigate which type of brand (e.g. premium quality/high price vs good quality/low price; Tofighi and Bodur, 2015) is more impacted by scepticism. Finally, other follow-up studies should consider the effect of cause-related marketing from the perspective of the cause concerned. Will association with a commercial firm hurt its image? Is scepticism confined to the firm, or could it transfer to the cause being helped? Answers to these questions should shed more light on the negative effect of cause-related marketing and help this specific promotion technique to achieve its noble aim: supporting a good cause.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Cause-related marketing - linking product sales with donations to a cause - are popular with consumers because they produce warm-glow feelings (the positive route). But when they involve large donations, they may trigger consumer scepticism, reducing the warm glow (the negative route). Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether large donations in cause-related marketing can produce consumer scepticism and reduce the warm-glow effect and positive attitude towards the retailer.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An experiment varying the donation size (large, medium, small) in a cause-related marketing offer run by an office equipment retailer is set up. Hypotheses are tested using bootstrapping regression analyses.\nFindings: The negative route has the greater effect: scepticism towards the offer mediates the relationship between donation size and the warm glow. Furthermore, scepticism towards a large donation is higher (lower) for respondents scoring low (high) on altruism and high (low) on familiarity with cause-related marketing.\nPractical implications: When using cause-related marketing, retailers should choose their features and target audience carefully in order to reduce scepticism, e.g., small donations should be offered in promotions targeting consumers who are familiar with cause-related marketing and show low altruism.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the recent research examining the negative effects of cause-related marketing by explicitly conceptualising and measuring scepticism towards cause-related marketing. The findings are also valuable because they indicate the importance of a shift in focus, away from the conventional question of cause-related marketing effectiveness to the more specific and under-investigated problem of the appropriate core target consumers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Urban high school principals' promotion of college-and-career readiness	[ "Principals", "Leadership", "Distributed leadership", "Case study", "College-and-career readiness", "Urban school reform" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An essential function of school systems is to prepare students to lead productive lives as contributing members of society. Implicit is an expectation that high school graduates master content knowledge and skills that enable their transition into college and careers. In an era of increasing globalization, quality education is critical not only for the individual but also for the nation, collectively. Currently, a skills gap exists in the US workforce, with many young adults lacking fundamental workforce skills (Symonds et al., 2011); therefore, numerous states have developed more rigorous curricular standards, with a goal to ensure that high school graduates are ready for college and careers (Conley, 2014). More generally, a broad state and national policy drive has aimed to bolster K-12 students' abilities to transition to college and employment (Darling-Hammond et al., 2014; Malin et al., 2017).\nDistributed leadership theory: Distributed leadership supplies the conceptual and analytical framework for this study. Distributed leadership has gained in popularity and has been applied as a mechanism to increase organizational effectiveness (Mayrowetz, 2008). The principalship has become increasingly complex, time-intensive, and demanding (Grubb and Flessa, 2006), particularly in urban environments (Knapp et al., 2013; Portin et al., 2009), and education reform mandates hold principals accountable for student learning and ensuring students' preparation for college and careers (Gronn, 2010). By applying distributed leadership, principals can empower formal and informal leaders so that essential functions are dispersed throughout the system (DeMatthews, 2015; Spillane et al., 2001). Distributed leadership functions within the principal's role as learning leader; Copland and Knapp (2006) explain that \"leadership actions are strategic and distributed, and they utilize multiple pathways to influence learning\" (p. 72). These leadership behaviors are especially important within the context of college-and-career readiness, because principals must ensure that the curriculum contains an effective balance of core academic courses (e.g. language arts, mathematics, science, and social science) and career and technical education (CTE) courses. The principal also should ensure that students have access to a wide array of supplemental learning opportunities (e.g. job shadowing, internships, career- and college-focused extracurriculars, and clubs). These courses and opportunities are necessary for students to be adequately prepared for postsecondary success.\nDistributed leadership, student outcomes, and promoting college-and-career readiness: Empirical research supports distributed leadership in promoting organizational development and reforms, but there is limited research examining the effectiveness of distributed practices in fostering improved student learning (Harris, 2008; Mayrowetz, 2008). Inattention to student outcomes may stem from the fact that \"many of the normative claims made for distributed leadership are grounded in theories of power rather than in theories of teaching and learning\" (Robinson, 2008, p. 252). Leithwood and Mascall (2008) found that in schools with higher student achievement, teachers were significantly more likely to report higher levels of influence related to leadership exercised by school teams, parents, and students. Yet, acknowledging the principal's importance, Leithwood and Mascall reported \"those in traditional leadership roles remain highly influential\" (p. 552). This finding reinforces Harris's (2008) observation that \"those in formal leadership roles are the gatekeepers to distributed leadership practice in their schools\" (pp. 174-175). Portin et al. (2013) reported teacher leaders in urban high schools assisted principals with forging systemic linkages, building relational trust, providing content area expertise, and sharing their knowledge of powerful pedagogy. In a study involving 15 urban school principals, Portin et al. (2009) noted principals regularly accessed data to focus their school improvement activities and shared instructional leadership responsibilities among administrators and teacher leaders through a team-based leadership approach.\nResearch methodology and data sources: This exploratory study represented the initial phase of a multi-year research project investigating the implementation of college-and-career pathways in urban communities. This phase was conducted to gain an understanding of leadership activities - and specifically, distributed leadership practices - of two high school principals in the Midwestern USA that have been recognized within their state for innovative development of career pathways. After confirming the breadth and depth of their college-and-career readiness practices, we sought to determine to what extent they reported that distributed leadership operates in each site. Case descriptions were created of the principals and their schools, focusing on their efforts in support of career pathways (Merriam and Tisdell, 2015). Initial data were collected through semi-structured interviews: the principals described the steps they undertook to develop college-and-career structures and explained how they included teachers, administrators, and others in this process. Two interviews initially were conducted with each principal. Subsequently, classrooms were observed in each school, and teacher leaders and other administrators were informally interviewed about their involvement with career pathways implementation. We also reviewed information on school and district websites that described their curriculum and programming, each district's high school course planning handbooks, and internal documents provided by the principals (e.g. reports to the superintendent, district reports analyzing career academy structures and progress, and internal documents articulating school-level improvement goals and associated actions). Follow-up conversations were conducted with the principals, seeking their reflective insights and clarifications.\nLeadership practices in action: two cases: This section presents a profile of each school and principal[1]; because of the exploratory nature of this initial phase of our research and our focus on the principals, we primarily address the principals' behaviors in creating career pathways within their schools, as well as their descriptions of how they involved others in this process. Then, common themes are described, in relation to the principals' reported leadership activities.\nLeadership actions in support of career pathways: This section emphasizes the most salient leadership actions, structures, opportunities, and processes related to the development and improvement of two urban high schools: the STEM initiative at Lake and wall-to-wall academies at Countryside. Although the principals' approaches are distinct, six common themes were identified: facilitating processes to form a shared vision, developing relational trust, a focus on learning, successful partnerships, creating conducive structures, and developing leadership skills and capacity. These themes often, but not always, illustrate distributed leadership approaches described by the principals - including practices, structures, and tools - that facilitate students' college-and-career readiness.\nDiscussion: This study examined the leadership activities of two high school principals who guided the development of career pathways within their schools, identifying common patterns and distinctions. One limitation was this research primarily focused on principals' descriptions of their leadership behaviors in this process. Because principals are the identified leaders of their organizations, it was necessary to discern their perceptions and descriptions of their activities. However, cognizant that the two principals' descriptions may not be fully representative of their practices, we also conducted school observations, informally interviewed other educators, and reviewed school documents. A second limitation is that this study focused on two urban communities, and the principals acknowledged concerns about academic performance within their schools. Thus, these urban case sites may present different contextual issues and challenges than those that may be experienced in rural and suburban settings. For example, both schools in this study enrolled approximately 1,800 students; principals of high schools with substantially smaller enrollments may find it more challenging to implement career pathway structures. A third limitation involves acknowledgment that the two principals were recognized as innovative leaders in developing career pathways within their schools. Although findings from this study may not be fully generalizable, Stake (2005) asserted that case studies can provide valuable insights. Thus, this study highlights effective college-and-career readiness practices that could be considered for implementation in other high school settings.\nConclusion and recommendations: This exploratory study found much overlap between the findings and prior research into distributed leadership, as well as some inconsistencies. Accordingly, this theory may offer an important perspective for the successful implementation of college-and-career pathways; yet, this context requires an expanded conception of leadership distribution. As our research into high schools' promotion of college-and-career readiness continues into the next phase, we are expanding our data collection to include administrators of career academies, school counselors, career academy team leaders, students, and business leaders, as well as analysis of student learning data, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of distributed leadership practices in these systems. We also intend to more deeply explore the necessity and operation of informal leaders who are external to the school organization within the context of these reforms. It is suspected the strength of principal leadership, and the quality and extent of leadership distribution throughout the school, are key factors explaining why some schools have successfully implemented career pathways reforms.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how two urban principals, in high schools that feature comprehensive college-and-career readiness practices, utilize distributed leadership to facilitate their implementation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study employed qualitative methods. Drawing upon semi-structured interview data, observational data gathered as part of site visits, and internal and electronic documents, case descriptions were developed of each school, focusing on principals' activities in support of career pathways.\nFindings: The principals contributed significantly to their schools' college-and-career readiness reforms and programming. Although their approaches were distinct, six common themes were identified: facilitating processes to form a shared vision, developing relational trust, a focus on learning, successful partnerships, conducive structures, and developing leadership skills and capacity. The principals described utilizing distributed leadership approaches - including practices, structures, and tools - to support these reforms.\nOriginality/value: This study represents the initial phase of a multi-year research project investigating the implementation of college-and-career pathways in urban communities. Prior research has overlooked the important role of principals in leading and facilitating these reforms, and this study contributes to the literature because it focuses on principals' contributions in supporting college-and-career readiness. Additionally, in both cases, substantive, regular leadership contributions were made by business representatives external to the organization.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Retail format choice in the US consumer electronics market	[ "Electrical goods", "Shops", "Demographics", "Consumer behaviour", "United States of America" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Retailers in the $171 billion US consumer electronics market are faced with intense competition from intra- and inter-type competitors (Kharif, 2009). Consumer electronics such as televisions, DVD players, portable radios, CD players, telephones, small appliances, stereo, and computer-related items are sold by department stores (e.g. Sears, JC Penney), specialty stores (e.g. Tweeter, Bang and Olufsun, Radio Shack), discounters (e.g. Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart), category killers (e.g. Best Buy, Good Guys), internet-only retailers (e.g. Dell.com, Amazon.com, Egghead.com), and catalogs (e.g. Sharper Image, Crutchfield). Shoppers are provided with an unprecedented number of retail formats from which to choose. While this array of choices is ultimately good for the shopper, the level of competitive intensity presents a challenge for consumer electronics retailers.Concurrently, the recent economic downturn has pushed demand for consumer electronics to its lowest point in recent history (Kharif, 2009). Although retail sales in several product categories such as appliances, televisions, and cameras grew as much as 10 percent during 2008, a March 2009 report from the US Census Bureau suggests that overall retail sales for consumer electronics are down approximately 3 percent as compared to one year earlier (US Census Bureau, 2009). Circuit City, a major electronics retailer in the USA, declared bankruptcy in November 2008 and rival Best Buy readjusted annual sales forecast downward from projections of $47 billion to $43.7-$45.5 billion in revenue (Renfrow, 2008).The intensity of retail competition and shift in demand for consumer electronics highlights the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the consumer electronics shopper. Although the extant literature provides guidance for retailers in other product categories (e.g. groceries, apparel), empirical investigations into the consumer electronics shopper base are lacking in the literature. The purpose of this exploratory research is to provide a general understanding of retail format choice decisions made by consumers in US marketplace. A combination of demographics and desired retail attributes is used as a framework to understand retail format choice across major retail formats including department stores, specialty stores, discounters, category killers, internet-only, and catalog retailers. For consumer electronics retailers, the research provides insight into demographic groups who frequent various formats and identifies attributes that shoppers consider important when selecting a retail format. As consumer spending continues to shift and retail formats evolve, understanding the shopper's ultimate choice of retail format will be critical to the performance of consumer electronics retailers.\nLiterature review: Consumer demographics and retail format choice\nRetail attributes and format choice: In addition to consumer demographics, previous research has attempted to link salient retail attributes to shoppers' ultimate choice of retail format. Lindquist (1974) synthesized the frameworks of previous studies to identify and categorize retail attributes including merchandise, service, promotion, client factors, physical facilities, convenience, store atmosphere, institutional factors, and post-transactional satisfaction. Yavas (2003) compiled a similar list of retail attributes for shopping malls including quality, price, cleanliness, courtesy, product and store selection, security, store hours, accessibility, and atmosphere. Lee et al. (2006) took a different approach, classifying retail attributes based on utilitarian or hedonic shopping value delivered.Previous research suggests that price, product assortment, and customer service are important retail attributes among department store shoppers (Sparks, 1995; Arnold, 1997; Grewal et al., 1999). Although price is one of the most frequently examined retail attributes, it has sometimes been found to be less influential than it is assumed to be (Arnold et al., 1978; Arnold and Tigert, 1982; Walters and Rinne, 1986; Walters, 1991; Bell et al., 1998). This suggests that the effect of price combines with other retail attributes to explain the shopper's ultimate choice of retail format. Customer service is suggested as an influential retail attribute affecting retail format choice (Finn and Louviere, 1990; Mulhern, 1997; Darian et al., 2001). Baker et al. (2002) reported that interpersonal service quality directly affects patronage intention. This could be very applicable in the consumer electronics market, where products are often technically complex. In addition to price, product assortment and customer service, previous research has linked store environment and atmosphere to retail format choice (Baker et al., 1994; Donovan et al., 1994; Turley and Milliman, 2000). However, the majority of findings reported in the literature apply to product categories other than consumer electronics (e.g. groceries, apparel).\nMethod: Sampling method\nResults: Sample characteristics\nConclusions and discussion: The findings of previous studies in the food and apparel categories indicate that as age increases, department store shopping frequency increases (Burt and Gabbott, 1995; Wright, 1996; Soriano and Nair, 2002). Further, price, product assortment, and customer service have been identified as important retail attributes among department store shoppers (Sparks, 1995; Arnold, 1997; Grewal et al., 1999). Our findings for the consumer electronics category agree in terms of age and price competitiveness being predictors of choosing the department store format. Therefore, we recommend that department store retailers selling consumer electronics should be sure to price products competitively in order to continue meeting the needs of the older segment of customers attracted to the format. However, department store retailers offering consumer electronics must find a way to evolve beyond competing solely upon price.If, as our results suggest, department store shoppers do not distinguish between the remaining retail attributes (product selection, presence of new products, customer service, hours of operation, ease of access to the retailer, store atmosphere), then department store retailers must identify and capitalize on other forms of non-price competition in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. Considering that the core department store shopper is characterized in the literature as being older, another point of concern should be developing methods to attract younger shoppers to department stores. Identifying effective non-price competitive advantages could also be useful for attracting the younger segments, particularly the segment which tends to gravitate toward discounters. Success at getting this segment to trade up would be very positive for department stores.Previous research on specialty stores as a format choice suggests a direct, positive relationship with age and shopping frequency. Our results do not suggest any of the demographic characteristics or retail attributes examined in this study as significant predictors of specialty store patronage for consumer electronics. This could mean that propensity to choose the specialty store format is not based on the demographic characteristics or retail attributes included in the current study. Perhaps, there are other shopper characteristics or retail attributes not examined that could predict specialty store patronage for consumer electronics. Further, the discrepancy between results in the consumer electronics category and other product categories could be based on product context. Finally, our results could be suggesting that specialty store consumer electronics retailers may not be well positioned in the mind of the customer. If this is the case, specialty stores must identify a core competitive advantage (preferably non-price oriented) in order to distinguish themselves from competitors.Our findings also agree with those of Carpenter (2008), who reported inverse relationships between age, education, and shopping frequency for discounters. To these findings the current study adds a direct, positive relationship between price competitiveness and shopping frequency. Taken together, this suggests that shoppers who frequent discounters for consumer electronics are young, have low levels of education, and seek low prices. Therefore, discounters should continue to offer low prices and/or good value to maintain and grow patronage among young shoppers with relatively low levels of education. Discounters could also consider growing business from customers of other formats (e.g. category killers, internet-only) by offering limited lines of more sophisticated, high-end products that would appeal to consumers with higher education and income levels than the core discount format shopper.Previous research on category killer patronage reported an inverse relationship between age and propensity to choose the format (Lee et al., 2006). Our findings agree, adding that for consumer electronics, higher levels of education and income are also significant predictors. These findings suggest that frequent shoppers of category killers are young people with high levels of education and income. Given the interest from this demographic group, category killer retailers should consider carrying a variety of high-end, quality products in order to retain their core segment of shoppers. A way to grow business would be to offer modest assortments of less expensive models in order to attract shoppers away from the discount format.Age has been reported to have an inverse relationship with propensity to choose the internet-only format (Goldsmith and Flynn, 2005). The findings of our study agree and further indicate a significant, direct relationship between education and choosing internet-only retailers for consumer electronics. This suggests that internet-only consumer electronics retailers should continue to focus products that appeal to the young, highly educated segment of shoppers who frequent the format. Internet-only retailers could also consider attempts to capture shoppers from the category killer segment, who are similar in terms of profile.Although previous research reported links between age, education, income, and shopping frequency in the catalog format (Gillett, 1976; Jasper and Lan, 1992; Goldsmith and Flynn, 2005), our results do not suggest any of the demographic characteristics or retail attributes examined in the study as predictors of format choice for catalogs. As in the case of specialty stores, this could mean that choosing the catalog format is not based on the demographic characteristics or retail attributes included in the current study. Again, the discrepancy could also be due to the previous research being based in other product categories (grocery, apparel). Our suggestion for specialty store consumer electronics retailers could also apply to catalog retailers. Retailers using the catalog format should work to identify a competitive advantage in order to establish clear positioning in the mind of the consumer electronics shopper.Overall, the results provide interesting insight into the US consumer's choice of retail format for consumer electronics. Comparing our results for the consumer electronics category to previous results reported for other categories indicates that at least to an extent, demographic characteristics and desired retail attributes are somewhat similar across product categories. However, some unique patterns of predictors do emerge in the context of consumer electronics. Department stores appear to attract older consumers with some concern for low prices, while price conscious, younger consumers with low education levels are drawn to discounters. Category killers attract young, highly educated, high-income shoppers. Similarly, internet-only retailers attract young, highly educated individuals. Owing to the similar profiles of frequent shoppers, there appear to be opportunities for discounters to gain market share from department stores (and vice versa), and for category killers to do the same from internet-only retailers.A consistent theme across the consumer electronics retail formats suggests that the only retail attribute significantly affecting format choice is price competitiveness, and this only holds true in the context of department stores and discounters. This should be of concern to consumer electronics retailers of every format due to the limitations of competing solely on price. In order to differentiate themselves from competitors and create sustainable competitive advantage, consumer electronics retailers must identify viable non-price methods of competing. Further, they should strive to become recognized by consumers for delivering above and beyond other retail formats in terms of these non-price methods.\nLimitations and future research: This study offers valuable information on retail format choice and the importance of retail attributes among consumer electronics shoppers, but future studies could expand our knowledge. This study examined retail formats on an individual basis wherein respondents were not asked to compare specific retail formats to one another. Though we can make general observations and predictions about the demographic variables and retail attributes that influence retail format choice among consumer electronics shoppers, we cannot suggest the factors that influence consumer to choose one format over another. Future studies could expand upon this exploratory work by initiating direct comparisons of specific retail formats and investigating cross-shopping among formats. In addition, we assumed that all respondents had equal access to all of the retail formats examined. However, market presence of certain retail types may be limited in certain areas of the USA. Future studies could use a systematic method to eliminate differences in markets to overcome this limitation.Future studies could also continue to identify key demographic predictors and improve the accuracy of prediction. For example, our non-significant findings for the specialty store and catalog formats suggest that other variables not investigated in this study may predict patronage of these formats. Further, the fact that our findings do not consistently agree with findings reported in other product contexts suggests that predictors of format choice may be context dependent. Therefore, future research across other product categories is warranted. In addition, lifestyle or psychographic factors could be investigated for their effect on retail format choice. Finally, generalizations of the findings of this study to markets outside the USA are limited due to the differences in consumers and the range of retail formats available in various countries. Future research could compare patronage behavior and retail format offerings across global markets to improve our understanding of retail format choice among consumer electronics shoppers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to provide a general understanding of retail format choice among consumer electronics shoppers in the US market.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - US consumer electronics shoppers (n=252) were surveyed via telephone. Linear regression was used to evaluate the data.\nFindings: - Profiles shopper groups who frequent specific retail formats (department stores, specialty stores, discounters, category killers, internet-only retailers, and catalogs) based on demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, income) and desired retail attributes (price competitiveness, customer service, product selection, presence of new products, hours of operation, ease of access to the retailer, store atmosphere).\nResearch limitations/implications: - Although general observations and predictions about the demographic variables and important retail attributes for shopper groups are possible, future studies could expand upon this exploratory work by initiating comparisons of specific retail formats and examining cross-shopping behavior among consumer electronics shoppers.\nPractical implications: - This paper provides consumer electronics retailers with specific knowledge of the attributes that consumers consider to be important when making format choices and identifies the demographic characteristics of shoppers who frequent each retail format.\nOriginality/value: - This exploratory study uses demographics and retail attributes to profile consumer electronics shoppers of each major retail format in the USA. The paper is unique because the investigation of retail format choice among consumer electronics shoppers has been very limited.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Healthcare waste management: an interpretive structural modeling approach	[ "ISM", "Modelling", "Barriers", "Waste management", "Fuzzy-MICMAC analysis", "Healthcare waste" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Recently, healthcare waste management (HCWM) has attracted public concern owing to medical wastes' infectious nature (Geng et al., 2007). The World Health Organization defined healthcare waste (HCW) as the byproduct generated while delivering healthcare services, which should be treated as a special waste (Rushbrook et al., 2000). The Indian Government, under Biomedical Waste (BMW) (Management and Handling) Rule 1998, defined HCW as the waste generated when diagnosing and treating human beings or animals, or during research activities. Chaerul et al. (2008) and Soliman and Ahmed (2007) said that HCW is mainly general (75-90 percent) and infectious waste (10-25 percent). If hazardous waste is not segregated, then it will turn general into infectious waste (Miyazaki and Une, 2005). The HCWM practices have been studied widely in developed and developing countries like: Japan (Ikeda, 2012; Miyazaki and Une, 2005), China (Geng et al., 2007; Yong et al., 2009), South Africa (Aseweh and Bouwer, 2008), India (Rao, 2009; Gupta and Boojh, 2006), Brazil (DaSilva et al., 2005), UK (Tudor et al., 2005), Greece (Tsakona et al., 2007), Egypt (El-Salam, 2010; Soliman and Ahmed, 2007), Botswana (Mbongwe et al., 2008), Indonesia (Chaerul et al., 2008), Ethiopia (Haylamicheal et al., 2011), Cameroon (Kuepouo, 2013) and Korea (Jang et al., 2006). In India, like other developing countries, the HCWM industry is fragmented. Staff in some healthcare facilities (HCFs) are outsourcing waste disposal processes to common-biomedical waste treatment facilities (CBWTF). Some are using in-house incinerators and also accepting waste from other HCFs (Figure 1).\nBarriers to implementing HCWM practices in India: To identify HCWM practice barriers in India, a literature review was completed and two brainstorming sessions were held with HCWM experts. All experts had 20 years or more waste handling experience. Before starting the brainstorming session, we identified 20 barriers from the literature and a survey among HCFs. We asked experts for their opinion. In the first session, after discussion, the panel reduced four elements into two and added five more barriers to implementing HCWM practices in India. Totally, 23 barriers to implementing HCWM practices and their interrelationships were recorded and discussed in the second session, where experts added two more variables into the existing model and defined the relationships among all the elements (Table II).\nOutcome variables: Non-aligned operational goals\nMethod: Interpretive structural modeling (ISM)\nApplication: modeling India's HCWM practice barriers: Developing SSIM\nResults and discussion: The ISM model was developed to analyze the barriers hierarchy, which are obstructing effective and efficient HCWM practices in India. These barriers are crucial for healthy and safe environment for patients, staff and for protecting the public from infectious medical waste. These barriers pose considerable challenges for hospital managers and government policy makers. We focussed on analyzing India's current HCWM practices: 25 barriers were identified from the literature, HCF and CBWTF survey and brainstorming sessions. The ISM model kept the barrier (BMW handling rules) at the hierarchy's base and highlighted this barrier as the most fundamental to the HCWM system. Hence, regulatory authority staff should enforce every HCF to implement the BMW Handling Rules, 1998 to ensure safe hospital premises. Ineffective HCWM practices is the outcome variable and has been placed at the top of the ISM model. The model reflects poor hospital administration and clinical commitment to budget allocation for waste handling activities, which results in poor infrastructure, less appreciation to workers and weak training aids. Non-sustainable practices lead to poor benchmarking in Indian hospitals. Hence, a holistic mechanism is required to dispose infectious waste in a proper and efficient way. Figure 5 divide all barriers into four groups, depending upon the driving and dependence powers obtained from the fuzzy-MICMAC analysis. This clustering generates insights for hospital administrators and PCBs so that they can proactively deal with these barriers:\nConclusion: The HCF staff and PCBs realized that implementing proper HCWM practices are important to cope with infectious waste. The CBWTF staff are playing increasing roles in HCW disposal and hence are considered the main player in the whole process. Thus, our research focusses on identifying and analyzing the main HCWM barriers. Our main contributions are:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The World Health Organization identified infectious healthcare waste as a threat to the environment and human health. India's current medical waste management system has limitations, which lead to ineffective and inefficient waste handling practices. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to: first, identify the important barriers that hinder India's healthcare waste management (HCWM) systems; second, classify operational, tactical and strategical issues to discuss the managerial implications at different management levels; and third, define all barriers into four quadrants depending upon their driving and dependence power.\nDesign/methodology/approach: India's HCWM system barriers were identified through the literature, field surveys and brainstorming sessions. Interrelationships among all the barriers were analyzed using interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Fuzzy-Matrice d'Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliquee a un Classement (MICMAC) analysis was used to classify HCWM barriers into four groups.\nFindings: In total, 25 HCWM system barriers were identified and placed in 12 different ISM model hierarchy levels. Fuzzy-MICMAC analysis placed eight barriers in the second quadrant, five in third and 12 in fourth quadrant to define their relative ISM model importance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study's main limitation is that all the barriers were identified through a field survey and barnstorming sessions conducted only in Uttarakhand, Northern State, India. The problems in implementing HCWM practices may differ with the region, hence, the current study needs to be replicated in different Indian states to define the waste disposal strategies for hospitals.\nPractical implications: The model will help hospital managers and Pollution Control Boards, to plan their resources accordingly and make policies, targeting key performance areas.\nOriginality/value: The study is the first attempt to identify India's HCWM system barriers and prioritize them.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
OIQ or OEQ, which matters more: evidence from China	[ "Intellectual capital", "Collective stupidity", "Organizational emotional quotient", "Organizational intelligence", "Organizational intelligence quotient" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Many knowledge-intensive organizations, like research institutes, are always confronted by the problem called \"collective stupidity,\" which is described by Albrecht's Law, as \"Intelligent people, when assembled into an organization, will tend toward collective stupidity\" (Albrecht, 2002b). In the case of collective stupidity, organizations always fall into less efficiency and worse performance, especially in an unpredictable environment. However, as Albrecht (2002b) claimed, organizational intelligence (OI) could be one of the antidotes.\n2. Literature review: While the concept of emotional intelligence is formally named, researchers on organizations have paid a lot of attention on it for organizational performance. From the perspective of human individuals, psychologists have found out that EQ, which indicates the level of emotional intelligence, contributes equally or more critically to individual performance. Daniel Goleman (1995), who pioneered in emotional intelligent research and practice, claimed that intelligence quotient (IQ) takes the second position to emotional intelligence in determining the outstanding job performance, and found that emotional intelligence is twice as important in star performers as cognitive ability in his afterwards research. Moreover, Goleman (1998) found that top performers have both emotional intelligence skills and cognitive ones, due to their synergistic relationship. On the other hand, some researchers argued that EQ might not matter so much for predictor of work success since there are many evidence to show that EQ is highly correlative with IQ, and the later seems more original (Antonakis, 2004; Antonakis et al., 2009).\n3. Architecture of OI: OIQ and OEQ: Similar to human beings, organizations behave cognitively and emotionally like organism systems. On this point of view, Halal (1998) proposed a contrastive frame of the equivalence of human intelligence and OI, as shown in Table II. Halal (1998) suggested that there were much more similar functions between human intelligence and organizations', for example, IQ is used to measure human intelligence while OIQ is used for organizations'; human intelligence is structured by a network of nerve cells while organizations' by a network of business units; the subjective filter for human intelligence is personal values and beliefs while the latter is organizational culture; human intelligence gets external linkages by social relations while organizations' by stakeholder relations; and humans store knowledge by the memory of brain while organizations take the same action by knowledge management.\n4. OI and IC: As talked about in the literature review part, existing viewpoints of OI factors are almost covered by the bound of IC, which is the integration of all the knowledge, skills and core competence in an organization, including employees' knowledge and skills, customer loyalty, organizational culture, system and collective knowledge, experience of operation process (Stewart, 1997; Knight, 1999; Sullivan, 1999). IC contains three basic forms: human capital, structural capital and relational capital.\n5. OIQ and QEQ factors: In many ways of IC definition, the same characteristics about invisible, related to knowledge, value created are mostly highlighted (Giuliani and Marasca, 2011). Although there are various typologies proposed for the classification of IC, the three-dimensional perspective which includes human capital, structural capital and relational capital has achieved a certain degree of consensus among the researchers (Bontis, 2001; Stewart, 1997; Sveiby, 1997; Roos and Roos, 1997; Chahal and Bakshi, 2015, etc.). This consensus has established an emergent standard and a premise for how to build the measurement models (Inkinen, 2015). According to Stewart (1997), the concept of IC cannot be standardized, and consequently, each organization has to \"construct\" its own IC composed by the knowledge needed to create wealth (Giuliani and Marasca, 2011).\n6. Case study: 6.1 Date source\n7. Conclusion and discussion: Similar to IQ and EQ of human beings, OIQ and OEQ illustrate the intelligence level of an organization. According to the results of this paper, intelligent organizations with a high OI level are always related with both high OIQ and high OEQ. In the case of average-intelligent organizations with a lower OI level, even if around high-IQ employees, \"collective stupidity\" is found to be caused by a relatively lower OEQ. It is the failure of synergy between human capital and structural capital that makes the major hurdle to be a smart organization, just like a football team grouped by brilliant players which always loses due to the dearth of coordination. As far as low-intelligence (or stupid) organizations, there is no significant advantage in either OIQ or OEQ at all. It is to say that while intelligent employees grouped in an organization, OEQ takes the critical stakes for daily lives. Specifically, for knowledge-intensive organizations, like research institutes, the main point to avoid the problem \"collective stupidity\" is to build up a synergic institutional system and organizational culture rather than to blindly bring in human capital in the process of organizational strategy making and execution.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the contribution of organizational intelligence quotient (OIQ) and organizational emotional quotient (OEQ) for intelligent organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper develops a framework of OIQ and OEQ, based on the structure of intellectual capital (intellectual capital). Then, a specific questionnaire is designed and sent to ten national research institutes in China. Data from nine of them are analyzed as case study samples.\nFindings: Data show that intelligent organizations are related with high OIQ as well as high OEQ. In the case of average-intelligent organizations, even if around high-IQ employees, \"collective stupidity\" caused by the failure of synergy of structural capital is the major gap to be a smart organization, just like a football team grouped by brilliant players always loses due to the dearth of coordination. OEQ, or the synergy between structural capital and human capital, is the critical point to avoid collective stupidity for organizations with intelligent employees.\nResearch limitations/implications: Research results are based on case study in a particular country. Measurement tools for OIQ and OEQ are in bound of the IC concept.\nPractical implications: The paper helps organizations to find out the critical problems causing collective stupidity in a changing environment.\nOriginality/value: Analogic to human beings' intelligence, this paper develops a frame of OIQ and OEQ, and compares their contribution to intelligent organization building in a changing environment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How immigrants helped EU labor markets to adjust during the Great Recession	[ "Labour supply", "Great Recession", "Immigrant worker", "Labour shortage", "Skilled migration", "Wage regression", "J24", "J61", "J68" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The Great Recession that started in 2008 profoundly affected European economies and labor markets. Whereas some of them, mainly in the southern peripheries of the EU, suffered from protracted recessions, others, such as Germany and Slovakia, recovered from a moderate recession swiftly. The Baltic states on the Eastern flanks of the EU dipped into rather severe recessions in the early stages of the Great Recession, but managed to revitalize their economies and regain top positions among EU's fastest growing economies relatively quickly. Poland, on the other hand, did not record a recession during this time (see Figure A1).\n2. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper is based on the model first presented by Borjas (2001). The basic intuition underlying the model is that native workers face high costs of parting with their initial location, networks and economic and social relationships. The existing wage differentials between countries are not sufficient to motivate large numbers of workers to move. In contrast, immigrants, having arrived at their destination only relatively recently, do not face such costs. For them, these costs of migration are sunk and do not fetter their migration decision. As a result, the location decisions of immigrant workers should be more responsive to wage differentials than those of natives.\n3. Data and sample characteristics: The empirical part of this study draws from representative samples of households in 15 EU member states[6] obtained from the EU-LFS and EU-SILC. The national statistical offices of each member country organize these surveys in harmonized methodology. The main advantage of EU-LFS is its large sample size, but the downside is the missing information on the income status of households. The information on income is complemented from the EU-SILC database (particularly the estimation of labor shortage indicator in Equation (2)). Both data sets include information on respondents' personal circumstances (including nationality and country of birth), their labor market status and job characteristics during a reference period. The sampling structure of the surveys focuses primarily on permanent residents and therefore does not capture short-term and seasonal migration. The empirical analysis exploits samples from 2004 to 2014 of individuals aged 15-64.\n4. Results: 4.1 The baseline model\n5. Conclusions: The migration literature documents important contributions of the mobile immigrant workforce in the labor adjustment process (Borjas, 2001; Dustmann et al., 2012; Guzi et al., 2014, 2015; Jauer et al., 2014). Our analysis extends this literature to study immigrant groups by origin, time since immigration and qualification level over the business cycle during the Great Recession. Using primarily the EU-LFS and EU-SILC data sets, we find that immigrants are in general not less, and in many cases more responsive to changing wage premia in the labor market. For the pooled sample comprising the whole studied period of 2004-2014, we find that low-skilled immigrants from the EU-12, and high-skilled ones from Africa exhibit higher responsiveness to labor shortages than the natives.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The economic literature starting with Borjas (2001) suggests that immigrants are more flexible than natives in responding to changing sectoral, occupational and spatial shortages in the labor market. The purpose of this paper is to study the relative responsiveness to labor shortages by immigrants from various origins, skills and tenure in the country vis-a-vis the natives, and how it varied over the business cycle during the Great Recession.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using data primarily from the EU Labor Force Survey and the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, the authors calculate a wage-based measure of labor shortages in the first stage while in the second stage the authors use them in a first-differences fixed-effects model as a regressor to explain changes in immigrants' distribution across sectors, occupations and countries vis-a-vis the natives.\nFindings: The authors show that immigrants have responded to changing labor shortages across EU member states, occupations and sectors at least as much and in many cases more flexibly than natives. This effect is especially significant for low-skilled immigrants from the new member states or with the medium number of years since migration, as well as with high-skilled immigrants with relatively few (one to five) or many (11+) years since migration. The relative responsiveness of some immigrant groups declined during the crisis years (those from Europe outside the EU or with 11 or more years since migration), whereas other groups of immigrants became particularly fluid during the Great Recession, such as those from new member states.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results suggest that immigrants may play an important role in labor adjustment during times of asymmetric economic shocks, and support the case for well-designed immigration policy and free movement of workers within the EU. Some limitations include alternative interpretations of the wage premium as our measure of shortage, as well as possible endogeneity of this measure in the model.\nOriginality/value: The results provide new insights into the functioning of the European Single Market and the roles various immigrant groups play for its stabilization through labor adjustment during the times of uneven economic development across sectors, occupations and countries.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Improving radical innovation in China's manufacturing firms: A resource management-based interpretation of social ties and firm capabilities	[ "Strategic management", "Technological innovation", "Networks", "Capabilities", "Resource management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Despite the considerable contribution the manufacturing sector has made to China's GDP growth (Vaidya et al., 2007; Xia and Walker, 2015), the low added value it creates has gradually emerged as an impediment to its industrial transition in the presence of globalized technological competition (Alcorta et al., 2008). Thus, radical innovation, as the strategic process of consuming resources to generate new technologies and/or create new markets (Bao et al., 2012), has become a vital engine for firms in this sector to achieve long-term growth and a future competitive advantage (Altenburg et al., 2008; Di Benedetto et al., 2008; Leifer et al., 2001), and has been written into China's national long-term strategic plan (Liu, 2016). Ironically, the existence of market uncertainties in China's transitional economy has clouded the path via which manufacturing firms can engage in such innovation (Gao et al., 2015). In particular, radical innovation relies on firms' investing innovation resources that differ from their existing ones (Di Benedetto et al., 2008), which according to the resource management model (RMM) necessitates firms' design of proper resource structuring and leveraging strategies to support their value creation (e.g. radical innovation) (Srivastava and Gnyawali, 2011; Carnes et al., 2016; Li et al., 2017). Specifically, structuring refers to the processes by which firms acquire, accumulate and divest resources (Sirmon et al., 2007), whereas leveraging refers to the processes used to apply a firm's capabilities to create value for firms and their customers, including mobilizing resources, coordinating resources and deploying resources (Sirmon et al., 2007, 2008). Although the RMM depicts how firms transform their internally and externally acquired resources to create value, the specific components of such structuring and leveraging processes have yet to be specified, making it difficult to investigate their synergic mechanisms and effects.\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development: 2.1 Radical innovation in Chinese manufacturing firms\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Data collection\n4. Hypotheses testing: 4.1 Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis\n5. Conclusions: 5.1 Theoretical contributions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the proper matches between institutional business ties (to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and to banks) and firm capabilities (technological capability and marketing capability) in impacting the radical innovation of manufacturing firms in China.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using the samples of 208 manufacturing firms in China, this study runs three regression models to test all hypotheses.\nFindings: Ties to SOEs and ties to banks are positively related to radical innovation of manufacturing firms in China. Further, the technological capability and marketing capability have different functions on moderating the relationship between institutional business ties and radical innovation.\nPractical implications: The results imply that managers of manufacturing firms should strive to establish close connections to those organizations that are set-up by government in China. In addition, managers should cautious about the synergies between different institutional business ties and different internal capabilities, and properly matching them to develop radical innovation.\nOriginality/value: This study enriches and extends the managerial ties literature by going beyond previous narrow focus on either business ties or political ties to address a particular type of organization that is set-up by the governments but operate in the business world. The findings of proper ties-capabilities matches provide nuanced understandings to dynamically manage external resources and internal capabilities for the synergetic benefits (e.g. radical innovation). This study also offer a theoretical paradigm (i.e. resource management model) for manufacturing firms to lessen the striking tension between the urgent needs for radical innovation and the hostile ground for conducting radical innovation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of external financing on firm value and a corporate governance index: SME evidence	[ "UK", "SMEs", "Corporate governance index", "External financing needs" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There has been a growing body of literature on the relationship between firm value and corporate governance. For example, Chen et al. (2010) stress the importance of the effect of external funding on corporate governance and firm value. Using Gompers et al.'s (2003) index, they report that corporate governance affects firm value. Most of the studies relate to large firms, with limited evidence on SMEs. Different studies, such as Al-Najjar (2015), Belghitar and Khan (2013) and Michaelas et al. (1999), provide evidence that the finance theory is applied in the SME context.\nLiterature review: Prior studies emphasise the association between corporate governance mechanisms and firm value in large firms. Gompers et al. (2003) developed a CGI that has been widely used in different studies (see e.g. Chen et al., 2010). They argue that firms with strong corporate governance mechanisms have more firm value and, consequently, a higher level of sales. However, contradicting the results of Gompers et al. (2003), Chen et al. (2010) document a negative association between the governance index and firm value.\nTheoretical framework and hypothesis development: The theoretical basis regarding corporate governance and external financing needs draws on different dimensions. Concerning firm value, there are several discussions as to how corporate governance mechanisms affect firm value. Good corporate governance practices help enhance firm value and performance. The inclusion of outside financing needs involves the availability of investment opportunities for the firm, which will consequently increase firm value.\nThe development of a CGI: We adopt the approach of Al-Najjar (2015) for an SME CGI based on different corporate governance variables, namely, board size, board independence, board meetings, audit size, audit independence, audit meetings, existence of the remuneration committee, remuneration committee independence, existence of the nomination committee and nomination committee independence. The CGI is assessed from a scale of 0 to 10. If a firm in a year meets all of the components of the CGI then, it is assigned an index of 10; and for firms that have not met any of the criteria sustained in the index a value of 0 is assigned. The construction of the index is based on the recommendations of The Cadbury Report (1992) and the FRC (2010).\nData and methodology: Data\nResults: Table IV reports the estimation results of three different models. Model 1 is regressed using pooled OLS; Model 2 applies IV estimation with 2SLS; and Model 3 uses a 3SLS technique. In panel A, we investigate the factors that affect firm value (which is measured by Tobin's Q). In Panel B, we examine whether our variables of interest (that is, external financing needs and Tobin's Q) can affect the CGI in UK SMEs. R2 is not reported, as it infers no statistical meaning in 2SLS or 3SLS, as maintained by Goldberger (1991). Throughout the three models, the coefficient of external financing needs is significant and positive, which indicates that firms with more outside financing have better firm value. This finding is consistent with Chen et al. (2010). This strong evidence indicates that UK SMEs with external financing needs enhance their value. However, we detect no evidence that corporate governance mechanisms enhance firm value. Also, ownership structure shows no impact on firm value. We can explain these results as follows: corporate governance mechanisms in UK SMEs are not active in monitoring firms, and, in turn, they do not improve firm value. Similar results are reported in the UK literature. For example, Guest (2008) argues that independent directors in the UK are not as active as in the USA, and Ozkan (2007) reports a weak link between independent directors and firms' monitoring.\nConcluding remarks: This paper is the first to assess the relationship between firm value and the CGI in the UK SME context. We adopt a CGI based on ten corporate governance features reported by the selected SMEs. The score is based on The Cadbury Report (1992) and the UK Corporate Governance Code (FRC, 2010). We investigate the impact of external financing needs on corporate governance framework and firm value.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of external financing needs on both firm value and corporate governance mechanisms within the UK SME context. This framework is of importance because of the limited external financial resources SMEs might face.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors consider the endogeneity problem between corporate governance mechanisms and firm value, and hence, the three stages least squares and the instrumental variables based on two stages least squares estimation methods are employed.\nFindings: The authors find a positive relationship between external financing needs and firm value. In addition, the authors detect that size and profitability are positively associated with firm value in the sample. Concerning the corporate governance index (CGI), the authors detect that big SMEs and those with low-debt levels have better corporate governance structures.\nOriginality/value: The authors employ a CGI for the sample which is constructed using ten corporate governance variables. The authors also examine different factors that affect SMEs 2019 governance by applying different models including logistic analysis.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Organization technologies, AMT and competent workers: Exploring relationships with manufacturing performance	[ "Total quality management", "Just in time", "Advanced manufacturing technologies", "Integrated manufacturing systems" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Some firms expect to improve manufacturing performance by adopting the following manufacturing technologies (MT): total quality management (TQM), just-in-time (JIT) inventory control, and advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT). These firms have been referred to as using integrated manufacturing (Challis et al., 2002, 2005; Dean and Snell, 1991, 1996). While firms adopting any of these MT expect to improve manufacturing performance, firms adopting all these MT expect to further improve manufacturing performance (Liker and Morgan, 2006; Patterson et al., 2004; Roberts, 2004). In addition, these firms expect to achieve additional gains in manufacturing performance by staffing with competent workers (CW) (Patterson et al., 2004; Shah and Ward, 2003; Womack et al., 1991).Thus, the following is an important question: what is the extent to which firms adopting these MT and staffing with CW increase manufacturing performance? The purpose of this study is to search for an answer to this question. There are differences between most previous studies searching for such an answer and this study. This study is concerned with understanding the extent to which firms adopting organization technologies (OT), rather than TQM and JIT as separate technologies, increase manufacturing performance. This study is concerned with OT, because TQM and JIT are conceptually close, indicators of TQM and JIT have been found to load on the same empirical factor (Henderson et al., 2004), and OT are conceptually different from AMT (which are engineering technologies). This study is also concerned with understanding the extent to which firms staffing with CW, rather than using bundles of human resource management (HRM) practices conducive to staffing with CW, increase manufacturing performance. Finally, this study is concerned with exploring the extent to which firms adopting OT and AMT and staffing with CW increase manufacturing performance through both additive and synergistic effects.The remainder of this paper is divided into sections. Section 2 includes a literature review and proposes research hypotheses. Section 3 describes the methodology used to test the hypotheses. Section 4 shows the test results. Section 5 discusses the results. Section 6 suggests implications from the results. Section 7 discusses limitations of the study. The final section shows the references cited in the paper.\n2 Theoretical development and hypotheses: 2.1 Organization technologies\n3 Method: To explore the hypotheses of the study, we developed a pencil-and-paper questionnaire. To pre-test the questionnaire, several manufacturing managers were asked to fill out a tentative version and to provide feedback on the extent to which the questions were clear and relevant to their plants. This feedback was then used to design the final version of the questionnaire.We personally contacted 150 manufacturing managers. These managers were asked to fill out the questionnaire regarding the manufacturing plant with which they were familiar. They were assured that any information they provided would be kept confidential and used only in the aggregate. A total of 117 managers filled out the questionnaire, each working for a different firm in the micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) industry.The MEMS industry is a relatively new industry, producing high-technology devices such as accelerometers and pressure sensors that trigger airbags when a car is involved in a collision. In this industry, firms compete by achieving such aspects of manufacturing performance as productivity, quality, and new and diverse products (Amato, 1999; Clarke and Gabriel, 2002; Costlow, 2003; DeGaspari, 2002; Finke, 2000).3.1 Measuring manufacturing performance\n4 Results: Table IV shows means and Pearson Correlations for the measures in the study. In only 89 out of the 117 filled out questionnaires we found answers to all the questions used to develop the measures above. Thus, only 59 percent of the 150 managers contacted provided data useful to test the hypotheses of the study, and we limit the study to the data provided by these 89 managers.The correlation between the two broad dimensions of manufacturing performance is small (r=0.11). This suggests that firms do not tend to achieve manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility simultaneously. Similarly, the small correlations between AMT and CW (r=0.14) and between OT and CW (r=0.16), suggest that firms adopting MT do not tend to staff with CW. The high correlation between OT and AMT (r=0.58**) suggests that firms tend to adopt these MT simultaneously. The means for the factor indicators suggest that firms rely more on staffing with CW (mean for indicators = 5.4) than on adopting MT (means for indicators of: OT = 3.8, AMT = 3.4).To test the hypotheses (H) of the study, the two broad dimensions of performance found - manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility - were entered as the dependent variables in two identical sets of hierarchical regressions. Three models were explored in each set. Model 1 enters OT, AMT and CW to test the main (additive) effects proposed by H1-H3. Moreover, Model 1 tests the significance of the R2 due to these main effects (the R2 of the regression). Model 2 adds the interaction AMT x OT to the main effects in Model 1 to test the moderating (synergistic) effect of OT proposed by H4. Moreover, Model 2 tests for the significance of the change in R2 due to this interaction (Cohen, 1968; Jaccard et al., 1990). Finally, Model 3 adds the interactions OT x CW and AMT x CW to the main effects and interaction in Model 2 to test the moderating effect of CW proposed by H5. Moreover, Model 3, tests for the significance of the change in R2 due to the addition of the two interactions.To minimize the correlations between the main effects and their pair-wise interactions, and between the interactions themselves, all of which can cause computational errors, the factor scores used as measures were standardized (Jaccard et al., 1990). For manufacturing effectiveness, the test results are displayed in Table V. For manufacturing flexibility, the test results are displayed in Table VI.Regardless of the model, the findings show that OT increase manufacturing effectiveness and do not change manufacturing flexibility, AMT do not change either manufacturing effectiveness or manufacturing flexibility, and CW increase manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility. We repeated the analyses for each of the four aspects of manufacturing performance loading on manufacturing effectiveness and for each of the two aspects of manufacturing performance loading on manufacturing flexibility (Table I). Regarding OT and CW, the results for each aspect of manufacturing performance were similar to the results for that dimension of manufacturing performance on which they load. Regarding AMT, the results were different in that, regardless of the model, we found positive and significant relationships (at the p<=0.05 or better) between AMT and productivity. Thus, the findings provide support for H1 and partial support for H2 regarding manufacturing effectiveness, and support for H3 regarding both manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility.The findings in Model 2 show that the interaction AMT x OT does not change either manufacturing effectiveness or manufacturing flexibility. Repeating the analyses for each of the six aspects of manufacturing performance yielded similar results. Thus, the findings provide no support whatsoever for H4.The findings in Model 3 show that the interactions OT x CW and AMT x CW do not change manufacturing effectiveness, but change manufacturing flexibility. Repeating the analyses for each of the four aspects of manufacturing performance loading on manufacturing effectiveness yielded similar results. Repeating the analyses for each of the two aspects of manufacturing performance loading on manufacturing flexibility yielded a similar result for diversity of product line only. The result for flexibility to manufacture new products was not significant. Thus, the findings provide mixed support for H5 regarding manufacturing flexibility. The interaction AMT x CW increases manufacturing flexibility (diversity of product line), which partially supports H5. The interaction OT x CW decreases manufacturing flexibility (diversity of product line), which partially supports a hypothesis contrary to H5.\n5 Discussion: The tests for H1 explored the relationship between the adoption of OT and manufacturing performance. The results suggest that by rigidly structuring the manufacturing process to continuously improve it, and reduce variability and waste, OT increase manufacturing effectiveness but not manufacturing flexibility.The tests for H2 explored the relationship between the adoption of AMT and manufacturing performance. The results suggest that by automating the manufacturing process with computer-controlled equipment, AMT partially increase manufacturing effectiveness, but do not change manufacturing flexibility. Moreover, the tests for H4 explored the moderating effect of OT on the relationship between AMT and manufacturing performance. The results suggest that whether the manufacturing process is rigidly structured by the adoption of OT or not, the performance effects of automating the manufacturing process with computer-controlled equipment do not change. Thus, the results suggest that AMT fail to live up to their potential to increase manufacturing effectiveness, even in the presence of OT, because AMT are too complex. Moreover, AMT do not increase manufacturing flexibility at all, because they are not used innovatively enough to satisfy customer demand for new and diverse products.The tests for H3 explored the relationship between staffing with CW and manufacturing performance. The results suggest that staffing the manufacturing process with workers with the knowledge, motivation and empowerment to do their job increases both manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility.The tests for H5 explored the moderating effect of CW on the relationship between AMT and manufacturing performance. The results suggest that CW make AMT partially increase manufacturing flexibility, but not manufacturing effectiveness. Thus, it appears that CW become intrinsically motivated to use computer-controlled equipment to achieve innovative, but not traditional, performance goals (Amabile, 1997; Cordero et al., 2005). The tests for H5 also explored the moderating effect of CW on the relationship between OT and manufacturing performance. The results suggest that OT make CW partially decrease manufacturing flexibility, but not manufacturing effectiveness. Thus, it appears that while the presence of a rigidly structured manufacturing process diminishes the extent to which CW behave to achieve innovative performance goals, it does not change the extent to which CW behave to achieve traditional performance goals.\n6 Implications of the study: The findings of the study imply that if firms want to increase manufacturing effectiveness, they can adopt OT and staff with CW. In addition, they can adopt AMT to partially increase manufacturing effectiveness. Since AMT are expensive, the adoption of AMT may not be justified until AMT become less complex, and therefore, capable of more extensively increasing manufacturing effectiveness.The findings imply that if firms want to increase manufacturing flexibility, they can staff with CW. They can also adopt AMT in the presence of CW to partially increase manufacturing flexibility. Since AMT are expensive, the adoption of AMT may not be justified until AMT are more extensively used for the purpose of increasing manufacturing flexibility.Finally, the findings imply that if firms want to increase manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility simultaneously, they can staff with CW. Moreover, they can adopt AMT (with the caveats above) to partially increase manufacturing effectiveness, and in the presence of CW to partially increase manufacturing flexibility. They should, however, be careful about adopting OT and staffing with CW, because OT partially restrict the extent CW increase manufacturing flexibility.\n7 Limitations of the study: The findings need to be interpreted with caution. We have assumed OT, AMT, CW, and their pair-wise interactions, to be the causes and the two dimensions of manufacturing performance to be the effects. Since the data collected are cross-sectional, we cannot test these cause-effect relationships. We have also obtained measures from the same individual at each manufacturing plant. Thus, this approach to collecting data could bring method bias (Becker and Gerhardt, 1996). Method bias occurs when respondents answer evaluative questions in a systematically biased downward or upward way. Finally, our sample size is small and limited to the MEMS industry, which reduces the external validity of the findings and makes this an exploratory study.The above limitations, however, do not appear to be critical. This study has assumed the traditional cause-effect relationships found in the literature. Although using more objective indicators, or one respondent for the indicators of manufacturing performance and another respondent for the indicators of OT, AMT, and CW at each plant are preferred, these superior indicators are harder (if not very difficult) to obtain. Moreover, single participant-reported measures are not necessarily biased in a systematically downward or upward way (Barczak and Wilemon, 1992; Sapienza et al., 1988). For example, finding two broad dimensions of performance that are little correlated, finding weak relationships between AMT and manufacturing performance, finding small correlations between staffing with CW and adopting OT and AMT, and finding a conflict between the adoption of OT and staffing with CW regarding manufacturing flexibility, suggest the absence of method bias. Finally, limiting our sample to the MEMS industry is likely to reduce error brought by studying different industries simultaneously.To overcome some of the limitations of this study, future research could study additional aspects of manufacturing performance, and use more objective and extensive measures. Moreover, future research could attempt to verify our exploratory findings by using a substantially larger sample of companies representing a diversity of industries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which firms staffing with competent workers (CW), in addition to adopting organization technologies (OT) (which include total quality management and just-in-time techniques) and advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) change manufacturing performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The literature is reviewed to hypothesize relationships. The data are obtained with a questionnaire from 89 manufacturing managers in the micro electro-mechanical systems industry. Factor analysis of indicators of manufacturing performance reveals two broad dimensions: manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility. To test the hypotheses, these dimensions of manufacturing performance are regressed on measures of OT, AMT, CW and their pair-wise interactions in a hierarchical fashion. The analyses are then repeated for the indicators of the two dimensions of manufacturing performance.\nFindings: - Staffing with CW fully increases both manufacturing effectiveness and manufacturing flexibility. The adoption of AMT partially increases manufacturing effectiveness, and partially increases manufacturing flexibility in the presence of CW. The adoption of OT fully increases manufacturing effectiveness, but partially decreases manufacturing flexibility in the presence of CW.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides a valuable study of the extent to which firms adopting OT and AMT, and staffing with CW change two broad dimensions of manufacturing performance and their indicators through both additive and synergistic effects.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer-citizen willingness to pay for healthy eating messages	[ "Willingness to pay", "Consumer-citizen duality", "Health-related information labelling", "Health-warning message" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Health-related information on food labels is regarded as an important means to help people make healthier food choices and in this way influence our dietary patterns (Grunert and Wills, 2007). Food labels contain information such as name of the food, list of ingredients and their respective proportions and dietary advice (Stuart, 2010). While some of this information is mandatorily required, other information can be voluntarily presented, such as graphic elements, health and nutritional claims and dietary advice (US Food and drug administration, 2017). Individuals value labels and are willing to pay more for this information because such labels serve as a communicating channel for consumers to make informed choices (Miller and Cassady, 2015). However, studies have also shown that current food labels such as nutritional tables can be confusing, and people find information on food labels difficult to understand correctly (Roberto and Khandpur, 2014). US Food and Drug Administration (2013) has been seeking to improve the labeling system to provide easy-to-understand information. However, the debate over the information content of these labels is far from over; in fact, our understanding of the effectiveness of such labels is only in its nascent stages. This paper investigated the value individuals assign to a specific type of information, health-warning messages on menus in a restaurant setting. Health-warning messages appear on tobacco packages and alcohol beverage labels. As in the case of messages related to smoking, Article 4.1 from The World Health Organizations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control claims that \"everyone should be informed of the potential health consequences, additive nature, and mortal threat posed by tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke\" (Hammond et al., 2006). Similarly, alcohol producers in countries such as Argentina, Germany, USA and others are required to print health-warning message or moderate consumption suggestions, such as \"Drink in moderation\" and \"Avoid excessive alcohol consumption\" (IARD, 2017). Similar to cigarette and alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating has been frequently shown to increase the risk of developing non-communicable health problems, such as obesity and diabetes (Bellavia et al., 2013). Moreover, food is identified as a powerful natural re-enforcer that may cause addictive behavior similar to those associated with alcohol, smoke and drug addiction (Epstein et al., 2011). However, unlike other unhealthy behaviors, unhealthy eating is difficult to distinguish from regular eating, as unhealthy eating behaviors largely depend on everyone's specific context. Thus, individuals' food consumption is not necessarily driven by thoughtful calculation of daily nutrition needs. In fact, the risk alert threshold for unhealthy food choices or excessive eating is relatively low at each time of food consumption, resulting in a dramatic cumulative outcome of unhealthy eating behaviors over a long period of time. Therefore, health-warning message could be an important source of motivation for healthy food consumption.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Health-related information labeling\n3. Method and data: 3.1 Study design and survey questionnaire\n4. Results: 4.1 Sample descriptive analysis\n5. Discussion and conclusion: 5.1 Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the preference of health-warning message labeling in an eating-away-from-home context. The authors assessed individuals' preference valuation of such messaging from a dual - consumer and citizen - perspective and with associated expected risk reduction (RR) level.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In an online stated choice experiment on Amazon's Mechanical Turk (N = 658), participants were asked to provide willingness to pay (WTP) preferences for health-warning messages and based on the expected RR from health-warning messages. Two types of multiple price list questions were used for consumer and citizen contexts. Interval regression and descriptive analysis methods were applied to analyze the data.\nFindings: The study found that individuals placed a higher value (higher WTP) on health-warning message labeling when acting as citizens rather than as consumers. An RR expectation of 50 per cent was most effective in increasing participants' WTP. Individuals who ate out frequently were more concerned about healthier food messages, and the influence of gender and age on WTP was conditional on individuals' roles as consumers versus citizens.\nOriginality/value: This study extends the theory of consumer-citizen duality to the context of health-related information labeling, thus opening the discussion to extending such labeling from traditionally risky behavior such as alcohol and tobacco to also including food choice behavior. The authors also highlight implications on policy and industry practices to promote healthy food choices through such messages.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Brand image inconsistencies of luxury fashion brands: A buyer-seller exchange situation model of Hugo Boss Australia	[ "Fashion", "Premier brands", "Brand image" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Brand image consistency is crucial to the success of any brand (Levine, 1998; McEnally and De Chernatony, 1999; Ritson, 2003). With greater regularity of consumer travel and increasing international media, consumers expect brands to deliver the same values on a worldwide basis (De Chernatony et al., 1995; Phau and Yip, 2008). Preserving brand image consistency is particularly relevant for luxury brands that are based on brand symbolism (Levy, 1959; Elliott, 1997; Vickers and Renand, 2003; Banister and Hogg, 2004; Dall'Olmo Riley et al., 2004; Park et al., 2008). Nueno and Quelch (1998, p. 62) further define luxury brands as \"those whose ratio of functional utility to price is low while the ratio of intangible and situational utility to price is high\". That is to say, price is not the prime issue for status consumers (Dall'Olmo Riley et al., 2004). Whereas consumers of fast moving consumer goods may be influenced by the brand's image, they will generally prioritise on functionality and price (Dall'Olmo Riley et al., 2004). In contrast, consumers of luxury goods will be primarily influenced by the brand's image, while considering functionality as a given prerequisite (Dall'Olmo Riley et al., 2004). This is in line with Vickers and Renand (2003, p. 473) who state that:Although luxury and non-luxury goods can be conceptualised on the basis of functional [...] and interactional symbolic dimensions, there is a distinctive difference in the mix of these components.Specifically, Vickers and Renand (2003) point out that luxury goods are based on symbolic attributes, whereas non-luxury goods mainly rely on functional attributes. As Dubois and Paternault (1995, p. 71) remark \"luxury items are bought for what they mean, beyond what they are.\" Thus, symbolism shapes the luxury character of a brand, enabling luxury brands to maintain status and demand premium prices (Vickers and Renand, 2003).However, brand image inconsistency is an issue several luxury brands struggle with (Matthiesen and Phau, 2005). Brand image inconsistencies, namely the difference between the identity of a brand and its image, embody the threat of brand dilution or might even change the values incorporated into the brand (McEnally and De Chernatony, 1999; Temporal, 1999). Gucci, Tiffany and Burberry are luxury brands that faced such brand image inconsistencies in the past (The Economist, 1992; Temporal, 2001). The brand Hugo Boss is a good example of global brand image inconsistency. The Hugo Boss global brand portrays an identity of being one of the most successful fashion groups with an array of brands offering the largest fashion diversity possible at a consistent and high quality standard for both men and women (Hugo Boss, 2003). However, in Australia, the image is that of a producer of high-quality business wear for men (Matthiesen and Phau, 2005). Similarly, the global Hugo Boss brand personifies fashion competence, brand showcase, dynamics, sport, glamour and fun. In Australia it only personifies masculinity, modesty, and leadership and fell short of several key attributes of the global brand image (Matthiesen and Phau, 2005).Brand image inconsistencies can be avoided through consistent communication (McEnally and De Chernatony, 1999). That is to say, a brand's identity or its message must be delivered consistently to all publics, whether consumers, media or government (McEnally and De Chernatony, 1999; Kotler et al., 2003; Park et al., 2008). A prerequisite of consistent communication is consistency in the marketing mix (De Chernatony, 2001; Keller, 2003; Hoeffler and Keller, 2003; Kotler et al., 2003; Phau and Yip, 2008). Despite the importance generally ascribed to consistency in the marketing mix, extant research on that matter has predominantly looked at product, price and promotion, but largely neglected place (Strategy, 2003; Lawn, 2004; Sustar and Sustar, 2005). Place refers to the distribution channel that might constitute one of the sources of brand image inconsistencies.Reviewing Hugo Boss as an example, the distribution strategy of the Hugo Boss Group is twofold. First, Hugo Boss relies on close cooperation with trading partners (i.e. retailers) to sell its products to the final customer. These retail shops include flagship stores, freestanding stores, shop-in-shops and traveller shops run by franchisees or directly by Hugo Boss (Hugo Boss, 2003). Further, sales teams in the headquarters in Metzingen and 15 subsidiaries throughout the world are available to support the Hugo Boss trading partners. Second, Hugo Boss distributes its products via monobrand shops. Hugo Boss shops are globally uniform in matching the corporate identity of Hugo Boss. To guarantee this uniformity, Hugo Boss makes use of in-house teams of architects and merchandisers that also offer professional advice to Hugo Boss trading partners. This ranges from shop planning and execution to the design of retail space, or the organisation of retailer events. This aims at creating, maintaining, and strengthening the global brand image. However some pertinent questions arise which will form the research objectives of this study. The concerns are as follows:1. Are the perceptions of wholesalers, retailers and final consumers toward the Hugo Boss brand different?2. How do perceptions, specifically brand personality perceptions, transcend from wholesalers to retailers and from retailers to final consumers?3. What are the issues that constitute irregularities in the brand perception of wholesalers and retailers that led to brand image inconsistencies?The next section will first provide background information on the Hugo Boss brand. This is followed by a brief review of extant literature on marketing channels and the brand identity concept. Subsequently, the research methodology and findings will be discussed. The final section draws an overall conclusion of this research, highlights the key contributions and limitations, and puts forward a number of recommendations for future research.\nRelevant literature: The Hugo Boss Group\nResearch methodology and findings: The research design of this study consisted of two phases. The first phase comprised survey research with final consumers, and the second phase in-depth interviews with Hugo Boss customers (i.e. retailers).Phase 1: survey research\nDiscussion and implications: Final consumers mainly know Hugo Boss for its brand BOSS, which encompasses its business wear range and less for HUGO which is the younger and trendier brand of the company. Further, consumers' familiarity with BOSS Woman seems to be relatively low, indicating that consumers largely refer to menswear when thinking of the Hugo Boss brand. Also consumers' familiarity with Hugo Boss's different labels appears to be low. If one compares the final consumers' brand knowledge with the Hugo Boss brands and labels that are stocked by retailers, it becomes apparent that the final consumers' knowledge reflects the Hugo Boss brands and labels he/she encounters in retailing. Therefore, it is concluded that if Hugo Boss wants to extend the final consumers' knowledge in terms of its different brands and labels, these might need to be stocked by the retailers first, so that the final consumer can experience all brands and labels of the Hugo Boss brand while shopping.The final consumer's overall brand image of the Hugo Boss brand is positive. Specifically, consumers perceive the Hugo Boss brand as stylish, expensive, and of high quality. The retailers' image of the Hugo Boss brand was dominated by similar thoughts (i.e. menswear, quality, design, and luxury). Retailers strongly relate the Hugo Boss brand to menswear. This coincides with the finding that the final consumers' knowledge of the BOSS Woman was relatively low. Above all, the retailers' image of the Hugo Boss brand seems to be restricted and different from the Hugo Boss brand statement as Hugo Boss emphasises on its fashion diversity. This restrictiveness might have an impact on the final consumers' image of the Hugo Boss brand as the retailer constitutes the direct link to the final consumer. As such, Hugo Boss should take some responsibility in helping shape a consistent image for women's wear and further enhanced awareness in this line of products.The Hugo Boss brand personality dimensions, as perceived by the final consumer, were excitement, sincerity, and competence. From the retailer's point-of-view the Hugo Boss brand personifies a middle-aged male business person with a classy and elegant, but at the same time fashionable style. The perceptions of the final consumers and the retailers are different from the brand personality defined by the Hugo Boss company. According to the company, the Hugo Boss brand symbolises fashion competence, brand showcase, dynamics, sport, glamour, fun, and current lifestyle trends. Furthermore, the Hugo Boss brand is targeted at female and male customers and therefore final consumers and retailers are supposed to notice a feminine as well as a masculine side to the brand. However, masculinity seems to dominate the Hugo Boss brand personality, overriding the feminine aspects of the Hugo Boss brand personality. Consequently, building on the discussion in the preceding paragraph, there appears to be a need to stress the feminine side of the Hugo Boss brand.The retailers perceived the key selling propositions of the Hugo Boss brand to be largely product related. They also acknowledged the high brand awareness and the well-established image of the Hugo Boss brand. Explicitly, retailers stated that the high brand awareness and strong image of the Hugo Boss brand enhance its commercial ability in store. Further, they pointed out that there is a need for Hugo Boss to further strengthen its brand image via national celebrity endorsement. Hence, retailers appear to perceive brand awareness and brand image as sales prerequisites that Hugo Boss is responsible for, and not as an issue they need to reinforce themselves. This underscores the conflicting perspectives of the seller (i.e. Hugo Boss) and buyer (i.e. retailer) as outlined in the literature review. The conflicting goals and perspectives of the seller and buyer are also apparent in the retailer's statements on the challenges of the Hugo Boss brand in the Australian market.Retailers perceived the high price of the Hugo Boss brand. Furthermore, they also perceived the brand to be over-distributed, resulting in brand dilution as a possible threat for the Hugo Boss brand. However, despite their concern for brand dilution, retailers demanded \"end of season sell-outs\" in order to adapt to the \"Australian bargain culture\". End of season sell outs would dilute the luxury character of the Hugo Boss brand, and will be not be allowed by Hugo Boss brand managers. This again highlights the conflicting goals between the seller and buyer. Seasonal limitations were another issue pointed out by retailers. Specifically, the fact that new seasons need to be bought one year in advance was regarded as problematic as it requires the exact prediction of future sales. Hugo Boss will have to come up with a strategy o reconcile this issue.Retailers largely referred to more sales promotions and better price incentives but not to the brand positioning issues. This also demonstrates that the perspectives of the seller and buyer do differ. Retailers use a mix of marketing tools to promote the brand's image to the final consumer. However, as retailers' brand perception in terms of the image and personality of the Hugo Boss brand appear to be restricted, brand image inconsistencies might arise in retailing.\nConcluding comments: In summary, the findings of this study reveal that brand perceptions differ across channel members. Specifically, there appears to be a mismatch in the perceptions of wholesalers and retailers. This mismatch might be rooted in the wholesaler and retailer's conflicting goals and perspectives as identified by the BSESM. This mismatch might constitute a source of brand image inconsistencies as the retailer constitutes the direct link between the brand and the final consumer. Further, although the final consumers' overall attitudes toward the Hugo Boss brand were positive, consumers appeared to be in favour of other brands. In addition, their inclination to purchase the Hugo Boss brand appeared to be relatively low.The findings indicate a mismatch in the wholesaler and retailer's perceptions and therefore the question that arises is \"which marketing measures are helpful in overcoming the mismatch and enhancing the retailer's brand perception?\" Literature proposes to first address the source of the retailer's perception. Specifically, brand perceptions are based on brand knowledge (Keller, 2003), and hence on the information and/or knowledge retailers receive from the wholesalers or manufacturers.The Hugo Boss company provides their customers (i.e. retailers) with brand and product knowledge each new season within sales periods, but also offers brand knowledge throughout the year. In particular, retailers are visited on a regular basis by Hugo Boss salesmen/saleswomen, specific brand trainers or visual merchandisers who, for instance provide product information to retailers or inform retailers about new trends in Hugo Boss fashion. However, these brand knowledge measures seem to require further focus and enhancement as the retailers' perception of the Hugo Boss brand is restricted. Consequently, Hugo Boss Australia Pty. Ltd might want to re-evaluate its brand knowledge techniques for efficiency.The brand knowledge techniques could be assessed for efficiency via internal marketing measures. Internal marketing measures can be implemented to constantly evaluate the staff's present knowledge and encourage the development of new internal knowledge (Ballantyne, 2003). Specifically, Hugo Boss Australia might consider investigating whether its employees, specifically salesmen/saleswomen and customer service have a clear understanding of the Hugo Boss brands and their different meanings. This is vital as the salesmen/saleswomen and customer service constitutes the link between the brand and the customer (i.e. retailer).This study may be limited by the researching only one brand and in one country of study. Therefore generalisations must be drawn with caution (Bhat and Reddy, 2001). Consequently, confirmation or disconfirmation of findings with other luxury brands in different countries are strongly recommended (Helgeson and Supphellen, 2004). This would enrich the generalisation of research findings and help to establish cross-national validity (Malhotra et al., 1996; Steenkamp and Baumgartner, 1998). This study was exploratory in nature and qualitative methods are deemed appropriate because they provide an in depth study of a relatively small sample. Knowledge generated from a large sample would enhance the results.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to examine whether brand perceptions differ across channel members of luxury brands using the buyer-seller exchange situation model.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A triangulation approach was used to compare perceptions of different channel members. The data collection was completed in two stages. First, a self-administered mail survey was sent out to 3,592 individuals from a publicly available mailing list. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 retailer buyers.\nFindings: - The findings reveal that brand perceptions differ across channel members. There appears to be a mismatch in the perceptions of wholesalers and retailers that might constitute a source of brand image inconsistencies. Although the final consumers' overall attitude toward the Hugo Boss brand is positive, consumers appear to be in favour of other brands and their inclination to purchase the Hugo Boss brand seems to be relatively low.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The study only examined one brand and is limited to the Australian context. Future research could examine other luxury brands in different countries. The study utilised judgement sampling, which could result in selection bias.\nPractical implications: - Brand knowledge is crucial to achieving brand image consistency between seller and buyer. Internal marketing techniques could be employed to assess the efficiency and development of brand knowledge among employees, retailers and other channel members.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of the pioneering studies that applies a marketing channel approach to investigate brand image inconsistencies in a concrete working example. It contributes to luxury brand management across borders, opening the way for further research. The study provides ecological validity and reliability by working on a triangulation approach, using qualitative and quantitative research methods.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Developing a HospiSE scale for hospital service excellence	[ "Malaysia", "Hospitals", "Service excellence culture" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There are numerous challenges facing the healthcare sector, specifically hospitals, in providing high quality services to patients. One of the main challenges is the shortage of qualified and experienced doctors and specialists. Hospitals that provide multidisciplinary and specialist services are usually overcrowded with patients. This leads to lengthy waiting time, another common challenge in healthcare service delivery (Pillay et al., 2011). These unfavourable incidents often caused the patients or visitors to have an overall unfavourable perception of the healthcare service quality. As the quality of healthcare service can significantly affect the wellbeing of patients who are ill, improving the standard of service is highly relevant to both public and private hospitals alike. There is also empirical evidence to indicate that satisfied patients are more likely to be loyal (Kessler and Mylod, 2011). Delivering and sustaining service excellence is considered to be a key competitive advantage for organisations, including hospitals. An organisational culture which favours a positive service climate can lead to positive behaviors and attitudes in employees which in turn result in higher value and better results (Deshpande et al., 1993). It has also been asserted that improvements in service culture and service quality lead to increased customer satisfaction, reduced costs, increased profitability and market share (Garvin, 1984; Sureshchandar et al., 2001; Anthony et al., 2002) as well as the overall competitiveness of firms (Shenawy et al., 2007).\nQuality management and culture of excellence: Quality management (QM) has been extensively researched and its positive contributions to organizational performance have been widely acknowledged (Shenawy et al., 2007; Escrig-Tena, 2004; Irani et al., 2004; Sohail, 2003). Specifically, total quality management (TQM) has become a key element in business strategy since the 1990s. It mainly focuses on the mindset and processes that employ the tools and techniques rather than the tools and techniques themselves (Anthony et al., 2002). Among the components of TQM for service quality advancement include:\nService culture: Corporate culture refers to the shared norms and values in an organization that define what is acceptable (Wilson, 1997; Gronroos, 2001; Edvardsson and Enquist, 2002). It has been argued that for service organizations to deliver excellent service, the corporate culture must support service-oriented behaviours and practices (Berry, 1999; Gronroos, 2001). The basis of service excellence is an organizational culture that fosters the delivery of quality service. This is because the service culture forms the soul which provides a system of shared meaning that guides employees on what should be done. Service strategy is therefore directed by service culture (Edvardsson and Enquist, 2002). It has been found that three dimensions of service culture that positively affect organizational excellence are open communication, service responsiveness and service recovery (Ooncharoen and Ussahawanitchakit, 2008). Service culture of the more process focus hospitals will indeed need to be well understood and measure regularly in order to enhance the service delivery system and provide excellent healthcare services to the different types of patients. Good co-ordination, communication and customer orientation are essentials.\nService culture in healthcare: Health care organizations are becoming more aware of the role of culture in improving the quality of service provided to their customers. Buttimer (2008) asserted that health screening programmes can improve if there is continuous emphasis on service excellence and the development of a service culture. In a study of mental health services, both organizational culture and the design of the service delivery system were found to affect the level of service performance (Hyde and Davies, 2004).\nMethodology: This is a measurement-based descriptive research to develop a measurement model for hospital service excellence in the Malaysian context. The service culture and overall service quality of the participating hospitals (public and private) were assessed from the employees' and patients' perspectives, respectively. The main objectives of this survey research include identifying the dimensions of hospital service excellence, and systematically developing a measurement model.\nResearch design and process: The research employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches to develop and validate the measurement model (Firdaus et al., 2010; Voon et al., 2009). Figure 1 shows the step-by-step research process followed in this study. As the initial step, literature review was conducted on existing literature including leading articles on developing marketing constructs and service quality measures (Churchill, 1979; Parasuraman et al., 1988).\nSampling and data analysis strategy: To assess hospital service excellence, the planned sample size was approximately 4,500 (30 on average from each hospital). Based on Krejcie and Morgan (1970), the intended sample size was deemed to be adequate.\nFindings and discussions: This section presents the sample characteristics, normality of data, measurement properties and empirical results of the various hypothesized relationships for hospital service excellence (HospiSE). The scale development and measurement properties (validity and reliability) of HospiSE are presented first followed by the relationships between HospiSE, overall service quality, satisfaction and loyalty.\nThe sample: The respondents of this survey research comprised employees from different departments and positions from 62 public and 15 private hospitals. A total of 1,636 usable questionnaires were generated. However, the final sample size (without outliers) for further quantitative analysis was n=1,558. The general characteristics of the employee respondents are presented in Table I.\nNormality of data: This section reports the assessment done on the psychometric properties of the instrument used such as reliability and validity. Prior to that, the normality of the data was examined and outliers that cause the departure from normal distribution were removed. Since the instrument for this study was developed using the qualitative approach via a series of focus group discussions, establishing the psychometric properties is important before the results derived from this instrument can be generalized to the intended population.\nPsychometric properties of measures: The psychometric properties of the instrument were evaluated in terms of the validity and reliability of the instrument.\nValidity: The validity of the instrument used in the research refers to whether or not it measures what it purports to measure. This is an important issue to be addressed since the validity of the study very much depends on the validity of the instrument used. Broadly speaking, validity can be termed as a measure of how \"truly\" a particular concept is represented by its construct which is \"the extent to which the research findings accurately represent what is happening in the actual situation\" (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). In other words, it refers to how accurately a particular construct is translated into measurable behaviours. This is widely known as \"construct validity\". The construct validity can be further classified into \"translation validity\" and \"criterion-related validity\". The translation validity focuses on the accuracy of the items reflecting the construct while the criterion-related validity examines whether the respondents responded to the items in the way they should (Trochim, 2002). Under the category of translation validity are \"face validity\" and \"content validity\" while criterion-related validity consists of \"predictive validity\", \"concurrent validity\", \"convergent validity\", and \"discriminant validity\" (Trochim, 2002).\nReliability: Reliability is the measure of consistency of a particular instrument. This refers to the capability of the instrument in producing consistent results if it were to be repeatedly administered to a homogenous group of respondents. In this study, the internal-consistency was used to evaluate the consistency of the responses for each item within the instrument. This is reported in terms of coefficient of Cronbach a where the values range from 0 to 1. The a value is calculated using the following formula: Equation 1 where \"k\" represents the number of items, \"si2\" is the variance of the \"ith\" item and \"sT2\" is the variance of the total score formed by summing the scores for all the items. The a value of more than 0.7 is required. The a values for the various dimensions of the instruments are 0.942 for EO, 0.904 for PO and 0.900 for CO.\nThe measurement and structural models for hospital service excellence: In assessing the relationship between hospital service excellence and overall quality as well as overall satisfaction, the following models were tested:\nRelationships among HospiSE, quality, satisfaction and PI: Table IX presents the findings of two multiple regression analyses. Generally, the findings suggest that HospiSE has positive and significant influences on employee-perceived overall quality, satisfaction and patients' re-purchase intention of the hospital assessed. This indicates that developing and enhancing a culture of service excellence (HospiSE) will positively influence the employees' perceptions that the hospital is of good quality and they would be more satisfied with the hospital concerned. From the employee evaluations, it was found that EO and PO of the HospiSE dimensions asserted significant influences on the perceived quality of the hospital, satisfaction and PI.\nConclusions and future research: In the quest for organisational excellence, many service organisations emphasize customer-perceived service quality as it is one of the critical factors to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. The culture of excellence is necessary. This is also true for hospitals, especially in line with the increasing awareness and expectations among patients to obtain better value for money and quality of life. As such, the elements required to deliver excellent healthcare services need to be understood, measured and enhanced accordingly. In this study, the dimensions of hospital service excellence were identified using qualitative and quantitative approaches. A diagnostic tool for culture of service excellence was developed and initially validated in the Malaysian hospitals context. Both public and private hospitals were included in the nationwide survey.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This empirical survey research aims to identify the dimensions of service excellence culture for hospitals. Ultimately, a measurement tool was developed for hospital service excellence (i.e. HospiSE scale).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The survey research involved qualitative and quantitative approaches in the scale development process. The structured questionnaire was carefully designed after literature review and focus groups discussions. The respondents were employees from the public and private hospitals in Malaysia. A total of 1,558 usable questionnaires were used for the quantitative analysis. The HospiSE scale was empirically tested for reliability and validity through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.\nFindings: This measurement-oriented research had identified three dimensions of service excellence culture for hospitals, namely: employee orientation, patient orientation and competitor orientation. The multi-dimensional measure consists of 21 items.\nResearch limitations/implications: Longitudinal research is required to provide evidence of the causal effects of HospiSE on employee satisfaction and loyalty. The HospiSE scale also requires further verification and refinement.\nPractical implications: The parsimonious scale can serve as a strategic and practical measure to evaluate and manage service excellence culture at hospitals. Reliable and valid information can be obtained for fast and cost-effective diagnosis of the service culture for continuous improvement.\nSocial implications: The new scale is expected to be an important diagnostic to understand and measure service excellence culture at hospitals. The patients and society at large will benefit from the improved hospital service management.\nOriginality/value: The multi-item measurement tool is new and it can provide insights into service management, resource allocation and human resource management for excellent hospital service. The measurement development process is contextualized for the hospital services.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Linking career adaptability to supervisor-rated task performance: a serial mediation model	[ "Career adaptability", "Job engagement", "Task performance", "Proactive personality" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The changing nature of work due to economic, technological and demographic factors (Scully-Ross and Torraco, 2020) is contributing to a less stable employment environment for the current workers. The days of secure, lifetime employment within a single organization have long passed (Blokker et al., 2019), and individuals are often compelled to switch jobs more frequently due to these unpredictable conditions (Rossier et al., 2012). The unstable landscape of modern-day work may, as a result, leave many wondering - \"How do I prepare for an eventual change in my employment situation?\" or \"How do I reduce the probability of such a change occurring?\" Ultimately, employees wish to exert as much control over their work situations as possible (Blokker et al., 2019) in order to gain more stability in their careers and work prospects.While all employees should be engaged in developing their own career paths, we believe that individuals with proactive tendencies are more likely to do so. Proactivity is about taking control, making things happen and observing the environment and aspiring to change it to construct a preferred future (Parker et al., 2010). In relation to their careers, proactive individuals do not typically wait around for things to happen, but rather make resource investments necessary to create the careers they desire (Fuller and Marler, 2009; Seibert et al., 2001). Proactive individuals understand the need to acquire resources essential for developing a future career path, so they pursue these resources and in turn become more adaptable to career changes as they occur (Savickas, 2005). The increased emphasis and psychological focus on their careers accompanying career adaptability allow employees to willingly involve themselves in their work, which manifests in greater job engagement and subsequent performance. We suggest that proactive individuals initiate this process of resource acquisition and implementation more effectively, which leads them to benefit from these resource gains in motivational and behavioral output.The intent of this study is twofold. First, we hope to explain our motivational process model by integrating the tenets of two theories: career construction theory (CCT; Savickas, 2005, 2013) and conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989). CCT proposes that higher levels of adaptive readiness (dispositional characteristics) and adaptability resources (career adaptability) lead to adaptation results such as enhanced job engagement and performance (Rudolph et al., 2017). While Johnston (2018) considers CCT a relevant starting point for studies on career adaptability, she encourages researchers to also look to other well-known theories of career development when building theoretical propositions. COR theory focuses on the motivation to preserve individual resources when they are in limited supply and acquire new job-related resources in order to offset potential future resource deficits (Halbesleben et al., 2014). Thus, similar to the approach used in recent research on career adaptability (e.g. Federici et al., 2019), we draw from both CCT and COR theories to connect a dispositional characteristic with career adaptability and ensuing work engagement.Second, we respond to recent calls for empirical studies that link career adaptability to supervisor-rated task performance in actual work settings (Ohme and Zacher, 2015; Rudolph et al., 2017; Zacher, 2014) by investigating how the nomological network pertaining to career adaptability indirectly influences employees' in-role performance. Given task performance consists of workers delivering on duties specified in their job descriptions (Motowildo et al., 1997), supervisors should be in a better position to evaluate whether or not subordinates have successfully accomplished these goals. Supervisory ratings of task performance may thus offer a more objective assessment of how career adaptability and job engagement impact goal achievement at work.We satisfy our study's intentions by proposing and testing a serial mediation model linking proactive personality to supervisor-rated task performance sequentially through career adaptability and job engagement (see Figure 1). As a result, our study builds on research examining the central role of personality in driving career management and success (e.g. Caniiols et al., 2018; Woo, 2018; Yang and Chau, 2016), with a particular emphasis on career adaptability as called for in previous research (Akkermans and Kubasch, 2017).\nTheory and hypotheses: Proactive personality, career adaptability and job engagement\nMethod: Procedure and participants\nResults: Descriptive statistics and correlations\nDiscussion: Based on both CCT and COR theory, the present study investigated the relationships between proactive personality, career adaptability, job engagement and supervisor-rated task performance. Survey results from a sample of supervisor-subordinate dyads in the United States showed that: (1) career adaptability mediated the relationship between proactive personality and job engagement, (2) job engagement mediated the relationship between career adaptability and supervisor-rated task performance and (3) career adaptability and job engagement sequentially mediated the relationship between proactive personality and supervisor-rated task performance.Theoretical and practical implications\nConclusion: In summary, this study sheds light on the indirect role career adaptability plays in employee task performance. By testing a nomological network connected with career adaptability, we add to evidence supporting CCT and COR theory more generally. Our study highlights the importance of adopting a multitheoretical lens for better understanding propositions in career adaptability research. Future studies should build on our research here by integrating additional predictors and outcomes of career adaptability while specifying relevant boundary conditions to further our understanding of psychosocial resources critical in employees' career successes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Based on a combination of career construction theory (CCT) and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study proposes and examines a serial mediation model connecting proactive personality with supervisor-rated task performance sequentially through career adaptability and job engagement.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A sample of 177 supervisor-subordinate dyads in the United States participated in the multisource survey, and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The proposed indirect effects were evaluated using a bootstrap procedure.\nFindings: Results indicated that career adaptability mediated the relationship between proactive personality and job engagement, job engagement mediated the relationship between career adaptability and supervisor-rated task performance and career adaptability and job engagement sequentially mediated the relationship between proactive personality and supervisor-rated task performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: Through an examination of the nomological network pertaining to career adaptability, the results provide strong evidence in support of integrating CCT with COR theory in this research stream. Future studies should continue to expand upon the model presented here by considering potential moderators that might influence certain paths within this relationship network and use longitudinal designs to allow for stronger causal inferences.\nPractical implications: Given the central role proactive personality plays in career construction and job engagement, organizations should encourage workers to be more proactive while on the job. This may help engender career adaptability and work engagement among employees - ultimately contributing to organizational success.\nOriginality/value: This study responds to calls linking career adaptability to supervisory ratings of work performance. In doing so, it advances the literatures on proactive personality and career adaptability by highlighting the importance of considering the tenets of both CCT and COR theory.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Business support for farmers: an evaluation of the Farm Cornwall project	[ "Farms", "Entrepreneurialism", "Classification", "Economics" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The aim of this paper is to describe and comment on an evaluation of the Penwith Whole Farm Advice Service (the scheme) which occurred in September 2008 and to identify any areas where improvements should be sought and to comment briefly on the potential for replication of the model to other areas of the UK and to discuss how effective such schemes are, particularly in an external environment which poses threats to the farm sector.The actors who manage and operate within the scheme understand and recognise that farmers are a heterogeneous group comprising different capabilities, enterprise skill sets and diverse social backgrounds and economic circumstances. The scheme functions in areas that cross the borders of conventional thinking about the farm and the role of the farmer in order to challenge some of the myths surrounding the farm enterprise.Three kinds of questions about the nature of farming and the status of farmers can be posed. First, polarisations about the hegemonic position of farmers, i.e. the conflicting ways in which they are perceived by the public: on the one hand as romanticised guardians/custodians of the countryside and on the other hand part of the economic labour force whose primary role is to produce food for the country.Second, macro-economic, and thus policy, questions concerning the economic \"footprint\" of the farmer and the farm's relationship with the economy in Cornwall. This is particularly relevant in a European context as the legislative and economic function of the EU expands.The third set of questions concerns the economic role and entrepreneurial capability of the farmer in Cornwall. Clearly, some of the farmers who come into the orbit of the scheme are entrepreneurial and have strategic management capability whereas others, from necessity, have to develop these skills or face a bleak future.This paper describes and comments on an evaluation of the Penwith Whole Farm Advice Service which occurred in September 2008. The methodology involved a desk study of the scheme's objectives, and interviews with a cross-section of 27 stakeholders. This paper specifically reports on the results of the interviews.The paper is structured as follows: after this introduction, we provide a context to the rural economy in general and the farm sector in particular. We then describe the work, structure and scope of the scheme. We then discuss the methodological approach taken and outline the key findings and results and finally, offer a series of recommendations for continued implementation of such schemes across the UK.Context\nThe structure and scope of the Penwith Scheme: The scheme's aims and objectives\nMethodology: The research problem\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present an account of a Farm Support Project in Cornwall which provides support, advice and an outreach facility for farmers in the Penwith district of Cornwall. It also discusses how effective such schemes are, particularly in an external environment which poses threats to the farm sector in the UK. Three kinds of questions about the nature of farming and the status of farmers are posed. The first set of questions includes polarisations about the hegemonic position of farmers. Second, macro-economic, and thus policy, questions concerning the economic \"footprint\" of the farmer and the farm's relationship with the economy are posed in Cornwall. The third set of questions concerns the economic role and entrepreneurial capability of the farmer in Cornwall.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A desk study of the scheme's objectives, a literature review, and interviews with 27 stakeholders were reported on specifically the results of the interviews.\nFindings: - The Penwith Scheme encompasses an integrated approach to providing business support to farmers including: sign-posting specialist advisers, the facilitation of training assistance with major grant applications, the development of \"social capital\" through to help in accessing sources of social support.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Farm Cornwall is a unique example of support to farmers. Replication of such a scheme across other rural regions and indeed other business sectors is possible and desirable but would require a full appraisal of the efficacy of regional and local business support to rural business.\nPractical implications: - Policy and practical implications for this scheme and others are described.\nOriginality/value: - The novel aspect of the paper is that it describes a useful business support mechanism which has utility for a range of stakeholders involved in supporting the development of rural enterprises.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Institutional repository research 2005-2015: a trend analysis using bibliometrics and text mining	[ "Institutional repositories", "Text mining", "Bibliometrics", "Open access", "Research trends", "Research themes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Institutional repositories (IRs) debuted in the 1990s when college and university libraries began to collect electronic documents, digitize content in their special collections and make that content available via the internet. In 1999, the framework for developing interoperable archives was developed and became the Open Archive Initiative. In 2001 and 2002, the development of software tools, such as DSpace and EPrints, created open-source alternatives for IR development, and in 2002 and 2003, public statements on open access, including the Budapest Open Access Initiative, the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access, spurred development and implementation of IRs. In this historical context, IRs emerged as a new strategy and service to leverage open access to scholarship, disseminate the intellectual output of institutional communities and enhance the visibility of the research outputs locally produced. Lynch (2003, p. 2) stated in the ARL Bimonthly Report 226 that such a repository is \"most essentially an organizational commitment to the stewardship of the digital materials, including long-term preservation where appropriate, as well as organization and access or distribution\". To date, numerous initiatives have been launched to explore, research and assist in the development of IR solutions.\nLiterature review: Various issues related to IRs have become major topics for discussion in the scholarly community via both formal and informal forums. In this discussion, the need to develop a scheme to organize information and enrich taxonomic terminology has gained attention since the early 2010s. Bailey (2010) was the first to focus on classifying IR-related works. The Institutional Repository Bibliography was created to index and present selected English-language scholarly textual sources related to IRs. According to the Institutional Repository Bibliography Version 2, there are 11 sub-categories of IR-related works, including general issues related to IRs, country and regional IRs, multiple-institution repositories, specific institution repositories digital preservation, library-related issues, metadata, open access policy, research and development projects, research studies and software. This bibliography serves as a useful web-based indexing source for IRs and provides a broader picture of the field through sub-categories without, however, presenting a list of detailed research themes existing within the field.\nMethodology: Bibliometrics has been defined as \"the study of the quantitative aspects of the production, dissemination, and use of recorded information\" (Tague-Sutcliffe, 1992). Various bibliometric indicators have been used in previous studies to explore the features of publication activity, scientific collaboration, authorship characteristics and citation patterns.\nResults: Publication trends\nConclusion: The primary purpose of this study has been to identify longitudinal research themes and trends in the area of IRs. The authors have presented the findings of a bibliometric approach to describe the field's publication landscape and growth, as well as the authorship types and distribution. The authors have also presented the findings of a text-mining approach to identify the research themes and foci. In particular, our study focuses on the extraction of domain knowledge relating to the field as it appears in taxonomies used in articles published in peer-reviewed journals because such taxonomies better reflect the advancement of any professional and scientific field, including research on IRs.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the longitudinal trends of research in the area of institutional repositories (IR) using bibliometric and text-mining methods.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The Library and Information Science Abstracts and the Web of Science citation databases were used as data sources. A total of 603 articles published in 109 peer-reviewed journals from 2005 to 2015 were collected and analyzed. The articles were analyzed in terms of publication trends, authorship patterns and keywords and phrases appearing in the article titles and abstracts.\nFindings: The study shows that there has been a notable growth trend in research outputs, along with more participation and collaboration among institutes and countries. The study also found significant variability in the topics covered in the literature. In a comparison of the first period of 2005-2010 and the second period of 2011-2015, new research themes and foci, including research data, data management, linked open data, students and student research and an international audience, are observed in the later period.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides a comprehensive overview of publication, authorship and research themes in the IR research field. It describes the evolution of the intellectual structure of IR as a research field.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Process improvement: the case of a drugs manufacturing company	[ "United Kingdom", "Pharmaceuticals industry", "Business process re‐engineering", "Manufacturing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nRationale: Whilst the literature on business process improvement have evaluated process re-engineering initiatives from a number of perspectives particularly information systems, little if any systematic research has been undertaken with a focus on how manufacturing companies, for example drugs manufacturing firms engage in the constructive implementation of process improvement. In addition, the literature provides practising managers with a laundry list of the \"what-to-do's\", of process improvement without addressing \"the how-to-do\" of process improvement. Hence the decision to undertake this study, and the study takes the view supported by a case study of a manufacturing company, that only a hybrid model of total quality management (TQM) and business process reengineering (BPR) successfully and practically addresses the \"how\" of BPR implementation. The importance of this determination is the provision of an implementation framework which other manufacturing companies can emulate, thus increasing the success rate of BPR programmes. The objective of the paper is to examine how one drugs manufacturing company approached the successful implementation of BPR, and why, the company chose to adopt a combination strategy rather than a singular approach as is often suggested by theorists and management consultants.\nMethodology: The case study approach was used because it provides the opportunity for a holistic view of an implementation process (Gummesson, 1991). The case study method enables the researcher to study many different aspects of the implementation process, examine them in relation to each other, and to view the process within its total environment (Yin, 1989). As Yin (1989) notes:[...] case studies are the preferred research methodology when \"how\" or \"why\" questions are being posed, when the investigator has little control over events and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within some real-life context.Moreover, the case method enables the researcher to give an accurate rendition of actual events (Gummesson, 1991), and also the case method contributes uniquely to our knowledge of individual, organisational, social and political phenomena (Yin, 1989).Experiments and survey techniques were considered inappropriate for this study because; experiments are done when an investigator can manipulate behaviour directly, precisely and systematically, while surveys are most appropriate when the research questions seek answers to the \"what's\" of a particular phenomena (Yin, 1989). In contrast, the case method has its unique strength in dealing with a variety of evidence: documents, artefacts, interviews, and observations (Yin, 1989).Therefore, the single case of a drugs manufacturing company was chosen because it represents a unique case of a very successful implementation of a process improvement programme. It showcases best practice in process improvement implementation.\nData collection: The semi-structured face-to-face interview constituted the main data collection of the study. Interviews were held with the manufacturing manager who directly managed the implementation programme. During the interview the central focus was to determine the critical elements of the implementation process. Additional interviews were held with four product team supervisors to establish and confirm the accuracy of the manufacturing manager's modalities in how the company approached and executed its implementation of BPR. The respondents were chosen because they were directly involved and had the vintage position to offer complete insight about the implementation process. The open-ended nature of the semi-structured interview enabled the author to ask the respondents for in-depth facts about the implementation of BPR as well as gauge the collective belief about the hybrid approach used. The interview format offered the possibility of modifying the author's line of enquiry, following up interesting responses and investigating underlying motives in a way that postal and other self-administered questionnaires cannot. As for Yin (1989), the interview represents one of the most important sources of case study research. A total of 12 hours over three days interview time was held with these key officials and three hours of follow-up telephone interview was utilised to reconfirm comments made during the face-to-face interviews.\nAnalysis: The analysis of information gathered from the interview process is based on Yin (1989) analytic technique of explanation building which fits the dynamics of the study. The objective of explanation building is to enable \"the examination of the case study evidence, theoretical positions are revised, and the evidence is examined once again from a new perspective in an iterative mode\" (Yin, 1989).\nIntroduction: Today most organisations both in the private and public sector are facing immense challenges. These include the critical need to be more competitive by focusing on new organisational design, continuous measurement of performance, better management and co-ordination of intellectual capital, but most importantly, defining a strategic path for meeting and exceeding customer and market expectations.Nevertheless, the underlying problem for organisations continues to be the failure of top management to find an all-encompassing strategy that would guarantee success. A number of process improvement strategies have been put forward over the last several years as the Holy Grail to all organisational problems. For example, Hammer and Champy (1995) advocated the adoption of BPR, which they suggested would enable corporations to fundamentally rethink and radically redesign their business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed.The attainment of this lofty goal required that organisations eliminate old and archaic processes, policies, principles and structures that affect organisation performance; thus focusing on the removal of obstacles-systemic or human. Other authors, for example Tinaiker et al. (1994) argues that process improvement through re-engineering should encompass the restructuring of the entire organisation to achieve dramatic improvements in its critical success factors of quality, productivity, customer satisfaction and time to market. However, an in-depth review of the literature by the author, found the absence of a systemic definition of process improvement that addresses the most important performance parameters used by the customer in evaluating the product or service provided by an organisation: quality, speed, reliability, cost, service and flexibility. For Huff (1992) process improvement is the redesign and improvement of business processes both in-depth (roles and responsibilities, measurements and incentives, organisational structure, information technology, shared values and skills) and breadth (activities which lead to long term profits). The central message in the literature seems to suggest BPR as the main tool for process improvement, which is supported by the case.In addition, there is an absence of a complete body of knowledge about the essential elements of any process improvement programme, particularly the need to change the underlying cultural problems of the organisation before embarking on process improvement (Table I).\nRequirements for process improvement: Leavitt (1964) suggested that improvement is attainable if an organisation altered its structure, technology and people. Changing the organisations' structure involves rearranging internal systems - lines of communication, workflow, or managerial hierarchy. Changing the organisation's technology means leading-edge equipment, engineering processes, research techniques, or production methods and, changing the organisation's people would involve a focus on selection, training, building relationships, changing attitudes and defining roles of organisation member. The central thesis of Leavitt's work is that organisations are made up of interacting, interdependent elements under the influence of common forces; that is, organisations are systems. The lesson for management is that operations improvement must focus on the interaction of all of all parts of the firm (Figure 1).From Figure 1, it can be delineated that structure, technology and people are highly interdependent; a change in one is likely to affect the other elements as well. Thus, an effective improvement programme be it TQM, or BPR, is likely to be one that acknowledges the interaction of these three elements and attempts to change all three.Since the body literature on process improvement lacks a definitive approach for its implementation, the paper offers insight on how to effectively implement a process improvement re-engineering programme using MRP2.\nThe case study: There are only a few manufacturing companies that have achieved dramatic improvements in inventory levels, lead times, improved customer service, productivity and costs by adopting BPR. In places where this has occurred, it was always down to the implementation of Kaizen rather than BPR.The attraction of this case is that it provides first hand knowledge of what is required to succeed with BPR. It demonstrates that the effective and cooperative management of people is critical to the success of any change programme. The company, due to a confidential agreement, would be referred to as Bournemouth works.Background\nConclusion: This case provides important lessons for organisations embarking on BPR.To ensure success, re-engineering requires a strategy that addresses where we are? Where we are going? Why we need to change? What is in it for employees? How to do it? How to get there? And where we go from there? BPR is a continuous journey, never a completed process. However, the key is that organisations must keep, keeping on and focus on the seamless integration between BPR and TQM. It is imperative as the case suggests that management understands that unless there is interdependence between strategy and people, strategy and operations and operations and people, the implementation process will fail due to lack of understanding of what needs to be done and how it must be done. In addition, BPR requires that managers achieve operation and business stability before streamlining processes. The advice is, do not proceed if structures, processes and systems are out of control.Finally, it should be noted that, Bournemouth works did not employ technology. Employees were not re-engineered out of their jobs. What the company did was to use what it had available in terms of its intellectual property to bring about change, thus demonstrating that effective and successful improvement can only be achieved through people who work actually in the process. Another essential advice is never to use technology to drive improvement because employees will see themselves as redundant and they would resist change.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Based on a case study of a drugs manufacturing plant in the UK, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how best to improve manufacturing processes using a hybrid model of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Process Reengineering (BPR). Insights are provided to a phased implementation of TQM at the strategic, organisational, and process levels of the organization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The case method was utilized to demonstrate the implementation of a theoretical concept.\nFindings: - Managers naively agree that process improvement failures may be due to the absence of executive-level commitment and poor execution; however, it is evident from the paper's findings that the poor performance of process-related techniques is based on the fact that they are often applied organisationally rather taking an operations, strategy and people focused, approach, which would require the interdependence that must exist between strategy and people, people and strategy; and strategy and operations.\nPractical implications: - The paper, based on extensive research and consultancy work, suggests that the most effective mechanics for enhanced and sustainable improvement of manufacturing processes is through the so-called old, redundant technique - a hybrid of BPR and TQM. Evidence from practice and academic research demonstrates that the high failure rate of improvement programmes based on BPR, TQM, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and more recently, Six Sigma, is because each of these models is not a stand alone operational tool, and thus a hybrid model, which encompasses two or more is usually the best approach to bring about dramatic improvement in operational quality, speed, cost and service and product reliability.\nOriginality/value: - The paper shows that the high failure rate of improvement programs can be overcome through using a combination of models.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Monitoring the process quality for multistage systems with multiple characteristics	[ "Multistage systems", "Multivariate linear regression model", "Multivariate residual control charts", "Overall run length", "Phase II monitoring" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The statistical control chart is a commonly used tool for detecting and removing assignable causes in a manufacturing process so that process stability can be closely monitored. The use of control charts generally involves Phase I and Phase II. In the Phase I study, the parameters of the process are estimated based on a set of historical data and used to establish control limits for Phase II monitoring. In Phase II, the data are sequentially collected over time to assess whether the parameters of the process have changed from the estimated values in the Phase I study. In this paper, we focus our research on the Phase II study.\nLiterature review: Monitoring the process quality for multistage systems\nDesign methodology for constructing multistage multivariate residual control charts: Pan et al. (2016) proposed that the first stage data can be fitted as an AR(1) model. Starting from the second stage, the process variable for each stage of a multistage system can be fitted with a multiple regression model. But, they did not consider the cross-correlation among multiple quality characteristics for each stage. In this section, a new multivariate regression model for a multistage manufacturing system with correlated multiple quality characteristics is developed by considering both the autocorrelation within stage and the correlations occurring between the neighboring stages. Then, the residual MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts for each stage can be constructed accordingly.\nSimulation studies: After conducting 10,000 simulation runs, the average of OORL (AOORL) is used to evaluate the detecting performances of multistage residual control charts with those of Phase II control charts while the average of OIRL (AOIRL) is fixed at 370. Without loss of generality, a multistage system is set as three stages and the sample size is set as 3,000 for each stage. In addition, the covariance metrics for each stage are assumed to be homogeneous and the amount of process mean vector shift for each stage are also assumed to be the same when a multistage system is out of control.\nNumerical example: To demonstrate the practical application of our proposed multistage residual MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts, the cascade data provided by Montgomery (2009, p. 514) with 40 observations are used for illustration purpose. There are nine input variables and two output variables in the cascade data. In this numerical example, we assume that the output variables are quality characteristics of interest and the 40 observations are taken from two stages (20 observations for each stage). Based on VAR(1) time series model, the autoregressive parameter matrix of two stages are obtained as:\nConclusions and discussions: Due to the global competition in manufactory industries intensifies in today's dynamic business environment, it is imperative for manufacturers to develop a more precise process control for auto-correlated process outputs. In this paper, we provide a new approach for detecting the small sustained process shifts in multistage systems with correlated multiple quality characteristics so their process quality can be well under statistical control. After developing a multivariate linear regression model, the multistage residual MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts are constructed accordingly. An ORL concept proposed by Pan et al. (2016) is also adopted to evaluate the detecting performances for our proposed multistage residual MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts. Moreover, a numerical example with cascade data is used to demonstrate the usefulness of our proposed multistage multivariate residual control charts in the Phase II monitoring. Its simulation results show that the detecting abilities of our proposed multistage residual MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts outperform those of Phase II MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts. Hence, this further indicates that our proposed multistage multivariate residual control charts provide a better decision making tool for detecting the small sustained process shifts in multistage systems with multiple quality characteristics.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a new approach for detecting the small sustained process shifts in multistage systems with correlated multiple quality characteristics.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors propose a new multivariate linear regression model for a multistage manufacturing system with multivariate quality characteristics in which both the auto-correlated process outputs and the correlations occurring between neighboring stages are considered. Then, the multistage multivariate residual control charts are constructed to monitor the overall process quality of multistage systems with multiple quality characteristics. Moreover, an overall run length concept is adopted to evaluate the performances of the authors' proposed control charts.\nFindings: In the numerical example with cascade data, the authors show that the detecting abilities of the proposed multistage residual MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts outperform those of Phase II MEWMA and MCUSUM control charts. It further demonstrates the usefulness of the authors' proposed control charts in the Phase II monitoring.\nPractical implications: The research results of this paper can be applied to any multistage manufacturing or service system with multivariate quality characteristics. This new approach provides quality practitioners a better decision making tool for detecting the small sustained process shifts in multistage systems.\nOriginality/value: Once the multistage multivariate residual control charts are constructed, one can employ them in monitoring and controlling the process quality of multistage systems with multiple characteristics. This approach can lead to the direction of continuous improvement for any product or service within a company.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The occupational domain and initial earnings of recent Irish graduates: Is a science and technology degree good for you?	[ "Employment", "Education", "Pay differentials", "Training", "Ireland" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The much-heralded move to the knowledge-based economy places new demands on labour markets and may favour specific skills distributions (OECD, 2000). Motivated by this observation, recent years have seen a renewed international policy concern with matters relating to the supply of human resources for science and technology (HRST; Aho et al., 2006; Commission of the European Communities (CEC), 2007). For example, the EU's Lisbon Strategy for growth and employment calls for increasing the share of EU GDP devoted to research to 3 per cent by 2010; in terms of human resources, an extra half a million researchers (or 1.2 million research-related personnel) would be needed to reach that goal (Gago et al., 2004, p. 1).This international policy concern has resonated strongly in Ireland and not without good reason. In the course of the past two decades, the Irish economy has experienced rapid growth, much of it in sectors that capitalise on recent technical advances and present ample opportunities for further technical change[1]. Recently, increasing the country's capacity to innovate is a key public policy priority (Irish Government, 1999; Kane, 1999; Forfas, 2004a). In such a context, the generation and profitable allocation of HRST is a major concern. Numerous policy-oriented documents have stressed the need for the development of Ireland's HRST (Healy, 1983; DETE, 1997; Higher Education Authority (HEA), 2002; Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, 2004; Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), 2004; Forfas, 2004a). Responses have included key interventions in education, particularly at the third level (Whickham and Boucher, 2004).Ireland currently stands in a priviliged position among its EU counterparts in terms of available HRST and (what is widely perceived as) an associated surge of high-value adding foreign (and increasingly domestic too) investment. It is no wonder then that the prospect of skills shortages[2] is greeted with a sense of alarm. Despite an intense policy interest in matters surrounding the supply of HRST, information on the career outcomes of S&T education is still hard to come by. Such information would be valuable to innovation-minded policy as it impacts directly on the overall attractiveness of S&T education.There are good reasons to expect that Irish S&T graduates may enjoy advantageous occupational outcomes. A sizeable body of work has lent credence to what is known as the \"skills bias hypothesis\" (Nelson and Phelps, 1966; Juhn et al., 1993; Acemoglu, 2002; CEC, 2005). It postulates that as technology advances and proliferates throughout the economy, labour market rewards are biased in favour of skilled workers. Moreover, in some cases the extent of this bias has been found to be related to the type of skills possessed, a \"skill component\". In the case of Ireland, the relatively recent economic shift has placed specific demands on the labour market that may favour S&T graduates.The present paper investigates whether the current state of the labour market in Ireland favours those with a qualification in science and technology (S&T)[3]. Analysis is based on individual-level data detailing the labour market experiences of Irish university graduates upon entering employment. Calculations using a Gini-Hirschman index indicate that S&T graduates have a wider occupational domain. Higher specialisation narrows down a graduate's occupational domain for both S&T and other graduates. Additionally, tabulations indicate that on the whole S&T graduates tend to earn more. However, application of an ordered probit model controlling for other factors (gender, age, years of schooling, a proxy of ability, Dublin-based employment, geographic mobility and sectoral dummies) shows that, engineering graduates enjoy a clear earnings advantage, while the opposite is true for science graduates.\n2 Background: 2.1 Rationale\n3 The occupational domain of graduates: A stated aim of tertiary education is to prepare individuals for the workplace. However, the extent and relevance of vocational content to economic needs varies substantially from one degree to another. On one side of the spectrum, there are degrees (such as medicine) which have a rather narrow scope of occupational outcomes and on the opposite side degrees (for example, in English) with a much broader occupational reach. Therefore, certain university degrees bestow their graduates with a wider occupational domain than do others.Relative statements such as the above are not very meaningful unless one can accurately define what is meant by \"degree\" and \"occupation\". Ideally, one should be in a position to define \"degree\" as an integer of a set of educational classifications. Likewise, \"occupation\" should refer to a unit belonging to a set of professional careers. This is not an easy task, since individual educational backgrounds and professional occupations are neither discrete nor equivalent units of analysis. There is invariably overlap in the educational content of many otherwise distinct educational qualifications and the same is true of the vocational content of many occupations. Additionally, continuing occupational specialisation may mean that what one thought to be a single occupation some time ago, now actually represents numerous separate professions. Inevitably then, a measure of the occupational domain carries the assumption that these overlaps are not significant and that on average they cancel themselves out.If one possesses adequate information on the educational background of individuals and their subsequent occupations, one should in principle be able to measure the number of occupations corresponding to a particular educational background. This can be illustrated diagrammatically. A graduate with education i has an occupational domain spanning (one would hope) one or more occupations j. For each education i, there is a concomitant occupation or set of occupations, so for instance education i3 opens up employment opportunities in occupations j1, j2, j3, ... , j9 (Figure 2). Conversely, education i9 provides the possibility of employment in one of occupations j16, j17 and j18.A few innocuous generalisations may be made at this point, serving to underline the advantages of a wide occupational domain. A wide occupational domain is an attractive career attribute not least because it signifies a greater choice of jobs and therefore minimises the probability of prolonged unemployment spells. Although employment opportunities are bound to be non-uniform across occupations, on the whole, a greater choice of professions should translate to a greater number of potential jobs. Graduates with a wide occupational domain possess skills that are needed across a range of professions, in some cases even pervading sectors. It is reasonable to expect that such skills are likely to be in demand even in periods of rapid structural change. Cyclical factors aside, a wide occupational domain is possibly the closest one can get to a predictor of career-long job security.Contrarily, a narrow occupational domain may be the consequence of specialisation. Specialisation presents both demand- and supply-side barriers to greater occupational choice. It is perhaps a moot point that the skills of a highly specialised individual are unlikely to be required in a great number of professions. At the same time though, individuals invest in specialisation, motivated by expectations of high earnings (Becker, 1964). Professions that deviate from the (expensive) specialisation path imply a high switching cost for the worker.Education is the most obvious source of specialisation. The higher the level of an educational qualification the greater the investment the individual has made to developing a particular bundle of skills. Indeed, Borghans et al. (1997) in their analysis of the Irish labour market found that the higher the level of a graduate's tertiary award, the narrower their choice of occupations after graduation. In the workplace too, the value of non-transferable occupation-specific skills increases as a function of prolonged engagement in one profession. Arguably then, a graduate's occupational domain is widest just after graduation.Hence, it would be opportune to measure the extent of the occupational domain at that time; one can plausibly assume specialisation to be wholly owed to education rather than on-the-job learning.The occupational domain or the switching opportunities of a graduate with education i can be measured using a Gini-Hirschman dispersion index, as used previously in this context by Borghans et al. (1997). In calculating the index, one may begin with estimating the fraction of graduates with education i who subsequently obtained employment in occupation j (fij). The sum of these fractions for the whole set of education backgrounds in would then be equal to 1. The sum of the squares of those fractions (fij) would yield a measure of the prevalence of the particular educational background i among the whole set of occupations jm. This can also be thought of as the probability that two persons with education i are to be found within occupation j, which is: Equation 1 For an m number of occupations this probability equals 1 if everyone is in the same occupation j. If however, educational backgrounds are spread equally among occupations then Pi=1/m. A Gini-Hirschman index of an individual's occupational domain can then be given by: Equation 2 The value of Ki can be interpreted[8] either as the extent of the occupational domain or the maximum number of occupations corresponding to an individual of a particular educational background. Table I presents the results of applying (3.1) and (3.2) on the FDAR dataset[9].Calculations show that in the three-year period, graduates from the Faculties of Science, Arts Social Sciences and Humanities, as well as Engineering had the greatest occupational choice. By contrast, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Architecture and Law alumni had a rather more constrained set of professional options. Table I(b) demonstrates that, collectively, S&T (as opposed to non-S&T) graduates had a considerably wider range of occupations to choose from. No discernible variation patterns are present within the period under consideration. Table I(c) shows that increased specialisation is associated with a narrower occupational domain. This particular observation is in agreement with the findings of Borghans et al. (1997). There is a sharp difference between S&T and non-S&T graduates who were holders of a research preparatory degree (ISCED 5A: bachelors and masters); the former appear to enjoy a substantially broader occupational domain. Interestingly, though, no substantial differences exist in the occupational domain of S&T and other research degree holders (ISCED 6: MPhil and PhD).\n4 Initial earnings: 4.1 Tabulations of earnings by education\n5 Conclusion: Analysis of the FDAR data for three consecutive years has revealed that graduates from faculties with a core S&T element have consistently enjoyed a wider occupational domain. This is a strong indication that such graduates possess skills that are needed across a wide range of occupations, though the precise reason for this remains unclear. It may well be that it is the result of technological advancement or it may be that S&T skills are \"by nature\" more diffuse in their realm of application. Alternatively, this difference may be partly related to the difficulties[11] that some S&T graduates face in securing appropriate employment straight after graduation. A comparative look at earlier data could contribute towards settling this.At the same time, as also seen previously (Borghans et al., 1997), professional options narrow down substantially for awards of higher levels. The difference in the occupational domain of S&T versus other graduates is hardly noticeable though when research-oriented degrees are considered. In addition to a wider educational domain (when seen collectively), S&T education tends to be associated with higher initial earnings. A rather more mixed picture appears however when different faculties are considered; while collectively S&T faculties appear to possess a relative earnings advantage, wide variations exist within the S&T group. After controlling for other factors, ordinal probit regression estimates based on the 2003 survey show that engineering education was positively associated with the probability of being in a higher wage band. However, rather unexpectedly, graduates from the Faculty of Science are not remunerated favourably in relation to their investment in education and other factors. Why exactly this should be the case is not immediately obvious. For instance, it could be (wholly or in part) related to the periods of low-paid professional training that often follow a degree in science, indicate a possible lack of demand for \"abstract\" scientific skills or perhaps be suggestive of over-supply of science graduates. The entrepreneurial orientation of some engineering graduates in particular may also be an important consideration. Further research may seek a resolute answer by examining the destinations of science graduates qualitatively and doing so at various points in their careers.Regression estimates also suggest that labour mobility and employment in ICT or biotechnology firms are also more highly rewarded. These results point to a dynamic labour market, conducive to the knowledge flows envisaged in a stylised national innovation system (Lundvall, 1992). They also signal that Ireland's innovation-intensive sectoral clusters (ICT and biotechnology) can afford to pay premia for skilled graduates - an observation that is in itself open to multiple interpretations.The observed labour market experiences probably owe a great deal to non-permanent skills shortages. It is also possible though, that fundamental structural changes are responsible, at least in part, for this observation. In future, it would be purposeful to check whether the above persist for non-recent graduates and perform an in-depth analysis of time-series trends.The findings are of direct relevance to education policies that aim to increase the take up of S&T subjects (OECD, 2000; Gago et al., 2004). Assuming that there are social gains to be had from further increases in the numbers of S&T graduates, their unobstructed supply hinges on the presence of proportionate private returns to such skills. The (for the most part) considerable private returns to S&T skills identified here, hint that market leverage is strong. Moreover, to the extent that an economy displays a preference for specific skills, it may contribute to inequality among population subgroups that are less likely to possess them. The potential for aggrevating the already existing gender disparities in particular is strong, given that women are less likely to take up S&T subjects.Although the study's empirical findings are specific to Ireland, they do hold broader interest internationally. First, by highlighting the relatively lower earnings of recent science graduates in Ireland, they bring into question the current preoccupation with the active management of the supply of S&T skills and suggest that a closer look at the demand for such skills may be warranted. Second, by showing that the returns to different types of education vary both within the broad S&T group and between S&T and other types of education, they highlight the value of context-specific analyses and open up opportunities for further research on a matter of major policy relevance internationally.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the hypothesis that those with a university qualification in science and technology (S&T) enjoy favourable labour market outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Analysis is based on individual-level data detailing the labour market experiences of Irish university graduates upon entering employment. A Gini-Hirschman index is used to estimate the number of occupational options open to graduates of a particular educational background. Additionally, an ordered probit model of earnings is estimated, which is controlling other factors, measures the effect of S&T education on the distribution of earnings.\nFindings: - S&T graduates have a wider occupational domain. Additionally, tabulations indicate that on the whole they tend to earn more. Application of an ordered probit model controlling for other factors suggests that engineering graduates enjoy a clear earnings advantage; however the opposite appears to be the case for science graduates.\nOriginality/value: - The paper presents original insights into the occupational outcomes of Irish technical graduates. The relatively lower earnings of science graduates bring into question the current preoccupation with the supply side and suggest that a closer look at the demand for such skills may be warranted. These findings may be interesting for policy seeking to influence skill structure and for further studies investigating the returns to components of skill.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Career stages and occupations impacts on workers motivations	[ "Careers", "Employee attitudes", "Life planning", "Jobs" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Alongside with the changes in organizational structures, labor market regulations and their socio-demographic characteristics are also changing worldwide, particularly in European countries (O'Reilly et al., 2011). Labor markets are evolving into more diverse work forces, more aged workers and facing a higher incidence of unemployment. These changes interrelate with different structural aspects such as diverse mobility patterns (Barnes-Farrell and Matthews, 2007; Lyons et al., 2012), and with subjective aspects such as attitudes toward development and training (Zwick, 2015). Following the need to focus greater attention on these subjective aspects, concepts such as boundaryless and protean careers emerged and pointed to a shift from career policies based on institutional frameworks to a focus on individual agency (Inkson et al., 2012; Roper et al., 2010).\nMethod: Data and sample\nResults: Construct validation of dependent variables\nDiscussion and conclusions: In this paper, we presented empirical evidence in support of a model integrating predictions deriving from career stage models and occupational groups. Indeed, we made salient the argument that neither occupational groups, nor career stages, are determinants per se of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. In this sense, findings from the third discriminant analysis that integrated career stages and occupational groups, presented the highest level of explained variance (16.5 percent), when compared to the first analysis testing career stages (4.2 percent), or the second analysis testing the effect of occupational groups (6.7 percent). These results clearly supported our proposition of an integrative framework for explaining intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and job-related satisfaction in large and representative samples of workers from different countries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The career concept has become fuzzier due to changing work patterns, the ageing workforce and the environmental changes occurring during workers lifespans. Together this requires a renewed and broader reaching contextualization of this concept. The purpose of this paper is to set out an integrative approach arguing that the integration of career stage models with occupational groups proves more explanative of intrinsic and extrinsic worker motivations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Secondary data from 23 European countries were drawn from the European Social Survey 2006. The construct validity and reliability of indicators was analyzed. Hypotheses were tested using discriminant analysis.\nFindings: Results showed that neither occupations nor career stages are determinants per se of intrinsic motivations, but are better explained by their mutual integration. Career stages were shown to predict per se extrinsic motivations.\nResearch limitations/implications: The recourse to the European Social Survey pre-determined scales and the application of age ranges as proxies for careers stages suggested the usage of more specific measures in future studies.\nPractical implications: Career management and compensation policies might be better tailored to worker motivations by considering the age ranges (as proxies of career stages) and workers' occupations.\nOriginality/value: Findings evidenced the explanatory value of occupations for worker motivations and allowed putting into perspective the contextualization of not only boundaryless and protean career concepts, but also career stage theories. Data support the ecological validity of applying a career stages and occupations framework to a highly diversified and representative sample of European countries.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Mapping the economics, social and technological attributes of the sharing economy	[ "Organization", "Social media" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: A sharing economy is an umbrella concept denoting the practices of sharing, gift-giving and commodity exchange (Belk, 2014). Facilitated by technological advances, the sharing economy has become an emergent socio-economic phenomenon performed through digital platforms (Kennedy, 2016). It has changed the way people access, consume and produce tangible and intangible resources within a new marketplace of collaborative and peer-to-peer online platforms (Botsman and Rogers, 2011).\n2. Literature review: Collaborative practices performed in the sharing economy can be defined using Belk's (2014) conceptualisation of sharing, Botsman and Roger's (2011) definition of collaborative consumption and the definition of a peer-to-peer economy by Hamari et al. (2016). Although all three terms are used to explain the same phenomenon, they have different approaches to represent collaborative practices. Belk (2014) defines collaborative consumption as \"people coordinating the acquisition and distribution of a resource for a fee or other compensation\". The author differentiates collaborative consumption from gift-giving, sharing and commodity exchange by positioning it along the social-economic continuum (Figure 1). Ownership extension, ownership transfer and compensation are employed to delineate the boundaries of social and economic practices (Belk, 2010, 2014). However, the concept ownership can be confusing, because it refers to accessing a resource rather than permanent ownership. Ownership extension refers to access to a resource for collective use by its owner and temporary consumers, whereas ownership transfer refers to access to a resource for temporary use only by consumers. In some of the literature, the temporary use of a resource by the second party is referred to as an access-based consumption (Bardhi and Eckhardt, 2012). This term emphasises the lack of joint possession over the sharable object. The third concept is compensation. This denotes an economic or utilitarian reward for access to a resource. Unlike compensated practices, the resources can be shared on the basis of generalised reciprocity, which does not imply immediate obligation or expectation of return (Sahlins, 1974). Following Belk's conceptualisation, true sharing represents the practice under which a resource is collectively used by its possessor and consumers without compensation. During gift-giving the ownership is permanently transferred to another person for free. In contrast, commodity exchange enables temporary access to a resource for a fee (Belk, 2010, 2014). Collaborative consumption occupies a middle ground between the economic transactions of commodity exchange and a social act, like sharing and gift-giving. Unlike sharing, gift-giving and the commodity exchange dichotomy, the ownership and compensation one is not effective in classifying collaborative consumption. Rather, collaborative consumption captures various compensated and non-compensated practices representing temporary access to a resource for collective and individual use, temporary exchange of goods and permanent transfer of second-hand resources (Belk, 2014; Bardhi and Eckhardt, 2012).\n3. Methodology: A preliminary scoping was undertaken to delineate the boundaries of the subject area, grasp the perspectives that had previously been tackled, explore the methodological approaches and discussions about the practical implications of the research. The iterative process made it possible to comprehend the heterogeneity of the conceptual underpinnings and disciplinary perspectives that had not been addressed in published review papers. After identifying gaps, the review protocol was developed. This aimed at guiding the phases of data analysis, paper selection and interpretation.\n4. Results and findings: 4.1 The concept map of the sharing economy\n5. Future research agenda: The aim of the study was to tackle the limitations that have been observed in the exploratory research on the sharing economy so far. The main contribution of the paper is that it addresses the lack of comprehensive insight into this complex phenomenon by scrutinising its main underpinning concepts. It analysed the all-embracing building blocks of the sharing economy system in general rather than the collaborative consumption practices in specific industries. To do so the paper adopted a quantitative analysis, which made it possible to identify and classify the concepts discussed in the research. These concepts referred to resources, the practices of consumption, the areas of implication, user engagement factors and impacts. They were critically reviewed against the perspectives of the three types of stakeholders: suppliers, consumers and intermediaries. This analysis enabled us to analyse the differences in the practices of consumption, the motives for participation and impacts depending on the industry, the type of user and the technical specifications of platforms.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The sharing economy is a socio-economic system in which individuals acquire and distribute goods and services among each other for free or for compensation through internet platforms. The sharing economy has attracted the interest of the academic community, which examined the phenomenon from the economic, social and technological perspectives. The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Given the lack of an overarching analysis of the sharing economy, this paper employs a quantitative content analysis approach to explore and synthesise relevant findings to facilitate the understanding of this emerging phenomenon.\nFindings: The paper identified and grouped findings under four themes, namely: collaborative consumption practices, resources, drivers of user engagement and impacts, each of which is discussed in relation to the three main themes, aiming to compare findings and then put forward an agenda for further research.\nOriginality/value: The paper offers a balanced analysis of the building blocks of the sharing economy, to identify emerging themes within each stream, to discuss any contextual differences from a multi-stakeholder perspective and to propose directions for future studies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The changed leadership landscape: what matters today	[ "Change", "Leadership", "Stakeholders", "Skills", "Trust", "Situational leadership", "Awakened leadership" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper reviews an issue that has been of ongoing interest to leadership scholars and practitioners: the circumstances that drive the need for change, the changes as they are currently manifesting themselves, and the leadership styles that are useful given the demands of our modern era. In the first section, the following main drivers of contemporary change will be reviewed: shifts in societal values, shifts in investor focus, ability to lead organizational change, and the influence of excessive stress on employees. The second section presents an overview for leadership qualities that matter in our times, varying from creative and critical thinking, to speed, visionary skills, stakeholder focus, employee empowerment, and a general collaborative approach. The third and final section reviews nine leadership styles, some seasoned, some still in development, that work well in today's performance climate.\nFoundations of change: Today's leaders are expected to excel in different ways than their predecessors from the past century. There are multiple aspects at the foundation of the changed views, among which:\nAn overview of leadership qualities: In addition to all of the above, twenty-first century leaders have to be critical and creative thinkers, because they are practically reinventing the entire concept of leadership in a different performance setting. Most of what has been learned about leadership in past eras was based on hierarchic and bureaucratic structures (Novelli and Taylor, 1993). That type of leadership worked when organizational environments were stable and very slowly evolving. In those twentieth century work environments, decisions were usually based on recurring issues, and could be made by a central source of power and influence. As a result, this structure of leading caused delays in decision making, and thus, slow responses to market challenges (Novelli and Taylor). All of that is history now. The pace of performance, change, and problem solving has picked up enormously. Instead of the proverbial \"great man\" or \"great woman\" traits, which were customary in the past century, this era calls for leadership as a process, consisting of collaboration and novel thinking to address problems with little or no familiar structure (Novelli and Taylor).\nToday's workable leadership styles: Considered within the realm of leadership styles, today's leaders have to be flexible enough to tap from a multitude of these: old, proven ones, newly formulated ones, and some that are yet to be structured. Below, we briefly explain some of the most germane styles in twenty-first century leadership practices. Within the more seasoned styles, we will review transactional, transformational, team, servant, and situational leadership (SL), and within the more recent styles, we will discuss authentic, empathetic, awakened, and resonant leadership.\nCoherence and common threads between the leadership styles: As explained in the closing paragraph of each of the nine reviewed styles, these styles resonate with the demands of today's work environments. Each of the styles harbors elements of motivation and collective excellence, even though not all styles correspond fully with one another. For instance, the transactional style, with its primary focus on task achievement, may coincide in some instances with the transformational, situational, and team leadership styles, but may come across as calculative when compared to the servant, authentic, awakened, and resonant leadership styles.\nConclusion: This paper provided a concise overview of nine leadership styles, of which five were more seasoned in nature, and four developed in more recent times. The underlying message in this paper was that leadership is a dynamic phenomenon, which is strongly dependent on the needs and structures of societies at any given time. The leadership styles discussed in this paper are not the only useful ones in existence, and should therefore not be considered exhaustive. They do, however, provide a useful starting point for researchers interested in exploring more about leadership approaches that matter in today's world. This paper presented some of the main characteristics of the nine selected leadership styles, thus highlighting their meaning for a contemporary workforce. Similarly, an overview of the contemporary usefulness was presented for each leadership style. Not surprisingly, all the leadership styles ultimately focussed on performance, even though their strategies toward attaining this target were divergent. Eight of the styles operated from a predominantly relationship focus, while two (situational approach overlapped in both categories) had a strong task orientation. Some of the critical behaviors for leaders to consider were, flexibility, care, a sense of community, creativity, inspiration, facilitation, and honesty. From this list, it can be delineated that the behavioral trends that matter today are those in which employees can maintain communication lines with their leaders, feel comfortable approaching them and exchanging ideas, and feel empowered to grow and take ownership where needed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present challenges in leadership performance today, as well as leadership styles that have potential, given the contemporary shifts in performance climate.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper is based on empirical research, obtained through methodological triangulation, partly through critical literature review, and partly through the author's ongoing leadership studies during the past ten years, to be subdivided in three phenomenological studies, and 72 structured leadership interviews.\nFindings: There is a multitude of factors that keep changing the leadership landscape, and there is a series of leadership skills that suffice well given the parameters of today's work environments. Nine of these leadership styles are presented, including their main characteristics and contemporary usefulness.\nResearch limitations/implications: The studies reviewed, although in-depth, applied to a limited set of options. Because leadership is such a broad and dynamic topic, neither literature review nor qualitative studies and interview series provide an entirely comprehensive overview, especially when conducted in one part of the world.\nPractical implications: Leaders may reconsider the skills required for themselves and their workforce to guarantee successful performance in an increasingly interconnected world. Leaders may engage in reflection and work toward stronger emphasis and development of skills in which they consider themselves weak. Leaders may examine their work environment and consider how to apply the factors that could facilitate one or more of the presented leadership styles in their organization.\nOriginality/value: The leadership styles presented are multi-applicable and are mainly based on inter-human respect, so leaders may reflect and consider the style they feel most attracted to.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Estimating performance from capabilities in business process improvement	[ "Change management", "Capability", "Risk assessment", "Process improvement", "Performance improvement", "Performance effectiveness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Nomenclature\n1. Introduction: Enterprises, large and small, wish to improve their profitability and ability to survive against their competition. Introduction of changes to improve aspects of their business is a key method contributing to this aim. Business process improvement (BPI) requires a good project management approach to coordinate and decide on a range of factors in a structured manner (Chattopadhyay and Mo, 2011). Not all BPI projects are successful, as experienced by Whittaker (1999) where 45 per cent of improvement projects did not deliver the expected benefits. A successful BPI project depends on the capability of the company implementing it. Rohleder and Silver (1997) recognised that 70 per cent of the initiatives in process improvements and re-engineering projects were \"less than successful\". They suggested that a more structured approach to process improvement, involving measurement and some process modelling, could help companies to increase the rate of success. They proposed a process improvement framework within which many concepts and techniques could be incorporated. Application of the framework was, however, dependent on the creativity of the practitioner. Initial performance gain results obtained were not always sustained over time. Typical probability of success for improvement projects, as seen above, is somewhat like a coin-toss. A thorough risk assessment to support decision makers to minimise potential failure and reduce the effect of undesirable events is necessary (Nicholds and Mo, 2015).\n2. Literature review: The performance of BPI projects must be measured to ensure focus on enterprise objectives. Performance measures are characterised through metrics. Marin-Garcia and Poveda (2010) reviewed the success of a medium-sized company implementing change suggestions from the employees. The subjective approach evaluating employee suggestions had a competition effect among multi-disciplinary teams in the company. Bourne (2005) described three phases of performance measurement system implementation and pointed out that senior management commitment was crucial to the success of the project. These researches revealed that performance outcome of BPI projects has a close relationship with the capability of the organisation to enact the planned process improvements.\n3. Understanding the characteristics of available effort: The method described in this paper provides an initial estimate of the relationship between improvement capability measured as a capability score SC and effectiveness of applying the capability to improvement projects kP. Before developing the mathematical model for estimating performance levels from capability score, this section discusses the concept of using effectiveness function as the link between capability score and performance.\n4. Relationship modelling: We used the nomenclature to derive the relationship between capability and performance.\n5. BPI case study: To illustrate how the effectiveness model can be applied to estimate the performance of a company according to its capabilities, the published data from Done et al. (2011) is used. However, the original data were assessed by a different scale, some data conditioning is required before inserting into the model.\n6. Discussion: One of the main aims of the kP vs SC research is to determine a probability distribution for kP that may be further applied to the effectiveness function to obtain a probability distribution for predicted performance from a BPI. The probability distribution for predicted performance gain from BPI allows the estimation of the probability of success in achieving performance gain targets. This knowledge facilitates more realistic BPI performance target setting based on the likelihood of achieving those targets.\n7. Conclusion: The failure rate of performance improvement projects is known from the literature to be very high. One of the contributing factors is the lack of knowledge of the potential risks confronting an organisation. Knowledge of these risks has two inter-related aspects. First, an estimate of the probability of meeting a desired target performance level at various points in time is important to allow the decision maker to adjust the scope and performance targets of BPI projects to achieve a realistic chance of success. Access to a process improvement risk assessment method facilitates the systematic management of these risks thereby improving the probability of success in achieving performance gain aims. This paper explores the second aspect of mitigating BPI risks by presenting the function relating the organisational improvement capability to the range of effort intensity, measured as effectiveness an organisation could potentially able to apply to a BPI project. An estimate of the capability score SC provides an estimate of the stochastic variation in effort or effectiveness kP an organisation will be able to apply to a problem based on historical results. When combined with the effectiveness characterising the non-linear relation kP to P for a particular process improvement project an assessment of the probability of success in achieving defined performance targets can be made. This knowledge allows a more optimal match of performance gain aspirations or targets to the capability of the organisation to achieve them than might otherwise be possible, thus improving the probability of process improvement success.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The research indicates there is a positive link between the improvement capability of an organisation and the intensity of effort applied to a business process improvement (BPI) project or initiative. While a degree of stochastic variation in applied effort to any particular improvement project may be expected there is a clear need to quantify the causal relationship, to assist management decision, and to enhance the chance of achieving and sustaining the expected improvement targets. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper presents a method to obtain the function that estimates the range of applicable effort an organisation can expect to be able to apply based on their current improvement capability. The method used analysed published data as well as regression analysis of new data points obtained from completed process improvement projects.\nFindings: The level of effort available to be applied to a process improvement project can be expressed as a regression function expressing the possible range of achievable BPI performance within 90 per cent confidence limits.\nResearch limitations/implications: The data set applied by this research is limited due to constraints during the research project. A more accurate function can be obtained with more industry data.\nPractical implications: When the described function is combined with a separate non-linear function of performance gain vs effort a model of performance gain for a process improvement project as a function of organisational improvement capability is obtained. The probability of success in achieving performance targets may be estimated for a process improvement project.\nOriginality/value: The method developed in this research is novel and unique and has the potential to be applied to assessing an organisation's capability to manage change.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Gender differences in job dissatisfaction in a developing country	[ "Employee turnover", "Labour", "Gender differences", "Employee behaviour", "Employee attitude", "Job dissatisfaction", "J28", "J63", "J16" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Job satisfaction is a topic of great interest, especially to employers since it is likely to influence the company's performance. For Nguyen et al. (2003), companies must find the means to motivate their employees once as more satisfied employees are more likely to generate profits with lower turnover rate and higher productivity.\n2. Brief literature review: The assessment of job satisfaction is related to how workers feel on the job and their perception about the realisation of their values, which is intrinsic to each person. Locke (1969) defines job satisfaction as an emotional state that can generate positive feelings (satisfaction) or negative (dissatisfaction). According to Locke (1969), both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their job are a part of the same phenomenon, where satisfaction is at an extreme and dissatisfaction at another. In addition, the author raised the issue that job satisfaction responses depend both on objective circumstances faced at the workplace and workers' psychological state.\n3. Method: 3.1 Model framework\n4. Results: 4.1 Descriptive analysis\n5. Conclusions: The aim of this paper was to estimate the effect of gender on job dissatisfaction in the Brazilian labour market. From the methodological point of view, two aspects deserve special considerations: due to the difficulty of directly measuring the level of job dissatisfaction, this study assessed through a proxy variable which was depicted in the behaviour of the individual seeking a new job; and in order to avoid the possibility of biases and the dependence on a particular method, the effect of the gender was estimated by a variety of statistical methods.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between job dissatisfaction and gender using an objective behavioural measure variable for dissatisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A monthly household panel structure was drawn from the Brazilian labour market, and a variety of econometric methodologies was applied.\nFindings: This finding contradicts most articles published on the subject and corroborates the theoretical argument that women tend to be more risk-averse than men in the rates of labour turnover.\nResearch limitations/implications: There are no sample surveys to address issue directly, thereby restricting the analyses to an individual study case. The concept of relative dissatisfaction is adopted, which can lead to either underestimation or overestimation, although this possibility has not been proven according to the sensitivity analysis applied.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to the literature by carrying out the first empirical analysis on the relationship between job satisfaction and gender using a categorial variable, which minimises the bias of subjectivity (psychological factors) since it is associated with employees' attitude (what they do) rather than their opinion (what they say) about job dissatisfaction. The paper uses appropriate econometric methods to measure job dissatisfaction. The results differ from most published articles on the subject.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A diffusion model for service products	[ "Diffusion", "Service product", "Customer switching" ]	[ { "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: The service sector in most developed countries is now the central focus for the economy and is responsible for the majority of the gross domestic product (Rust and Chung, 2006; Eichengreen and Gupta, 2013). For instance, the online service industry has been witnessing tremendous growth (Riedl et al., 2011), due to its more than 2 billion Internet users worldwide (InternetWorldStats, 2011). Firms are now offering various online services to customers such as email, news, e-commerce, social networking and entertainment. Highly successful online service providers, such as Google, eBay, Amazon and Facebook, have all been growing at phenomenal rates.\n2. Related literature: 2.1 Diffusion models\n3. The proposed model for service diffusion: We propose a choice-type model for competing service products' diffusion. Consider a service category that has N\n4. Methodology: We use the case of Internet web browsers to show how the suggested model can be implemented in real-world cases, to assess the performance of the suggested model and to analyze the issues of interest for both academics and practitioners.\n5. Results and discussions: 5.1 Curve fitting result\n6. Conclusions: In many countries, service sector has become the most important and fastest-growing sector of today's economy. Especially, the online service industry has been witnessing tremendous growth due to the huge amount of Internet users. It is critical for service providers to monitor and forecast the market growth of their products to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The existing literature, however, has dedicated little effort to this field. In this study, we have proposed a model to explain how service products compete with each other and diffuse in the market. More specifically, the proposed model is capable of exploring the effect of customer switching on the growth of competing products. This model is perhaps the first one in its type that establishes a relationship between service product utility, customers' choice preference, customer switching behavior and the market growth. Contrary to previous models of competitive diffusion that mostly consider cases with a duopoly setting, the proposed model is applied in a case with four competitors.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to develop a diffusion model that can be used to understand and forecast the market growth of service products in a competitive environment. Despite the fast growth of the service sector, the existing literature has dedicated little effort to modeling the market growth of service products.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors propose a choice-type diffusion model that links the issues of service product utility, customers' choice preference, customer switching behavior and the market growth of service products. The authors use the market data of one online product and assess the performance of the proposed model using this case.\nFindings: The results demonstrate the model's good fitting and forecasting performance. Specifically, the proposed model has better performance than the benchmarks the authors choose from the existing literature.\nOriginality/value: This study shows that market growth of service products can have different diffusion patterns with that of durable goods, which is evidence of the needs for specific models for service diffusion. Further, this study demonstrates the important role of customer switching in service diffusion. Also for marketing practitioners, this study provides an explanation and forecasting tool for the market growth of service products, which can be used for marketing planning in the service industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Empowering leadership and management innovation in the hospitality industry context: The mediating role of climate for creativity	[ "Hospitality", "Management innovation", "Climate for creativity" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: While radical innovation consists of radical breaks from established routines, incremental innovation refers to the implementation of small changes (Martinez-Perez et al., 2016). In the hospitality industry, innovativeness is tantamount to responding fast and flexibly to environmental changes (Fraj et al., 2015).\nTheoretical framework and hypotheses: Empowering leadership\nMethods: The research model of the current research uses the empowering leadership style as the independent variable, while the dependent variable is management innovation. The relationship between these two variables is hypothesized to be mediated by climate for creativity as depicted in Figure 1.\nAnalyses and results: Descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis\nDiscussion and conclusions: Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to examine a model that uses climate for creativity as an intervening mechanism for the relationship of empowering leadership to management innovation in the hospitality industry.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The sample comprises 127 hotels in Morocco. Data were gathered from two sources, namely, the administrative department managers and the front desk managers. Structural equation modeling analyses along with the Bayesian estimation technique were used.\nFindings: Findings demonstrate that the climate for creativity plays a mediating role between empowering leadership and management innovation. The climate for creativity dimensions of employee creativity recognition, flexibility to change and adequate resources for innovation pave the way for empowering leaders in the adoption of new management practices, processes or structures.\nPractical implications: This study suggests that climate for creativity can be an effective tool for implementing management innovation. Hence, leaders and managers of hotel firms, who aim to obtain innovative results in the managerial spheres, should capitalize on the benefits of building a positive climate for creativity.\nOriginality/value: The present paper bridges a gap pertaining to antecedents and factors that impact management innovation. It is the first of its kind to investigate the influence of empowering leadership on management innovation with climate for creativity as a mediating variable.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Stochastic modelling and availability analysis of a critical engineering system	[ "Availability matrices", "Chapman–Kolmogorov equations", "Markov birth-death process", "Probabilistic stochastic model", "Transition diagram" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Nomenclature\n1. Introduction: In a process industry, the raw material is processed through various equipment to achieve the final product. Corder (1976) stated that the production suffers due to failure of any intermediate system even for a small interval of time. The cause of failure may be due to poor design, system complexity, poor maintenance procedure, lack of communication and coordination, improper planning, lack of expertise/experience and scarcity of inventories. Thus, to run a process plant, highly skilled and experienced maintenance personnel are required. Blischke and Murthy (2003) suggested that since failure cannot be prevented entirely, it is important to minimize both its probability of occurrence and the impact of failures when they do occur. Barabady and Kumar (2008) concluded that from an economic point of view, high reliability is desirable to reduce the maintenance costs of systems. The availability and reliability are good evaluations of a system's performance, and their values depend on the system structure as well as the subsystems availability and reliability.\n2. Condensate system: A thermal plant is a combination of complex systems and equipment in which the chemical energy of fossil fuels is converted into thermal energy, which is then transferred to a working fluid (water) so as to convert it into steam at high pressure and temperature. This high pressure and temperature steam is then used for the development of power in a steam engine or turbine. According to Sharma (2006), in the boiler, the water is converted into steam with the help of heat produced by burning of coal. After doing the useful work in the steam turbine, the exhaust steam flows into a condenser where it is condensed to water. From the condenser, the condensed steam (condensate) is pumped to a gland steam (GS) condenser through a condensate extraction pump (CEP). After passing through a GS condenser, it is passed through a drain cooler and finally to a deaerator, after its temperature is raised in low pressure heaters. The whole process of condensate system functioning is well explained in Figure 1.\n3. Development of performance model: The availability performance model for condensate system has been developed for making the stochastic analysis and performance evaluation using the Markov concept. The Markov state transition diagram is helpful in analyzing reliability and availability of a repairable system. The transition probabilities only depend on the present state of the system. The flow of states for the present system under consideration has been described in a transition diagram (as explained by Srinath, 1994), as shown in Figure 2, which is the logical representation of all possible state's probabilities encountered during the failure analysis of condensate system of a thermal plant. The failures and repairs for this purpose have been modeled as a birth and death process, as followed by Gupta et al. (2009a, b), and are used as standard input information to the model. Formulation is carried out using the joint probability functions based on the transition diagram.\n4. Model analysis and availability evaluation: The performance of condensate system of thermal power plant is mainly affected by the failure and repair rates of each subsystem. The developed model includes all possible states of nature, that is, failure events (phi) and the identification of all the courses of action, i.e. repair priorities (li). From the maintenance history sheet of the condensate system and through the discussions with the plant personnel, appropriate failure and repair rates of all subsystems are taken and availability performance matrix (availability values) is prepared accordingly by putting these failure and repair rates values in Equation (10), which is the system's availability performance model (Av.). Performance evaluation forms the foundation for all other performance improvement activities (e.g. solution design and development, implementation and analysis). Tables I-VI represent the availability performance matrix which depicts the availability levels of various subsystems of the condensate system, for different combinations of failure and repair rates/priorities, which further helps in maintenance decisions. On the basis of the analysis made, the best possible combinations (ph, l) may be selected. These availability values in availability performance matrix further helps in: finding the most critical and least critical subsystem from maintenance point of view; obtaining the optimum values of failure and repair rates of various subsystems of the crushing system for maximum availability; and identifying the subsystem which ensures the maximum availability, as shown in Table VII.\n5. Results and discussion: The performance of each subsystem is analyzed using the developed model. On the basis of availability values given in Tables I-VI and subsequently plotted in Figures 3-8, the following observations are made which reveal the effect of failure and repair rates of various subsystems on the availability of condensate system.\n6. Conclusion: The model is effectively used for the evaluation of the performance of various subsystems of the condensate system, which further helps in maintenance decisions. The system availability has been excellent, mainly because of the low failure rates, supported by the state of the art repair facilities. It can be concluded from Figures 3-8 and Tables I-VI that as the failure rate increases, the availability goes on decreasing and as repair rate increases, the availability goes on increasing. Thus, the performance of thermal power plant can be improved by increasing the repair rates and reducing the failure rates of various subsystems of all six subsystems. Therefore, failure and repair rates data should be optimized well to accomplish the goal of sufficiently high performance. Expression (10) depicts the availability simulation model, which further helps in analysis and evaluating the performance of various subsystems of the condensate system of a thermal plant. Thus, the developed model is effectively used for the evaluation of performance of the condensate system of the concerned thermal power plant, which further facilitates the maintenance decisions. Performance matrices, as given in Tables I-VI and Figures 3-8, clearly show that the CEP subsystem is most critical subsystem as far as maintenance is concerned and required immediate attention, as the effect of its failure rates on the system availability is much higher (17 percent) than other five subsystems. Further, the drain cooler subsystem is least critical, as the effect of its failure rates on the system availability is very less (0.5 percent only). Such results are found highly beneficial to the plant management for the availability analysis of the condensate system of a thermal plant and taking maintenance decisions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the technique for evaluating the performance of a condensate system of a coal-based thermal power plant situated in the northern part of India. The data which used for system availability evaluation are not precise and are uncertain and, further, collected from concerned power plant history sheets and from discussion through plant personnel.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the proposed model, traditional Markov birth-death process using a probabilistic approach is used to analyze the performance of a complex repairable condensate system of power plant up to a desired degree of accuracy. This approach has been demonstrated by breaking the condensate system into six subsystems arranged in series with two feasible states, namely, working and failed, labeled in a transition diagram and modeled as a Markov process, using Chapman-Kolmogorov equations, which are used for development of a probabilistic stochastic model for availability analysis in a more effecting manner, considering some suitable assumptions.\nFindings: This study of analysis of reliability and availability can help in increasing the plant production and performance. The analysis is done with the help of availability matrices, which are developed using different combinations of failures and repair rates of all subsystems. To achieve the goal of maximum power generation, it is required to run the various subsystem of the concerned system of plant, failure free for a long duration. Therefore, the present approach may be a more powerful analysis tool to access the performance of all subsystems of a condensate system in terms of availability level achieved in availability matrices. The results of present study are found to be highly beneficial to the plant management for making maintenance decisions.\nOriginality/value: The present paper suggests a suitable technique for stochastic modeling and availability evaluation of an industrial system using Markovian approach and drawing a transition diagram to represent the operational behavior of the system. The present methodology includes the advantage of the ability to model and develop a more complex industrial system and helps in improving the performance and handling the uncertainties and possibilities of an industrial system.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How job-related diversity affects boards' strategic tasks performance: the role of chairperson	[ "Corporate governance", "Board diversity", "Strategic tasks performance", "Board chairperson", "Behavioral theory of the firm" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: To enable the board to effectively deal with increased business complexities and to fulfil stakeholders' expectations, corporate leaders have been restructuring their boardrooms for a greater job-related diversity - variety in knowledge, skills and experience (Forbes and Milliken, 1999; Milliken and Martin, 1996). Despite its practical importance and scholars' call for more research (Harjoto et al., 2018; Hillman, 2015; Ingley and Van Der Walt, 2003), our understanding of how job-related diversity enables the board to perform strategic tasks has remained limited.\nTheoretical framework and hypotheses formulation: Relationship between job-related diversity and boards' strategic tasks performance\nMethods: Data\nAnalysis and results: The SEM analysis results are presented in Tables V and VI. The first hypothesis states a positive relationship between the job-related board diversity and boards' strategic task performance. In Table V, all three models have shown a significant and positive relationship between the job-related board diversity and boards' strategic task performance. Table VI also shows how we have obtained similar results across all four models regarding the above relationship. The first hypothesis receives support. This is in line with prior board research that indicated positive effects of board diversity on board strategic tasks (Gabaldon et al., 2018; Kakabadse et al., 2018; Minichilli et al., 2009; Nielsen and Huse, 2010) as well as strategic decisions (Haynes and Hillman, 2010; Miller and Triana, 2009; Torchia et al., 2018). Taken together, these results show the importance of diversity as a variety in directors' skills, knowledge and professional experience, for creating boards that positively contribute to the strategy process.\nDiscussion and conclusion: We apply behavioral theory, a process-oriented theoretical perspective, to propose the favorable effects of directors' different skills, knowledge and professional experience in coping with cognitive biases and, accordingly, enhancing boards' influence on the strategy process. Additionally, we highlight the influence of the chairperson on directors' use of their diverse talent during board discussions and, thus, propose the moderation effects of chairperson leadership efficacy and former-CEO board chair configuration on the relationship between job-related diversity and boards' strategic tasks performance. The results confirm the positive association between job-related diversity and boards' strategic task performance. Furthermore, strong leadership and a former-CEO board chair configuration can strengthen this relationship. In the light of these findings, our study contributes to the literature on board diversity, board leadership and strategic management. Research on board diversity has been characterized with an ongoing focus on gender diversity and structural factors (CEO duality, board size) (Benkraiem et al., 2017; Groening, 2019; Ujunwa, 2012; Zhang, 2012) leading calls for more research on other types of board diversity with a process-oriented approach (Hillman, 2015; McIntyre et al., 2007). Answering these calls, we introduce behavioral theory as a novel perspective to investigate effects job-related diversity may have on boards' participation to strategy process. Behavioral theory recognizes the importance of board diversity in coping with directors' information searching and processing biases that would otherwise hinder quality, as well as creativity of board decisions (Brodbeck et al., 2007; Van Ees et al., 2009). We validate this behavioral perspective through arguing for positive effects of board diversity on boards (Van Ees et al., 2009). Moreover, we enrich behavioral research, which has only considered the effects of gender diversity (Miller and Triana, 2009; Torchia et al., 2018), by showing the positive effects of job-related diversity on boards' strategic task performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Board diversity has been a hotly debated topic in the field of corporate governance. The paper examines the role of board chairperson and its moderating effect on the relationship between job-related diversity and boards' strategic tasks performance. The purpose of this paper is to add on our body of knowledge about the impact of job-related diversity on boards' strategic tasks performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper applies the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to examine survey responses from chief executive officers (CEOs). Both the measurement model and structural model have obtained good results, supporting the appropriateness of using the SEM approach.\nFindings: The findings suggest that there is a positive association between job-related diversity and boards' strategic tasks performance, which is moderated by a chairperson's leadership efficacy and the option of a former-CEO as board chair.\nPractical implications: To achieve the intended effect of job-related diversity in boards, policymakers need to be mindful about the importance of the board chairperson. Board chairperson's characteristics such as leadership efficacy and a former-CEO experience would amplify the positive effect of diversity.\nOriginality/value: This research paper contributes to the literature on board diversity, board leadership and strategic management of firms. Findings validated researchers' concern about the negligence of examining moderating factors in board diversity research. Moreover, results echo the concern that board leadership research should shift the attention from structural aspects to the behavioral issues. Finally, this study is the first to show the positive influence of a board chairperson in disseminating benefits of a diverse board.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Customers' use of prices and internal reference prices to evaluate new food products	[ "Perceived quality", "Pricing", "New products", "Customer value", "Perceived monetary sacrifice" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Perceived customer value (PV) is one of the most important concepts in marketing (Gummerus, 2013). Since its original definition (Zeithaml, 1988), PV evolved to a multidimensional concept with various intrinsic and extrinsic quality and price cues influencing a customer's overall perception of value (Dagevos and van Ophem, 2013; Holbrook, 2006; Perrea et al., 2015). While in the last years food marketing research has especially been focussed on credence attributes, for example organic production, local production or genetic modification, the product price as a strategic instrument for managers to influence PV has received considerably less attention. Therefore we aim at extending existing knowledge about effects of price on overall PV for new food products.\n2. Theoretical background and hypothesis development: 2.1. The price-quality-tradeoff\n3. Methodology: 3.1. Operationalization of IRP\n4. Results: For each product category a restricted (model 1) and a full model (model 2) was estimated (see Table II). In model 1 the interaction effects between IRP and the price variables Gain, Loss, and Prom were omitted, so that the random effects for these price variables were not conditional on the interactions. H1 was tested based on this restricted model and H2, H3 and H4 on the full models. The models were estimated using the multilevel modeling software MLwiN (Browne, 2013; Rasbash et al., 2013). After estimation, we checked for multicollinearity among the independent variables. The variance inflation factors were 2.21 for the yoghurt data and 1.79 for the sausage data, which confirmed that multicollinearity was not an issue.\n5. Discussion: The present study aimed to demonstrate the heterogeneous effects of prices on new product trial, as well as the function of IRPs as a customer-specific moderator of heterogeneous price effects. The results confirmed our expectations that effects of monetary losses are negative for the majority of customers. This outcome is consistent with theoretical propositions and empirical results of other studies that focussed on established products (e.g. Erdem et al., 2010; Kopalle et al., 2012). However, there was significant variation in the loss effects for both categories, which indicates that effects of losses on PV are customer-specific and that losses do not necessarily lead to decreasing PVs. We argued that the reason for this difference is that some customers use price primarily as indicator of sacrifice, while others use price also to infer product quality for new products. The positive interaction effects between loss and IRP support this argumentation because IRP is used as an indicator to characterize customers as loss-averse vs quality-seeking. Low-IRP customers interpret losses as an increase in PS and do not put much weight on the greater quality that could be associated with a higher price. For high-IRP customers, however, a loss signalizes a gain in quality. Since these customers put more weight on quality the reduction in PV due to the higher price is less significant than for low-IRP customers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the heterogeneous effects of gains and losses on the perception of new products. It seeks to argue that the heterogeneity in these effects (partly) stems from the price-perceived quality relationship which is more important for quality-seeking customers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A multilevel logit model was applied to household panel data on purchases of new yoghurt and sausage products in Germany. The multilevel model allowed to estimate heterogeneous price effects and accounted for the nested structure in panel data.\nFindings: Significant variation in the effects of gains, losses, and promotions were found. Internal reference prices (IRPs), which served as indicator of loss-averse vs quality-seeking customers, were found to moderate these effects. Monetary losses have less negative effects for customers with high IRPs. Negative interaction effects of IRPs with monetary gains and promotions indicate that quality-seeking customers are less attracted by gains and promotions.\nPractical implications: The heterogeneity in the price effects confirms the strategic importance of new product prices to influence customers' perception of value. The price-quality relationship is an explanatory approach for heterogeneous price effects and should not be neglected in price setting. The inclusion of customer-specific reference price information yields deeper insights into customers' use of prices to evaluate new products.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first to estimate asymmetric gain and loss effects in the analysis of new product trial. A customer-specific view in price setting is emphasized by taking customer-specific reference prices into account.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
US community college entrepreneurship educator practices	[ "Entrepreneurship education", "Community college entrepreneurship", "Community colleges", "Entrepreneurship educator practices" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: Formal entrepreneurship education happens in a variety of academic settings (Solomon, 2007), including basic and upper secondary education (Ruskovaara and Pihkala, 2013), undergraduate and graduate level programs, including MBA and doctoral levels, programs outside of business schools (Turner and Gianiodis, 2018) such as engineering colleges (Duval-Couetil et al., 2016), and two-year community colleges (Carducci et al., 2005; Mars and Ginter, 2012). The decade of the 2010s has seen substantial growth in the global academic literature regarding the teaching of entrepreneurship at the university level (Hasan et al., 2017; Herman and Stefanescu, 2017; Jones, 2010; Zollo et al., 2017), with four-year educational institutions being the dominant source of past research attention, awareness and understanding (Kuratko, 2005; Mars and Ginter, 2012; Vanevenhoven and Liguori, 2013). The substantial learning and teaching population of two-year community colleges located in the USA is markedly absent from the increased volume of research on teaching entrepreneurship. In this US community college domain of more than 1,000 institutions, there is limited current research in the published academic literature regarding entrepreneurship education pedagogical modalities, techniques, methodologies, tools used, and their outcomes and impacts. There is also a lack of insight of the profiles of all manner of college faculty members who teach entrepreneurship courses, with the most recent investigation of entrepreneurship educator profiles at four-year institutions having been conducted for the years 2007-2008 (Kabongo and McCaskey, 2011), with no data available for US community college teachers. The present paper addresses these research gaps for the US community college domain by analyzing data reported by 568 entrepreneurship educators (EE) from 279 community college institutions, collected through the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE).\nUS community colleges and entrepreneurship education: In the USA, there are more than 1,108 community colleges which collectively serve some 7.2m credit-seeking students (American Association of Community Colleges, 2017), representing 42.6 percent of the total of 16.9m US undergraduate students estimated as of Fall 2016 (US National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Historically, some US community colleges have been referred to as junior colleges, county colleges, or city colleges, monikers for some which have remained intact. US community colleges, with a frequent model of open enrollment, which enables ready access, and with lesser cost to students, serve as an alternative educational path for many students (DoBell and Ingle, 2009). Community colleges are typically two-year degree-granting academic institutions (associate degree), and whose missions are closely oriented with the communities in their geographic vicinity (Mullin, 2010). Community colleges are an important local economic engine, contributing to regional economic development and global competitiveness (Ayers, 2005; Levin, 2001, 2004) through a wide variety of educational programs and workforce skill development, including entrepreneurship education (Carducci et al., 2005; Fuline, 2013), to which community college students are seen to be receptive (Darnell and Gopalkrishnan, 2016). Entrepreneurial activity and associated education has been shown to be a key factor in economic growth (Galvao et al., 2018; Neck et al., 2003), therefore, it is a key component of US community college local economic growth missions (Vaughan, 2006).\nUS community colleges and entrepreneurship education practices: There are no uniform pedagogical rules for entrepreneurship education, and with wide diversity and little uniformity in content (Solomon et al., 2002), it is sometimes not believed suited for traditional pedagogy (Rideout and Gray, 2013). Instructors often devise and develop their own methods and techniques and decide which form the best practices (Ruskovaara and Pihkala, 2013). As a result, entrepreneurship education features a wide variety of instructional methods (Fayolle, 2008; Fiet, 2001b; Jones and Iredale, 2010; Neck and Greene, 2011; Solomon, 2007), such as lectures, experiential learning, computer simulations, etc. Community colleges, in particular, have been exhorted to be entrepreneurial in delivering education (Roueche and Jones, 2005). While knowledge regarding practices of entrepreneurial pedagogy and entrepreneurial learning continues to increase (Jones and Iredale, 2010; Pittaway and Cope, 2007), entrepreneurship education methods are continually evolving (Liguori et al., 2018). For instance, in Solomon's (2007) report (Figure 2), the dominant teaching methods identified by 279 by EE in global two-year and four-year institution colleges and universities was in-class discussion (60 percent), development of business plans (57 percent), classroom visits by guest speakers (52 percent), and case studies (50 percent) (Solomon, 2007). Previously, in Solomon's 2002 study of entrepreneurship education at 240 institutions, the most popular in-class pedagogical methods at 31 two-year US colleges were case method, creation of business plans and discussion (Solomon et al., 2002). Data from the present paper reveal a substantial shift from these methods.\nSample and data collection: This paper explores a considerable proportion of the US community colleges, their EE, and their pedagogical practices. The data analyzed herein were previously collected in a survey as part of an NACCE program in cooperation with the entrepreneurial education arm of the non-profit foundation of an American multinational corporation, which sponsors programs offering entrepreneurs around the globe free access to online entrepreneurship educational content. Participants were recruited through a nationwide online survey invitation that was issued by NACCE leadership to all of its 279 US member institutions as well as non-members during 2013-2014. The final sample included 568 responding participants, all of whom self-identified as faculty members who teach entrepreneurship, from 270 community colleges, representing approximately 98 percent of the NACCE member population plus other non-NACCE institutions. In this survey addressing the use of e-learning at community colleges (NACCE, 2014), respondents used Qualtrics as a survey tool to answer 63 questions that were developed to provide insights into community college entrepreneurship educator backgrounds, experiences, instructional techniques, modalities and various attitudinal perspectives, in order to understand the practice and efficacy of online learning. For the present paper, data from 45 of these questions were analyzed as an applicable subset of the entire survey. While the exploratory nature of this paper is not intended to yield generalizable findings (Creswell, 2003) for all community college EE, mining this rich set of data offered an attractive opportunity to fill in some significant gaps concerning what is presently known about community college entrepreneurship education.\nExpert panel to aid analysis: To aid in the interpretation of selected findings and enhance understanding of their impacts, and to offer perspective and future study suggestions, a small panel of entrepreneurship education experts was created and employed using a simplified Delphi method (Dalkey and Helmer, 1963). The panelists were comprised of three men and one woman, each tenured or tenure track professors of entrepreneurship education. The participants were anonymous to each other, and were not informed as to whom else was requested to participate. In a single round of exchange, key findings were provided to the panelists via e-mail, and they were asked to respond to the findings and interpretation written by the authors. Their responses are anonymously included with the findings and recommendations contained herein.\nAnalysis: entrepreneurship education practices: The wealth of data available offered a unique opportunity to conduct a descriptive and inferential analysis and develop a deeper understanding of how educators in community colleges teach entrepreneurship and related courses. The results demonstrate understanding regarding the use of pedagogical resources among males and females and based on location, the modalities used by educators, the expectations of educators as modalities evolve over time, the attitude of educators toward e-learning tools and pedagogical innovation, and the extent to which educators are effective in establishing a network of guidance and feedback with their current and past students. Additionally, the analysis identified inferential relationships between selected pedagogical tools and techniques, and their relationship to student entrepreneurial outcomes, as measured by educators' awareness of the successful creation of new businesses by their students.\nContributions to the literature: This paper fills a gap in entrepreneurship education research in the under-researched domain of US community colleges by providing profile data about a significant sample of EE. By examining educator attitudes and practices used (modalities, materials, tools, techniques) as related to five distinct learning outcomes, the inferential analyses in this paper contribute to the extant literature in gaining important understanding of those educational practices that can increase the likelihood of positive outcomes, such as students who have started a business. While the findings herein cannot be generalized to all community colleges in the USA nor similar institutions in any other countries, there are no distinct community college educator samples of this size in the literature. While many of the ten findings in this paper are descriptive in nature, they fill in significant gaps and build on the work of others by contributing to the body of knowledge about the large and important constituency of community college EE.\nRecommendations: Our knowledge about entrepreneurship education in the community college setting is in need of more current data and analysis, especially on the topic of online modalities, and represents a significant research demand and opportunity.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to descriptively characterize the demographic profiles of entrepreneurship educators (EE) in US community colleges, and include descriptive and inferential examination of their pedagogical modalities, attitudes toward online modality, and use of teaching materials, tools and techniques, with resulting impacts and outcomes on students.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper analyzed data collected by the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship on the national landscape of community college entrepreneurship education. The useable sample included 568 responding participants from 270 US community colleges, all of whom self-identified as faculty members who teach entrepreneurship. To enhance the understanding of the findings, a small panel of EE experts was solicited to offer perspective and future study suggestions.\nFindings: Ten distinct findings are offered. These include EE teaching materials, teaching modalities, use of e-learning and alternative techniques, and their relation to modalities; and examination of five distinct entrepreneurial educational outcomes and their relationship to educator use of pedagogical materials, tools and techniques.\nOriginality/value: Understanding effective entrepreneurship educational practices is important to globally advancing entrepreneurship education. This paper concentrates on the profiles and practices of educators in the significant but under-researched domain of US community colleges, and offers an incremental contribution and awareness of effective entrepreneurship education teaching methods.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Local government consultant performance measures: an empirical study	[ "Local government", "Consultants", "Performance measurement (quality)", "New Zealand" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The Institute of Management Consultancy in the UK describes management consultancy as the service provided by an independent and qualified person, or persons, in identifying and investigating problems concerned with policy, organisation, procedures and methods, then recommending appropriate action and helping to implement those recommendations (McLarty and Robinson, 1998).Since the early 1990s the public sector has been operating in an environment defined by marketing principles and directed by business forces. Consequently, terms such as responsiveness, quality and performance culture have become commonplace in debates on local government (Hegewisch and Larsen, 1996). Not only are present tasks supposed to be performed with higher productivity and competence, but also new tasks are being continually added to the repertoire of local authorities. Through competitive tendering, outsourcing and business process re-engineering, governments around the world have been attempting to transform their public sectors from perceived bureaucracy to perceived enterprise (e.g. Corcoran and McLean, 1998; Smyth, 1998).The literature reveals that shortfalls often exist between the levels of performance that local government clients expect from their consultants and those actually delivered. In addition to under-performance, such differences may be due to a lack of objective and well-developed consulting performance standards to guide local authority clients in their expectations when setting contracts, monitoring performance and reviewing completed work (e.g. Pottinger, 1998). The present study addresses this gap by soliciting the views of local government officers on the value they place on a set of performance measures that industry-respected consultants themselves (e.g. Jonker, 1995; Lambert, 1993, 1997; Maister, 1993, 1997), promote as \"best practice\". Hence, the results of this study should be of interest to local government researchers and practitioners who need a rigorous set of benchmarks to objectively assess both consultant performance against expectations and local authority performance (in specifying the contract).\nConsultant performance evaluation: While local authorities traditionally regarded value for money as the important consideration, through the 1990s the literature increasingly cited quality as an important factor that should be of utmost consideration. (Corcoran and McLean, 1998; Mitchell, 1998; Smyth, 1998) This change signalled a shift in emphasis towards effectiveness and quality in service delivery and not just economy and efficiency - at least in the UK (Pottinger, 1998). Perhaps because such contractual arrangements involve integrity and the spending of public funds, it is generally acknowledged that local authorities expect their consultants to work to high standards. However, one main problem when purchasing management consultancy services appears to be the purchaser's difficulty in judging what is being offered, as well as determining what kinds and levels of performance are relevant and achievable (Corcoran and McLean, 1998). With management consultants offering intellectually intangible knowledge services and objectivity, purchasers often cannot confidently anticipate whether the services being offered will satisfy their requirements. Quality of service is particularly difficult to assess when it involves the giving of professional advice; the absence of a physical outcome leading to difficulties with stipulating exactly what standards local authorities should seek from their consultants, which in turn heightens the perceived risk of procuring consultancy services. The results of extensive research reported by Lambert (1997) and other authors indicate that, almost universally, clients fear the consultant who will:* prove to be incompetent;* overcharge;* spend too little time on the job;* operate beyond management's control;* make the organisation dependent on the consultant for the future;* disclose sensitive and confidential information;* force-fit the problem to the consultant's standard solution;* diagnose the problem inadequately;* overestimate the needs;* assume that this problem is exactly like others; and* talk too much and fail to listen.As a consequence, local authorities as far apart as the UK and Australia tend to rate \"relevant consultant experience\" highly (e.g. Corcoran and McLean, 1998), this term often being a euphemism for \"better the devil you know\". However, there is some evidence that, at least under some circumstances, local authorities may be moving away from their old methods and procedures: some authors have noted that the relationship between client and consultant is shifting from one based solely on assessing professional skills for delivering the required service, to one of shared commitment to achieving a common objective (e.g. Pottinger, 1998).Reasons offered in explanation for the differences observed between expected and actual consultant performance include:* Standards of performance specified by local authorities, which may be under-developed in terms of performance measures, make hard evidence of local authority service improvements difficult to demonstrate (Pottinger, 1998).* Positive post-purchase rationalisation by local authorities, which could be the result of purchasers persuading themselves that something is better than it actually is, either because they chose it or the decision cannot be reversed (Mitchell, 1995). Similarly, perceptions have been found to depend heavily on the relationship between the consultant and the local authority officers with whom they work (Mitchell, 1995; Pottinger, 1998).Suffice to say, if consultant performance is to be consistently assessed, clear and objective performance measures are needed.\nMeasures of consultant performance: Reports and oral presentations are usually the only tangible products provided by consultants (Lant, 1981) and the seemingly intangible services supplied make it difficult for local authorities to assess price and quality in unison. Hence, an important first step is to determine which aspects of performance to measure. Broadly conceptualised, a consultant's work can be evaluated by two factors:1. the deliverables produced; and2. the processes used to achieve those deliverables.Here we define \"deliverable\" as any measurable, tangible, verifiable outcome, result or item that must be produced to complete a contract or a part of a contract; \"process\" is defined as the manner by which those deliverables are produced.Quality of deliverables can be defined by their accuracy, usability and constructability. Process quality performance is more difficult to assess, being a function of such intangible criteria as ability to communicate and descriptors of the consultant/consultant team itself. Conceptually, consultants have value because they have some skill or knowledge required by the organisation, and it follows that process performance must be measured by how these abilities are matched with organisation needs. Prior studies have largely focused on the deliverables aspect of performance and not the evaluation of the process used. In contrast, the present study focuses on qualitative, process-related data for assessing consultant performance. A survey instrument was devised specifically for the purpose, as there remains a marked shortage of sound professional literature in the area of public sector use of professional services (Corcoran and McLean, 1998; McLarty and Robinson, 1998; Mitchell, 1998). The first step of the research involved establishing a set of consultant process performance benchmarks by synthesising literature on commonly agreed upon measures of consultant behaviour and performance that industry-respected consultants routinely agree should lead to superior client feedback (e.g. Jonker, 1995; Lambert, 1993, 1997; Maister, 1993, 1997). Statements (indicators) of consulting practice excellence were logically grouped together under the following broad headings:* vision and commitment;* client/customer relationships;* making it easy to do business; and* consultant characteristics.Vision and commitment\nMethodology: To develop and validate the survey instrument, several steps were taken prior to data collection: development of the instrument from the literature, initial pre-test and pilot test of the measures. The completed survey consisted of five major sections. Section 1 gathered information about the respondents' consultancy purchasing habits and preferences. Section 2 solicited respondents' views on their expectations of consultants. Section 3 solicited respondents' (corresponding) views on their perceptions of the consultants they employ. Section 4 gathered information on the nature of the consulting agreement and the overall level of satisfaction with consultants. Finally, Section 5 gathered demographic information. In Sections 2 and 3 the respondents were asked to express their level of agreement using a seven-point Likert scale, with anchors ranging from \"strongly disagree\" to \"strongly agree\".A pre-test of the developed instrument[1] invited 30 MBA students and ten academic staff members at the University of Waikato in New Zealand to critique the layout and the statements used in the survey. Based on this feedback, some measures were rephrased for clarity. A second round of pre-testing showed the statements were generally clear and the instrument was deemed ready for data collection.Sample selection and data collection procedure\nMeasuring consultant performance: According to Chang and Williams (1999), there are three broad methods of measuring consultant performance. The first attempts to quantify a consultant's contribution toward improving the organisation's financial performance and, somewhat optimistically, assumes a definable and differentiable cause and effect relationship exists between actual (perceived) consultant performance, project effectiveness and financial performance. An advantage of such a measurement method is a precise evaluation of the amount of value creation but it does assume the absence of other off-setting or aiding influences. It is also difficult to determine consultant performance when long-lasting changes do not improve performance immediately (Fuchs, 1975).The second method estimates the long-term value of a consultant to the organisation's knowledge base, as he/she will often instruct and influence employees in a manner that establishes a foundation of knowledge for future financial growth and opportunities. Here, the long-term viability of the actual consultant systems or work must also be ascertained: for example, can the client claim long-term competitive viability and flexibility as a result of the consultant's presence and efforts? (Fuchs, 1975).The third method, and the one favoured, compares measures of actual (perceived) consultant performance against expected (contract-specified) consultant performance. While it is acknowledged that meeting client interests may be a false representation of actual consultant benefit to client performance (e.g. Werr and Styhre, 2003), compliance with contract specifications in and of itself is considered evidence of increasing organisation value and hence of consultant performance (Chang and Williams, 1999). While the exact and precise extent of performance and organisation value is not determined by this method, the first two approaches have largely focused on the often overly simplified deliverables aspect of performance and not the evaluation of the process used to produce those deliverables. In contrast, the present study focuses on qualitative, process-related data when assessing consultant performance.To assess performance alignment in practice, it is necessary to assess the level of association between two conceptually similar profiles, one being the profile of the (derived benchmark) measures of expected consultant performance and the other the profile of actual (i.e. perceived) consultant performance. Furthermore, as it is possible that local authorities either under- or over-specify the levels of consultant performance they expect, it is also desirable to assess local authority performance - being the degree of alignment between local authority expectations and the somewhat exacting performance standards that industry-respected consultants promote as \"best practice\".Performance alignment refers to the level of association between conceptually similar performances profiles, for which a matching measurement approach is appropriate. Alignment may be calculated using the Profile Similarity Indices (PSI) method (Edwards, 1993). Matching is determined by an alignment index D, where: Equation 1 i=1, ... , n, and Xi and Yi are individual items within a dimension. In practice, the seven-point Likert scales used in the survey instrument generate matching scores between 0 (i.e. 7-7) and 6 (7-1), where 0 indicates perfect alignment and 6 the worst possible alignment.An example performance alignment analysis is presented in Table V, which indicates that each of the five benchmark dimensions of expected consultant performance derived from the factor analysis are valued differently by the local authority subject - requiring that weighted alignment values be used in the calculations.The dimension \"Respect for client\" has the largest weight of 0.214 (average value of the individual items within the dimension), indicating that it is of most concern to this local authority. Weighted alignment matching values are obtained by summing the individual dimension matching scores, weighted according to their dimension value. With the exception of \"Rules of engagement\" all the dimensions of actual (perceived) consultant performance fall short of local authority expectations. \"Respect for client\" is noteworthy in this example since, not only does it exhibit the largest weighted mismatch (0.28), but the dimension weighting signifies heightened importance to the authority. When such discrepancies are detected the underlying reason(s) can be determined via consideration of the individual scale values that comprise the dimension.Combining dimensions reveals that there is a high level of overall alignment (0.23) of actual consultant performance with expected consultant performance, where a perfect match=0 and a perfect mismatch=6. In spite of the moderately high mean values of the client perception dimensions, there does still exist some potential to further leverage consultant performance, although as other authors have also pointed out, this does assume that the local authority's expectations were set at an appropriate level to begin with (e.g. Pottinger, 1998).\nConclusions: Implications for practitioners\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aim of this paper is to report on development and use of a survey instrument that captures qualitative, process-related data from local authority officers in New Zealand, from which is derived a rigorous and parsimonious set of critical performance measures.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - An instrument was developed utilising performance exemplars promoted by industry-respected consulting experts. New Zealand local authorities were surveyed and exploratory factor analysis used to identify what the factors represent conceptually. Profile Similarity Indices (PSIs) describe the alignment between expected and actual consultant performances.\nFindings: - A rigorous set of five critical process-related dimensions of performance and their associated (18) scales were derived, which demonstrate the desired properties of reliability and validity. Interpretation of the Profile Similarity Indices values is provided.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Subjective data on excellent consulting practice sourced from industry-respected consultants was used rather than justifying reasons for their choice from a theoretical basis. Generalisability of results to other business and industry sectors remains to be tested.\nPractical implications: - The derived performance measures may be used by practitioners to objectively assess management consultant performance and local authority performance (in specifying the contract). Where performance discrepancies exist, reasons and remedial actions may be determined via consideration of the individual scale items.\nOriginality/value: - There continues to be a lack of research into the practices employed by local authorities when they retain and manage their management consultants; such purchasers often experience difficulty judging what is being offered and what kinds and levels of performance are relevant and achievable. Underperformance may be due to a lack of objective and well-developed consulting performance standards. The present study examines these gaps.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Value-at-risk and related measures for the Bitcoin	[ "Value-at-risk", "Bitcoin", "GJR-GARCH model", "Expected shortfall", "Pearson type-IV distribution", "Regulatory loss functions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The recent global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis have urged investors and financial institutions to identify assets to protect their investments in case of extreme market conditions, or systemic risk. With respect to the recent literature (Baur and Lucey, 2010; Baur and McDermott, 2010, Baur and McDermott, 2016) which distinguishes the terms diversifier, hedge and safe haven, gold is the most promising example of a safe haven asset to help investors diversify the risk in case of a crisis. However, owing to the \"Internet of Things\" through the interconnection of physical and smart devices, a large variety of virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies have started to emerge during the past years. The term \"virtual currency\" initiated in the online gaming communities including the Bitcoin (BTC, or XBT according to the ISO 4217 standard), in the Magic the Gathering Online Exchange (MtGox) and the Linden Dollar in the Second Life game. These include Litecoin (October 2011), Peercoin (August 2012), Primecoin (July 2013, developed by the same person who developed Peercoin), Dogecoin (December 2013), Darkcoin (January 2014, a more secretive version of Litecoin), Ethereum (2015) and many others. The total market capitalization of digital currencies and cryptocurrencies, as of 17 July 2017, is about US$66bn, with BTC domination of 46 per cent, after a deep decrease from 94 per cent in 2013, followed by Ethereum with 23 per cent.\n2. Econometric methodology: 2.1 The data\n3. Results of the econometric methodology: 3.1 Descriptive statistics and stylized facts\n4. Conclusion: The post-crisis financial system is bearing changes and a disputed issue is whether or not digital currencies and cryptocurrencies will have a place in the investors' positions. The Basel requirements are guided towards a strengthening of the financial system against systemic risks, and this will have implications on risk management and the cost of capital and liquidity. BTC has attracted significant attention after the price increase, but lacks regulation and financial instruments. If finally BTC will encounter a hesitant penetration to the investors, the next step is the regulatory risk management framework, as financial operations entail risks. The capital adequacy rules set a minimum requirement on the size of the financial buffer based on the assumed risk. This paper provides a quantification of such measures indicating that BTC is subject to a higher risk, and therefore, to higher sufficient buffer and risk capital to cover potential losses.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the value-at-risk and related measures for the Bitcoin and to compare the findings with Standard and Poor's SP500 Index, and the gold spot price time series.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A GJR-GARCH model has been implemented, in which the residuals follow the standardized Pearson type-IV distribution. A large variety of value-at-risk measures and backtesting criteria are implemented.\nFindings: Bitcoin is a highly volatile currency violating the value-at-risk measures more than the other assets. With respect to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Accords, a Bitcoin investor is subjected to higher capital requirements and capital allocation ratio.\nPractical implications: The risk of an investor holding Bitcoins is measured and quantified via the regulatory framework practices.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first comprehensive approach to the risk properties of Bitcoin.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Chinese investments abroad: examining the spillover effects in Eastern and Central Europe	[ "China", "FDI", "Technology transfer", "Spillover effects", "Central and Eastern Europe", "Outward FDI", "International trade" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The screening of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) by host countries, though not new, has found a renewal since amendments to the regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) took effect on October 11, 2018. Across the Atlantic, a framework for screening FDI inflows into the EU was approved by the European Council in March 2019 and took effect in April 2019. Both policies of further screening have one common factor - China. The dramatic increases in FDI from China in the past decade have raised the who and why questions: Are these investments from private entities or state-owned enterprises? Is the motivation behind this investment financial or technological and military? Chinese companies are being accused of stealing technology and know-how through their international activities in developed countries, while in developing countries, host governments are supposedly being duped into debt traps. Should governments fear Chinese investments? How does Chinese outward FDI (OFDI) contribute toward the economic growth and development of host countries?\nSources of FDI spillovers: Developing countries have become increasingly receptive to FDI, because it is seen as a source of economic development and growth, job creation and poverty reduction. Previous studies show that FDI \"triggers technology spillovers, assists human capital formation, contributes to international trade integration, helps create a more competitive business environment and enhances enterprise development\" (OECD, 2002: p. 5). Countries that have more open policies toward FDI are more productive and tend to grow faster because domestic firms are able to learn from their foreign counterparts and increase efficiency across the board. However, attracting too many foreign firms could also produce negative effects when foreign firms nudge out local incumbents, especially the less efficient ones, and dominate the local market called the crowding out effect (Aitken and Harrison, 1999). Foreign firms may be effective in ensuring that their firm specific assets are maintained by importing labor from the home country or switching to home country suppliers. In addition, FDI may decrease the balance of payments, as profits are repatriated or when foreigners destroy the local environment in their natural resource extraction. The net effect between these two opposing forces determines whether inward FDI actually helps the domestic economy.\nResearch methodology: Given the short history of Chinese OFDI, undertaking an empirical study is not possible, as it would require a massive primary data collection exercise. At this stage, what is possible is to develop a narrative of Chinese investment abroad that focuses on the spillovers to the local economy. To build this narrative, we interviewed eight Chinese multinational companies that have operations in at least one CEE country. The interviewees are senior decision-makers within the organization so that a deep-dive into the motivation and operation of the investment can be discussed. We searched the alumni database of the business school affiliated with the first author to find those individuals whose companies had a subsidiary in any country in CEE. The business school has the largest alumni network in China, with a significant number of attendees holding C-level positions in their companies. We emailed the 18 alumni whose names appeared in the search. Eight responded to our request for an interview. All eight interviewees are senior-level executives in their organization with direct involvement in the CEE subsidiaries of their companies. Table II provides a brief description of the companies interviewed. The face-to-face, semi-structured interviews lasted between 60 and 180 minutes each. The interviews covered various issues, including motivations for choosing the CEE country, the upstream and downstream supply chain, human resources, competition in the host economy, international trade and challenges faced by the firm.\nResults of analysis: Given that Chinese OFDI is a recent phenomenon, in this section we explain the likely spillover effects of Chinese investments based on the actions undertaken by the eight representative firms we interviewed for this project. We describe this under four headings, using the terminologies used by Blomstrom and Kokko (1998).\nConclusion and implications: Host country governments are interested in FDI, not just because of the inflow of capital and new jobs that might be created by the multinational company, but also the spillover effects in the form of new technology and know-how shared by the company with local firms. This could raise the production efficiency and the competitiveness of the business environment in the host economy (Moran et al., 2005). The rapid growth in OFDI from China in recent years, particularly projects linked to the Belt Road Initiative, raised questions about the consequences of accepting Chinese capital (Balding, 2018).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Chinese investments abroad are being scrutinized more stringently because host governments fear that Chinese companies would steal domestically grown technology and know-how or be duped into a debt trap. The purpose of this paper is to provide a narrative of Chinese investments in a region that is neither developed nor underdeveloped - Central and Eastern Europe. The authors aim to provide an alternative view of Chinese investments abroad.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors base their narrative on face-to-face semi-structured interviews with eight Chinese firms that carried out mergers and acquisition activities in the region.\nFindings: The respondents claim that they saved companies and jobs in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Access to the China market and elsewhere has increased as a result of these investments. Transfer of technology has gone both ways depending on which partner had superior technology.\nResearch limitations/implications: It is important that Chinese investors emphasize the positive spillover effects from their investments, such as jobs saved, potential technology transfer and increased exports, when applying for FDI approval from host governments. Host governments, on the other hand, should evaluate each Chinese investment on its individual merits.\nOriginality/value: There is little that has been researched on the contributions of FDI from developing countries to host economies. This paper is an early attempt in this direction.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A guide to executive coaching: Advice to managers and their organizations	[ "Benefits", "Coaching", "Teaching styles", "Personal needs" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: It is widely accepted and recognized by both practitioners and professional institutions that executive coaching is a highly appropriate tool to develop the skills required of senior managers, which will enable them to deliver sustainable business results consistently. However, the challenge for managers is to sift through the plethora of available coaches and coaching styles to find the coach that is right for them, their team and their organizations.\nThe benefits of coaching: In understanding the benefits to the senior team and the organization, you will begin identifying the requirements a coach has to comply with if they are going to be the right match for you and your organization. You will, of course, have specific requirements that apply to you and your organization. However, understanding the generic benefits provides you with a starting point. The use of executive coaching as a significant tool in the development of senior management has rapidly increased across all business sectors.A consistent theme as to the benefits of coaching is its ability to support senior managers with the sense of isolation they experience as well as the lack of opportunities to discuss areas of concern with others or to explore opportunities for growth. Executives rate coaching as one of the most valuable and effective means of resolving these issues. Coaching also provides the challenge and the support managers need to develop the competencies they and their organizations need. The essence of coaching is the time and space it provides to learn through action and a detachment from day-to-day activities. The opportunity to view the organization from a distance allows for clarity and insight. A coach acts as sounding board for testing new ideas and solutions in a way that those close to an executive could not possibly provide.\nWhat coaching might mean to your organization: However, the rapidly growing popularity of executive coaching has led to a cacophony of coaches and coaching styles from business coaching to life coaching. The rapid growth has also meant inadequate training, resulting in a failure to deliver on the expectations of those they attempt to coach. The credibility, training and competency of those offering their services as executive coaches has become a concern for institutions and professional bodies involved in maintaining and ensuring the quality of training and development. As a process and a profession still in its infancy, there is very little recognized training and or accreditation available for the development of coaches and managers who want to add coaching skills to their management competencies. In summary the following are the key characteristics of coaching as it applies to organizations:* a reflective practice based on a one-to-one relationship with the coach;* tailored to the needs of the individual;* stimulating growth in areas of organizational importance or weakness;* present and future focused;* action oriented;* a non-directive intervention form of development; and* aimed at the development of individual performance and abilities.\nA guide to selecting a suitable coach: It is important for buyers of coaching to be vigilant when employing the services of a coach and to ensure that the above characteristics are shared by the proposed coach. At present there is very little formal and credible training available to coaches, nor is there professional accountability to guide and monitor the quality of the profession. Many therapists and counsellors are marketing their services under the banner of coaching, and managers need to be clear as to the type of coaching they require and the coaching style that would be appropriate to their needs. Although there is no blue-print available to avoid making the wrong choice when selecting a coach, the following will act as a guideline:1. Assess the need of the individual to be coached.2. Should the services of an internal or external coach be employed?3. Match the profile of the coach with that of the need of the individual, the issues to be explored and the organization.4. What is the relevant experience of the coach and how much experience have they had?5. Ensure you obtain testimonials from previous clients.6. How will quality be monitored during the coaching assignment?7. Agree measurable outcomes for the coaching assignment.8. Determine qualifications and any membership of professional bodies.9. Match personal qualities and characteristics with the individuals they will coach.\nConclusion: Despite the risks involved in selecting a suitable coach, there is growing research to suggest that there are powerful benefits to both the individual and the organization in employing coaching as a performance development tool. Furthermore, when successful, it is perceived as a sound investment, which does impact the bottom line of an organization; coaching focuses on doing which impacts on the business.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper introduces managers to the benefits of Executive Coaching as experienced by both the individual as well as the organization. It also recognises the difficulties purchasers of coaching may experience in selecting the appropriate coach for the individual or the organization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - It introduces a brief guide, detailing what to look out for when selecting a coach. Findings\nFindings: - As coaching is a relatively new profession, there are very few common standards and guidelines available in monitoring the quality of the training of the coaches and the maintenance of quality in delivery.\nOriginality/value: - The paper introduces the benefits of coaching which will in turn support the selection process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact that exposure to digital fabrication technology has on student entrepreneurial intentions	[ "Technology", "Entrepreneurial intention", "Entrepreneurship", "Entrepreneurial education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Digital technology and infrastructure (e.g. advanced manufacturing; additive manufacturing; augmented reality; simulation; cloud computing; industrial IoT; cyber security; and big data analytics and customer profiling) has been heralded in the popular press as a potentially transformative technology that will \"change the world\" (Economist, 2011) and integrate firm processes both vertically and horizontally (Ardito et al., 2019). 3D printing, a method for creating physical objects from digital designs, building them out of many very thin layers of material (Hoy, 2013); IoT, a worldwide network of interconnected objects and big data, any set of data that would require large capabilities in terms of storage space and time to be analyzed with traditional systems, are three digital technologies that many anticipate will accelerate innovation (Del Vecchio et al., 2018), boost new business opportunities (Ardito et al., 2018) and radically change how local manufacturing activities are organized (Petrick and Simpson, 2013; Despeisse et al., 2017). Digital technologies could also become a dominant source for innovation in academic entrepreneurship (Rippa and Secundo, 2018). Their infusion into various aspects of entrepreneurship has transformed the nature and how we deal with the uncertainty inherent in entrepreneurial processes, calling for careful consideration on how they shape entrepreneurial pursuits (Nambisan, 2017). This has created a host of important research questions at the intersection of digital technology and entrepreneurship that published work has yet to address.\nTheoretical background and hypotheses: Self-efficacy, a key element of Bandura's (1977, 1978, 1986) social-learning theory, refers to one's belief in one's capability to perform a specific task. Based on an individual's self-perception of his skills and abilities, the concept reflects an individual's innermost thoughts on whether he has the ability, as well as the belief, that he will be able to effectively convert his skills into a chosen outcome (Bandura, 1989, 1997). One especially relevant aspect of self-efficacy is that it is task and domain specific (Bandura, 1989, 1992, 1997), meaning a person can have high self-efficacy in one area, but low self-efficacy in another. Accordingly, the concept of self-efficacy has been extensively employed to explain perceived career options, stated career preferences, and ultimately, career-oriented behaviors including entrepreneurship (Betz and Hackett, 1981, 1983; Hackett and Betz, 1981; Eccles, 1994). In this latter case, self-efficacy is related to perceived capabilities to manage innovation, risk, leadership, etc. ESE is defined as \"the strength of a person' belief that he or she is capable of successfully performing the various roles and tasks of entrepreneurship\" (Chen et al., 1998) and past studies (Boyd and Vozikis, 1994; Segal et al., 2002) have established that it influences EIs and that those with higher levels of ESE have higher levels of EIs (Krueger et al., 2000).\nSample: Data were collected from 131 students enrolled in a business administration undergraduate program at a large Midwestern university in the USA. The university's management department had recently purchased and introduced new digital manufacturing technology and made it available to all students and faculty, at no costs. This setting provided a unique opportunity to test our hypotheses, as many business schools' students would potentially be introduced to, taught about and experiment with the technology as part of their courses. Our data reveal that the students had little to no prior experience with computer-aided design (65.7 percent), rapid prototyping (89.7 percent), 3D printing (89.7 percent), laser cutting (95.3 percent), web design (55.1 percent), wire framing (89.6 percent) and product design (72.0 percent), further justifying the sample choice. Linan and Chen (2009) defend the use of student populations in the study of EIs. They argue that students are individuals currently involved in real career-choice processes and facilitate examination of the psychological processes prior to new venture creation. The use of student populations has also been adopted in a number of papers studying the impact that education programs have on EIs (Souitaris et al., 2007; Wu and Wu, 2008; Lucas et al., 2009; Hassan and Wafa, 2012; Chen, 2014; Zhang et al., 2014; Solesvik, 2013; Maresch et al., 2016; Barba-Sanchez and Atienza-Sahuquillo, 2018). The mean age of participants was 22 with a range between 20 and 37 years. Out of them, 36.4 percent were female and 63.6 percent were male. They were mostly white (61.5 percent), with Hispanics and Asians making up the remaining 27.5 percent. Their main areas of study consisted of Finance (15.3 percent), Marketing (15.3 percent), Business (14.5 percent) and Management (10.0 percent). Individuals' work experience was about 4.6 years and 18.7 percent of them had started a business (52.4 and 33.3 percent of them once or twice, respectively) and almost a half of students' parents (47.5 percent) were entrepreneurs.\nVariables: Technology self-efficacy\nAnalysis: We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a structural equation modeling (SEM) using Stata 15. Measurement models for each construct in the model were first estimated separately step by step, and then the whole structural model was tested (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988; Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993). We also compared our model with alternative models to assess whether ESE is a partial instead of a full mediator of the relationship between TSE and EI (Kelloway, 1998). We conducted the CFA to establish the discriminant validity among our perceptual variables. CFA is frequently used as a first step to assess a proposed measurement model in SEM and verify that the relations in observed variables are caused by the presence of an unmeasured variable thus ensuring the plausibility of the theoretical model (McNeish, 2017). Regarding the use of SEM, four main reasons support our decision for its use. First, SEM enables the analysis of causal patterns among unobserved variables or latent constructs represented by multiple measures (Fassinger, 1987). Second, the chance of Type I errors is reduced (Claessens et al., 2004). Third, SEM is a well-established statistical method for mediation analysis (MacKinnon et al., 2007), allowing for the simultaneous evaluation of a system of regression equations that are essential for this type of hypothesized models. In this sense, even though multiple regression analysis is a common method to demonstrate mediation (Baron and Kenny, 1986), SEM facilitates testing the whole model at once, with the benefit of including all the variables simultaneously and accounting for all other effects of the variables. Finally, SEM is a well-established methodology that has been widely used in education research. For example, Sanchez et al. (2014) applied SEM to identify the factors that may motivate students to adopt and use social network tools for educational purposes; Celik and Yesilyurt (2013) analyzed the correlation between computer supported education, perceived CSE, computer anxiety and attitude to technology; Merchant et al. (2014) have studied the effectiveness of virtual reality-based instruction, whereas Makransky and Lilleholt (2018) and Makransky and Petersen (2019) studied its emotional value and the affective and cognitive factors that play a role in learning with a desktop virtual reality simulation respectively; and Schmid and Petko (2019) investigated the in-school use of digital technologies for personalized learning in connection with students' self-assessed digital skills and beliefs about the usefulness of information and communication technologies in learning.\nResults: Our results of the SEM analysis, provided in Table I, display a good fit of our hypothesized model: comparative fit index (CFI)=0.924, root mean square error of approximation=0.065 and coefficient of determination=0.993, meeting the goodness of fit criteria suggested by Hu and Bentler (1999). The CFI (Bentler, 1990) considers sample size (Byrne, 2005) and performs well even when it is small (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2001).\nDiscussion and conclusion: Existing research in entrepreneurship has largely neglected the role digital technology plays in entrepreneurial pursuits. This situation prompted Nambisan (2017) to challenge the field to start \"theorizing the role of specific aspects of digital technologies in shaping entrepreneurial opportunities, decisions, actions, and outcomes\" (p. 2). Our model, grounded in social-learning theory (Bandura, 1986), heeds this call and places a fine-grained focus on specific aspects and characteristics of entrepreneurial education that may offer a promising path toward developing more accurate theoretical explanations of the phenomenon. Results from our analysis provide preliminary evidence that exposure to and hands-on experience with digital technology in entrepreneurship education programs have a positive impact on students' intentions to become entrepreneurs. Prior studies of entrepreneurial education in engineering and science programs (Wu and Wu, 2008; Hassan and Wafa, 2012; Barba-Sanchez and Atienza-Sahuquillo, 2018; Souitaris et al., 2007) hinted at the fact that technology education influenced entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors, but unlike these studies, this paper peers inside the black box that obscured this relationship. We find that exposure to digital technology in an entrepreneurship program, through its effect on TSE, has a direct impact on EI and this relationship is partially mediated by ESE. Students with high levels of TSE or that acquire it through any of Bandura's (1986) four mechanisms (mastery experiences, role modeling, social persuasion and physiological states) benefit by increases to their ESE, leading to higher EI. These results are compatible with the conditions for mediation analysis proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986).\nLimitations and future research: A limitation of our study is the sample size and its implications for our model's goodness of fit indexes. While financial limitations and logistical challenges make smaller samples common in general education (McNeish, 2017) and EIs (Wu and Wu, 2008; Chen, 2014) research, future studies that utilize larger samples would be fruitful. This would help avoid any potential effects on the normal distribution of the observed variables, which are not frequently satisfied in Likert scales. This is due to a certain degree of skewness, which can often be found in the distribution of observed variables and can lead to non-normal multivariate distribution (Newsom, 2018).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role exposure to digital fabrication technology plays in the development of students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and intentions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 131 students enrolled in a business administration undergraduate program at a large Midwestern university in the USA. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.\nFindings: Results provide evidence on how exposure to and hands-on experience with digital manufacturing technology in universities can have a positive impact on students' ESE and intentions to become entrepreneurs.\nPractical implications: Results support initiatives by business schools and entrepreneurship programs to invest in digital manufacturing technology as they help increase students' confidence in their technological and entrepreneurial abilities.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study that directly looks at the role that exposure to digital technology in a business and entrepreneurship education program has on students' ESE and intentions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Green recruitment and selection: an insight into green patterns	[ "Systematic review", "Job seeker", "Candidate attraction", "Green recruitment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The last decade has seen increasing efforts by developed countries and the participation of developing countries to actively support environmental sustainability (ES). This call for action stems from the fact that ongoing environmental issues remain an obstacle to economic development and continue to harm people's lives. One example is the increase in global greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in big cities (Dodman, 2009). These phenomena, whether caused by climate change or not, are widely considered to be the consequences of human activity. One explanation is that while the existence of manufacturing and business activities inevitably causes harm to Mother Earth, decision-making behaviours that violate environmental laws are making it worse. These non-green human behaviours lead to environmental degeneration.\n2. Overview of green recruitment and selection: GRS is an emerging GHRM practice that is attracting increasing attention from researchers in the field (e.g. Bauer et al., 2012; Milliman, 2013; Jepsen and Grob, 2015). GRS is referred to as a process of recruiting and selecting candidates who are sensitive to environmental issues and willing to commit to environmental performance (Tang et al., 2018). Rooted in traditional recruitment, GRS plays a major role regardless of economic growth or recession (Morin et al., 2011). If done well, the practice facilitates the later stages after organisational entry, including green training and development and green employee involvement.\n3. Method: This paper uses the method of Halilem (2010). To identify the relevant documents, a systematic search in three electronic databases (ISI Web of Science, EBSCO and ProQuest, as suggested by an expert librarian) was conducted, coupled with expert recommendations and snowballing - a method of tracking the list of references (Greenhalgh and Peacock, 2005). The documents are searched using keywords determined as follows.\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1 Green criteria for selecting potential candidates\n5. Conclusion: This review provides some key insights. First, both a pro-environmental employer and a pro-environmental job seeker look for the option that matches the other party's environmental needs. Ecological value fit is important not only for securing employment but also for enhancing the employee's job satisfaction and employee retention after organisational entry. Therefore, an effective GRS is one that takes into consideration the participant's pro-environmental attitudes and socio-environmental needs and enables an open conversation between the recruiter and the participant to facilitate green selection. This also increases employee willingness to engage in environmental performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Although the role of green recruitment and selection (GRS) has been widely recognised as an important dimension of green human resource management, no study has ever mapped the terrain of GRS and reviewed the literature. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap while exploring the following questions: How do organisations select candidates in line with their pro-environmental stance? What impact do a company's corporate environmental sustainability (CES) practices have on attracting pro-environmental job seekers?\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper provides a systematic review of 22 peer-reviewed articles published during the period 2008-2017. The articles were included in the review if they addressed at least one of the two research questions.\nFindings: Some companies choose to apply green criteria when selecting candidates while others do not. In any case, communicating a company's environmental values and orientation is worth practicing during GRS. Previous studies have identified four mediators (anticipated pride, perceived value fit, expectation of favourable treatment, perceived organisational green reputation/prestige) that intervene between signals of a company's CES and a job seeker's perceptions of organisational attractiveness. However, the strength of this effect is influenced by five moderators (pro-environmental attitude, socio-environmental consciousness, desire to have a significant impact through one's work, environmental-related standard registration, job seeker's expertise).\nOriginality/value: This paper provides the first systematic review of GRS and thus paves the way for future research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Access policies and licensing issues in research libraries	[ "Licensing", "Collections management", "Research libraries", "Electronic media" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: With the widespread acquisition of databases, e-journal collections, and other digital materials, libraries have had to grapple with the issue of developing appropriate policies for use. A recent report by ARL (Kyrillidou and Young, 2003) indicates that the expenditures for electronic resources in research libraries has shot up by almost 400 percent between 1994/1995 and 2001/2002. Equally significant is the finding that spending on electronic journals accounts for 26 percent of serials expenditures as of 2001/2002. I would suspect that the figure today is certainly higher than this. Given these numbers, it is evident that designing appropriate access policies has become an important issue.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper discusses the importance of incorporating licensing issues in access policies for electronic resources in research libraries. The implications for patron understanding of basic legal issues and the role of the library in managing and acquiring these resources are investigated and discussed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A survey of various research libraries was undertaken to examine what is provided to patrons in terms of conditions of use for electronic resources. Literature relating to the management and provision of electronic resources was examined.\nFindings: - It was found that few libraries provide key licensing information to their patrons. This has important consequences in terms of the patron's lack of awareness of restrictions on use, as well as the costs, complexity, and consortial involvement in acquiring these resources.\nResearch limitations/implications: - A comprehensive international review of the trends and practices of research libraries regarding access policies and licensing issues would build upon this paper's findings.\nPractical implications: - Library patrons are not receiving adequate information about the resources they are using. If more research libraries would consider what licensing information is made available to patrons, there could be changes in patron understanding and perception of the library. This will impact the profile of the library in academia, and the changing role of librarians in collection development in the digital environment.\nOriginality/value: - The paper will be of value to research libraries involved in the acquisition, management and delivery of electronic resources to its patrons, and to librarians involved in collection development and management.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Dairy-free imitation cheese: is further development required?	[ "Dairy-free", "Imitation cheese", "Cheese substitutes", "Market research", "Sensory evaluation", "Meltability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Cheese can be regarded as a popular food in the United Kingdom (UK), as approximately 92% of the adults in this geographic area consume this product (Mintel, 2018a). Nevertheless, individuals that suffer from milk allergy (which can be life-threatening; Bock et al., 2007) or that choose to adopt a vegan diet, that is, a diet in which products from animal origin are excluded (Waters, 2018), avoid consuming this product. In the UK, cow's milk allergy is considered to be uncommon in comparison with other European countries (European Food Safety Authority, 2014). However, the number of vegan individuals in the UK is apparently increasing at a fast pace according to the media and vegan societies (Jones, 2018; Petter, 2018; Vegan Trade Journal, 2018; The Vegan Society, 2019).Moreover, the UK was considered the world's leader in terms of vegan food launches in 2018 (Mintel, 2019). A growth in the number of vegan individuals in other European countries has been also reported (Mintel, 2016). Therefore, the commercial importance of dairy-free imitation cheese (DFIC) may augment in the short term and niche markets of significant value may emerge.Several authors have prepared and investigated laboratory-made DFICs. Hofmann and Marshall (1985); Chumchuere et al. (2000) and Lorrungruanget al. (2014) produced DFICs from soya milk and employed different starter cultures (Lactobacillus casei sub-species Rhamnosus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus casei and Monascus purpureus, respectively) in an attempt to obtain products with improved organoleptic attributes. In general, the fermented samples presented higher sensory scores than the non-fermented samples. Li et al. (2013) employed starter cultures (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis) in combination with glucono-d-lactone and papain; the samples obtained by this means presented higher sensory scores than the untreated samples. James et al. (2016) studied the effect of using three different coagulants (lime, alum and corn steep water) on the sensory properties of soya cheese produced using soya milk; significant differences were only observed for the sample prepared using lime, whose texture was significantly more accepted. Adejuyitan et al. (2014) produced DFICs using different soya milk to coconut milk ratios; they found that the most accepted sample was that featuring the highest proportion of coconut milk (50%w/w). Similarly, Khodke et al. (2014) employed different proportions of soya milk and peanut milk to prepare DFICs; overall, the sample containing 90%w/w soya milk and 10%w/w peanut milk was the most preferred by the sensory evaluation participants, followed by the sample containing only soya milk. Ifesan and Oguntoyinbo (2012) prepared various DFIC samples by combining sesame milk and soya milk at different ratios; the product containing only soya milk obtained the highest overall sensory score. Nakamura et al. (2016) investigated the possibility of producing DFICs from rice milk; they used lactic acid bacteria as the starter culture and employed different hydrocolloids (gelatine, agar-agar and xanthan gum) to improve the texture of the products. The sample containing 2.5%w/w gelatine received the highest sensory scores (it should be noted that gelatine is an ingredient from animal origin; therefore, it is not suitable for vegan individuals). Even though the aforementioned strategies to improve the organoleptic attributes of DFIC were predominantly successful, when the developed products were compared with their dairy counterparts via sensory evaluation, the dairy samples presented higher overall sensory scores in all cases (Li et al., 2013; Lorrungruang et al., 2014). In contrast to the previously mentioned studies, Hussein and Shalaby (2018) developed DFICs with similar ingredients to those found in commercially available DFIC. However, even though the developed products obtained relatively high overall sensory scores, they were not compared with dairy samples. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, the functional properties of DFIC, such as meltability, have not yet been explored in academia. Therefore, in response to the potential importance that DFIC could present in the near future and the lack of academic publications addressing commercial DFIC, this study aimed to investigate whether commercially available DFICs can accurately mimic the organoleptic and functional properties of their dairy counterparts and thus determine whether further development is needed. In order to address the research question, market research was firstly conducted to determine the number of different DFICs available in the UK and, secondly, based on the market research outcome, the organoleptic attributes and meltability of selected commercial DFICs were assessed and compared with those of their dairy counterparts.\n2. Materials and methods: 2.1 Market research and product categorisation\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Market research and product categorisation\n4. Conclusions: By conducting market research, 109 different commercial DFICs were found, suggesting that these products could become of considerable importance in the near future. Among the commercial DFICs found, mild cheddar was the most abundant variety and coconut oil was the most commonly used primary ingredient. When the sensory attributes and meltability of selected commercial DFICs were assessed, it was found that none of the products could mimic the organoleptic attributes or meltability of their dairy counterparts accurately. Although these findings cannot be extended to all commercial DFICs because a limited number of products was evaluated, the results of this study suggest that further development is required to achieve DFICs that can mimic the organoleptic attributes and meltability of cheese more accurately. To achieve this goal, further research is required to clearly understand the interactions between the ingredients found in these products and thus control their texture and meltability more accurately, the flavour release characteristics of DFIC should be studied to unveil how flavour compounds naturally occurring in cheese could be successfully employed in this product and thermoreversible gel forming proteins of vegetable origin should be employed to improve the nutritional quality of these products. In addition, sensory evaluation taking into account the expected uses of the products and involving only target consumers should be conducted to determine further areas of improvement.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the organoleptic attributes and meltability of selected, commercial dairy-free imitation cheeses (DFICs) with those of their dairy counterparts to thus determine whether commercial DFIC needs to be further developed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Market research was conducted to determine the availability of DFICs in the United Kingdom (UK) and thus select the varieties to assess. Mild cheddar was chosen for its popularity wide availability in the United Kingdom and Italian-style hard cheese for its complex organoleptic profile. The organoleptic attributes and melting properties of the chosen DFIC products were assessed by using descriptive sensory evaluation and their meltability was assessed using the Arnott test, respectively.\nFindings: 109 different DFICs were found; most of them (74%) presented coconut oil as their primary ingredient. None of the assessed DFICs assessed could mimic the organoleptic attributes of their dairy counterparts accurately; however, one of the non-dairy mild cheddar samples was regarded as potentially acceptable by the assessors of the sensory evaluation assessors. Nonetheless, the meltability of this sample was significantly lower than that of mild cheddar cheese.\nPractical implications: The findings indicate that, to obtain products that can mimic the organoleptic attributes and meltability of cheese more accurately, further development is required for the DFIC varieties assessed.\nOriginality/value: No academic publications have explored and investigated commercial DFICs with similar ingredients to those found in commercial DFICs; the commercial importance of these products may augment in the short term owing to the reported growth in the number of vegan individuals in the UK and in Europe.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How strategic knowledge management drives intellectual capital to superior innovation and market performance	[ "Structural capital", "Intellectual capital", "Human capital", "Strategic knowledge management", "Relational capital", "Innovation performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the past decade, organizations have strived to improve innovation capabilities, as innovation drives market competitiveness in today's rapidly changing environment (Ferraresi et al., 2012). To be more effective in innovation, organizations have to be focused on how they manage intangibles. Intellectual capital (IC) as a bundle of intangibles is a critical resource for firm performance and firm ability to innovate, create and sustain competitive advantage (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998).\n2. Conceptual framework and hypotheses development: 2.1 Intellectual capital and innovation performance\n3. Method: 3.1 Data collection and sample\n4. Discussion: In this study we explored how SKM processes and activities drive IC for superior innovation and market performance in the Serbian business context. We conceptually grounded our framework on the resource-based and dynamic capabilities-based views of the firm. We also investigated the configurational impact of intellectual capital resources and KM capabilities on innovation and market performance.\n5. Conclusions: In this article, we investigated the complex relationships between a company's IC, SKM and innovation and market performance. To test our framework, we surveyed companies from Serbia. The data have been analyzed using symmetric SEM-PLS and asymmetric fsQCA techniques. The SEM results show that SC and RCs have a direct effect on innovation performance. Although, there is no significant direct effect of HC on innovation performance, the relationship becomes significant when moderated by SKM. The effects of HC and SC on innovation performance are negatively moderated by SKM activities. Moreover, the insights from our application of fsQCA technique show a clear pattern of equifinality. In particular, we show that there are multiple combinations of static and dynamic conditions that can lead to higher innovation and market performance. Our article contributes to existing literature on several levels as discussed below.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderation effect of strategic knowledge management (SKM) on the relationship between three components of intellectual capital (IC) and firm innovation and market performance. The authors argue that specific combinations of IC components and SKM activities can lead to higher innovation and market performance. It is also trying to assist companies to capitalize on both their IC and SKM.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey data have been collected from 101 Serbian companies, and these have been analyzed by using structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) techniques.\nFindings: The SEM results show that structural capital and relational capital have a direct effect on innovation performance. Although, there is no significant direct effect of human capital on innovation performance, the relationship becomes significant when moderated by SKM. The effects of human and structural capital on innovation performance are negatively moderated by SKM activities, while SKM positively moderates the effect of relational capital on innovation performance, but remained insignificant. Moreover, the insights from fsQCA show a clear pattern of equifinality, in that there are multiple combinations of static and dynamic conditions that can lead to higher innovation and market performance.\nOriginality/value: Two separate research fields of \"static\" IC and \"dynamic\" knowledge management have been combined in one integrated framework. From a methodological perspective, symmetric and asymmetric statistical tools have been combined to better understand contingency and interactions. This approach contributes to the literature and potentially offers a better understanding of how static intangible assets should be enabled by dynamic knowledge-based managerial activities to achieve high performance. The paper demonstrates that SKM capability matters with only a specific constellation of IC resources and therefore suggests a novel explanation for performance variances.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Imperatives for improving entrepreneurial behavior among females in the UAE: An empirical study and structural model	[ "Female entrepreneurship", "Interpretive structural modelling (ISM)", "Enablers", "United Arab Emirates (UAE)" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Entrepreneurship is recognized as critical to economic development and sustainability worldwide (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2014). As small businesses are vital for economic progression of any developing country, the contribution of female entrepreneurs to this sector assumes great significance. Women all over the world have managed small-scale projects successfully. However, regardless of an upturn in the number of female entrepreneurs in recent years, entrepreneurial movement among males is greater, and noteworthy differences are evident across national settings (Shinnar et al., 2012). The gendered nature of entrepreneurship has become a topical research area (Cochrane, 2015) and represents a legitimate research practice (Marlow and McAdam, 2012). The prominence of national context is important in entrepreneurship (Bruin et al., 2007) as different socio-cultural and institutional contexts affect female entrepreneurial commotion because of their differing roles ascribed to them (Venugopal, 2016).\nEnablers of female entrepreneurship in the Arab world: resemblances and variances: The demographic characteristics, entrepreneurship-related traits, social capital and sensitivity toward community are the most researched enablers of immersion in entrepreneurial activity (Holienka et al., 2016). An entrepreneur's knowledge base develops through education and work experience, as well as gaining exposure to entrepreneurial activities within the community (Welsh et al., 2014). Business training does indeed lead to increased business knowledge and better business practices (Gine and Mansuri, 2014) and articulates the process of entrepreneurship (Garcia and Capitan, 2016). The entrepreneur's personality and external environmental forces shape the growth and emergence of new enterprise (Langowitz and Minniti, 2007). Likewise, the aspiration to pay back the entrepreneur's community through philanthropy or the business itself can act as an enabler (Estrin et al., 2013).\nMethodology: In this research, a questionnaire-based survey and ISM have been used to achieve the research objectives. These methodologies and the respective results are discussed in the following sections.\nResults: Survey results\nDiscussion: It is evident from the results of the questionnaire-based study that Emirati female entrepreneurs considered spotting market trends and customer needs, management skills, attaining sustainable competitive advantage, social networks and community involvement as major enablers. Specific training and education to start, run and manage the business was also considered important. Most of the female entrepreneurs at certain business stages felt that their enterprise growth was stagnant as they do not have enough skills to manage and expand their business. The study also affirms the previous research (Jabeen et al., 2015) about the females receiving a positive familial support in education and venture start up. This is evident as stated by one of the respondent:\nConclusions: Fourteen enablers to improve female entrepreneurial behavior were identified, and contextual relationships between them were established using ISM methodology. While significant progress has been made in empowering Emirati females, who currently represent 59 per cent of the total work force in the government (El-Sokari et al., 2013), more robust initiatives linked with personal, institutional and societal development are needed to make entrepreneurship a more attractive option for Emirati females.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite various governmental efforts, female entrepreneurship in the UAE is still not a popular option among women. The purpose of this study is to identify the enablers to female entrepreneurship and to establish relationships among them.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research uses a two-phased approach. In the first-phase, an empirical study on female entrepreneurs was conducted to find out the most important enablers from among a set of variables identified through a comprehensive literature review. In the second-phase, using interpretive structural modeling, a hierarchy-based model is developed among the most important enablers. Further, these enablers are also classified depending on their driving power and dependence.\nFindings: Survey results indicate that female entrepreneurs consider enablers as the driving force in creating an entrepreneurial culture. Further, the hierarchy-based model developed in this research helps to identify variables that are of strategic importance and require utmost attention.\nPractical implications: The framework presented in this study can be used effectively by the policymakers to develop suitable strategies for improving entrepreneurial behavior among women in the United Arab Emirates.\nOriginality/value: The novelty of this approach is the integration of questionnaire and interpretive structural modeling methodology and classifying enablers in four clusters. The research provides useful insights about the perception of female entrepreneurs about the entrepreneurial culture in the United Arab Emirates, and a relationship model that may serve as a decision tool for improving female entrepreneurship.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Business school rankings: the love-hate relationship	[ "Business schools", "Measurement characteristics", "Performance measures", "Journal publishers", "Newspaper publishers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: the dilemma for business schools: There is nothing quite as likely to raise a business school dean's blood pressure as the topic of media rankings. The first complaint is the amount of time it takes to complete the surveys, the number of which is proliferating year on year. The second reason is that different rankings can produce very different results.However, the business schools deans who complain the most vociferously about rankings are often also the ones who use their ranking position most actively in their marketing and promotion.A quick investigation of the extent to which business schools promote themselves through media rankings - be it Business Week, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the FT, Forbes or US News and World Report - produces surprising results. Of the 100 schools listed in the Financial Times annual ranking of the top global MBA programmes, published in January 2006, 96 refer to their position in rankings on their websites, through press releases, or in brochures. (The four exceptions are Harvard Business School, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Insead and the Sloan School at MIT.)So, in the light of this, what value do rankings have for prospective students and recruiters who are the target audience?\nHistory of the Financial Times rankings: The Financial Times published its first ranking of North American and European full-time MBA programmes in January 1999. The aim of the ranking was to produce a listing of the business schools that were producing the global managers for the twenty-first century.This has remained the object behind all subsequent degree rankings from the Financial Times and has determined the three planks on which the rankings are based:1. the career progress of alumni;2. the international focus of the programme; and3. the idea generation (research capabilities) of the school.In 1999 just 50 schools were ranked, and only one European school - London Business School - was ranked in the top ten. Schools were ranked across 17 criteria, compared to 20 criteria in 2006. One criterion - the number of job offers per student - has been dropped completely from the ranking. The Research Assessment Exercise has been changed over the seven years and is now based on publications by faculty in a range of 40 journals (see Table I).The four categories added to the more recent rankings are the gender and international diversity of the board of governors of the business school and the international course experience and international mobility of students. The international course experience rates schools according to the required overseas components of the course, and the international mobility assesses the number of countries in which alumni from the schools have worked.In 2006 the Financial Times will publish three rankings of degree programmes, one non-degree (executive education) ranking and a compilation ranking of European business schools. They are published in the following sequence:1. global MBA rankings (January);2. executive education rankings (May);3. European Master's in Management programme rankings (September);4. executive MBA rankings (October); and5. European business school rankings (December).A listing (not a ranking) of distance learning and online MBA programmes is published in March.\nThe Financial Times versus other business school rankings: The Financial Times is a single newspaper with four regional editions - the Americas, Europe, UK and Asia - and four regional websites on FT.com. The ranking report that is published in one edition of the Financial Times will be the same as in every other edition of the Financial Times, anywhere around the world. This, of course, is different from, say, the Wall Street Journal. The Journal in America publishes three ranking tables - a US national ranking, a regional US ranking and an international ranking - whereas the Wall Street Journal Europe only publishes one - the international ranking of 20 schools, which includes just seven US schools.This points to a fundamental difference between the US and European based publications: the Financial Times and Economist Intelligence Unit work on the theory that there is a global market for the top MBA graduates, and publish globally integrated rankings. The US-based newspapers and magazines predominantly rank US business schools separately.Given that fewer than 2 per cent of US students apply to business schools outside the USA, according to GMAT statistics, this focus is understandable. The Financial Times stance is that there is an increasingly global market for MBA students and a global recruiter base. Every year we see an increasing number of countries represented in our MBA rankings.In January 2007 the Financial Times MBA ranking is likely to include several schools from China as well as, for the first time, at least one German business school. Over the next few years we could probably expect further German schools to participate in rankings as well as schools from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and India.Each year we are approached by about five schools that want to participate in the Financial Times rankings for the first time. Although this gives us a truly global ranking there are obvious drawbacks, not least in that the addition of new schools results in instability in the rankings. One of the big issues is how we deal with movement in the table, particularly the bottom half of the table. With a global ranking there are very many high quality schools, with very little dividing them.To help clarify this, as part of the footnotes on every Financial Times ranking is printed the groupings of business schools on the statistical differences between the schools in each group. So, for example, in Executive Education 2006, the table carries the following footnote:Although the headline ranking figures show several changes in the data this year, what is equally significant is the pattern of clustering among the schools. Some 300 points separate the top school Duke Corporate Education from the school ranked number 60. The top 23 business schools, from Duke to Oxford, form the top group of custom providers. The second group is headed by RSM Erasmus, which would need to increase its score by more than 3 per cent overall in order to enter the top group. The third group is headed by the Kenan-Flagler school at North Carolina, which is more than 16 points behind Fundacao Dom Cabral. While schools within this third group could easily move up or down several places within the group with small changes in the data, they would have to increase their overall score by some 5 per cent to move into the second group. Some 57 points separate the 14 schools in the fourth group.In the past six or seven years there has been a proliferation of internationally recognised business school rankings. I think one of the advantages of this proliferation is that they rank on different criteria and therefore paint a broader picture of the strengths of various programmes. The FT, for example, is perhaps unique in that it puts a strong emphasis on the global perspective of the MBA programme.To some degree the various rankings validate each other. Rankings that look at similar criteria produce similar rankings.So, for example, a school such as the Kellogg School, at Northwestern University, does extremely well in surveys such as The Economist and Business Week, which focus on customer satisfaction - they are usually ranked number one in the US by both publications. But Kellogg does less well in rankings that look at the corporate success of their alumni - such as the Financial Times and Forbes. Forbes ranks Kellogg as number ten in the US and the FT ranks Kellogg as number 12 in the US.High scorers in the FT and Forbes rankings are Wharton, Harvard and Tuck.Both Forbes and the FT look at how successful alumni are in the corporate world in the short term. This can also be seen as a predictor of long-term business success. On March 20, 2006, Business Week published a survey which investigated where US corporate top dogs got their MBA - if anywhere. According to the research, which looked at the five highest-paid executives at each of the Standard & Poor's 100 companies, graduates from Harvard, Stanford and Wharton - the FT top three schools - did best, followed by Columbia and Chicago. These five schools have traditionally been the top five US schools in the FT rankings.Louis Lavelle of Business Week made the comment in the accompanying article:Thanks in part to rankings, many top programs enjoy reputations, based on student satisfaction and other factors, that bear little relation to success in landing alumni at the pinnacle of corporate power.\nInnovation and the Financial Times rankings: One of the main driving forces behind the publication of the first Financial Times ranking in 1999 was a group of the top European business schools, which felt that the US-only focus of the two leading rankings, Business Week and US News and World Report, ignored the growing number of excellent European business schools.The Financial Times therefore became the first publication to produce an integrated global ranking for MBA programmes, and subsequently for executive short programmes and executive MBAs.Furthermore, we are the only organisation, I believe, which independently audits the data supplied to us for schools. To put it accurately, KPMG reports on the results of obtaining evidence and applying specified audit procedures related to selected data provided for the surveys.We began this auditing process back in 2001, so have just completed the fifth audited MBA ranking. As part of the five-year review process the Financial Times recently commissioned a short report from auditors KPMG, asking them to advise us on how best to frame our questions in order to make them easy to audit. KPMG were also asked to highlight the best practices they have witnessed in the 117 schools they audited for us. This second report was sent to all schools that participated in the Financial Times MBA rankings in April 2006.The FT auditors, KPMG in Canada, have recently been asked to talk to students at Queen's School of Business as part of the auditing class on the MBA programme there.The need to audit data supplied by schools has generally been greeted with enthusiasm by business schools, but does present challenges for the future. I will write more about the future challenges of auditing later in this article.In executive education, the Financial Times publishes rankings of non-degree short programmes which rely heavily on the views of customers about either the open enrolment course that they attended or the programme that was commissioned by their company. The weightings given to each of the categories in this part of the survey - teaching quality, food and accommodation, etc. - is determined by the respondents themselves, not by the Financial Times. Again, the Financial Times is the only ranking of business school programmes that uses this approach.In September 2005 the Financial Times launched the first European-wide ranking of Master's in management programmes - often called PEMMs (pre-experience Master's in management). This was to try and clarify for potential students the type of programmes available for newly graduating bachelor students (with little or no work experience) in the management field. Almost every business school in Europe either offers such a programme or is considering the introduction of a PEMM in the near future.These programmes fall into two main categories, differentiated by length and type of undergraduate degree required. Some programmes, notably in France and Italy, are two years in length and require a company internship as part of the programme. Others, such as in the UK and Spain, are one year in length. Some require an undergraduate degree in business or economics; others are open to undergraduates from any discipline.\nFuture challenges: Looking ahead there are a number of challenges facing the Financial Times and other magazines and newspapers that publish rankings, for many of which we have no solution at this time.To begin with, the reading patterns of managers are changing dramatically, with many new readers looking to FT.com rather than the Financial Times newspaper as their primary source of information. We believe this may be particularly true of younger readers, who are the group most interested in MSc and MBA courses and news.The move to the web creates new problems for the rankings. FT.com is committed to being accessible to all, which means that it can be easily accessed by the blind and partially sighted. This means ensuring the data can be read aloud by screen readers.A table like the Financial Times ranking is therefore particularly difficult. The FT MBA ranking contains 2,700 numbers that cannot be sensibly read by machine. A more simple ranking, which publishes just the school name and the ranking number, will find accessibility much easier to achieve.Of more immediate concern to the Financial Times is how we proceed with auditing. Even before we began our auditing process back in 2001, we began a dialogue with GMAC, which also plans to audit the school data it holds on its Pathfinder school guide on the mba.com website. The aim was to try and integrate the FT auditing into the GMAC process in order to minimise the work required by business schools.However, there are numerous problems inherent in this. In the MBA rankings the FT works with 185 different business schools, only 102 of which supply data to GMAC. In addition, the type of data we require is very different from the data GMAC holds.Part of the policy at the FT has always been to only ask a question if the answer is used in the rankings. For the MBA rankings, for example, only 33 questions are asked.However only 14 of these questions form part of the 140 questions on the Pathfinder database. And not all 14 of those will be audited. Consultations with GMAC continue, however.Another ongoing process is to try and come up with a common wording so that schools which complete the FT questionnaire and the GMAC questionnaire only have to research the number once. Hopefully this will eliminate much of the work involved.But even this poses problems. Many schools believe journalists are just being contrary when they ask for information in a different format from other journalists. But coming up with a common definition isn't as simple as it sounds - it all depends what you are trying to measure.To give you just one example - and those of you that are involved in our MBA rankings will have been party to the discussions surrounding this - how do you define international students? The FT definition is simple - you are either a citizen of the country in which the business school is situated or you are not. Dual nationality citizens can be counted as international.The MBA Career Services Council, the business school body which has a mission to develop standard reporting procedures for careers data, and which works in partnership with GMAC, has an additional criteria: those who are citizens from a country other than the US but have work visas to work in the USA. Schools have been instructed by the MBA CSC to report these students as US citizens.From an employment point of view this does make sense - these people are as easy for US corporations to employ as US citizens. But when you look at the international perspective they will bring to the classroom - the FT perspective - it will obviously be very different.In addition, the FT can obviously not frame questions for a global rankings based on visa regulations from just one country - even if it is the USA.While it would be valuable for all statistical data to be collected by a single agency (such as GMAC), and for schools to participate in a single audit, this looks increasingly unlikely.\nConclusion: While recruiters and students use the rankings to help select programmes and managers, business school rankings are probably here to stay. The challenge for business schools is to develop of ways of best using the data published.Rankings are also evolving. Different ways of collecting and displaying data - particularly a move to web-based publishing - will be critical to the success of the rankings from individual publications in future.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The paper seeks to describe the rationale behind the Financial Times business school rankings and some of the problems inherent in developing and publishing them.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The rationale behind the Financial Times business school rankings is discussed, as are the ways in which business schools use the rankings.\nFindings: - Business schools have an ambivalent relationship to business schools rankings, openly criticising them but using favourable aspects of the rankings in their schools' marketing.\nOriginality/value: - Business school rankings are probably here to stay. Most business schools are developing ways of using them for their own purposes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
"Lahat para sa lahat" (everything to everybody): Consensual leadership, social capital and disaster risk reduction in a Filipino community	[ "Disasters", "Emergency response", "Human-induced disaster", "Natural hazard" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Disasters are simply a fact of life in the Philippines. A socially and economically vulnerable population of more than 90 million where over one in four families lives below the poverty line (NSCB, 2014) combines with one of the world's most hazardous landmasses to make disaster a \"frequent life experience\" (Bankoff, 2003, pp. 179-183). Under such circumstances, effective local governance can make a difference to community resilience. Leadership, however, is often not provided through the formal agency of government officials but through individuals who are able to access unofficial channels of influence. These \"small men\" stand in direct contrast to the elitist, materialistic and allegedly corrupt nature of Philippine democracy that calls into question not only the state's duty of care to its most vulnerable citizens but the integrity of the culture itself (Fallows, 1987; Hutchcroft, 1998).\nHazard and social capital: Learning to live with hazards is necessarily part of the daily routine of life in the Philippines. Communities have been left largely to their own devices to deal with disasters; government has become involved in disaster risk management only recently as part of the centralisation programme of the modern state[1]. The inherent capabilities of communities to act for their own collective benefit have found expression in the notion of social capital. The term refers to the features of organisation such as trust, norms and networks that enable communities (of varying scale) to coordinate their social and economic endeavours (Coleman, 1988). Social capital is a measure of the confidence that a contribution freely given will be reciprocated at an appropriate time and by the development of group relations that morally enforce this code. Woolcock identifies three kinds of social capital: bonding (ties between family, friends, neighbours and associates of similar demographic characteristics); bridging (ties among people from different ethnic, locational and occupational backgrounds but of similar socio-economic status); and linking (external ties with those in positions of wider societal influence) (Woolcock, 2001). Access to resources through network ties are prevalent in most cultures (Swaan, 1988; Linden, 1996) but have been largely ignored in the Philippines prior to the radicalisation of the 1970s (Constantino-David, 1998; Luna, 2001). Nor has social capital often been looked at from the perceptive of a community's ability to confront hazards and manage disasters.\nOrganising social capital: Buklod Tao: While people in the Philippines have a long history of civic associations, many communities in urban and peri-urban areas across the archipelago are only recently established. The accepted wisdom is that newly developed areas suffer from poor community decision making and lack of strong leadership (Shaw and Goda, 2004, p. 32)[2]. In the Philippines, sectors of the population newly radicalised during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos in the late 1960s gave rise to the emergence of progressive or development-oriented NGOs that blossomed with the restoration of democratic government after 1986 (Clarke, 1998, pp. 70-71). The public recognition that such organisations receive, however, and their largely middle-class management tends to conceal the continuing presence of local community-based associations now denominated as POs. If the relationship between NGOs and POs is often somewhat ambiguous, the emphasis in the recent Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act 2010 placed on CBDRM constitutes belated acknowledgement of a community's inherent social capital (Heijmans and Victoria, 2001, pp. 13-18)[3].\nA biography of local leadership: Political analysts of the Philippines are primarily concerned with the institutionalised mechanisms of good government and largely ignore forms of community governance. Leadership is regarded as largely a matter of patronage by an entrenched landowning oligarchy at the national level that is seldom benevolent and that is more often than not characterised by extraction, expropriation and coercion (Lande, 1965; Anderson, 1988). In the regions, it is often exercised by \"bosses\", local strongmen who prosper at different levels of state power (Hutchcroft, 1991; Sidel, 1999). It is this same leadership that James Fallows and others blame so much for the archipelago's \"damaged culture\" (Fallows, 1987). At the local level, there are few opportunities for personal aggrandisement and self-enrichment: the pickings are too few and poverty is a great equaliser. Within communities such as Libis, too, strong-arm methods generally prove to be counterproductive and leadership depends much more on negotiation and need fulfilment. A community leader earns respect and commands a following through his or her ability to tap external resources and distribute them. A person's ability to direct affairs is forged through multiple webs of reciprocity and working for the benefit of the community.\n\"Small men\": Yet the Philippines are not Melanesia and Ka Noli is not a \"big man\". In fact, the term literally translated into Tagalog has somewhat negative connotations: a \"malaking tao\" has more the imputation of a \"big fish\" in government or business, one that devours the small fry around him. Such an association is hardly applicable or appropriate to either the scale or the nature of leadership exercised in a community like Libis. Nonetheless, the model suggested by Sahlins and elaborated on and criticised by almost every subsequent scholar interested in the exercise of authority in the region has the virtue of providing an analytical framework from which to discuss the basis of non-institutionalised power at the community level that does not conform to western political forms or terminology. The term has also gained acceptance as a means of analysing more recent developments in Melanesia where the need to extend traditional models of leadership to contemporary governance and commerce has been acknowledged (Scaglion, 1996, pp. 14-21; Hennings, 2007).\nConclusion: risk and local leadership: While Ka Noli and his like may be \"small men\" in the sense that they largely sacrifice their own aggrandisement for the interests of others, the nature of their leadership and the spirit of the communities they represent suggest that the strength of civil society in the Philippines has been seriously underestimated. Libis and the thousands of other neighbourhoods scattered about the archipelago are not the products of a \"damaged culture\" but actually the manifestation of a very resilient one. At the grassroots level, Filipino civil society exhibits a vibrancy, self-reliance and innovation that have not been given proper recognition, and local leadership has been tarnished by comparison to inappropriate national models.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Effective leadership at the grassroots level can make a crucial difference to disaster risk reduction (DRR) at the local level. Guidance, however, is often not provided through the visible structures of local government but through alternative means of articulating power that is no less real and frequently more effective than more formal agencies. The purpose of this paper is to present a biography of one such community leader and his influence in the Philippines and how he is able to foster resilience and reduce risk. These \"small men\" stand in direct contrast to the more authoritarian, materialistic and reputedly corrupt nature of governance in general.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper adopts an historical-sociological approach, utilising archival sources as well as fieldwork to explore the relationship between consensual leadership, social capital and DRR in the Philippines.\nFindings: Social capital and consensual forms of local leadership have their origin in the challenges posed by daily living in the Philippines. At the grassroots level, Filipino civil society can exhibit a vibrancy, self-reliance and innovation that has not been given proper recognition. In fact, local leadership, social capital and DRR are not unrelated aspects of culture but part of the \"mutuality\" that exists between people and environment in the archipelago.\nOriginality/value: This paper employs an innovative historical-sociological approach to explore the much maligned and often neglected nature of local unofficial leadership in the Philippines in the context of DRR.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Using sustainability themes and multidisciplinary approaches to enhance STEM education	[ "Sustainability", "STEM", "Twenty-first-century problems", "Modules", "Multidisciplinarity", "Real-word" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Science, Technology, Engineering\nThe MSEP approach: The MSEP approach is based on the development of stand-alone educational modules inspired by the conclusions and methodology presented in BIO 2010 (National Research Council, 2003). Each module is identified by a single, overarching question such as \"What are the Current and Future Impacts of Global Climate Change on Polar Bears?\" or \"Can our Power Grid Support our Current and Future Needs?\" Using a question to identify the theme of each module helps each disciplinary perspective be more focused in how they contribute to answering the question. The MSEP developers initially used descriptive titles (e.g. Global Climate Change and Polar Bears) that resulted in weaker connectivity between discipline specific activities. \"What are the Current and Future Impacts of Global Climate Change on Polar Bears?\" gives a clear charge when developing discipline-specific activities to address the overarching question.\nUsing MSEP materials: The MSEP has created a Web site (www.ithaca.edu/mse) where instructors can download lesson plans, student handouts, course-specific activity and summary activity worksheets, solutions to the worksheets, data sets, technical reports, technical report evaluation rubric and a questionnaire to evaluate student understanding of twenty-first-century problems. Most of these materials are password-protected with access rights granted to qualified educators. For courses that already have MSEP-developed materials, an instructor interested in implementing one or more MSEP modules only needs to download the course materials and follow the lesson plan. Figure 4 is a portion of the calculus lesson plan for the module: \"What is the Current and Future Impacts of Global Climate Change on Polar Bears?\". MSEP lesson plans include time estimations for each portion of the module, suggestions as to when to implement each portion of the module, why students are doing each section, what materials are needed and tips for successful implementation of the module. The lesson plans are based on the developers' experience implementing the module in their courses and the lesson plans can be adjusted to meet individual course needs.\nCreating your own materials: Because the MSEP is still under development, currently only a limited number of courses are connected to the three developed modules. Because of the breadth of sustainability themes, it is not possible for the original MSEP developers to create all possible connections. Because of this, the MSEP is a framework that is designed to allow users to add and expand the project.\nEvaluation: The MSEP established five goals:\nConclusions: The words \"sustainability\" and \"sustainability science\" are becoming firmly established in the STEM community (Kates, 2011). For example, the National Academy of Sciences of the USA has established the National Academies' Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability with the goal to \"mobilize, encourage, and use scientific knowledge and technology to help achieve sustainability goals and to support the implementation of sustainability practices\" (http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/sustainability/PGA_048724). It has also launched a new section of its premier journal devoted to sustainability science (www.pnas.org/site/misc/sustainability.shtml). The American Association for the Advancement of Science has established a center for Science, Technology and Sustainability in support of this new scientific field (www.aaas.org/programs/centers/sd/). The USA National Science Foundation has followed suit with funding opportunities from their SEES initiative (Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability), whose mission is to \"advance science, engineering, and education to inform the societal actions needed for environmental and economic sustainability and sustainable human well-being\" (www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504707).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the Multidisciplinary Sustainability Education Project (MSEP) as a framework using sustainability-themed education modules to introduce students to the need for multidisciplinary approaches to solving twenty-first-century problems while retaining traditional course strengths and content.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The MSEP uses sustainability-themed education models and a multidisciplinary approach to link courses across disciplines. Modules are identified by an overarching question with activities designed to address the overarching question from course-specific perspectives, resulting in students writing short technical reports summarizing their results. Students then read and evaluate technical reports from other classes, and complete a summary activity designed to connect perspectives from different disciplines.\nFindings: The multi-method assessment identified no loss or gain in discipline-specific learning; increased understanding about the characteristics of twenty-first-century problems, in particular those related to sustainability; and increased students\nOriginality/value: This paper contributes to undergraduate sustainability education by describing a framework for connecting courses using sustainability-themed modules. By implementing an asynchronous manner where courses use materials from the project Web site and contribute materials to the Web site after implementing a module, it is easy to incorporate a module into existing courses, any educational institution's existing structure and across institutions. The framework's flexible design allows new courses from any discipline to connect to a module, allowing for multidisciplinary connections to grow over time.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Participation of student authors in reports on sustainability	[ "Participation", "Whole institution approach", "Higher education for sustainable development", "Report on sustainability", "Student stakeholders" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The Global Action Program (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aims at five major spheres of activity pronounced as \"priority areas\" (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: UNESCO, 2014). Among these, two are of special interest for universities and related institutions of higher education: to train ESD multipliers and to make all places of study as such more sustainable via the whole institution approach (WIA). Within both priority areas, participation is considered to be of essential importance (Disterheft et al., 2015a, 2015b).\nSample: Four student test persons were being interviewed. They all had been participating in the publication of the university's reports on sustainability in various years. Further, they have all been participants in the Master of ESD course programme. The Master of ESD course programme at the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt is designed to enable the students to successfully arrange education according to the principles of education for sustainable development. However, writing university reports on sustainability as such is no part of the course of study as such.\nMethodology: As there has barely been any related research so far, the study was designed as an explorative one and anchored into qualitative social research. Accordingly, the empirical approach remained unbiased and focused on finding and generating social categories instead of falsifying or verifying yet existing ones (Lamnek, 2005; Mayring, 2002, 2010).\nFindings: Self-perception\nConclusions: Both enabling and fostering participation are essential concerns of ESD in higher education (and beyond). The study presented here sought to generate findings about students' participation in writing the university's report on sustainability according to their individual perceptions. This included their personal motivation, their assessment of the report's impact inside and outside the university, the quality of their own contribution within this WIA, suggestions for improvement and their overall judgement of their participation retrospectively.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Since 2012, the University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt has been publishing an annual report on sustainability as part of its whole institution approach (WIA). This study aims to examine the participation in writing this report as it is experienced by the student stakeholders involved. The overall goal is to gain expertise concerning further improvement of students' participation in sustainability-related aspects as part of WIAs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research is based on an explorative, qualitative study conducted at the Roman Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt. Students who have been involved in writing the university's report on sustainability were interviewed, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews.\nFindings: Various categories relevant for a successful participation have been found. Foremost, there are no general barriers seen which are hindering students from participating in writing the reports. Specific students' motivation can be gained from work-related experiences and sustainability-related university classes. Students perceived the effects of their work as mostly restricted to the university. Their intellectual contribution was regarded as limited owing to structures given and their student worker status. Positive effects included an increased awareness of sustainability-related activities at the university and increased competences regarding research and writing. Suggestions for improvement comprised the instalment of databanks, special sustainability report-writing classes and motivational measures.\nOriginality/value: Very few studies have addressed the issue of student participation within the WIAs towards sustainable universities. Students' involvement in writing university reports on sustainability has so far been neglected. Given this, the study presented provides insight into students' participation and reveals fields needing further development to ensure successful WIAs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reflections from EDI Conference: Equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights in times of austerity	[ "Equality", "Symbolic violence", "Solidarity", "Hidden inequalities" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The purpose of this paper is to report on the 2016 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Conference (EDI) that was held at the University of Cyprus. The scope of the conference was to draw particular attention to human rights which, in accordance with the neoliberal agenda, are under attack by a plethora of governments worldwide, which in the past were promulgating human rights and particularly equality, diversity practices and legislation. The refugee crisis, however, reveals that EU - for example - has laid the groundwork for dismantling all past achievements in the field of equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights. Governments appear to be increasingly skeptical on launching and supporting open borders policies, whereas the rise of Europe's far-right voices threatens the Union's fundamental value of democracy. In such times, various questions are arisen and delegates sought to address during the conference: how are equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights issues are dealt with during times of crisis and austerity; how does the wider global economic austerity affect employees' lives; are human rights at risk nowadays; what is the role of equality, diversity and inclusion policies amidst financial crises? The spread of papers investigated the complex relationship between equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights through a plethora of various theoretical, methodological and empirical viewpoints. Stream themes incorporated the following thematic clusters: inclusion and work: addressing the global challenges; intersectional approaches to climate change; hidden inequalities in the workplace: dignity and well-being; contemporary issues of gender equality at work; business management practices for inclusive and sustainable development; virtual reality and diversity management; talking in circles: challenging alterity with indigenous methodologies; diversity in higher education; economic crisis and austerity the risks on human and social rights at work. Furthermore, there were three keynote speeches and a doctoral colloquium.\nInclusion in times of austerity and economic upheaval: The first keynote speech was addressed by Professor Mor Barak; a Professor of Social Work and Business at the University of Southern California School of Social Work with a joint appointment at the Marshall School of Business. Professor Mor Barak's insightful talk kicked off by explicitly presenting the challenges facing workplaces and societies in cultivating cultures of inclusion. First, she highlighted the need of closing the gap between men's and women's unemployment rates and earnings. She followed then by emphasizing that despite demographic and economic benefits, resentment towards immigrants is heightened, which eventually sheds lights to a wider social illness; amplified prejudice and discrimination. Reviewing 296 articles in peer-reviewed journals that were published in the time between 1990 and 2013, it became obvious that several studies found that diversity made no difference or even had negative impact on measured outcomes. However, diversity management efforts that promote a climate of inclusion are consistently associated with positive outcomes (Mor Barak et al., 2016). In light of this, it is vital for the gap between diversity and inclusion policies and practices to be bridged if it is for the value of diversity to be effectively promulgated. She concluded with an inspirational quote \"like colors, when people are forced to blend and give up their unique characteristics, the result is a dull grey. Allowed to display their true colors, they shine brightly and together create an inspiring work of art\".\nCypriot perceptions regarding gender inequality: The second keynote address, by Mrs Anna Koukkides-Prokopiou who is the President of the International Association for the Promotion of Women in Europe (AIPFE) in Cyprus, reviewed the perceptions of Cypriots as regards gender inequality. She highlighted that there is a strong view that inequality must be tackled by the EU, with most prominent inequality being violence against women; an issue deeply inherent in patriarchal social stereotypes of power. Her research indicated that Cypriots believe that participation of women in the workplace can be enhanced primarily by promoting equal pay. The reality regarding gender inequality finds Cyprus to rank in the 100th place out of 145 worldwide in terms of gender equality, with women making an estimated $24.000 per year as opposed to $37,000 which is the corresponding average for men. Only 17 per cent of senior officials, legislators and managers in Cyprus are women; only 4 per cent of women ever rise to positions of leadership; and Cyprus ranks 41/145 in terms of female education, 88/145 in terms of female economic participation and only 124/145 in terms of political empowerment. Hence, she stressed that the particular gap between the desired and existing state apropos social inclusion in Cyprus needs to be filled with the correct approach and through the correct enactments of laws to ensure a fair and well-functioning anti-discrimination context. A number of seminars have already taken place to inform the public about issues regarding discrimination, and these efforts should continue until the desired result is achieved. A good furtherance of the campaign against discrimination will be the adoption of further measures and laws, as well as investment in educating the public on issues related to diversity and equality. This can be achieved by providing the public with more insight as to how some people are being treated upon by others, and simple methods that each individual can embed in daily life to eliminate discrimination.\nHuman rights, equality and diversity in an \"era\" of austerity - a Sub-Saharan African perspective: Our third keynote speaker, Dr Cynthia Forson an Associate Professor and Deputy Provost at the Lancaster University Ghana, delivered a thought provoking presentation featuring the fundamental different between the real face of Africa and the one presented in the western societies. Whereas our perception of Sub-Saharan Africa is of a cesspool of death, despair and depression, reality has it to be the host of intense and successful female entrepreneurial activity. Through the provision of a number of inspirational examples, Dr Forson managed to convey a twofold message. First, she underlined that even in an era of austerity, success stories do arise. Second, she reminded us that if we are to change social reality and restore social inclusion, we foremost need to change the eyes that see that reality.\nEquality, diversity, inclusion and human rights in times of austerity: We begin the review of the selection of the conference papers with the contribution of Carliss Miller, Orlando Richard and Ilhami Yucel, \"When men are in the minority: the differential effects of leader-follower gender in pink collar settings\", which examines the gender differences among employees in gender-similar dyads with respect to affective attitudes towards the organization. Using an integrative theoretical framework, the authors were interested in investigating whether those attitudes were moderated by their manager's gender status as well as their perception of the organization's discrimination practices against women. They argue that in environments that are low in discrimination against women, there would be established equitable standards for hiring and promotion and that women would maintain their high status in the organization, yet in a highly discriminatory environment that exhibits hiring, development and promotion preference towards men, they infer that men may be in positions of power and influence in the top management teams. These circumstances appear to generate a dynamic for a glass escalator effect for men where they have an advantaged status in a female-dominated organization (Williams, 1992), and a crabs in the barrel effect for women where they may prefer reporting to men. In this survey-based field study, the authors reported that in pink collar settings, women that are managed by women had more positive attitudes towards the organization than men managed by men, and this was more prominent when the discriminatory environment was fair for women. In short, and consistent with the Crabs in the Barrel Syndrome notion, when the organization has discriminatory practices that appear to disadvantage women, the organizational commitment is lower for women than men in gender-similar dyads.\nConclusions: The report has provided an overview of the 2016 EDI Conference by presenting various papers that have engaged with ongoing research in the field of equality, diversity, inclusion and social rights in an era of austerity. Findings from exploratory papers indicated the need to develop an understanding of the notion of solidarity and the divisive and inclusive elements of the enactment of solidarity. Empirical studies reveal that women and people from BME communities continue to be excluded and marginalized, whereas there is a call for greater consideration of age in the social, economic, political and market arenas.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the research presented at the 2016 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Conference in Nicosia, Cyprus.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The report is based on six papers, of interest to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion readers, which were selected from the proceedings and presentations made at the conference. The papers vary in terms of research design, methodology and approach. There was a mix of conceptual/review papers and empirical studies, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.\nFindings: The papers presented new directions on equality, diversity and inclusion research. Findings from exploratory papers indicated the need to develop an understanding of the notion of solidarity and the divisive and inclusive elements of the enactment of solidarity. Empirical studies reveal that women and people from black and minority ethnic communities continue to be excluded and marginalized, whereas there is a call for greater consideration of age in the social, economic, political and market arenas.\nOriginality/value: This report integrates unique insights on \"Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Human Rights in Times of Austerity\", as these were presented and discussed at the EDI 2016 Conference.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Strategic safety management information system for building projects in Singapore	[ "Procurement", "Construction industry", "Quality", "Safety", "Decision support systems" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The construction industry is perceived to be one of the more dangerous industries, which has a poor safety performance record globally. Singapore's construction industry, for only 29 per cent of the total number of industrial workers, accounted for 40 per cent of worksite accidents (Chua and Goh, 2004). Moreover, the latest analysis of worksite accidents by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower revealed that the construction industry recorded the highest accident frequency and severity among all the industries in Singapore (OSHD-MOM, 2006a). Hence, raising safety standards by introducing new laws and frameworks has been a goal, following a series of high profile construction accidents in previous years in Singapore.The committee of inquiry into the Nicoll Highway collapse recommended that a strict weightage system should form part of the tender evaluation system (Lian, 2005). The weightage system should include non-technical and non-commercial attributes such as safety records and culture of the bidder, and its core or corporate competency. Such a weightage system should apply even if the tenderer is a joint venture or a consortium. It was recommended to clients' project managers to adopt the quality-fee method (QFM) for tender evaluations, departing from the traditional lowest price method (MND, 2005). According to the QFM, tenders are scored based on pre-defined weightings for both price and quality attributes. Quality attributes in a tender include safety management proposal, method statement, resources, programme and innovations. Then, apply a formula approach to combine price scores and quality scores as follows (BCA, 2005):* the lowest price tender obtains the maximum price-score and the highest quality tender yields the maximum quality-score; and* the tender with the highest overall score would be selected.The effective assessment of the safety proposal in a tender is one of the key aspects for project managers to implement the QFM. This study aims at developing a tool to facilitate project managers' task of assessing the safety proposals for building construction projects by means of assessing the potential accident risks given that the proposed safety management system is in place. The objectives of this paper are to:* identify and explore the factors that lead to accidents in building projects;* develop a methodology for estimating accident risks in building projects; and* develop a decision support system (DSS) for automating the methodology above.The paper discusses the research via various sections in a logical order. First, an extensive literature review on the nature of occupational injuries is presented, followed by an account of hazards in building projects and their assessment parameters. A safety audit roster for building projects is then explored. Subsequently, a triple-index model for estimating accident risks on building sites is proposed, followed by the DSS architecture that automates the triple-index model.\nOccupational injuries in construction: Occupational injuries from construction activities in general are defined by Davies and Tomasin (1996) as:* danger of physical injury and fatality; and* health problems.Construction accidents resulting in physical injuries and fatalities can be broadly categorised into the following eight basic groups (Hinze, 2005; Haslam et al., 2005):1. Falling from heights - involves workers falling from higher floors to lower floors/ground level, and falling from ground level to excavation level.2. Struck by falling objects/moving vehicles - primarily involves workers being struck by equipment, private vehicles, falling materials, vertically hoisted materials and horizontally transported materials.3. Excavation-related accidents - encompass cave-in, contact with underground utilities, subsidence of nearby structures, falling of materials/vehicles/objects on to people working in the excavation, fumes, gases, and inrushes of water at the bottom of excavations.4. Accident by operation of machinery/tools - caused by toppling of machinery, collapse of the parts of machinery, and unsuitable or unsafe hand-held tools.5. Electrocution - caused by contact with electric current from machines, appliances, light fixtures, faulty electrical equipment and tools, and contact with overhead/underground power lines.6. Fire/explosion - resulting from the explosion of pressure vessels or gasoline pipes, and fire due to welding/hot works.7. Failure of temporary structures - involves the failure of formworks and scaffoldings.8. Others - e.g. slipping on the same level, oxygen deficiency in confined spaces, lightning strike, etc.Health problems affecting construction workers are shown in Table I.Abdelhamid and Everett (2000) intensely analysed the root causes of construction accidents. Their work can be summarised by the four clusters as shown in Table II.The working condition is the inherent work hazard owing to a project's scope and the location. The inherent hazard is managed with a safety management system, which can cause occupational injuries when flaws exist. The negligent attitude of workers to forego safety standards also causes accidents, although it is less quantifiable. Non-human related events are beyond control and prediction. Hence, the estimation of occupational injury risks in construction projects shall assess two factors: the inherent hazard level in the project, and the safety management level. As portrayed in Figure 1, hazards incline the project towards the accident zone while safety pulls it towards the safe zone. When the safety force is at least equal in magnitude to the hazard imposed, the project stays in a neutral zone. Safety below hazard level moves the project towards the accident zone. Hence, the prediction of occupational injuries in a project entails the assessment and comparison of the magnitudes of project hazard and safety.Assessing project hazards\nTriple-index model for estimating accident risks: Based on the findings from the preceding literature reviews, a triple-index model was formulated to predict accident risks in building projects, as shown in Figure 3. As per the proposed model, the estimation of accident risks in a building construction project involves three main phases:1. Estimation of a project hazard index (PHI) based on the framework shown in Appendix 1. This framework assesses the degree of hazard in the project. The project is broken down into 11 hazardous trades, as identified in the literature review, and the degree of hazard in each trade is assessed by analysing its hazard driving variables as identified in Figure 2.2. Estimation of a project safety index (PSI) exploiting the framework shown in appendix 2. This framework assesses the safety preparedness by analysing eight safety factors with their respective sub-factors that are shown in Table III. The variables that are pertinent to the assessment of safety in each factor were identified through an extensive literature review and arranged in the framework in appropriate orders.3. Estimating a project accident index (PAI) by a trade-off analysis between the PHI and the PSI.The estimation of the PHI entails six steps as described as follows:1. Identification of relevant hazardous trades for the project, which are agents for the occurrence of accidents, out of the 11 trades listed in the PHI estimation framework (see appendix 1). That is, when a project is to be hazard-rated, the risk assessor will study the project scope and location, and identify relevant hazardous trades.2. Once relevant hazardous trades are identified, the next step is to identify the hazard-rating attributes from the PHI estimation framework for each trade.3. Performing a detailed study on the scope and location of the work for the identified hazardous trade, and rating the level of hazard posed by each attribute, based on the PHI estimation framework.4. Aggregating the attribute hazard ratings, normalising the ratings and computing a trade hazard index so that 0<= trade hazard index <=1.00. Reiterating the process for all the hazardous trades in the project.5. Aggregating the estimated trade hazard indices and normalising them based on a suitable trade hazard weightage. Each trade is considered to have the same influence over the total project hazard because accidents can happen in any trade and therefore equal scrutiny is essential to avoid venues for mishaps. Thus, a hazard weightage of 1/m is suggested for each trade to normalise the trade hazard indices, where m is the number of hazardous trades that are applicable to the project.6. Finally, aggregating the normalised hazard trade indices and deriving a PHI.The estimation of the PSI involves seven steps as described as follows:1. Identification of the factors that are to be safety-rated in a project and their pertinent sub-factors, as per the PSI estimation framework in appendix 2. The parameters for safety auditing of each factor were identified in the literature and listed in here.2. Upon the identification of the safety factors and sub-factors, the next step is to identify the safety attributes for each sub-factor from the PSI estimation framework.3. Studying the safety management system in place as opposed to the hazards in the project, and rating the adequacy of safety attributes for each sub-factor. That is, when a project is to be safety-rated, the risk assessor will assess the suitability and adequacy of the safety management for each attribute in each safety sub-factor, and rate it based on the PSI estimation framework.4. Aggregating the attribute safety ratings for each sub-factor and normalising the ratings to compute the sub-factor safety index so that 0<= sub-factor safety index <=1.00. Reiterating the process for all the sub-factors.5. Aggregating the sub-factor safety indices of the safety factor and normalising them to compute the factorial safety index. Reiterating the process for all the safety factors in the PSI estimation framework.6. Aggregating the factorial safety indices and normalising them with a suitable safety weightage. Each safety factor is considered to have the same bearing towards the PSI, and therefore a safety weightage of 1/n is suggested for normalising factorial safety indices, where n is the number of safety factors that are applicable to the project.7. Finally, aggregating the normalised factorial safety indices, and deriving a PSI.\nDecision support system (DSS) architecture: The DSS architecture that automates the proposed triple-index model is depicted in Figure 4. The proposed DSS consists of two major components: graphical user interface (GUI) and processing unit (PU). The GUI consists of three major interfaces to interact with the user:1. The interface for keying-in of values for project hazard attributes to compute the PHI.2. The interface for feeding-in of values for project safety attributes to compute the PSI.3. The interface for displaying the final output - the PAI.The PU contains three sub-components namely, PHI computer, PSI computer and PAI computer, and their respective functions are described below.PHI computer\nDSS implementation and validation: The proposed DSS was prototyped using VBATM and MS AccessTM. Subsequently, an empirical study was conducted to ascertain the accuracy and reliability of the proposed triple-index model and the DSS. Five building projects, which are nearing completion, were chosen for a predictive verification of the DSS. Accident data on these projects were first collected. Then, hazards and safety assessments were carried out, in collaboration with site safety officers, using the proposed model. The assessment data were then keyed into the prototype DSS and the PAI value for each project was derived. The results are shown in Table IV. A graph was plotted, as depicted in Figure 5, to observe the relationship between the PAI values and the number of accidents. It showed a strong correlation between the computed PAI values and the actual number of accidents. That is, the higher the PAI value, the higher the frequency of accidents.\nConclusion: As part of its strategies to improve safety standards in construction projects, Singapore conceptualises the implementation of the QFM for tender evaluation, departing from the traditional lowest price method. Under the QFM, tenders are scored based on both price and quality attributes. Safety management proposal is one of the key quality attributes. The effective assessment and scoring of tenderers' safety proposals is therefore a crucial task for clients' project managers.It is hypothesised that the effectiveness or flaw of the proposed safety proposal can be assessed by establishing the potential accident risks given that the proposed safety system is in place. This study therefore proposes a triple-index model for estimating accident risks in building construction projects. The model firstly assesses the degree of hazards in a given project and then measures the safety preparedness of the contractor to arrest the hazards that cause accidents. Subsequently, it performs a trade-off analysis between hazard and safety preparedness to derive an accident index, which reveals the potential accident risks in the project. Subsequently, the model was automated as a DSS exploiting MS AccessTM and VBATM, tested empirically and found to be reliable.The proposed triple-index model and its DSS address one of the current challenges faced by clients' project managers in the implementation of the QFM for tender evaluations. The study also reveals a systematic approach for predicting accident risks in building projects. Nevertheless, the proposed model covers only building projects. It could be extended in future research efforts to accommodate any type of construction projects.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The construction industry in Singapore has been recording higher accident rates compared with other industries. As an initiative to reduce occupational accidents, the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore proposed to clients to adopt quality-fee method (QFM) for tender evaluation, departing from the traditional lowest price method. Assessing tenderers' safety proposals is a crucial task for clients' project managers to implement QFM, but it is a difficult and challenging task. This study aims to provide a tool to facilitate this.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A triple-index model was developed for estimating potential accident risks in building projects, given that a contractor's proposed safety system is in place to combat the accident hazards inherent in the project. The model was then automated as a decision support system (DSS). Case studies were conducted to test the reliability and accuracy of the DSS.\nFindings: - The DSS produces project accident indices, and it was found in the case studies that values for this index are positively correlated with the number of accidents in building projects. The findings proved that the DSS makes a significant contribution to the state-of-the-art of risk assessment.\nPractical implications: - The proposed model and its DSS would facilitate the implementation of QFM for tender evaluation and thereby reduce accidents.\nOriginality/value: - The paper presents a novel tool to combat accidents in construction at the early stage of tender evaluation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The experts offer advice on Google	[ "Case studies", "Censorship", "Corporate image", "China" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: JBS asked three experts to read the Google case study \"Google in China: government censorship and corporate reputation\" and offer their opinions on what Google should do next, including advice about critical issues in the case, stakeholder interests, and actions the company should consider\nPaul A. Argenti: The Google case offers us a fascinating look at how organizations can easily stray from their mission and vision, find ways to justify virtually any behavior if large amounts of money are involved, and create short-term gains at the expense of long-term reputational capital. In this commentary on the case, I would like to offer my assessment of how Google should proceed given what has happened in the case.First, management needs to grow up and move beyond the sand box in which they seem to be playing into the international arena for global businesses. Using a motto like \"Don't Be Evil\" shows a lack of sophistication that has now come back to bite them.Second, one of the key attributes of a successful strategy is consistency. Google seems to be missing this attribute in that it refused to comply with the request from the Department of Justice at the same time it was essentially complying with the request from the Chinese Government. If they were true to their principles and vision, they would have turned down both requests. Maintaining a consistent position going forward with respect to ethical and social issues is going to be critical in rebuilding trust with stakeholders.Third, they missed an opportunity to collaborate with NGOs who were concerned about the censorship issue. In the future, Google needs to find ways to work with such groups to show concern about major issues and position themselves as they really want to be.\nSandra Macleod: Professor James O'Rourke examines Google's first stumble as its actions differ at home from abroad. With Google's declared mantra of \"Don't be Evil\", O'Rourke exposes the inconsistency of Google's refusal to support the US Government's Child Online Protection Act with its apparent unconditional acceptance of censorship in China.Against the backdrop of the importance of upholding freedom of access and expression to the benefit of mankind globally, especially in the face of repressive regimes, this case study clearly highlights the reputational damage for organizations whose behaviors contrast sharply with their stated moral values.O'Rourke vividly demonstrates that reputation is not an asset, in the traditional sense of the word, that can be owned or controlled by an organisation. It exists in the minds of a myriad of stakeholders and influencers who are conditioned by their interests, experiences and expectations. The Google stumble illustrates the strategically important and complex challenge of managing different stakeholder groups at odds with each other, such as investors and consumers on the one hand, and non-governmental organizations, the media, legislators and host governments on the other.Google would benefit from a framework that enables it to integrate what matters to stakeholders into the development of strategic priorities and their translation into tangible actions. Through objective stakeholder audits, current perceptions and expectations in relation to Google's activities and communications can be mapped and validated. This process would help Google:* highlight priority areas of focus;* identify key areas of risk where there may be a requirement to reconcile issues between stakeholder groups for contingency planning; and* provide \"key metrics\" that can be used to benchmark and plot changes to underpin and inform decision making and resourcing.This is a timely and topical warning for all to tread wisely and holistically.\nLouis Capozzi: Global organizations face enormous challenges operating and communicating across ideological and geographic boundaries. While in the case of Google.cn the business issues are unique to China, the communications challenges are not. Google should focus not just on financial success and industry leadership, but on its corporate responsibility and reputation. At the heart of responsibility is behavior. In order to repair its reputation, the company should follow basic principles of crisis and issues management.Here's how I would advise Google to respond to the crisis:* Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk. Elliot Schrage has his \"seat at the table\" as a member of Google's executive committee - he needs to use it to ensure alignment of the company's behavior with its key messages.* Lead, don't hide. The decision to duck the Congressional Caucus was their first mistake, and early behavior in a crisis can define you for a long time. Step up and participate fully in the dialog. In fact, Google should play the role of convener, bringing together interested parties and driving the dialog.* Focus on the key message - \"inevitability.\" Eliot Schrage's comment to the congressional hearing in February 2006 says it all: \"To put it simply, the Internet is transforming China for the better [...] even in an imperfect environment.\" Make the case that Google's presence in China will make a positive difference, now and in the future.* Find third-party supporters. Conduct \"dialog sessions\" with educators, analysts, media thought leaders, editorial boards, government officials and politicians to solicit their opinions and create forums to share the views of Google's leaders.* Get ahead of the opposition. Using scenario planning, develop specific plans for dealing with the anticipated tactics of competitors, NGOs, governments (ours and theirs) and other potential adversaries.* Put a plan and resources in place. This issue didn't arise overnight, and it won't go away. Develop a long-range plan, identify the key audiences and the strategies for influencing each, and put the resources in place to make it happen.China's emergence as a world economic power means every global company must find the delicate balance between its global principles and the practical demands of the Chinese marketplace. We will all do well to follow this story closely as it unfolds.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present the views of three experts on what, in the light of the article \"Google in China: government censorship and corporate reputation\", Google should do next.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper presents the opinions of three experts.\nFindings: - The findings include recommendations about how Google should cope with the censorship issue, strive for greater consistency in its outlook with regard to social and ethical issues, and modify its organizational behaviour.\nOriginality/value: - The paper offers an insight into the opinions of three business experts. The case of Google may well have relevance for other businesses.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Rethinking the development of successful knowledge cities: an advanced framework	[ "Knowledge management", "Knowledge processes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The theme of knowledge cities (KCs), as a sub-field of knowledge-based development (KBD) has attracted the interest of researchers and practitioners during the last years. In this direction, back on 2005, the authors have proposed a set of hypotheses for the design, development and operation of successful KCs (Ergazakis et al., 2005; Ergazakis et al., 2006). They conducted an empirical evaluation of several successful KCs cases and assessed the support of each case to each hypothesis. The key findings of this assessment were the core for the formulation of a coherent framework for the development and operation of successful KCs.However, it should be noted that this framework was produced in an era that the theme of KC had been recently introduced in the scientific community it still was in its infancy. Since then, rapid and significant changes have taken place concerning KCs as well as KBD in general, thus formulating a new landscape. Currently there are many new methodologies, approaches and insights, new concepts and views, many new contributions from various scientific fields, new ICT tools etc. These changes had impacts not only in the research community but also in the real-life approaches of KCs.For all these reasons, it is understood that now it becomes more than relevant (if not necessary) to update the framework initially introduced: this can be accomplished by examining again the elements which had leaded to the formulation of the framework, through the examination of KCs' progress. In this respect, in this paper:* The progress of each already identified KC is examined and especially if it continues to be developed in knowledge-based ways and if it still can be considered as a KC. Potentially new KCs are also identified.* For the new set of KCs, it is examined whether and at which degree theses cities continue to support or not the hypotheses that had leaded to the formulation of the framework.* It is examined if the hypotheses themselves need any modifications/changes so as to better reflect the existing reality. In this way, an updated set of validated hypotheses which can be considered as dominant is concluded.The updated framework for the design and development of KCs is settled down.The proposed framework in this paper can be considered reliable and accurate enough, as its validity has been evaluated again after the major changes of latest years. This remaining part of the paper is structured is as follows: Next section presents the progress of the already identified KCs and presents the case of another successful case (Singapore). The following section analytically examines the support of each case for each one of the hypotheses. A synthesis of the results of the previous analysis and the updated framework are then presented. The last section proposes issues for further research and discusses the main conclusions.\nCase studies: successful KCs: Barcelona (Barcelona, 2005, 2007)\nSupport to the hypotheses: The set of proposed hypotheses and their description can be found in the previous related research work of the authors. In this section we examine whether the cities with the new facts and conditions still support the hypotheses and in what way. For this purpose, a table is provided for each city (see Tables I-VII). The hypotheses are in the first column of the tables. The level of support is demonstrated in the second column, using three levels:1. \"+\" means full support of the hypothesis.2. \"~\" means partially support.3. \"-\" means deficiency in support.Finally, there is a short explanation of the way that the case of the city supports the hypothesis (or not).Table VIII provides a general picture of the level of support of each case study to the hypotheses.\nRevised hypotheses and the updated framework: From the previous analysis, it is obvious that the majority of the hypotheses are still supported by the cities' cases. Thus, these hypotheses can be considered as dominant and can be incorporated in the proposed framework for designing, developing and operating a successful KC. However, there are some hypotheses which can be modified so as to better reflect prevailing conditions:* There is a strong correlation between H8 \"Creation of urban innovation engines is significant\" and H11 \"Research excellence is indispensable\". Most of the cities consider these topics similar, invest and promote innovation and research excellence simultaneously. It seems so that there is no reason to have two hypotheses, and they can be mixed to \"Research excellence and support of innovation it is indispensable\", under the category \"Operation\", since it is a factor related to the operation of a KC.* The other conclusion concerns the H10 \"Low cost access to advanced communication networks is imperative\". Low cost access to broadband network seems to be a reality not only for cases examined but for many other cities globally. The new trend is the expansion of free Wi-Fi networks. This exactly can be currently considered the distinguishing feature of KCs. From the analysis above, it is concluded that the majority of cases examined support this trend. So the hypothesis can be change to \"Low-cost access to Wi-Fi networks\"* Finally, regarding the H12 \"Existence of network of public libraries is necessary\" one basic conclusion is that the majority of cities cases currently offer the possibility to citizens to access a big bulk of the available libraries' material online. In this respect, it can be said that libraries are \"digital\". Thus, the hypothesis can be changed to \"Existence of digital libraries network\".Figure 1 depicts the updated framework.\nFeature research challenges and conclusions: The main objective of this paper has been to update the initial framework proposed by the authors on 2005, for the design, development and operation of successful KCs. For this purpose, the current status of KCs cases has been re-examined and the level of support of each cases to the hypotheses has been re-assessed. One conclusion is that all of cities cases examined on 2005, continue to actively support their KBD through a series of strategies and appropriate actions. Moreover, the majority of the hypotheses continue to be valid, while three of them need to slightly change so as to adapt to prevailing current conditions. Additional KCs cases have been identified.In terms of future research, it seems that among the most important challenges is to identify and categorize best practices used by KCs leaders so as to be developed in knowledge-based ways. This could contribute to the creation of a global knowledge base of KCs best practices. Furthermore, another challenge is to develop methodologies (based on the proposed framework) which will effectively support local cities identify the most appropriate best practices for their development as KCs, and adapt them accordingly to their cities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present how the topics of knowledge-based development (KBD) and especially of knowledge cities (KCs) have attracted the interest of many researchers and practitioners during recent years. In a previous research work of the authors, a set of hypotheses for the design, development and operation of successful KCs are proposed and validated through the analytical study of KCs cases in support of these hypotheses, resulting in a related framework. However, the rapid changes in the field render it necessary today to re-examine the elements which had led to the formulation of the framework, so as to update it.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The methodology followed so as to update the framework is based on the examination of the already identified KCs and the inclusion of five additional KCs cases. For the new set of KCs, the authors examine at which degree each case supports the hypotheses. Modifications in the set of hypotheses are proposed. The hypotheses that continue to be valid are considered as dominant, thus leading to the updated framework.\nFindings: - Among the main findings is that all cities previously examined continue to actively support their KBD, through a series of strategies and appropriate actions. The majority of the hypotheses continue to be valid, while three of them need to slightly change so as to adapt to prevailing current conditions.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The findings of this paper can be of value for researchers seeking to develop specific customized methodologies for the development of KCs.\nOriginality/value: - The main added-value elements of this paper can be considered the re-examination of the current status of a series of successful KCs on the one side and the update of the framework for the design, development and operation of KCs on the other side.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Access over ownership - a typology of shared space	[ "Sustainable development", "Facilities management", "Facility management", "Property portfolio management", "Space planning", "Space utilisation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Many cities around the world are experiencing an increase in population and from this also a strain on the existing buildings and a pressure to provide adequate square meters for the population. Urban development and development of new city profiles have traditionally been focused on building new, but with increasing populations, urban space for new buildings will inevitable become increasingly scarce and expensive.\n2. Sharing: Sharing as a general concept is not a new thing; we have many examples just in Denmark - agricultural cooperatives, consumer cooperatives and cooperative dwellings (www.uwcc.wisc.edu, www.denstoredanske.dk), and the term \"shared space\" can also refer to street design (TrinityHaus, 2012), Internet-based communications platforms (Rafferty, 2012), etc. From this, it is clear that sharing is by no means a new idea, but in the last decade or so, the concept of sharing has taken another leap, as the term sharing economy, or the similar collaborative economy, has been introduced, launching a renewed focus on sharing.\n3. Approach: The development of the typology presented in this paper was divided into three main steps, followed by a fourth step in the form of an illustration of use with an international case (Figure 1) from Dublin, Ireland.\n4. A typology of shared facilities: This typology was first presented in a conference paper titled \"The shared building portfolio - an exploration and typology\" (Brinko et al., 2014). It is directed towards both researchers and professionals, and is focused on the sharing of buildings and on the sharing that takes place between different organisations or businesses that would traditionally prefer exclusive use or ownership (\"intra organisational\" use).\n5. Case, community space with multiple use: Use of the typology was as mentioned illustrated with a case from Dublin, Ireland, called Mabos, to gain some insights into the practical application of the typology in a real world setting.\n6. Practical and academical implications: As described in the previous sections of this paper, space management is already working with shared space, especially in relation to the office building, in the form of non-territorial offices or \"free seating\" offices and the like, but this type of sharing is all kept strictly between a company's own employees, meaning only intra-organisational sharing. The typology presented and used in this paper takes sharing a step further and looks outside the boundaries of a single organisation towards inter-organisational sharing and an optimised management of property in general. The sharing economy has been a popular topic for some years now, and shared use of space and facilities has as a topic a wide societal relevance. Despite of this, it has been chosen for this to only focus on the situation and needs of larger property owners and municipalities. This is due to the fact that it is within these types of businesses and organisations, that a significant part of the building stock not used for private housing can be found, and therefore also here a big difference can be made.\n7. Conclusion: The result of the research behind this paper is a first version of a typology of shared use of facilities, and an illustration of applicability on a real-life case, to illustrate the use and application value. It is the intent that the typology at its finished state will be able to function as a tool to support facilities, property and space managers in introducing a new way of looking at sustainable building portfolio management.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore shared use of space and facilities as a concept, and present and illustrate the use of a typology to help classify and describe the different options for sharing space and facilities within buildings for optimised use of a building portfolio.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The content presented is based on a cross-sectional study with an inductive approach. The results are based partly on secondary data in the form of a literature review and a mapping of 20 examples from Europe, USA and Australia, and partly on primary data from observations and interviews with key actors from two cases in Denmark and an illustration case from Ireland.\nFindings: The typology classifies and describes four archetypes of sharing between different people, building owners and organisations, to be used when discussing, planning, establishing and evaluating new and existing shared spaces.\nResearch limitations/implications: The typology is the result of a first exploration of shared use of facilities and does not claim to be fully comprehensive or final.\nPractical implications: The typology is intended for both researchers and practitioners, and aims at increasing the understanding of sharing as a way to minimise the need for building new by better utilisation of the existing building stock.\nOriginality/value: Shared space and facilities is a relatively new topic with not much research undertaken. This typology provides a language for discussing shared spaces and a base for further developing the research field.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Debt maturity structure, institutional ownership and accounting conservatism: Evidence from Iranian listed companies	[ "Accounting conservatism", "Institutional ownership", "Debt maturity structure" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: One of the most important financial issues in today's growing capital markets is the quality of firms' financial information. Higher quality financial information leads to sound financial decisions made by potential investors and also contributes to more appropriate allocation of financial resources. In this respect, it is of considerable importance for managers to maintain a proper level of conservatism when providing required financial information for interested investors, primarily due to the fact that future losses stemming from too optimistic estimates are much more serious than losing profitable opportunities arising from adopting too pessimistic valuation approaches. Creditors are among the interested users of financial information, and their returns from investing in the net value of firms' total assets are typically asymmetrical. That is, creditors do not earn any additional return from their investment when the value of a firm's net total assets is more than the nominal value of its debts, regardless of the amount of the overvaluation. However, these interested groups earn the sole net value of a firm's total assets from their investment when the net assets are less than the nominal value of the debts. Therefore, creditors are more concerned about the undervaluation of assets than their overvaluation. From the creditors' point of view, firms should report the least possible value for their net total assets, mainly because higher values of net total assets are generally regarded as unacceptable. The can be attained by recognizing losses in a more timely fashion than gains (or the adoption of conservative reporting practices). Accordingly, the present paper aims to investigate the impact of short-maturity debt and the type of institutional ownership (i.e. active vs passive) on different kinds of accounting conservatism (i.e. conditional and unconditional). Our primary inquiry is motivated based on the mixed results provided by prior literature, indicating similar roles for debt maturity structure, institutional ownership and accounting conditional and unconditional conservatism in resolving agency costs. Indeed, we aim to address the question of whether the degree of conservatism in financial reports is associated with the extent of agency problem arising from both debt financing and the presence of institutional investors within the corporate governance framework.\n2. Research background and hypothesis development: 2.1 Accounting conservatism defined\n3. Research design: 3.1 Data sources and sample selection procedure\n4. Results: 4.1 Descriptive statistics\n5. Conclusions: The present paper examines the relation between a firm's overall the debt maturity structure and accounting conservatism in financially distressed and non-distressed firms. In this respect, we employ two different measures for accounting conservatism often used in prior literature, i.e., Basu's (1997) earning-return model as well as Beaver and Ryan's (2000) book-to-market model. We argue that short-maturity debts contributes to the reduction of suboptimal investment problems inherent in debt financing and information asymmetry and mitigates agency costs of debts. Indeed, we expect that short-maturity debt covenants lead to less conservative financial reporting, primarily because conservatism per se can trigger debt covenant violations. However, our findings are in contradiction to our primary expectation and suggest a non-significant relation between the two in both financially distressed and non-distressed firms. This finding is inconsistent with the results reported by Khurana and Wang (2015) who found a negative and significant relationship.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of debt maturity structure and types of institutional ownership on accounting conservatism by using different financial variables and proxies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Employing panel data analysis in the R programming language, the authors test their hypotheses on a sample of 143 (858 firm-year observations) companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2011-2016.\nFindings: Using Basu (1997) and Beaver and Ryan (2000) models as proxies for accounting conservatism, the findings suggest a non-significant relationship between accounting conservatism and debt maturity structure. Contrary to the primary expectation, the results indicate that short-maturity debts are also non-significantly and negatively associated with accounting conservatism in financially distressed firms. Finally, using both conservatism measures, the authors document that there is no significant relationship between both active and passive institutional ownership and accounting conservatism as well as debt maturity structure.\nOriginality/value: The current study is the first study conducted in a developing country like Iran, and the outcomes of the study may be helpful to other developing nations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Prioritisation on 5S activities for a semiconductor wafer fabrication: an empirical study	[ "5S practice", "Attractive quality", "Semiconductor fabrication", "Importance-satisfaction model", "Refined Kano model" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: It is recognized that a semiconductor wafer fabrication (FAB) possesses the most complex manufacturing system with widely-utilized information technology in electrical industry (Kim et al., 2001). Typically, there is about an area of 750,000 square feet, equivalent to 13 football fields, in the cleanroom of a 300 mm FAB with full capacity of 130 K wafers per month. In addition, over a thousand of production equipments with 5,000 sets of accessories and utilities are installed. Usually, FAB qualification has to be granted before the customer initially places an order to the FAB. To meet the customer's qualification, an audit will be accessed in the FAB to make sure the customer's product is made in specification.\n2 Kano model: The Kano model is initiated by Noriaki Kano in the 1980s (Kano et al., 1984) and it presents profound insight into the product or service attributes perceived to be differentiated to customers. The Kano model links a bridge to better understand the relationship between performance criteria and customer satisfaction, and to resolve the trade-off dilemma in multiple-criteria optimization by identifying the key criteria in customer satisfaction (Chen and Chuang, 2008). Kano model focuses on differentiating product or service features as key drivers (Conklin et al., 2004), as opposed to focusing initially on customer needs, which contradicts traditional thinking in quality (Huiskonen and Pirttil, 1998). The Kano model has been applied in various industries and services to explore customer satisfaction (Tontini and Silveira, 2007; Kim et al., 2008; Teixeira and Cavalca, 2008; Williams et al., 2008; Yadav and Goel, 2008; Chen et al., 2009; Garibay et al., 2010; Xie et al., 2010). It is a customer-driven tool to learn how to sustain customer satisfaction and to allocate resources for maximizing customer satisfaction under resource constraints (Lai et al., 2004; Chen and Su, 2006). It classifies five categories of quality attributes: attractive, one-dimension, must-be, indifferent, and reverse. This model proposes that the degree of customer satisfaction is not linear to the presentation of quality attributes. A comprehensive form of Kano's two-dimensional quality model is illustrated as Figure 1.\n3 Problem definition: Since thousands of 5S action items would be implemented in a FAB, it is not possible to simultaneously take all actions in practice. Moreover, the efforts to be made are not all equal with respect to manpower, cost, duration of implementation, etc. on 5S practice. Hence, it is necessary to link customer satisfaction by differentiating each action item according to its importance in each quality attribute. When resource to practice 5S is limited, the generic form of Kano model is not feasible. The generic Kano model has a deficiency that prevents firms from precisely evaluating the influences of quality attributes. Thus, many studies based on the generic Kano model have been researched to enhance the accuracy to understand the customer's need (Matzler and Hinterhuber, 1998; Chen and Su, 2006; Sireli et al., 2007; Tontini, 2007; Chen and Ko, 2008; Chen et al., 2008; Lee et al., 2008; Wang and Ji, 2010; Wu et al., 2010; Yeh, 2010). Among integrated, modified or refined models, these studies are in the similar form of either integration with other models or other transformations from the generic Kano model (Matzler and Hinterhuber, 1998; Shahin, 2004; Sireli et al., 2007; Tontini, 2007; Chen et al., 2008, 2009; Garibay et al., 2010; Shahin et al., 2013; Yeh, 2010). However, these studies may lack consideration with respect to importance. They could fail to consider the degree of importance on certain quality attributes in the viewpoint of customers. Moreover, not all readers have the academic background on the knowledge of operations research in any organization. There should be a straightforward bridge to link a methodology in a practical manner, so that an approached study can disseminate information to both researchers and practitioners. Since 5S practice is continuous improvement, there is no end day that all 5S activities are completely finished. While thousands of 5S action activities shall be executed, the importance levels of quality attributes to customers should be evaluated and differentiated. As such, it is necessary that the 5S activities should be prioritised based on the level of importance to customers in practice.\n4 Refined Kano model: Yang (2003, 2005) proposed a refined Kano model to solve this problem for prioritising action items in each quality attribute based on importance and this refined Kano model has demonstrated its feasibility for home-appliance manufacturer. This refined Kano model adds the importance of quality attributes, so that it divides Kano's first four categories into eight categories, i.e. highly attractive and less attractive, high value-added and low value-added, critical and necessary, and potential and care-free. Yang's refined model is more practical to prioritise 5S activities with respect to resource concern. The categories with redefinitions of these eight categories are described as Table III. Redefined curves are illustrated to explain the redefinitions of quality attributes as Figure 2.\n5 Industry application: Since 5S action items would be as many as thousands, Ho (1998, 1999) created a systemized 5S checklist with 50 checkpoints. This 5S checklist covers a complete list of action items for each S, i.e. Seiri (organization), Seiton (neatness), Seiso (cleaning), Seiketsu (standardization) and Shitsuke (discipline). Each of the 5Ss is expanded from five to 15 checkpoints. Ho suggests that 5S practice can be comprehensively approached based on the designated 50 checkpoints. However, the 50 checkpoints are not treated equally important. Hence, this paper applied Yang's refined Kano model to Ho's 5S checklist to prioritise these 50 checkpoints in terms of importance for a FAB. An empirical study based on Ho's 5S checklist from 20 experienced internal auditors (respondents) of quality assurance team (QAT) of a wafer fabrication company to prioritise 5S activities was explored to justify its feasibility for a FAB and importance-satisfaction for customers.\n6 Insights for practitioners: This study further explored that each checkpoint had its identity after categorizing these checkpoints into attributes in the refined Kano model. These identities for all checkpoints could be further grouped as yield, safety, impression, commitment, and green manufacturing. In the result, checkpoints associated with yield were highly evaluated at the level of importance. Thus, management should make efforts at these checkpoints (e.g. S4.11, S1.5) with respect to yield. Any contamination concerns should be avoided and eliminated to delight customers. Furthermore, green manufacturing has emerged as industrial tend to be sustainable. Customers valued that those checkpoints (e.g. S1.2, S4.7, S4.14) with energy-saving were perceived as highly attractive in the refined Kano model. These attributes with green manufacturing represent strategic attribute offerings because semiconductor manufacturing is recognized as an ecological killer. A FAB should be transformed to a dedicated green manufacturer seeking to optimise processes to minimize raw material usage and waste production, protecting the environment while reducing costs at the same time. For example, a FAB by practicing QC080000 can ensure that products comply with regulatory and customer requirements, including the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS), Halogen free in electronic products, and Perfluorooctane Sulfonates (PFOS) restriction standards. Those attributes with highly attractiveness should be highly promoted. Those checkpoints associated with safety were also evaluated at a higher priority due to the fact that safety is generally identified as important in the working environment. A FAB should conduct workplace hazard assessment and interventions to provide a comfortable and safe workplace to its employees.\n7 Conclusion: 5S practice is a baseline leading to TQM; however, it needs numerous action items to check and take. In semiconductor manufacturing, it is ever more difficult to implement 5S practice as thousands of action items are necessary to be taken in a FAB. Customer satisfaction is the first priority on 5S audit when customers audit shop floor control. The Kano model provides a methodology to bridge customer satisfaction with quality attributes. However, it lacks the evaluation of importance for each attribute. To more precisely understand the quality attributes from the customer's perspective in customer's 5S audit, the importance level of attributes is added to differentiate the eight categories by Yang's refined model, from the four quality categories by the Kano model. An empirical study in FAB A was demonstrated how the refined model prioritise 5S activities based on Ho's 5S checklist. The result of this study further showed quality attributes possess different identities that could offer management more framable scopes to implement 5S practice and sustain 5S scene management.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Semiconductor wafer fabrication (FAB) is recognized as one of the most complex manufacturing systems. A newly built FAB has to pass various audits from its customer before the customer's wafers are initially produced. 5S audit is one of them. In order to comply with customer (auditor) expectations toward 5S practice, this paper assists wafer fabrication managers in allocating the limited resources to places that are valued most by their customer. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper applied Yang's refined Kano model to Ho's 5S checklist to prioritise these checkpoints for a FAB. An empirical study based on Ho's 5S checklist from experienced internal auditors (respondents) to prioritise 5S activities was explored to justify its feasibility for a FAB and importance-satisfaction for customer.\nFindings: An empirical study in a case FAB demonstrated how the refined model prioritised 5S activities based on Ho's 5S checklist. The result of this study further showed that quality attributes possess different identities, which could offer management more framable scopes to implement 5S practice and sustain 5S scene management.\nResearch limitations/implications: Since this empirical study was focused on a 300-mm wafer fabrication company, the results and findings may not generally explain other wafer-size fabrications.\nPractical implications: This study was applied to a real-world case of a newly built 300-mm semiconductor fabrication in Taiwan. It is a straightforward bridge to link a methodology in a practical manner to disseminate information to both researchers and practitioners.\nOriginality/value: From the adoption of the refined Kano model, specific required check points for 5S practice are transformed from subjective, conceptual and linguistic practice to be identified, quantified and prioritised for semiconductor wafer fabrication under resources constraints to cater customer's 5S expectations and to generate more attention in building-up a much more robust scene management. This paper provided a systemic way to prioritise 5S activities for a semiconductor wafer fabrication.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Authentic leadership and employee performance: mediating role of organizational commitment	[ "Authentic leadership", "Organizational commitment", "Structural equation modelling (SEM)", "Employee performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Leadership style is considered the most important topic in the management field, particularly in relation to employee performance (EP) (Semedo et al., 2016). How to create a suitable platform for employees is one of the main concerns of managers, so that employees can carry out their duties in a responsible manner and with high levels of commitment (Esmaeili and Saeidzadeh, 2017). EP is the most important element in determining the success or failure of an organization (Aguinis, 2013). Effective leadership is the most important pillar of an organization, by which employees can be motivated toward high levels of performance leading to the success of an organization. Its absence, on the other hand, can lead to the failure of an organization (Kiersch, 2012). Effective leadership behavior can improve and facilitate organizational performance in the face of new challenges (Koech and Namusonge, 2012). Leader employee relationship and EP are both significantly influenced by the leadership style adopted by the managers (Jeremy et al., 2012). Effective leaders foster, sustain and maintain a corporate culture, improving employee productivity and performance (Hennessey, 1998). There is a growing appeal for researchers and practitioners in exploring an effective leadership approach to address the ethical challenges of today's work environments. This has resulted in a strong emphasis on the importance of leadership and the degree to which leaders are true to themselves (Leroy et al., 2012).\n2. Background and hypotheses development: 2.1 Authentic leadership\n3. Research methodology: 3.1 Data collection and participant characteristics\n4. Data analysis: 4.1 Measurement and structural models\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Theoretical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of authentic leadership (AL) on employee performance (EP) and to examine the mediating role of organizational commitment (OC).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were obtained from all employees (216) of tourism agencies in Guilan province (Iran) using a 19-item survey. In total, 173 questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 80 percent. A mediation model was outlined and tested using structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The results showed that AL had a significant effect on EP and OC. The findings further demonstrated the significance of the relationship between OC and EP confirming the mediating role of OC.\nPractical implications: This study suggests that managers can promote OC and consequently EP by adopting an AL style. In addition, the managerial and theoretical foundations generated by this study can be considered a solution for improving EP.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the EP literature by providing a plausible explanation of the mediating role of OC in connecting AL to EP.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
IT infrastructure refresh planning for enterprises: a business process perspective	[ "Business process re‐engineering", "Information technology", "Analytical hierarchy process" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The rapid growth of computing technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization is driving companies to refresh their IT infrastructure, sometimes sooner than planned, in order to support these new technologies (Gartner Inc., 2009). In mid to large enterprises with a complex IT infrastructure, a refresh can be costly and require careful planning in order to get the largest return on investment over time. The authors of this paper researched literature to describe the business processes used when planning IT infrastructure refreshes. Our research found that most companies keep their refresh processes private and very little academic research is available on this topic.This paper uses the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) decision-making model to help companies plan their IT infrastructure refresh. The model is intended to have the flexibility for any IT organization regardless of its size or strategic alignment. The model uses pairwise comparison in order to tailor the criteria to the specific IT organization. When implemented, the model will recommend one of seven possible strategies to refresh IT infrastructure.\nLiterature review: There are two important aspects to this paper - the AHP model and applying it to an IT infrastructure refresh. In researching these two areas, we found plenty of literature on decision-making models, specifically AHP, but very little academic research has been conducted on the processes used by businesses to update their IT hardware. Our literature review will start with an overview of AHP and conclude with the research found on refreshing IT infrastructures.Saaty and Kearns describe the AHP as a decision-making framework for dealing with problems with multiple criteria to be considered (Saaty and Kearns, 1985).The AHP model consists of four stages (Roper-Lowe and Sharp, 1990):* The first stage, building the decision hierarchy, is the most important stage as it sets the framework for the rest of the process. At the highest level is the goal to accomplish. To reach that goal, a number of criteria need to be met; these are represented in the second tier. If necessary, the criteria can be further divided into sub-criteria. At the bottom of the hierarchy are the possible alternatives to be considered to meet the goal at the top.* In the second stage, values are assigned to each criterion. This weighting can be done one of two ways - using quantitative engineering requirements or using a qualitative method that can turn preferences into values such as pairwise comparison (Kocaoglu, 1983).* The third stage is scoring each alternative with respect to each criterion. This requires finding people qualified to make judgments, i.e. a finance person could score the alternatives with relation to cost but an engineer would be needed to judge the technical specifications (Roper-Lowe and Sharp, 1990).* The final stage is applying the weights to the alternatives to obtain an overall score and determine the preferred option to reach the goal.In stages two and three above, a technique called pairwise comparison is used to find the weighting of criteria and alternatives. There are several models that can be used to do the comparisons but typically an expert panel is used. The expert panel method is commonly used when there are intangible criteria to be considered in the decision (Roper-Lowe and Sharp, 1990). One of the disadvantages of using the weights derived from pairwise comparison is that it assumes a linear relationship between the value and the user preferences. Gerdsri and Kocaoglu (2007) suggest using desirability curves that present a higher resolution of the user's preferences could solve this problem. However, creating the curves requires a detailed dataset for each criterion and in the interest of time linear weights were used in this model.Interactions between criteria and sub-criteria can change depending on the application of the AHP. In some situations, it makes sense to weigh all criteria against each other but in others, direct comparisons would not make sense. In order to accommodate this, AHP models have the flexibility to handle both situations. Gerdsri and Kocaoglu (2007) show in Figure 1 the application of a three-level decision model where criteria are selected such that they are independent of each other and have no interaction with another group. This simplification makes the model very practical to use as judgment quantification experts are not asked to compare two sub-criteria that belong to different groups and difficult to evaluate.AHP is a very effective and robust tool as evidenced by its widespread use (Chen and Kocaoglu, 2008). The following list is provided as a sample of AHP applications:* Sevkli et al. (2008) - supplier selection.* Hafeez and Essmail (2007) - evaluating core competences.* Bhagwat and Sharma (2007) - performance measurement.* Al-Subhi and Al-Harbi (2001) - project management.* Karami (2006) - adoption of irrigation methods.* Leung et al. (1998) - evaluating fisheries management.* Wong and Li (2008) - intelligent building systems.In researching the strategies companies use to refresh their IT infrastructure, specifically server systems, there are not many academic studies available. A common theme in the articles was a need for better planning in regards to IT. Management finds it difficult to devote resources to improving infrastructure because it is hard to correlate to business needs and often considered immeasurable (Duncan, 1995). Weill (1992) presented studies that show a correlation between an increase in business performance and investment in IT infrastructure; meaning that investment in IT could be a critical factor in competing with other companies.However, spending resources on new IT infrastructure to keep a competitive advantage without a plan could lead to high costs in the future. Brill (2007) found that less than 20 percent of 100 data center operators surveyed felt that their infrastructure planning procedures were above average. In his report, Brill found that the infrastructure costs of power, cooling, and space will exceed the initial cost of the IT hardware in a three-year period. This means that any new IT deployments that only look at the cost of hardware could be completely inaccurate. One of the solutions Brill (2007) suggests is virtualizing older, inefficient hardware onto a single more powerful server, thereby reducing the power requirements.Our research showed that the AHP is a useful tool when making decisions with tangible and intangible criteria to consider. In order to keep the intangible and tangible factors separate from each other, we will create a four-level decision hierarchy with independent criteria and use pairwise comparison to obtain the weighting of our criteria.We have also shown that implementing an efficient and flexible IT infrastructure can be a strategic advantage over competitors but there are many factors to consider in order to get the best return on investment.\nMethodology: This section explains the research stages used in this paper. The first step was to develop the hierarchy. A set of industry experts was used for this. Then, in parallel stages, the model was applied to two cases.Expert panel\nModel development: As discussed previously, the decision hierarchy contains four levels, the goal, criteria, sub-criteria, and the seven alternative strategies. Starting at the top is the goal to \"choose a server refresh strategy\". All pairwise comparisons of the criteria and alternatives are done with respect to this goal.The second level of the hierarchy is the criteria. Each of the criteria in this level requires a weight that calculates into scoring the alternatives. The values of these weights are found through pairwise comparisons of each criterion by an expert panel in the company considering a server refresh. The four criteria identified in this model are: reliability availability serviceability (RAS), performance, total cost of ownership (TCO), and roadmap.The third level in the hierarchy contains the sub-criteria for each criterion. The sub-criteria under each criterion are independent from sub-criteria under another criterion, i.e. the sub-criteria under performance cannot be compared to the sub-criteria under roadmap. The total contribution of any factor for any alternative is calculated by the product of the criterion weight and the sub-criterion weight. For example, if the pairwise comparison at the criteria level for RAS indicates a 20 percent weight and the pairwise comparison for serviceability indicates a 30 percent weight, the final weight for serviceability will be 2030 percent=6 percent. Descriptions of the sub-criteria can be found in Appendix 1. The complete model is shown in Figure 2.The final layer of the model is the actions which include the possible strategic alternatives. In order to derive the preference scores for each alternativem several assumptions were made. In a real-world application of this model, the actual specifications can be found through research such as benchmarks or retail pricing. The following are the assumptions made in this paper in order to test the model: virtualization has not yet been implemented;* current servers have one year left of service life, while any new servers will have a three-year service life;* new servers are twice as energy efficient as old servers;* new servers have four times the processing power and memory as old servers;* no previous software or hardware upgrades have been performed on the existing servers; and* the new servers will only take up half the rack space as the old servers.Based on the assumptions above, the following seven strategic alternatives were identified:1. Full replacement. Replace all existing servers with new hardware.2. Partial replacement. Replace about 50 percent of the existing servers.3. Hardware upgrades. Replace and/or add additional components in the existing servers. Assumption is any addition will only increase performance by 20 percent.4. New addition. Addition of 10 percent more servers to the existing infrastructure.5. Software upgrade. Installation of operating systems and/or applications that lead to a more efficient computing environment.6. Virtualization. Consolidate several servers onto one server using virtual machines. This model assumes a consolidation ratio of five old servers to one new server.7. Delay refresh. Do nothing because the value added of the other alternatives does not outweigh the upfront cost factor.Each of the alternatives has a score from zero to one for each of the sub-criteria. For example, the \"delaying the refresh\" alternative could have a very high preference score for \"upfront cost\" since initial cost is zero, but will have lower preference scores for \"performance\" since newer servers will outperform the current hardware. In order to score each alternative, they are compared to the sub-criteria. If the alternative is the best option for a given sub-criterion, it is given a score of one. The other six alternatives are weighed against the best to derive a value that is some percentage from zero to one. Tangible sub-criteria can be found through specification research. Expert opinion can be used when insufficient data are available to support specification comparisons.After all the pairwise comparisons for the criteria are calculated and the preferences for the alternatives have been identified, a score can be calculated for each alternative by multiplying the alternative score by each sub-criteria weight and summing the products. The alternative with the highest sum is an indication which strategy is most in line with the company preferences.\nApplying the model: small vs large businesses: We conducted two case studies to verify our model - one large IT environment and one small IT environment. Two case studies were done to compare and contrast the differences and determine if the model could work in different situations.A panel of six IT professionals (Appendix 2) evaluated the seven alternatives based on the descriptions and assumptions discussed above. The resulting scores are shown in Table I.The pairwise comparison survey was given to two sets of IT professionals - small IT deployments and large IT deployments. The roles in the large IT environment organization included server support personnel, a data center manager and other key IT decision makers. In the small IT environments, the interviewees were the server administrator and his manager. The survey can be seen in Appendix 1. The surveys were distributed either in person or via e-mail and the results were compiled in Appendix 3.The large IT environment serves multiple groups of people all over the world performing different workloads. As customer demands change over time and servers become dated the servers are considered for refresh. Supportability, manageability, compatibility, and scalability are important factors to this organization. Cost is also a very important and careful consideration is used when factoring upfront and reoccurring costs.The small IT environment considers a single server administrator and his manager maintaining three servers for a group of 20-30 people. Like the large IT environment, the group is spread out around the world so the server needs to be accessible at all times. The factors that are important are the performance and availability of the systems.The results of the surveys were applied to the scores of the seven alternatives. The results are shown in Table II.\nDiscussion and conclusions: This paper presented a decision-making framework using the AHP model that could be used by businesses of different sizes. AHP was chosen because it is flexible enough to handle the changing requirements over time and easily implemented through electronic surveys and consulting experts within the companies. There are many examples of the AHP used for decision-making especially in multi-criteria situations (Vaidya and Kumar, 2006). The model's output is a ranking by preference of possible server refresh strategies. When analyzing the results, it is important to remember that this is not a final decision, only a structured way of looking at the decision (Roper-Lowe and Sharp, 1990).Two cases were applied to this model, in order to test the validity of the model. Surveys were sent to two businesses, one with small and one with large server environments. We expected to see different strategy preferences between the small and large businesses but the results showed that both environments ranked the alternatives in the same order, with minor differences in scores.There are a few possible reasons why the results were so close. In the interest of time, an expert panel made up of the authors was used to make assumptions in order to generate scores for the alternatives. It is possible, the assumptions for the alternatives were not truly representative of the costs or benefits of each alternative. It could also be that the number of surveys was too few to get a significant difference in results. Alternatively, both groups may have coincidentally had similar organizational objectives or goals and testing the model with different companies might yield different results. We recommend that future implementations of the model use actual values for the refresh strategies in order to get a true representation of the preferences.Even though the results did not match our expectations, the model itself worked well. The survey was simple for users to complete and feedback on the decision hierarchy said that we covered the required criteria for this type of decision. The model presented is expected to be used by decision makers every time a decision for a server group needs to be made. If the goals of the company change, some of the criteria might be scored differently. One advantage for working through the model is that is documents the preferences at the time and can be reviewed is a particular decision is questioned in the future.The growing need for efficient IT infrastructure means companies need plans in place for refreshing that infrastructure. This paper provides a framework for a decision hierarchy that can rank possible server refresh alternatives. We recommend as the next step for this model is to test the validity in a real-world scenario and verify that the top ranking preference is truly feasible by the company. Another test of validity is to apply the model to a refresh that is already complete and compare the results with the actions taken by the company. The final stage of testing would be to implement this model in companies across multiple industries to test the flexibility of the model.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to research literature to describe the business processes used when planning IT infrastructure refreshes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper uses analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and pairwise comparisons to model and quantify the decision process for IT infrastructure refreshes.\nFindings: - The research found that most companies keep their refresh processes private and very little academic research is available on this topic. While supportability, manageability, compatibility, cost, and scalability are important factors to large organizations, performance and availability of the systems are important for smaller organizations.\nOriginality/value: - AHP was not ever used to evaluate the refresh planning. The paper demonstrates that it would be a very useful tool.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
For love or money: human resource management in the performing arts	[ "HRM and creative industry and performing arts", "Industrial relations and creative industries and performing arts" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: According to UNESCO (2015), globally cultural and creative industries in 2013 provided $2.25bn revenue, 3 per cent of world GDP and 29.5m jobs. Research into the creative industries has grown rapidly over the past two decades particularly in relation to their contribution to innovation and economic growth (Cunningham and Higgs, 2010; Throsby and Zednik, 2010; Florida, 2003). The challenges of managing creative employees are discussed or alluded to in some of these studies and others capture the employee experience of work in this sector (Dean, 2007; Hennekam and Bennett, 2017; Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2011; Hotho and Champion, 2011; Hodgson and Briand, 2013). However, there is little research focussing on the practice of human resource management (HRM) in organisations in the creative industries, particularly in the performing arts (Haunschild, 2003; Richardson et al., 2017).\nEmployment in the performing arts in Australia: The performing arts in Australia is a fragmented sector, capturing a wide range of enterprises, from micro artistic companies to large-scale cultural organisations, operating in both commercial and non-profit areas. The sector includes artists, technical experts and managerial and administrative staff (Cunningham and Higgs, 2010; Throsby and Hollister, 2003) and is dominated by small-to-medium-sized organisations (SMEs) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013)[1]. There is clearly a crossover between the performing arts and the more commercial creative sectors with many performers and technicians working across theatre, film and television (Freudenberg, 2011). The majority of \"creative industry businesses\" in Australia are micro businesses or sole traders (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013), which has implications for work and employment patterns (Cunningham and Higgs, 2010). Furthermore, all arts enterprises whether micro or large scale operate in an environment influenced by economic cycles and government policies (Bakhshi and Throsby, 2009).\nHRM challenges in the performing arts: The HRM literature argues that linking HRM strategy to organisational strategy can result in improved organisational effectiveness as employees are engaged and committed to the organisation's goals through a range of high-performance work practices (Combs et al., 2006; Boxall and Macky, 2007; Jackson et al., 2014). These practices include recruiting the right people, rewarding them appropriately, managing their performance, providing training and development and career development opportunities as well as engaging them in decision making through participatory processes (Boxall and Macky, 2007; Jackson et al., 2014). However, industry context can impact on successful HRM outcomes (Datta et al., 2005; Jackson et al., 2014) and in the performing arts sector in Australia there are a number of key HRM challenges. The first challenge is related to organisational size. The majority of HRM studies focus on large companies with SMEs receiving far less attention (Messersmith and Wales, 2013; Massey and Campbell, 2013). In large organisations, key HR activities such as recruitment, selection, development, rewarding and motivating employees are often supported by a HR department, or at least a HR specialist. In contrast, small organisations lack sophisticated and formalised HR practices, and rarely have HR professionals or experts (Bacon and Hoque, 2005; Wapshott and Mallett, 2015).\nMethodology: This is a qualitative study designed to capture the experience and perspectives from key actors who were seen as stakeholders in the performing arts in Victoria. The purpose was to explore their views on the impact of industry context on HRM practice to gain insight into the main challenges in the sector. These stakeholders were drawn from government, employers and the major trade union in the industry. Eventually eight key stakeholders were interviewed. These included one official specialising in industrial relations from LPA and one official from the Media and Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). These interviewees represent views on HRM in the sector from the \"advisory network\" (LPA) and the \"coercive network\" (MEAA) (Bacon and Hoque, 2005, p. 1990). Two government officials from the State government were also interviewed, one with responsibility for working with performing arts companies in relation to funding and resources, and the other with responsibility for government arts policy development. At the organisational level, the interviewees included two chief executive officers - one from a small arts company and the other from a large arts company; one HR director from a large arts company; and one manager from a small-to-medium-size company (see Table III). According to Saunders and Townsend (2016), a range of 15-60 interviews is norm for organisation and workplace qualitative research. However, although this study only interviewed eight actors, these interviewees represented the spectrum of government, employers and employees. Their stakeholder status meant that they had considerable knowledge, experience and involvement in the development, implementation and management of people in the performing arts sector. Because key informants inhabit both professional and social roles in their communities and industries, they can provide information about a particular firm, their employees, culture and about the overall industry environment (McKenna and Main, 2013). Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide an information-rich inquiry and after eight interviews we reached saturation point with the same points repeated from different perspectives. Interviews took place in 2011. Moreover, this study also used relevant secondary data to support textual data from interviews.\nKey themes: Precarious employment\nDiscussion and conclusions: Overall, the HRM challenges identified in the literature were reflected in this study. In particular, the precarious nature of employment in the performing arts industry due to casualisation and project-based employment; poor wages and conditions leading to short-term and long-term financial insecurity; and the domination of the industry by SMEs (Haunschild, 2003; Dean, 2007; Cunningham and Higgs, 2010; Hennekam and Bennett, 2017). Another key theme was poor human resource development strategies across the sector (Hennekam and Bennett, 2017). We identify four key findings that can impact on HRM practices in the performing arts sector. The first is that these themes are clearly linked and relate to a very strong industry effect. For example, a reliance on short-term government funding and the project-based nature of the work lead not only to employment insecurity but also to financial insecurity, because the downtime between jobs lowers an individual's annual salary (Cunningham, 2006; Cunningham and Higgs, 2010; Throsby and Zednik, 2011). Also, moving from job to job in different companies undermines the ability to build up satisfactory retirement or other workplace benefits and multiple job holding can lead to extremely high workloads for substantial periods (Zika-Viktorsson et al., 2006). Furthermore, while low wages and poor conditions do not necessarily prevail across the industry, for example, in film and television wages are higher and conditions better, unfortunately, for performers and many technical staff, the work in these companies is likely to be short-term and project-based employment (Throsby and Zednik, 2011).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on the perceptions of key stakeholders of the human resource management (HRM) practices and challenges in performing arts organisations in Victoria, Australia. Challenges include the precarious nature of employment in the industry; poor wages and conditions leading to financial insecurity and the domination of the industry by small- and medium-sized organisations. The passion and commitment of the performing arts workforce are both a strength and a weakness in that they \"buy in\" to the expectations of long hours and unpaid work. These challenges impact on managers and administrators as well as performers and raise many challenges for the HRM function and places constraints on even basic HRM practices. Despite the claims of the stakeholders that the large companies have sophisticated HRM practices the early evidence suggests otherwise. Furthermore, many of these problems cannot be solved at the organisational level and need an industry and government response.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative research approach is used to guide this study as it allows contextual evaluation of the data. Eight key stakeholders interviewed for this study included one official specialising in industrial relations from Live Performance Australia, one official from the Media and Entertainment and Arts Alliance, two government officials from the State government, one with responsibility for working with Performing Arts companies in relation to funding and resources, and the other with responsibility for government arts policy development; two chief executive officers - one from a small arts company and the other from a large arts company; one HR director from a large arts company; and one manager from a small-to-medium-size company. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide an information-rich inquiry.\nFindings: The study suggests that there are considerable barriers to the effective adoption and implementation of HRM in the performing arts. In particular, the research identified four major features that impact on HRM practices in the arts sector. These are: first, the precarious nature of employment, due to the short-term and project focussed work. Second, the reliance on often limited government funding, supplemented by philanthropy, sponsorship and box office takings, leading to short-term and long-term financial insecurity and limited capacity for long-term planning. Third, limited resources and high levels of casualisation which leads to low income, poor working conditions, lack of training and few opportunities for career development. Fourth, despite these difficult conditions, the sector appears to attract a highly motivated and committed workforce including not just performers but also managers and administrators and the sector appears to rely on their passion, commitment and shared endeavour.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study has limitations. For example, it focussed at the macro level of key stakeholders rather than at the organisational level which is the usual unit of analysis for HRM studies. The stakeholders made many claims about HRM practices that need to be explored in further research at the organisational level. Also, apart from the trade union interviewee, the employee voice is missing. Again, further research into both performing arts practitioners and managers and administrators would be valuable future research.\nPractical implications: This study raises a number of implications for practice. The first is that government policy makers need to focus on the sustainability of their funding models and take account of the myriad of evidence that now exists in regard to the detrimental impact of precarious employment in the increasingly valuable performing arts sector. A policy approach that highlights longevity and development of the sector rather than an emphasis on encouraging competition between small companies for financial survival has much to offer. The second is in relation to industry players who rather than blaming governments could take some control through supporting the growth of networks that could provide training and development and career development opportunities for organisations and individuals (Hennekam and Bennett, 2017).\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the understanding of HRM systems and practices in the performing arts.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Is timeshare good for firm value and profitability? Evidence from segment reporting	[ "Lodging", "Firm value", "Timeshare", "Segment reporting", "Accounting profitability", "SFAS No. 131" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Timeshare, nowadays known as vacation ownership, represents one of the major and most rapidly growing segments in the hospitality industry (Gregory and Weinland, 2016; Redditt et al., 2017). Given the growth in the industry, some studies have attempted to better explain this concept, as well as its constant growth (Barreda et al., 2016). However, only Nabawanuka and Lee (2009) analyzed the impacts of its operations on firm value and accounting performance in publicly traded US hotels. As a result, an important research gap was found at three levels.\nLiterature review: Background on the timeshare industry\nMethodology: Data collection\nResults: Descriptive analysis\nDiscussion and conclusions: Main conclusion\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to take advantage of segment reporting to provide empirical evidence on the impacts of increasing the share of revenue generated from the timeshare segment in companies' portfolios for firm value and profitability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper examines data from five publicity traded hospitality companies that have a timeshare component and carries out different regression analysis using 69 observations ranging from 1998 to 2016.\nFindings: The findings support the idea of an inverted U-shaped relationship between the degree of timeshare business (DOT) and firm value and profitability. However, for positive values of DOT, an increase of DOT consistently has a negative impact on firm value and accounting profitability.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study adds to previous findings through the addition of new variables and contemporary accounting practices. Though sufficient for the analyses conducted, the limited number of observations raises generalizability issues. Further research with larger data sets is advised.\nPractical implications: This study implies that timeshare may continue to grow, but not as a segment in the lodging sector; rather as an industry mainly composed of timeshare-dedicated companies. As firms consider diversification or consolidation, this study may inform decisions related to potential firm value.\nOriginality/value: This study provides evidence to support previous literature related to spin-off activity in the lodging sector. Perhaps more importantly, this study adds value to research on firm value and profitability by extending traditional models and by developing a new \"degree of business\" variable using segment reporting.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Kindles, card catalogs, and the future of libraries: a collaborative digital humanities project	[ "Future of libraries", "Digital humanities", "Topic modeling", "Close reading", "Distant reading", "Interdisciplinary collaboration" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Librarianship is a profession that often inspires commentary both from practitioners within the profession and the public who use libraries. For librarians keeping up with the field, the literature is often engaged with predicting the effects of culture, policy or technology on libraries, sometimes with a great deal of hyperbole. For this article, two librarians and a digital humanities researcher formed a research team to determine if the digital humanities technique of distant reading through topic modeling would reveal interesting patterns in a corpus of library-themed literature engaged in predicting the future and/or demise of libraries. There were two motivations behind this project. First, we wanted to determine if there were any trends in this body of literature on the future of the library. Questions considered included the following: Were there any trends of pessimism or optimism over the years? Who is engaged in publishing about this topic? Were there any cyclical moments in the way commentary about libraries engages with technology? Second, we prototyped a collaboration at our institution where librarians worked with digital humanities researchers as full partners on a digital humanities research project. Multiple colleges at the University of Utah have recently joined together to create an interdisciplinary space, the Digital Matters Lab, in the J. Willard Marriott Library, and this project also served as a model for cross-disciplinary collaboration in an emerging area of scholarship. We believe that direct experience with digital scholarship workflows and outcomes can better position all of the collaborators to facilitate further work in this area at our University.\nLiterature review: In December 2017, a 24/7 Wall Street article named libraries and archives as one of the \"25 Dying Industries\" in the USA with job attrition over the past ten years second only to the video tape- and disk-rental industry, the implication being that a future career in libraries was roughly as promising as a career at your local Blockbuster (Stebbins and Sauter, 2017). The response from the library community was swift and incredulous. American Library Association President Jim Neal tweeted that the data in the article, which claimed an 80 per cent decrease in employment from 2006-2015, were \"grossly inaccurate, indeed laughable\" (Neal, 2017). Inside Higher Ed identified the source of the data inaccuracies and brought it to the attention of 24/7 Wall Street, who has since published a retraction (McKenzie, 2018). That 24/7 Wall Street did not question the remarkable nature of the data at first glance speaks to the persistent fantasy that books and libraries are being replaced by Google and free, ubiquitous digital content.\nWhat is topic modeling?: To read this corpus of articles forecasting and lamenting the future of libraries, we used the digital humanities technique of topic modeling. Explaining what topic modeling is has become something of a genre in itself with many accessible and comprehensive explanations written by prominent digital humanists.\nCorpus and metadata gathering methods: To build the corpus, a variety of sources were used, including Google, general academic and news databases, as well as databases such as LISA and Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. The authors deliberately sought out commentary on the future or death of libraries, even if the future predicted was death, from a broad variety of sources. Blog posts, newspaper articles and opinion pieces and scholarly articles were all considered to be in scope for the topic modeling project, as we were interested in tracking both academic and broad public conversations. Search methods in databases ranged from simply searching for articles on future and librar* to variations of the idea of death and/or doom combined with libraries, with variant keywords like decline, threat or crisis to get a variety of commentary. Articles selected for the corpus needed to be concerned with the future or death of libraries in general, so news articles about one particular library's closure because of funding cuts, for example, were not included in the final set of articles analyzed for this project. Large-scale strategic exercises, like MIT's Future of Libraries report, or exercises in prediction from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) using a library as a case study, were included. Ultimately, over 150 documents on the future or death of the library were selected and added to a collaborative box folder as plain text (.txt) files. Topic modeling was used to generate lists of the top five articles for each topic, and the researchers then engaged in close reading for those top articles to learn more about the topics.\nTopic modeling methods: To examine this corpus, we ran several instances of LDA-style topic modeling in R and decided to focus our analysis on a 15-topic run of the model. We were satisfied that at 15 topics, the topics themselves appeared both meaningful and discrete. In the following analysis, we will present the topics in two ways. First, we visualize the list of words associated with topics in word clouds with the weight of each word's association with the topic corresponding to the size of the word. This provides a way to quickly demonstrate how evenly distributed a topic is among its top words - how much a topic is driven by particular word co-occurrence. Second, we have included some timelines of the average yearly \"presence\" of a topic in our corpus since 1980. In topic modeling, each document is conceptualized as consisting of each topic in different proportions (or alternatively probabilities), so that in a document-topic matrix, each document would have different percentages under each topic that all sum to 1 (100 per cent of the document is divided up among different topics). To generate the timeline of a topic's average presence, we simply summed the percentage of that topic in each document in each year then divided it by the number of documents in that year[3]. In our discussion, we analyze some of the most interesting trends uncovered, but we have also included Appendix 2 with the timelines for all of the 15 topics. However, it is important to remember when interpreting our timeline figures that our corpus is not even (Figure 1).\nTopic modeling results: Despite the challenges of corpus unevenness, the topics produced by our model gave us meaningful results. We were encouraged to see some results that we expected and some results that granted us new insight into this body of literature. While part of the promise of topic modeling, as a method, is to spark new insights about a body of work, another part of how researchers know a model is working is that it produces results that make sense given their own expertise in a subject. Our model did both, producing topics that could be roughly sorted into three broad, expected, library categories: collections, services and technology. Below, we will \"read\" several of the topics that belong to these three categories. In analyzing the topics, we will examine the corpus on different scales, drawing upon the two forms of visualization that present information from multiple documents at once and our own reading of individual documents that our model indicated \"contained\" the highest proportion of each topic.\nCollections: Topics dealing with the idea of collections approached both digital and physical collections, as well as the shifting nature of work inherent in the field of cataloging, where practitioners describe library collections of all kinds (Figure 2).\nServices: Three topics in the corpus seemed to be concerned primarily with academic library services. Broadly, two of these topics were engaged in trend forecasting and responses, while one topic dealt more critically with social justice and representation in the profession (Figure 5).\nTechnology: There were three topics that dealt with the future of the library in light of new technologies (Figure 6).\nProcess reflections: The process of developing a text corpus was illuminating for the librarians who had not engaged in a topic modeling project before. Even though we budgeted several weeks for the process of finding articles and recording article metadata, we ran into issues with quality control when working on article citations in a shared spreadsheet. Often, when consulting with non-library faculty about digital projects, we emphasize the importance of consistent metadata, so it was humbling to confront our own metadata inconsistencies and deal with clean-up as we noticed issues with our own project. Consistency in file naming and sharing was important, as we were building the corpus. The varying periods for the articles we were adding to the corpus also created problems with OCR and pdfs, as we were converting all articles in the corpus to text files. At times, we were able to add articles to the corpus easily when they had text fully embedded in the PDFs, but articles that were scanned as image only required another round of OCR before adding them to the corpus for topic modeling. This required an additional workflow for text conversion.\nAssessment of topic modeling as a digital humanities technique: After reading a few too many Future or Death of the Library articles in recent years, we were ready to take a step back from individual articles and engage the text corpus with a fresh approach. After running several topic models and exploring one run in detail, we conclude that topic modeling is a powerful tool for exploring a large, unstructured corpus of documents. Its division of the documents into topics could be useful for directing researchers directly to only those documents that interest them. For example, if a scholar was interested in social justice and libraries, the \"social, future, American, white, justice, diversity\" topic can help her/him pinpoint where to read more deeply by focusing on the top five documents associated with this topic.\nConclusion: As a collaborative exercise between a digital humanities researcher and two librarians, this project provided an effective way for librarians to learn more about doing digital humanities. The librarians will be more effective collaborators with digital humanists in the future as a result of this experience. As librarians who support digital scholarship projects, the two librarians involved in this project feel better positioned to advise on corpus creation, metadata gathering and topic modeling workflows. The digital humanities researcher was able to explore topic modeling more critically as a technique by applying it to a corpus that was previously unfamiliar. Topic modeling can be useful as a method for reviewing a body of literature, alongside or in place of other traditional methods of analysis such as a traditional lit review or annotated bibliography. While we might have naturally arrived at the clusters of topics if we had read all the articles in the corpus, seeing a list of words associated with each topic along with the top articles for each topic allowed us to be more directed and efficient in our close reading.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to determine if the digital humanities technique of topic modeling would reveal interesting patterns in a corpus of library-themed literature focused on the future of libraries and pioneer a collaboration model in librarian-led digital humanities projects. By developing the project, librarians learned how to better support digital humanities by actually doing digital humanities, as well as gaining insight on the variety of approaches taken by researchers and commenters to the idea of the future of libraries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The researchers collected a corpus of over 150 texts (articles, blog posts, book chapters, websites, etc.) that all addressed the future of the library. They ran several instances of latent Dirichlet allocation style topic modeling on the corpus using the programming language R. Once they produced a run in which the topics were cohesive and discrete, they produced word-clouds of the words associated with each topic, visualized topics through time and examined in detail the top five documents associated with each topic.\nFindings: The research project provided an effective way for librarians to gain practical experience in digital humanities and develop a greater understanding of collaborative workflows in digital humanities. By examining a corpus of library-themed literature, the researchers gained new insight into how the profession grapples with the idea of the future and an appreciation for topic modeling as a form of literature review.\nOriginality/value: Topic modeling a future-themed corpus of library literature is a unique research project and provides a way to support collaboration between library faculty and researchers from outside the library.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Inconsistency in intertemporal choice: a behavioral approach	[ "Preferences", "Discount function", "Impatience", "Intertemporal choice", "Time inconsistency" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The process of intertemporal choice involves deciding between several alternatives whose monetary amounts or utilities take place at different moments in time. Decisions about savings, nutrition, exercise, and health are intertemporal choices. In economy, the study of intertemporal choice began in 1937 when Samuelson proposed his well-known Discounted Utility (DU) Model. The paradigm of the DU Model is exponential discounting which exhibits a constant instantaneous discount rate. This is based on the assumption that the behavior of people with respect to the choice does not change with the passage of time.\n2. Impatience in intertemporal choice: The DU (Samuelson, 1937) is the classical model used in problems involving intertemporal choices, in which the present utility of a series of installments (hereinafter, called \"stream\" by using Rohde's terminology) is the sum of the discounted individual values over a given time horizon. It assumed that people discount future amounts with an exponential function, but Strotz (1956) demonstrated that they often display preference reversal (this concept will be seen in Section 3) as time passes, and so the exponential discount function fails to explain this fact. The necessity of modeling this change in individual time preference has made hyperbolic discounting an important tool in behavioral economics. Moreover, several types of hyperbolic discount functions have been introduced, such as quasi-hyperbolic discounting, proportional hyperbolic discounting and generalized hyperbolic discounting. In effect, most articles on behavioral neuroeconomics have used the simple hyperbolic discount function (Frederick et al., 2002). However, Loewenstein and Prelec (1992) proposed the generalized hyperbolic discount function:\n3. Variation of impatience: inconsistency in intertemporal choice: Based on the first study of inconsistency in intertemporal choice by Strotz (1956), many economists have defined the change of preference as a disagreement between the current subject and the same subject in the future. As an example, Kirby and Herrnstein (1995) offered subjects a choice between a small but earlier reward and a larger but later reward. After showing a preference for the small earlier reward when offered immediately, they then delayed both outcomes maintaining the temporal interval between them. Subjects typically switched to the larger later outcomes, even for very small amounts of added delay. This reversal in preferences or the fact that individuals show impulsivity and self-control at the same time is known as time inconsistency.\n4. Conclusions: This paper starts from the classical model of DU proposed by Samuelson (1937). Despite the fact that this model has been used in intertemporal choice, several recent studies have contributed empirical evidence which contradicts its principles, giving rise to the so-called anomalies in intertemporal choice. One of them is inconsistency, because people often display preference reversal as time passes. Thus, numerous alternative models have been studied over the years, such as hyperbolic discounting.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the main measures of inconsistency in the context of intertemporal choice and to identify the relationships between them (more specifically, the measures by Prelec, Takahashi and Rohde). In effect, Thaler (1981), awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics 2017, argued that when a preference must be expressed between two reward options, some people may reverse their original preference when a significant delay is introduced before the reward is to be received. This anomaly is known as inconsistency in intertemporal choice.\nDesign/methodology/approach: After a revision of the existing literature and by using the methods from mathematical calculus, the authors have derived the logical relationships between the measures presented in this paper.\nFindings: The main contribution of this paper is the proposal of a novel parameter, the so-defined ratio of two instantaneous discount rates, which the authors call the instantaneous variation rate, which allows relating some other measures of inconsistency, namely the measures described by Prelec and Rohde. A limitation of this paper is the unavailability of empirical information about the inconsistency measures needed to substantiate the theoretical findings. Indeed, this paper has social implications because recent behavioral and neuroeconomic studies have shown the existence of preference reversal or time inconsistency in other areas. The authors' models can be implemented in these fields in order to better analyze the situations of inconsistency.\nOriginality/value: The originality of this paper lies in the authors' aim to bring some order to the proposed measures of inconsistency which have arisen as a result of the different approaches adopted.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Inequalities in school climate in California	[ "Organizational culture", "Public schools", "Urban areas", "Teachers", "Social justice" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Since no general consensus on how to theorize and define school climate exists (Anderson, 1982), we define school climate broadly as encompassing both the physical and social aspects of the learning and teaching environment. More specifically, this can entail school culture, social milieu, organizational structure, and physical conditions, as well as the values and beliefs held by and the relationships among its teachers, students, and other staff (Fisher et al., 2006; Freiberg, 1998, 1999). Observable measures of school climate include discipline strategies and school leadership (Van Houtte, 2005). School culture adds how all of the different school stakeholders, including students, teachers, administrators, families, and community members, interact with each other (Cohen et al., 2009). School climate researchers have focussed on identifying the non-cognitive and environmental barriers to teaching and learning that may exist at schools, and identifying the resources, strategies, structures, and practices that can be put in place to mitigate or eliminate these barriers by fostering the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual support that enables all students to achieve in school (Cohen et al., 2009; Patton et al., 2006; Zullig et al., 2010).\nMethods: Data sources and sample\nResults: From 2005-2007, 81,709 staff in 4,437 California schools completed the survey. Of those staff respondents, 45 percent were from 2,938 elementary schools, 23 percent from 835 middle schools, and 32 percent from 664 high schools. A majority (79 percent) of the respondents were teachers and 21 percent school administrators, counselors, librarians, security, and other staff. The average response rate was 57.6 percent in elementary schools, 53.4 percent in middle schools, and 50.1 percent in high schools (Table I). More detailed information about response rates and missing data is available in Table AIII.\nDiscussion: Using a statewide sample of schools with diverse students, staff and schools, we examine variations in staff perceptions of four dimensions of school climate across elementary, middle, and high schools by school-level SES, racial/ethnic composition, urban/rural area, school type and academic performance. Others have found that successful academic and behavioral development is associated with each of the four dimensions identified in our factor analysis: norms and standards (Angrist et al., 2012), positive student-staff relationships (Roorda et al., 2011), facilitating student learning through health promotion and related activities (Clayton et al., 2010), and student and staff safety (Milam et al., 2010). In general, more negative staff perceptions of school climate were associated with schools that were urban, poorer, majority Hispanic, majority black, and lower performing, as has been observed elsewhere. Our findings also support prior research that elementary schools tend to have a more positive school climate than middle and high schools, with high schools having the worst perceived environments (Cohen et al., 2009; Hanson et al., 2003). We acknowledge that not all teachers within the same school will necessarily share the same perception of the school climate; for example, others have found that teacher perceptions of school climate vary by teacher age (Mitchell et al., 2010). However, we were interested in the overall perceived school climate for each school.\nImplications for research and practice: Implications for research\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: School climate, or the physical and social conditions of the learning environment, has implications for academic achievement. The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors examine how school climate varies by school-level characteristics in California using administrative data and the California School Climate Survey.\nFindings: Teachers/staff at secondary schools, schools in large cities, schools that serve low-income populations, Hispanic- and black-majority schools, and/or low-performing schools reported less positive school climates, including staff/student relationships, norms and standards, student facilitative behaviors, and perceived safety, than their counterparts, paralleling other education inequity trends.\nOriginality/value: The authors encourage educators and school leaders to use data-driven and evidence-based strategies to overcome systematic inequities in positive school climate in order to create social contexts that nurture students' academic progress and teacher retention particularly in historically under-resourced schools.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Circular economy and real estate: the legal (im)possibilities of operational lease	[ "Real estate", "Circular business models", "Circular economy", "Operational lease", "Property law", "Service providing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, circular economy (CE), although in essence, given its constituent concepts not a new idea, gained worldwide popularity as the new sustainability paradigm. The popularity of the idea of a transition from the current linear economic model of \"take-make-use-dispose\", to a CE based on continuously cycling loops of materials, might be explained by the accent on the economic rationale behind CE thinking. As the basic elements of this thinking are price increases on raw materials, combined with Stahels' (1982, 2006, 2016) concept of service providing, together assumed to ensure materials' multi-cycling behaviour (Mohammadi et al., 2015).\n2. Research methods: The implementation of the ideas of CE in the building industry entails a series of challenges. This paper will elaborate upon the challenges posed by a very specific part of property law: the ownership of products and materials used in buildings related to the concept of operational lease.\n3. Circular economy and the building industry: 3.1 The need for sustainability\n4. Traditional ownership model of real estate from a legal perspective: Although the legal aspects of CE are hardly described in literature (Backes, 2017), these are closely connected to the financial aspects of a CE model for the construction industry. Project financing, for instance, has traditionally been collateralised by the real estate object itself, whilst the value of such an object can only be accurately estimated if all of its functional components remain part of it. To provide an example: the facade, when removed from the building, will lose its functional value, whilst a building without a facade is incomplete and can no longer be valuated as a finished and fully functional property object. This section will elaborate on this, discussing the concept of ownership, and four relevant principles in property law.\n5. How to retain the ownership of a constituent part of a building? The Dutch practise: According to Book 5, Article 1 of the Dutch Civil Code, the owner of a thing is the owner of all its components (fixtures), as far as the law does not provide otherwise. The latter means that the law can allow for exceptions on this rule. To gain insight into the extent to which real estate law allows opportunities for CE initiatives as described above, it is important to study the motives for the rule of accessio.\n6. Alternative approaches: As we have described, a CE business model based on operational lease for fixtures and immovables meets some serious obstacles on the point of Dutch property law. In this section, we elaborate on two alternative approaches, based on existing legal concepts that might offer perspective to reach the goals.\n7. Conclusions: One of the CE paradigms is the concept that suppliers retain the ownership of products or materials, and provide the use under operational lease. For non-fixtures and movables, several functioning examples do exist. In this paper we explored the challenges posed by Dutch property law concerning CE, real estate and operational lease. It was found that, from a legal point of view, the options that are available with operational lease to retain ownership of constituent building parts leave uncertainties. Therefore, they do not offer a solid basis for the development of circular business models in the building industry. This is especially true considering fixtures of buildings. The alternative interpretation of \"economic ownership\" in Dutch law does not seem to provide a basis for the split-ownership of a building's constituent parts.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: A paradigm in circular economy (CE) is that suppliers retain ownership of their products and materials, and that the users \"only\" pay for services. In many legal systems, however, elements incorporated in a building are considered to be fixtures, and therefore legally part of the building. This means that ensuring multi-cyclic behaviour of individual building elements (e.g. the facade or a window) is not so evident. This paper explores, from the perspective of Dutch law, how to secure the ownership of the supplier or to find alternatives within the existing system of property law.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors performed a literature review of both CE and (Dutch) property law. The results of these reviews are discussed and illustrated by legal case studies.\nFindings: The options principally advocated within CE to retain ownership of building parts leave legal uncertainties and do not offer a solid basis for the development of circular business models, especially considering immovables and fixtures. For these categories, buy-back and take-back contracts, and models for reuse and recycling seem more promising.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research is limited to a literature review. Although the legal principles discussed in this paper are valid for both civil and common law systems, and similar findings might, therefore, be expected internationally, this study focused on the specific Dutch legal context. Comparative legal research and research of best practices in the building industry is needed to test the applicability of the findings in an international context.\nPractical implications: Following the findings, CE initiatives within real estate and the construction industry should focus on alternative implementations of the operational lease concept, taking into account CE's ambitions to reduce the extraction of raw materials.\nOriginality/value: At the moment the challenges that property law poses CE, real estate and operational lease are hardly discussed within the literature. This paper explores this gap.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An empirical approach to consumer buying behavior in Indian automobile sector	[ "Advertisement effectiveness", "Automobile industry in India", "Consumer buying behaviour", "Corporate training", "Delphi technique" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Today's business scenario is highly competitive, dynamic and technology driven. Competition has forced organizations to change themselves dramatically to deliver finest to their customers and to meet continuously rising customer demands. The technological advancements, speedy globalization and easily available market information to customers have further complicated the situation (Bovet and Sheffi, 1998). In such an aggressive business circumstances; advertising signifies an imperative mean through which organizations communicate with their existing and prospective customers worldwide (Bendixen, 1993) and automobile industry in India is no exception.\n2. Core concepts: 2.1. Advertisement effectiveness\n3. Research objective: This paper aims to study the influence of advertisement effectiveness on consumer buying behavior for automobile companies of central India. The following research hypothesis is formulated for the present study:\n4. Research methodology: The present research study was carried out in two stages. Qualitative research was conducted in the first stage that formed a base for second stage which focussed on quantitative research approach (Valmohammadi and Beladpas, 2014). Interviews with subject experts were conducted followed by implementation of Delphi technique which helped in in-depth understanding of advertisement effectiveness and consumer buying behavior. Execution of Delphi rounds resulted in the identification of 13 advertisement effectiveness dimensions specific to automobile sector as illustrated in Table I.\n5. Analysis and results: Multiple regression analysis was performed to judge the association between the independent variable, namely, dimensions of advertisement effectiveness and the dependent variable, i.e. consumer buying behavior as illustrated in Table II. It is evident from the results that advertisement effectiveness positively affects buying behavior of customers in automobile sector. The results are significant at p=0.000.\n6. Discussion and implications: The results of the study imply that if due consideration is given to recognized 13 advertisement effectiveness dimensions, customer's attitude can be shaped favorably which ultimately helps in increasing sales volume and gaining more profits for automobile companies. The research study has several significant implications for advertising agencies, advertisement practitioners, automobile companies and practicing managers in Indian market, as discussed below:\n7. Concluding remarks: The present research work attempted to study the relationship between advertisement effectiveness and consumer buying behavior of automobile customers for central India. Even though the study was carried out at selected showrooms of major automobile companies operating in central India; the research outcomes and suggestions may be generalized to the automobile players across the country as the products and services offered by other companies are highly standardized. Research results suggest that advertisement effectiveness and its specific dimensions for automobile sector which strengthen it positively influence a customer's buying behavior. The acceptance of research hypothesis confirms that advertising agencies and practicing managers must be focussed while planning an advertisement campaign and should pick up the relevant advertisement effectiveness dimensions strategically during the design and development stage of a product-specific advertisement. A strategic implementation of research outcomes of present study will constructively influence consumer's buying behavior which will lead to greater profitability and sustainability of automobile business in long run.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In today's highly competitive business scenario, advertising symbolizes one of the key marketing activities. The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between advertisement effectiveness and consumer buying behavior for major automobile companies of central India.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A judicious mix of qualitative (focus group and Delphi technique) and quantitative (structured questionnaire survey) research methods was used for the present study.\nFindings: Study found that for automobile sector, effective advertisements have a positive impact on consumer buying behavior. It suggests that customer's attitude can be shaped favorably through effective advertising. Automobile companies must arrange special training sessions and learning programs for their sales force to ensure supportive customer purchasing behavior.\nResearch limitations/implications: The scope of the present study is limited to major automobile companies of central India only. Although, the findings can be interpreted and generalized in a global business scenario.\nOriginality/value: The research work is first of its kind that attempts to study the impact of effective advertising on consumer buying behavior in Indian automobile context. The findings and recommendations can be used for strategic planning of training sessions and workshops for different stakeholders in automobile industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Brand trust and image: effects on customer satisfaction	[ "Brand", "Healthcare services", "Customer (patient) satisfaction" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Increasing and pervasive technological advancement, particularly in the healthcare sector, makes marketing and brand development essential. Healthcare advancements and economic development are closely linked, and achieving one in the absence the other is not possible (Ramani and Dileep, 2006). Numerous high-quality services and brand variety, and increased customer awareness about service selection, stimulate service providers to either create powerful brands or increase their customer satisfaction. Branding plays a key role in a firm's services, increasing customer trust (Berry, 2000), enabling customers to better visualize service products (Kim et al., 2008), acting to differentiate among competitive products (Motameni and Shahrokhi, 1998) and delivering value to customers. These influencing factors contribute to value-making (Bamert and Wehrli, 2005). Healthcare services are among the most important personalized provisions that consumers experience (Kemp et al., 2014). In response to this growing challenge, managers in pre-eminent healthcare centers, including the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics, Johns Hopkins, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Massachusetts General Hospitals enhanced their efforts to reinforce their brands (Thomaselli, 2010). A brand acts as a promise to consumers, implying that staff provide the healthcare required (Kemp et al., 2014).\nLiterature review: Brand trust\nMethodology: We used a mixed, deductive-inductive method for specifying factors extracted from Iranian researchers and experts. Previous healthcare services and patient satisfaction studies were analyzed. Three factors: brand trust, brand image and customer satisfaction confirmed by many researchers were specified. Content analysis is used in many studies and is considered a useful research instrument (Kassarian, 1977; Kolbe and Burnett, 1991; Okazaki and Rivas, 2002).\nStudy population: The population included 310 experts - defined as individuals meeting one of the following criteria: being an instructor, assistant professor, associate professor or a professor in a field related to business or hospital management; having at least one published article on marketing management or hospital management; being a manager or at least being involved in healthcare fields; and being involved in research centers associated with hospital development and patients' expectations.\nResults: Three brand trust constructs, brand image and customer satisfaction were examined. Findings indicated that brand image and customer satisfaction were significant and had a direct effect on healthcare service use. Brand trust was not significant and had no effect. Brand image had the greatest impact; therefore, it is the most crucial factor (Table I).\nDiscussion, conclusion and recommendations: We aimed to investigate brand trust and brand image effect on customer satisfaction after using healthcare services. Significant medical developments and improvements reflect distinguishing differences among healthcare centers. Experts mentioned that patients were eager to receive the best and fastest healthcare services. Patients tend to spend money and time, and travel long distances to receive treatments. To receive the best treatment, they tend to gather information on hospitals and medical centers. Receiving proper services is important for patients and is directly associated with their lives, which explains why not all healthcare centers or hospitals are favored by patients. Patient choice is influenced by several medical services and hospital treatment processes, staff, physical setting and layout. Patient sensitivity while choosing the most appropriate medical centers has imposed heavy duties and commitments on hospital/medical center staff to offer the best and fastest services. Therefore, managers must protect, develop and improve their brands to secure their survival, ensure patient satisfaction and to enhance their services.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate brand trust and brand image effects on healthcare service users. Nowadays, managers and health activists are showing increased tendency to marketing and branding to attract and satisfy customers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The current study's design is based on a conceptual model examining brand trust and brand image effects on customer satisfaction. Data obtained from 240 questionnaires (310 respondents) were analyzed using path analysis.\nFindings: Results revealed that the most effective items bearing the highest influence on customer satisfaction and on benefiting from healthcare services include brand image, staff sincerity to its patients, interactions with physicians and rapport.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study needs to be conducted in different hospitals and with different patients, which would lead to the model's expansion and its influence on the patient satisfaction.\nOriginality/value: Being the first study that simultaneously addresses brand trust and brand image effects on customer satisfaction, this research provides in-depth insights into healthcare marketing. Moreover, identifying significant components associated with healthcare branding helps managers and healthcare activists to create and protect their brands and, consequently, leading to an increased profitability resulting from the enhanced consumer satisfaction. Additionally, it would probably facilitate purchasing processes during the service selection.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding open innovation in small and medium-sized museums and exhibition halls: An analysis model	[ "Absorptive capacity", "Public", "Museums", "Open innovation", "Exhibition halls", "Reduced size" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The museum sector has undergone major changes, leading to a competitive environment where rivalry is increasing (Camarero et al., 2011). Innovation management plays a strategic role as these institutions aim for a position of sustained competitive advantage. Although there are great museums of international reference that may be considered innovative organizations (MOMA, Louvre, British Museum, Museo del Prado, among others) (Camarero et al., 2015; Capriotti, 2010), museums and exhibition halls, as cultural institutions, have usually been considered non-innovative for many different reasons.\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 Open innovation approach\n3. Method: Following Vicente et al. (2012), the study considered the case of publicly owned small (those having fewer than 5 employees) and medium-sized museums and exhibition halls (6 to 20 employees). We performed a thematic analysis from focus group and in depth-interviews data because we are positioned in the interpretative paradigm (Andreu Abela, 2002; Braun and Clarke, 2006). Accordingly, we managed qualitative data that were qualitatively analyzed too. Thematic analysis fits extremely well with our research aim because it lets researchers identify, organize, analyze and propose patterns of the relationship between themes - the open innovation dimensions and their constituent factors (Braun and Clarke, 2006; DeSantis and Ugarriza, 2000).\n4. Results: The complementarity between a focus group and in-depth interviews techniques leads us to present the main results in an integrative manner, according to the structure of dimensions that shape the open innovation model for museums and exhibition halls. Participants' comments from the focus group are codified by \"FGi,\" whereas the ones from in-depth interviews by \"Ij.\"\n5. Conclusions, implications and limitations: 5.1 Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The hostile environments in which museums operate force them to be innovative. Most of them have fewer resources and are publicly owned. Because these factors may hinder their innovative potential, this paper aims to propose an open innovation model adapted to this type of organization to improve visitors' experience.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative method based on a thematic analysis is carried out. Data sources are: (i) focus group with stakeholders from the destination and (ii) in-depth interviews with museums experts.\nFindings: This new framework is important because it brings something new to a field that previous research had barely considered. The study of the implementation of open innovation in publicly owned small and medium-sized museums brings to light the growing importance of the relational, organizational, technological and experiential dimensions, their interactions and their main constituent factors.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study is limited to a specific type of institution, and results should not be extrapolated to other contexts. The construct of open innovation is highly complex, and that advises future research to include other players. Quantitative methods and longitudinal techniques will contribute to tackling new challenges in future research works.\nPractical implications: Results are helpful for museum managers and policymakers. Stakeholders improve their comprehension of how an open innovation model works because the paper offers a few guidelines for its active designing. A solid networking based on trust and the emphasis on improving the visitor experience determine making-decision processes.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides a systemic innovation management model for museums, where there is almost no previous research. It is theoretically supported in the open innovation paradigm, as well as the absorptive capacity framework. The emerging and central role of the experiential dimension constitutes another notable contribution to literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
National strategy for supporting school principal's instructional leadership: A Scandinavian approach	[ "Distributed leadership", "Instructional leadership", "Inter-organizational learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In Scandinavian countries, significant responsibilities and authority have been delegated from the state to municipalities in recent decades - that is, to the Scandinavian school district level to strengthen the instructional leadership capacity of school principals (Moos et al., 2016). A number of empirical studies and evaluations in Norway and Sweden have shown variability in the degree to which the municipalities have succeeded in their endeavors to support their principals in leading the instructional effectiveness of their schools (Aas and Tornsen, 2016; Aasen et al., 2012). Variability in the municipal school districts' capacity to support their principals in the instructional leadership chain has, in consequence, motivated the national educational authorities to invest in a series of initiatives - a portfolio of state-funded development projects - set up to support municipalities in their role as system leaders in relationship to their principals. One of these national projects, the subject of the current study is a longitudinal benchmarking-based arrangement to promote instructional leadership capabilities among the participating principals who are school leaders in Norway and Sweden. The project - labeled \"Benchlearning\" - is based on a strictly designed learning infrastructure, where the principals take part in observation-based learning activities supplemented by group-learning processes in the benchmarking teams. The activities and learning infrastructure are intended to inspire changes in the principals' leadership practices to encourage the development of innovative school environments (Aas and Blom, 2017; Aas and Roald, 2016), where participating principals seek to transfer knowledge from the project setting to their real-life leadership context in the schools. Explicitly, the objectives of the Benchlearning project are to promote innovative learning at two levels in the participating schools: at the leadership level, in terms of strengthened capacity for instructional leadership, paired with changes at the organizational or teacher level manifest in stronger professional learning practices.\nLiterature review: In this section, we present a review of the literature that informs the study of how a national leadership program can support the instructional leadership of school principals and the implications for municipal leadership. We draw on literature about how inter-organizational learning can be understood as a process of knowledge transfer across boundaries. We also present different modes of collaborative learning in a school leadership development and the factors that enable external learning, focusing on the critical role of autonomy for project-based learning. Finally, we present a review of distributed leadership that seems to be a precondition for the collective learning process in the Benchlearning program.\nBenchlearning - a bilateral collaborative learning program: The Benchlearning program is a bilateral collaborative learning program for principals in Norway and Sweden. The program, which since 2015 has been offered to about 210 principals in the two countries, is a collaborative project between the Swedish and the Norwegian National Agencies of Education. Four process leaders, two from Sweden and two from Norway, have been running the program. All of the process leaders are running national principal programs in the two countries. The aim of the program is to empower the participants to develop leadership practices and school environments that are more innovative, inspired by the two OECD reports \"Innovative Learning Environments (ILE)\" (OECD, 2013a) and \"Leadership for 21st Century Learning\" (OECD, 2013b). For the third and fourth groups, leadership and information and communication technologies (ICTs) were given particular attention. The design of the program includes theoretical inputs, sharing experiences, school visits, and training in new leadership practices (Aas and Blom, 2017).\nMethodology: We draw on data from two studies of participants who completed the program in June 2015, June 2016 and June 2017, respectively. The data are based on individual reflection documents from students on their learning and new leadership practices 4 months, 16 months and 28 months after the end of the program. To qualify for participation in follow-up meetings in November 2016 and November 2017, school leaders who completed Benchlearning in 2015-2017 were required to provide a paper addressing the following questions formulated by the Norwegian and Swedish Directorates of Education:\nFindings: In the presentation of the results, we start with the participants' descriptions of changes in instructional leadership, followed by the participants' descriptions of the program's contribution to the transformation of leadership and school practices.\nDiscussion: To sum up, the program has contributed to increase the participants': inspiration and motivation for change, confidence in the leadership role, professional input and reflection, reflection-based and systematic approaches to change and new leadership practices, including a more closely targeted approach to the teachers (Aas et al., 2019). In particular, the study suggests that the principals' active participation in experimenting with new leadership practices in their own schools has stimulated transformation and change and enhanced instructional leadership. In the discussion, we will focus on following topics: shifting from individual to organizational learning and change, implications for theory development, and further research and implications for school district support.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: A number of empirical studies and evaluations in Norway and Sweden shows variabilities in the degree to which the municipalities succeed in their endeavors to support school principals' instructional leadership practices. In response to this situation, the Norwegian and Swedish directorates of education have developed a joint collaborative design for practice learning of instructional leadership. Based on findings from two separate studies, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to theory development and improved practice for school district administrators and their subordinated school leaders.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study draws on the data from participants who completed the program in June 2015, June 2016 and June 2017, respectively. The data are based on individual reflection documents from students on their learning and new leadership practices 4 months, 16 months and 28 months after the end of the program.\nFindings: The project subjected to this study, labeled \"Benchlearning,\" involved learning from experiences of others, observational learning, dialogic group learning and in the final round translating what is learnt into the social and cultural context in which the individual school principal's school is situated. When participating school principals experience observation-based learning together with trusted colleagues, followed by vicarious learning from these experiences in their schools, the authors see some facilitating factors to be of particular importance: learning infrastructure, digital tools, compulsory tasks associated with preparation and subsequent experiments with their teachers. Emerging from the analysis was a systematic balancing act of autonomy and structure running through the various learning activities. Finally, a strong evidence was found that developing core competence in digital learning and formative assessment among teaching staff required enhanced distributed leadership across the whole school organization. By sharing leadership tasks on instructional issues with teachers and other non-leaders, principals succeeded in leveling up instructional leadership significantly.\nResearch limitations/implications: The implications of the study can be summed up in the following four principles. First, policy makers should take into accounts the fact that principals' motivation and willingness to initiate change processes can be created in a synergy between structured school visits and engagement in learning groups based on a sound theoretical foundation. Second, within a socially contracted practice in a well-designed learning group, it is possible to raise principals' level of self-efficacy. Third, a systematic reflection process on authentic practice is an example of how principals can develop their metacognitive capacity and how knowledge can be transformed into new practice. Finally, educators should be trained to be process leaders in order to create a balance between demand and support in promoting principals' learning of new instructional leadership practices.\nPractical implications: School district administrators should take into accounts the fact that changing practices will be supported by sense-making processes involving discussions about how new instructional practices are justified. Specifically, shifts in talk and actions will also involve shifts in the ways people relate to each other and how they relate to their internal context. Further, leadership programs should include trying out new practices as the focal learning mode, accompanied by individual and collective reflective activities.\nOriginality/value: The findings of the study underscore the mutual interdependence of distributed leadership and student-centered focus accompanied with the school's learning capacity as enabling conditions for principals' practice learning in the field of instructional leadership.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Building analytic skills to drive improvements in patient care and organisational decision making: An information analysts' development programme	[ "Training", "Efficiency", "Informatics", "Professional performance", "Professional education and development", "Information analysts" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The Information Analysts Development Programme intends to enable healthcare Analysts to make a greater, more informed contribution to healthcare improvement. We wanted to evaluate whether this aim had been achieved and used the pre-course and post-course assessments of participants to establish whether Analysts had improved their skills and confidence.\nBackground: Historically, NHS Information Analysts have not had a defined training programme to develop professional skills and promote high quality analysis. Given that allocation of healthcare resource depends upon such analyses, this is a serious omission with potentially widespread repercussions. Moreover, the role of Analysts is evolving as new technologies improve access to data and Managers and Clinicians require more subtle and complex information to inform their decision making. This requires a transition from extracting data to presenting a clear data narrative. The changing nature of what is being demanded from NHS Information Analysts creates the requirement to invest in their development if we are to help them embrace these new roles.\nMethod: Each Analyst on the programme was asked to complete a pre-course assessment rating their knowledge, confidence and use of 40 topics covered in the programme. This was repeated when they finished the course. For the first two cohorts, we had 18 completed pre- and post-assessments.\nResults: We have demonstrated an improvement across the entire range of skills provided by the course: analysis of the first two cohorts has shown statistically significant improvements in 38 of the topics (p\nDiscussion - the role of high quality information analysis in the NHS: The indirect financial benefits of improved analysis leading to better decisions are hard to quantify. Improvements in data skills can help organisations improve performance and achievement of service delivery targets, reduce redundancy in work and improve job satisfaction, as well as identifying and measuring improvements in patient safety and quality of care. Analysts will be involved in numerous projects and the impact of better quality decisions will offer significant benefits not captured by a standard return on investment calculation. Information allows professionals to understand the needs of their patients and how their services work (Department of Health, 2012), and Analysts who are able to present complex data in a way that professionals and Managers can access are invaluable to the NHS.\nConclusion: The opportunities to harness the untapped power of healthcare information is just beginning to drive the evolution of healthcare, and this will be limited without excellent analytical skills becoming routinely available to all healthcare organisations. Delivering an \"information-led culture\" (Department of Health, 2012, p. 5) and enabling the \"better use of information [...] [that] will drive more effective and efficient services\" (p. 9) will be challenging if the NHS does not invest in its existing Information Analysts and attract highly skilled and motivated new Analysts into the profession. Without a planned development programme, our information professionals will be less able to help managers and clinicians, and the organisations in which they work, to make the challenging decisions that are needed to deliver the high quality care patients require. The status quo is not a viable option.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper briefly outlines a development programme designed to improve the skills of NHS Information Analysts and assesses the extent these skills have been developed. There are significant opportunities for the NHS to utilise information more effectively, and Analysts have a key role. However, training opportunities prior to the development of this programme have been limited for this professional group. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential benefits to the organisations, patients and the NHS as a whole, that improvements in the quality of analysis can deliver.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors compared pre-course and post-course self-assessment of skill levels of Analysts who attended the programme. The authors also considered general feedback and comments from participants.\nFindings: All of the 40 skills areas assessed demonstrated an increase in mean competency score. In cohorts 1 and 2, 38 of these were statistically significant (p\nPractical implications: The programme develops skills for NHS Information Analysts which can improve the quality of analysis in the NHS, offering significant potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare.\nOriginality/value: The Information Analysts' Development Programme provides the only training programme available for NHS Information Analysts, contributing to the development of data driven service improvement within the NHS. This may harness the power contained within data to drive improvement and ensure patients receive the highest quality of care.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Stock price movements and trading behaviors around merger and acquisition announcements: Evidence from the Korean stock market	[ "Mergers and acquisitions", "Korean stock market", "Trading behaviours", "Types of investors" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are a strategic option for companies to grow their value creation capabilities. After the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the Korean Government accelerated the process of market liberalization and allowed foreign companies to acquire domestic companies directly (Lim, 2004). The Korean Government has continued to facilitate M&As by easing relevant regulations and providing additional tax benefits (KPMG, 2014). The number of M&As has subsequently increased. Despite the expansion of M&As, there are only a few studies on the market reactions and investors' trading behaviors around M&A announcements in the Korean equity market. This study bridges the gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between the stock price movements of target firms and trading behaviors of local individual, local institutional and foreign investors in trading target firms' stocks around M&A announcements in the Korean stock market.\n2. Institutional details: In 2014, the Korea Exchange (2015a) (KRX) was ranked as the tenth largest exchange in the world, with a trading value of USD1.34 trillion. The KRX was established in January 2005, through the merger of the Korean Stock Exchange (KSE), the Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) market and the Korean Futures Exchange. After the integration, the Stock Market Division (also known as the Korea Composite Stock Price Index market, KOSPI), the KOSDAQ Market Division and the Derivatives Market Division operate as separate business units of the KRX. The KOSPI market is the main listing venue and trading platform of the KRX. KOSPI-listed companies are typically larger and more profitable than KOSDAQ-listed companies. The average number of KOSPI-listed companies is 740 from 2001 to 2014. The KOSDAQ market is mainly for early-stage companies and small- and medium-sized enterprises.\n3. Related literature and motivation: 3.1 Wealth effects of M&A announcements\n4. Data and descriptive statistics: This study collects information on Korean takeovers from SDC Platinum's M&A database. To be included in the initial sample, target companies must be publicly listed in the KOSPI Stock Market Division. Takeover announcements must also fall within the sample period from January 1, 2002 to June 30, 2014. The sample period matches the availability of trading data obtained from DataGuide provided by FnGuide, which is used for our analysis. Transaction data obtained from the DataGuide provides daily buy volume and sell volume for all stocks listed in the KOSPI Stock Market Division by investor type. This study analyzes the trading behavior of three investor types: local individual investors; local institutional investors; and foreign investors. Information related to stock price, KOSPI market index, shares outstanding and market capitalization are obtained from Thompson Reuters DataStream.\n5. Method: 5.1 Price movements\n6. Empirical results: 6.1 Price movements\n7. Conclusions: This study investigates how price movements of target firms' stocks are associated with behaviors of local individual, local institutional and foreign investors in trading target firms' stocks around M&A announcements in the Korean stock market.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between price movements of target firms' stocks and behaviors of local individual, local institutional and foreign investors in trading target firms' stocks around mergers and acquisitions announcements in Korea.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study uses event study methodology and cross-sectional regressions for abnormal returns.\nFindings: Results reveal that the average abnormal return becomes significantly positive three days prior to the announcement date and becomes insignificant after the announcement date. Results also show that local individual investors tend to sell more intensely prior to announcements for target firms with larger wealth effects. In contrast, foreign investors tend to buy target stocks with larger wealth effects more intensely prior to the announcement date, and then they sell them more intensely in the post-announcement period.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides evidence that foreign investors are able to identify target stocks with large wealth effects prior to the announcement date and they realize short-term profits by selling them following the announcement.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Transfer of learning from executive education programs in developing economies: the key role of motivation	[ "Training", "Leadership development", "Engagement and learning", "Learning", "Organizational learning", "Work based learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Fixed Graphic\nHow does transfer of learning happen?: Transfer of learning requires that there is a suitable learning transfer system in place. Such a system should be able to cater to factors related to the individual learner and components of the training and work environment. Evidence from past research suggests that there are seven sets of variables that play an important role (Holton, 2005):\nMethodology adopted: Focus group interviews and questionnaires were used as the instruments. The questionnaire instrument was developed using Holton's Learning Transfer System Inventory model (Holton et al., 2000). The study adopted an eight-step structured approach that included defining the constructs, determination of response choice, generating sample of items, determining sequence of the questions, determining layout and appearance, expert judgment and advise, pilot study, item analysis and revision to finalize the questionnaire.\nKey role of motivation: Findings from the questionnaire instrument support the importance of learner readiness, motivation, self-efficacy, performance outcome, attitude to share knowledge and openness to change. During the focus group interviews with HR, a number of open-ended questions were asked. The purpose was to identify critical incidents of demonstrated behavior by participants where they were trying to implement new learning in their organization or personal career after the course. These findings suggest that a focus on maintaining and building individual motivation levels will lead to richer learning transfer. Figure 1 provides a conceptual framework to understand the role of motivation and how it acts as a lynch pin.\nConclusion: As companies demand a greater return for their investment in executive education, transfer of learning will come under closer scrutiny. In practical terms, this paper pulls in the seven elements highlighted in the conceptual model that can have a bearing on transfer of learning. Improving pre-program conditions is possible through a well-designed diagnostic study which highlights elements that lead to superior performance at work, as described by organizational members. The diagnostic study can reveal a compelling vision of the organization at its best which of itself can motivate new behavior. This paper recommends that the diagnostics be led by the team responsible for program design.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to empirically investigate transfer of learning and its relationship with the training super-system. Specifically, this paper looks at motivation to transfer as an indicator of a transfer condition. The paper will also provide information on individual factors, work place factors and design factors of training programs that facilitate transfer of learning. This study will also attempt to recommend a procedure for design and delivery of executive education programs that will facilitate transfer of learning by identifying variables that were hitherto not identified.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study is a descriptive and exploratory. Sample for this study has been drawn from learners who participated in executive education programs delivered by Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai. Respondents completed a questionnaire developed on the HRD Evaluation Research and Measurement model, Theory of Planned Behavior and the Learning Transfer System Inventory model. Variables were reduced by EFA. The researcher also met a few HR and L\nFindings: The research findings are consistent with earlier studies like the Holton research (1996), (2001). Discussion also brought out the role of motivation in enhancement of skills, behaviors and knowledge. Many researchers have agreed that individual motivation factors play an important role for knowledge transfer. If the learners are not motivated about the positives arising from the training program, they would lose interest which would affect their self-efficacy and thereby the transfer of learning. The primary role of motivation to transfer comes out distinctly. Additionally, the relationship between motivation to transfer and learner readiness and performance self-efficacy is established.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research was done with the intent of doing a pilot study on the thesis topic that the researcher has chosen for his doctorate program and hence has methodological limitations of a one-time survey questionnaire. The study has a small sample size of 30 and could have a high risk of generalization findings. Additionally, data collection is based on self-responses collected during focused group interview which is based on the \"perception\" of the respondents and therefore limited to self-report data. The respondents are all from executive education of a Chennai-based Institute which means that the same survey done on another set of respondents could probably throw up very different results. Participants had undergone multi-phase leadership development program in small cohort. The results could vary if participants from open-enrollment programs participated. Use of interviews and/or observation of participants could have provided more rich data.\nPractical implications: In practical terms, the foundation result will help L\nSocial implications: Return on investment on learning has always been a contentious issue. Clear understanding of critical success factors in executive education can help focused design, post-training support to ensure better knowledge transfer.\nOriginality/value: The study expands the knowledge base, regarding transfer of learning specific to India, by focusing on executive education programs which are rapidly growing and receiving great attention in the workplace. This paper is an original research initiative of the research scholar done as part of a pilot study on his PhD thesis on transfer of learning.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring informal learning among hospital nurses	[ "Workplace learning", "Peer mentoring", "Informal learning", "Observation", "Nurses", "Organizational culture", "Physical structures", "Oral handover", "Nurse leader role", "Hospitals", "Norway" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Health professionals work in knowledge organizations where human capital is the most important asset of the organization (Jacobsen, 2004). Development of quality and efficiency in treatment and care relies mainly on the ability of staff to use, refine and learn new aspects of knowledge and skills. Learning in hospital settings is both formal and informal. Formal learning has been extensively studied, and there are many reports on the design and outcomes of formal continuing professional development for nurses and physicians (see for example Bjork et al., 2007; Ellis and Nolan, 2005; Lee, 2011; Thomsen O'Brien et al. 2001, 2009). Marsick (2006) suggests that approximately 80 percent of skills at work are learned in informal day-to-day interaction. However, studies that specifically explore informal learning by nurses are scarce.\nMethod: A field study was conducted in Norway with data from a clinical setting collected in 2007-2008. The study triangulated three methods of data collection, participant observation, ad hoc conversations and formal interviews. Triangulation of methods is an attempt to secure an in-depth understanding (Denzin and Lincoln, 2008) and to add breadth, complexity and richness to an inquiry (Silvermann, 2006). The triangulation of methods can ensure that the resulting analysis and findings are more complete (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995) and thereby increase the overall quality of the investigation.\nResults: Arenas for learning\nDiscussion: The results showed that the younger nurses learned by being allowed to increase their responsibility successively and by being guided in complicated nursing situations by the more experienced nurses. This exemplifies the original tenets of increasing participation in a CoP (Lave and Wenger, 1991). It was also a consequence of the leaders strong influence on how the work should be organized (Nonaka et al., 2001; Krishnaveni and Sujatha, 2012) and the shared values that leader and older nurses seemed to have concerning variation in work, care and autonomy (Nonaka et al., 2001). The socialization process of the younger nurses through increasing participation in more advanced tasks seemed evident. The ward did however leave room for individual agency as all nurses were afforded certain possibilities to choose and direct their own work according to personality and wishes (Eraut, 2002; Illeris, 2003). The small size of the ward and the variation in diagnoses and their associated workload supported these possibilities.\nConclusion and practical implications: Informal learning opportunities existed in abundance in the clinical setting and nurses were generally aware of their existence. This study offers examples of informal learning opportunities that can be tailored to different clinical settings. The traditional whiteboard and oral handover provided rich opportunities for learning. Due to the prevailing negative view of oral handover, there might be a danger of \"throwing the baby out with the bath water\" in terms of learning opportunities, if it is abandoned due to supposed inefficiency. Although extensively researched in other workplaces, the important effect of physical structures on learning opportunities have not attracted much attention in nursing, and this should now be an arena for further research. This study again underscores the importance of the leader's role in promoting informal learning through building a culture that facilitates and supports learning for all nurses on the ward. There is a need for intervention studies that support nursing leaders in facilitating informal learning among staff.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the opportunities for informal learning among nurses working on a hospital ward.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A field study was conducted in one hospital ward. Methods used to collect data included participant observation, ad hoc conversations and formal interviews.\nFindings: Eight categories describe the opportunities for informal learning among the nurses. Several factors seemed to mediate the opportunities for informal learning, such as the size and physical structures of the ward, role modeling by the nurse leader, systems and artifacts that triggered and scaffolded learning, and interaction and collaboration among all professionals on the ward.\nResearch limitations/implications: A limitation is that data are collected from only one ward. A strength is the use of several methods to collect data and the range of participants' ages, experience and gender.\nPractical implications: This study offers examples of informal learning opportunities that can be tailored to different clinical settings. Through role-modeling the leader can influence both the norms that become established in a ward and the development of a culture of mutual support and learning.\nOriginality/value: This article adds to the existing research by including observation in the hospital setting of actual practices that involve informal learning.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Disturbing practices: training workers to be lean	[ "Expansive learning", "Workplace training", "Lean Production", "Cultural-historical activity theory", "CHAT" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Production methods that were developed in Japan by the Toyota Motor Company and documented in the English language by Monden (1983) and Womack et al. (1990) came to be known as \"lean production\" (LP) and have influenced manufacturing industries worldwide (Olivella et al., 2008, Stone, 2012). LP is a response to increased competition in the globalised economy, and requires an iterative process of fine-tuning work processes to achieve greater efficiencies and productivity, without compromising product quality. Thus, the introduction of lean methods in a workplace involves learning and change, not just of individual roles and practices, but of the way work is organised and accomplished throughout the organisation. Reviewing literature on LP, and on work practices for LP, respectively, Stone (2012) and Olivella et al. (2008) note that the term \"lean production\" has been used increasingly broadly to refer to methods and practices that go beyond the original meaning attributed to the term. Nevertheless, there is agreement that \"the act of identifying and eliminating waste are the hallmarks of the lean thinking paradigm\" (Stone, 2012, p. 114), and that there are some forms of work organisation that are consistent across workplaces implementing LP, including particular forms of work teams and the role they play (Olivella et al., 2008). The central role of teams suggests the importance of focussing not only on what individual workers learn but also how the workers collectively learn new work practices when LP is being introduced\nDisturbances and their management: In studying learning in the workplace from a CHAT perspective, Engestrom (2001) suggests that the unit of analysis be the activity system, that is, the work practices that produce particular outcomes, such as goods or services. A worker or workers responsible for this production is/are the subject of the activity system, and in a team-based workplace, the subject is part of a workplace community. The object of the subject(s) in the activity system is that which is motivating the activity - for example, productivity and profit for the company, or income for the workers' livelihood. The activity is mediated by the relationship and position, or distribution of labour within the community, the rules or ways of working that have developed within the community, and a range of tools and instruments - both symbolic and artifactual.\nWork practices for implementing lean production: Introducing LP in a workplace is, by definition, about disturbing existing practices and transforming them into practices that exhibit certain characteristics that are aligned with the aims of LP: waste reduction. Olivella et al.'s (2008, p. 799) study of work organisation practices supporting LP uncovered the following common characteristics in organisations that have implemented LP principles in their factories:\nThe workplace research: The data on which this paper is based come from a research project that was developed to investigate production workers' literacy and numeracy practices in three Australian manufacturing workplaces which were implementing LP (Yasukawa et al., 2013; Black et al., 2013 for findings on the literacy and numeracy practices). The current paper focusses on two of these three sites: the two where the researchers were able to observe LP training sessions being conducted. The study involved:\nLearning to be lean: Learning to look lean\nDisturbing or stabilizing practices: managing the potential for expansive learning?: We suggested that by introducing changes to existing work practices, a transition to LP could disturb what equilibrium existed between the activity system motivated towards productivity and that motivated towards \"earning a living\". In Hearing Solutions, where the implementation of LP in the workplace was already clearly visible and embraced, there was little evidence that a focus on improving productivity through new methods such as \"value stream mapping\" was uncovering any contradictions that needed resolution. The LP training that we observed and discussed with the trainer and the team leaders gave the workers new tools to achieve the productivity goals by enabling the measurement of waste. Thus, disturbances such as the introduction of value-stream-mapping would be adding to the stabilisation of the LP, and sharpening the object of the activity. The solidly adopted characteristics of LP work organisations such as standardisation, discipline and control; continuing training and learning; team-based work; and joint planning of work to achieve goals built around common values could explain the apparent ease by which a new LP method was accepted into the repertoire of methods to improve productivity.\nConclusions: The pedagogies of LP in both Hearing Solutions and Insulation Products, explicitly and implicitly discouraged the emergence of any possibility knowledge, and explicitly encouraged the strengthening or establishment of stabilisation knowledge about LP. This is not a criticism of the trainers or their pedagogies; their official \"script\" was to train workers to learn to work as LP workers, not to facilitate questioning of their company's profits arising from the workers' increased productivity and what this could or should mean for them as workers \"earning a living\". But \"actions of questioning, and analysis (that) are aimed at finding and defining problems and contradictions behind them\" are what Engestrom (2001, p. 152) identifies as a necessary part of the learning process for expansive transformation. Such actions are unlikely to occur within a learning space that is defined so strongly not only by the tools and methods of LP but also by its ideology, and where there is no activity system motivated towards \"earning a living\" that has tools, a sense and history of community and solidarity and the discipline to engage collectively in a struggle with this ideology. This may be the kind of space Gutierrez et al. (1995) call the \"third space\" in educational settings. Who could facilitate the creation of such a space for workers? We could speculate that for the activity system of \"earning a living\" to assume greater weight, some organised intervention involving workers as a group is needed to create a space where some tools and sense of worker solidarity could be legitimated and strengthened. In this regard, it may be trade union representatives, organisers and educators who have the best chance of being catalysts for the emergence of a \"third space\" in the workplace.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities for expansive learning during organisational change. It considers the introduction of \"lean production\" as a disturbance to the existing work practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper considers two case studies of \"lean production\" training with production workers in manufacturing firms. Data for the study consisted of semi-structured interviews, observations of workers during work and training. Engestrom's third-generation cultural historical activity theory was used as the key theoretical tool for analysis.\nFindings: The study found that the introduction of and training for \"lean production\" did not lead to expansive learning. The training did not afford spaces to address the fundamental contradictions between the \"earning a living\" and \"productivity\" motives of work.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research on the different kinds of \"spaces\" for learning could lead to greater insights into the affordances of expansive learning in workplaces. In particular, the concept of \"third space\" is useful in such an endeavour.\nPractical implications: Training designed to increase productivity could integrate more discussions about what workers themselves should expect to gain from increased productivity.\nOriginality/value: The paper presents a critical perspective on recent case studies of workplace training at a time when workforce development and \"lean production\" are uncritically promulgated as beneficial. It highlights the opportunities that exist for critical educators to make interventions in the interests of the workers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Changing image of the ideal manager: Why we must challenge gay and lesbian stereotypes	[ "Gender", "Stereotypes", "Discrimination", "Management", "Sexual orientation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: We have all heard and read much about the \"glass ceiling\" - that perceived invisible and ill-defined barrier which discriminates against women, preventing them reaching the most senior positions in an organization. Also well-known in the lexicon of business-speak is the phrase \"think manager, think male\" which aptly describes the same issue of gender-based stereotyping and either conscious or unconscious discrimination.\nViews centered around perceptions of competence and warmth: Despite the fact that heterosexual men are likely to demonstrate more anti-gay attitudes than heterosexual women, both appear to subscribe equally to the idea that gay men and lesbians possess reversed gender characteristics relative to heterosexuals of the same gender. Research also suggests that individuals who are described with gender-atypical traits are more likely to be judged as gay or lesbian than those who are associated with gender-appropriate stereotypes.\nEvaluation for \"best match\" for successful manager prototype: For example, previous research has noted that consistently identifying and promoting LGB individuals to high-level positions may result in a number of positive outcomes, including altering individual perceptions about how \"gay-friendly\" an employer might be and ensuring that LGB issues and perspectives become part of the organization's decision-making processes. Such downstream effects may be less likely to occur if sexual orientation stereotypes differentially align with individuals' preconceived notions of what it takes to be a successful manager, and organizational decision makers remain unaware of this possibility.\nPhenomenon not as straightforward as might be suggested: This study compared heterosexuals' perceptions of stereotypical attributes of heterosexual male and female, gay male and lesbian female managers against heterosexuals' prototype of a successful manager. The findings showed that the profiles of managerial traits and characteristics for heterosexual male and female managers were significantly more similar to the successful manager prototype than the profile for gay male managers. Despite their minority status, the stereotypes of lesbian female managers were seen as having a moderate level of fit with the successful manager prototype, although heterosexual male managers were still rated as stereotypically more similar to successful managers than were lesbian female managers.\nComment: This review is based on \"Think manager, think male? Heterosexuals' stereotypes of gay and lesbian managers\" by Liberman and Golom (2015). The authors investigate the importance of heterosexuals' beliefs about gay and lesbian managers, in an attempt to extend the \"think manager, think male\" research paradigm.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend the \"think manager, think male\" research paradigm by examining managerial stereotypes as a function of both gender and sexual orientation, thus comparing the similarity of managerial stereotypes against the stereotypes of male (heterosexual and gay) and female (heterosexual and lesbian) managers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In total, 163 heterosexual participants used the 92-item \"Descriptive Index\" attribute inventory to rate one of five target groups: successful managers, heterosexual male managers, heterosexual female managers, gay male managers and lesbian female managers. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the degree of correspondence between ratings of the target groups.\nFindings: The findings showed a higher correspondence between the descriptions of heterosexual male or female managers and the successful manager prototype than between the descriptions of gay male managers and the successful manager prototype. Additionally, results showed that the stereotypes of lesbian female managers were seen as having a moderate level of fit with the successful manager prototype.\nOriginality/value: This study it is the first empirical investigation to assess whether the \"think manager, think male\" phenomenon holds for managers who are members of sexual minority groups.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The opportunities and challenges of improving the condition and sustainability of a historic building at an international tourist attraction in the UK	[ "Refurbishment", "Heritage", "Energy efficiency", "Heritage tourism", "Hidcote", "Lawrence Waterbury Johnston" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Heritage tourism has become increasingly popular, and demand for this type of tourism is estimated to increase by 15 per cent annually (Durak et al., 2016). It is described as \"one of the most significant types of tourism\" (Timothy and Boyd, 2006, p. 2). Cultural heritage is often inherently linked with physical spaces (Adger et al., 2012), with historic buildings forming part of heritage tourism (Gholitabar et al., 2018).\nBackground: Improving the energy efficiency of historic assets can contribute to their preservation for future generations, aligned with conservation and sustainability principles, and facilitate their continued use. However, energy and carbon savings in historic properties \"are considered difficult to achieve due to limited retrofitting capability\" (Forster et al., 2011, p. 654). Tensions exist between the preservation of historic properties and thermal comfort. The literature describes balancing thermal comfort with building preservation as one of the greatest challenges for retrofitting heritage properties (Sunikka-Blank and Galvin, 2016). Changes to the building fabric must be carefully considered to avoid irreparably damaging the significance of heritage assets (Godwin, 2011). Therefore, improvements must be done on a case-by-case basis (Goncalves de Almeida, 2014).\nBuilt cultural heritage, conservation and sustainability: Existing research calls for a new definition of sustainable development to incorporate the role of cultural heritage (Pereira Roders and van Oers, 2011), recognising the role such properties have in reducing environmental impact and improving the comfort of users (Pigliautile et al., 2018). The concepts of heritage and sustainability are inextricably linked. Heritage \"buildings are inherently sustainable\" (Todorovic et al., 2015, p. 131). Whilst the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability relating to such structures include reductions in waste and the preservation of the character of a place (Todorovic et al., 2015), there are further aspects of sustainability embedded in built cultural heritage. \"Inheritance\" is a principal concept underlying built cultural heritage, its associated tourism and sustainability (Garrod and Fyall, 2000).\nThe National Trust: Founded in 1885, The National Trust (\"NT\") is a charity that works to preserve national natural and built heritage forever, for present and future generations (Cullen and Hooper, 2004). It forms part of The International National Trusts Organisation, a group of similar organisations aiming to represent international conservation and share best practice.\nMeasuring performance: Increasing knowledge of a heritage asset is important. It can result in discovering new evidence and changes to current understanding about a structure. Increasing knowledge and understanding about an asset's values and evolution\" can facilitate \"informed management\" of changes and sensitive conservation (ICOMOS, 1996, p. 49). It can lead to \"a reappraisal of existing interpretations\" of what is deemed to be significant about a structure (Historic England, 2006, p. 9), inform strategic planning and heritage management, and support the identification of risks associated with future alterations. It can also assist in developing a strategy to support visitors' \"meaning-making\". Indeed, it is the meanings embedded in places that \"reveal who we are, how we have changed, and into what we are changing\", helping us to understand ourselves (Newman, 2016, p. 399).\nMethodology: The paper aims to identify the challenges and opportunities during the improvement of a heritage building at a tourist attraction from the perspective of the building professionals working directly on the project. Therefore, an interpretivist philosophical perspective was adopted for this research, enabling the identification of research participants' perspectives and meanings. Interpretivism acknowledges that reality is socially constructed through individuals' interpretations (Silverman, 2011) and shared meanings (Geels, 2010). Actors are \"creative and continuously engaged in sense-making\" (Geels, 2010, p. 499). Further, this approach enables the context in which the building is situated to be considered (Bullen and Love, 2011).\nData collection: The research comprised of qualitative data, complementary to the interpretivist approach. A case study approach was adopted to investigate the phenomenon \"within its real-world context\" (Yin, 2013, p. 16). As one of the largest charity organisations in the UK with over 5 million members, focusing on the conservation and preservation of national heritage, the NT was selected for this research (NT, 2019). There were three primary reasons for selecting Hidcote Manor Garden's chapel as a case study:\nCase study: Hidcote manor gardens: Situated in the Cotswolds in England, within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Cotswolds Conservation Board, n.d.), Hidcote Manor Gardens (\"Hidcote\") is an Arts and Crafts-inspired garden created by Lawrence Waterbury Johnston (1871-1958), an American who assumed British citizenship in 1900 (Brown, 2004). Whilst the garden is of international significance, there are multiple structures across this site that have a Grade I or II listed designation (Historic England, n.d.).\nFindings and discussion: A successful project should \"transform the building into an asset for the wider property\" (Interviewee SS), but also sustain and enhance the significance of the property (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2018a, b). For this to translate in practice, a clear brief, objectives (Interviewee SS) and specification (Interviewee C1) are necessary to ensure the team can work towards common goals.\nImprovement project: The project comprised of two phases, with Phase 1 enabling Phase 2.\nSpecification of improvements: The original specification was developed for interventions to be reversible, breathable and compatible with the existing fabric whilst causing the least loss of the existing fabric. This is in line with conservation principles, also reducing the loss potential of embodied energy and contributing to environmental sustainability. Table IV provides the key materials provided in this original specification.\nImprovements, challenges and opportunities: Clear objectives and an overarching vision are essential for the delivery of a successful project. This can be provided by a strong leader, capable of drawing together the project team, property staff, and interest groups (Interviewee B). Professionals within the interdisciplinary team should have \"appropriate skills and respect for everyone else's skills\" (Interviewee SS). This supports the findings of Rehman Toor and Ogynlana (2009) and Chua et al. (1999), who highlight the importance of project team competence, and Dvornik Perhavec et al. (2015) who highlight the importance of an interdisciplinary approach.\nConclusion: The paper has sought to investigate the opportunities and challenges of improving the sustainability of a listed building at a cultural heritage tourist attraction from the perspective of building professionals. The chapel improvement project aimed to convert a building being used for storage into a flexible, usable space. This incorporated improving the condition of the building and improving the overall sustainability. Enhancing and revealing the significance of heritage is a key aim of policy and modern conservation philosophy. However, in the context of climate change heritage assets must also adapt to ensure their continued sustainability.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Heritage tourism has become increasingly popular, and improving the sustainability of such sites is essential both nationally and internationally. The purpose of this paper is to explore the opportunities and challenges of improving the condition and sustainability of a chapel at a busy international heritage tourist attraction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A case study approach was adopted. This utilised interviews with four of the primary building professionals involved with the refurbishment project. Documentary analysis and observations were also used.\nFindings: The present case study presents the opportunities and challenges faced by a tourist heritage attraction. Improvements to the condition and sustainability of such assets are essential to ensure their sustained and enhanced use, and the protection of heritage buildings. Such projects create opportunities to increase knowledge and understanding about these assets as well as enhancing opportunities for meaning making for visitors. The paper highlights the importance of a strong leader and a balanced team working towards common objectives. Further, whilst synergies between conservation and sustainability exist, there are also tensions and compromises.\nResearch limitations/implications: This case study highlights the opportunities and challenges of improving the condition and sustainability of built cultural heritage at a tourist attraction. Opportunities included increased knowledge and understanding about the heritage asset; enhancement of values for present and future generations; improved condition, increased usability; and increased sustainability. Challenges were: team turnover; delays resulting from archaeological findings; previous work resulting in building defects; the existing building condition; and unfamiliarity and the uncertainty regarding particular measures.\nPractical implications: The practical implications of this case study include ensuring clear project objectives and a balanced project team are in place. These should be enhanced by a good system of information recording throughout the project to limit the impact of staff absence. Good communication within the team and with external members such as manufacturers will reduce the impact of unfamiliar products and aid in decision making. Future research should explore whether these findings are applicable to other heritage tourist attractions, and whether visitors' narrative encounters with the asset change following a sustainability improvement project.\nOriginality/value: Limited research has been previously performed on improving the sustainability of built cultural heritage at tourist attractions. This research investigates the opportunities and challenges facing building professionals in improving such heritage assets. The improvement of heritage tourist attractions requires careful consideration. Whilst they need to be conserved for future generations, increasing the sustainability of such assets is essential to ensure their continued usability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Six Sigma in healthcare: a systematic review of the literature	[ "Six Sigma", "Benefits", "Systematic review", "Challenges", "Success factors", "Six Sigma tools" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: While there have been discernable improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of care in some settings, patients still experience unacceptable harm and often struggle to have their voices heard; processes are not as efficient as they could be; and costs continue to rise at alarming rates while quality issues remain (Berwick, 2013). Perhaps of most concern, recent public reports into health system failures continue to document a widespread lack of attentiveness to patient concerns, a culture of denial and wide- spread lack of professionalism (Keogh, 2013).\nMethods: Data sources and search strategy\nData synthesis and analysis: We organized study outcomes in tabular form and made a qualitative assessment based on the methodological quality, sample size, intervention characteristics, outcome, statistical significance, and direction of effects observed. With the help of the proposed methodology, we filtered out 68 relevant research papers for in-depth exploratory analysis of Six Sigma application in healthcare services. In exploratory analysis, we process the available data and compile findings using various relevant lenses and their interconnections. The insights of these publications are presented through patterns of publications and emerging themes.\nResults: Patterns of publications\nCharacteristics of included studies: The literature studied in Six Sigma adoption in healthcare services ranged from theoretical-conceptual (TC) literature, to empirical studies (e.g. survey), to case studies. Figure 4 presents the distribution of literature by research method. Accordingly, action research (AR), case study, TC, and survey (S) are at 54, 22, 18, and 6 percent, respectively.\nDiscussion: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review of the use of Six Sigma and its overall impact in healthcare. Our systematic review of the literature found 68 research papers drawn from 31 refereed journals from various established databases. The descriptive analysis reveals that the literature has been following an upward linear trend with a steep rise during 2012-2013, which is quite aligned to the findings of Mason et al. (2015). The continents which are driving this growth are North America (38), Europe (20) and Asia (10). Within these continents, USA (37), UK (5) and India (4) are the leading countries in the number of publications. It is important to note that most of these studies (~49 percent) have been developed to analyze the relevance of Six Sigma application within an entire hospital rather than a particular unit or function.\nConclusions: The findings of the systematic review reveal a growing interest in research on Six Sigma adoption in healthcare. Most of the selected studies belong to or are based on countries such as the USA (37), UK (5) and India (4). The authors found that the literature on Six Sigma applications in healthcare have been focused on the entire hospital with no real focus on a particular department or function. The results of the systematic review suggest that the most common benefits of Six Sigma implementation in healthcare are improvement in patient safety, improvement in process speed (i.e. increased productivity) and revenue enhancement (i.e. bottom-line savings). Among the various challenges analyzed in the use of Six Sigma within healthcare services, it was observed that the availability of data is the most prominent for Six Sigma implementation in the healthcare sector. In term of success factors, we found that knowledge and awareness of Six Sigma methodology and top management involvement/commitment are the most crucial aspects for successful execution of Six Sigma projects.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the systematic role played by Six Sigma methodology in improving the quality of healthcare. The literature review identifies the relevant opportunities for successful introduction and development of Six Sigma approach in healthcare sector.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A systematic methodology to identifying literature on Six Sigma in healthcare is presented. Web of Science, Medline, Emerald Insight, ASQ and ProQuest databases (1998-2016) were searched, and 68 papers of fair methodological quality were identified.\nFindings: The findings of the systematic review reveal a growing interest in research on Six Sigma adoption in healthcare. The findings indicate that Six Sigma applications in healthcare have been focused on the entire hospital with no real focus on a particular department or function. The key findings on benefits, success factors, challenges and common tools of Six Sigma from the existing literature are also presented in the paper.\nResearch limitations/implications: The papers included in the systematic review were peer-reviewed papers available in English. Due to these limitations, relevant papers may have been excluded. Moreover, the authors have excluded all conference and white papers for their inclusion in this study.\nOriginality/value: This paper can serve as a guide on how Six Sigma approach can be applied to improve the quality of healthcare. The authors also believe that this is possibly the most comprehensive systematic literature review on the topic and will set the foundation for various research avenues based on the key findings of this study.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Institutional quality and foreign direct investment inflows: evidence from Asian countries	[ "GMM", "Institutional quality", "Asian countries", "Macroeconomic factors", "FDI inflows" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The foreign direct investment (FDI) is a key driver of economic development and one of the major sources of technology transfer from technology-rich countries into technology-deficient countries[1]. Its multifaceted ripple effects contribute in economic development through creating employment opportunities; raising capital formation; increasing country's productive capacity; improving managerial and management skills; snowballing factor's productivity; and enhancing competitiveness and fostering macroeconomic stability in the host country (Bannaga et al., 2013). Over the past two decades, multinational corporations (MNCs) are investing in developing countries because of favorable business environment. Developing economies, on the contrary, grow slowly owning to multiple factors, such as technological backwardness, scarcity of research and development as well as poor infrastructure and lack of capital accumulation. Similarly, drastically imbalanced exports, as compared to imports, adversely affect growth in many sectors, especially in manufacturing sector. In other words, the FDI inflow in developing economies stands out as a catalyst through contributing toward advanced technology, trained work force, and research and development (Perez, 1998; Cohen, 2007).\n2. Trends of FDI inflows in Asian countries: The past decade has witnessed a rapid growth of the FDI inflows to developing countries, inclusive of Asian countries without exception. The share of Asian countries in the world pertaining to FDI inflows has increased from 18.81 percent in 2002 to 40.21 percent in 2014. In other words, more than two-fold increase to the extent of FDI took place in a short span of 12 years. During the same period, the share of SAARC countries increased from 1.19 to 3.18 percent and the share of Central Asian countries increased from 0.50 to 1.14 percent. Likewise, the share of FDI inflows in the world FDI increased from 2.65 percent in 2002 to 10.49 percent in 2014 in South East Asian countries. These statistics reveal that FDI inflows to Central Asia and SAARC regions have been relatively low as compared to ASEAN region. Figure 1 compares the FDI inflows in different regions of Asia during the period 2002-2014. It is evident from Figure 1 that South East Asian region has shown an exceptional growth in receiving FDI since 2009. SAARC and Central Asian regions, however, have performed poorly in attracting FDI during the same period.\n3. Literature review: The concept of international capital flows can be traced back in the early writings of David Ricardo (1817). The comparative advantage theory by Ricardo (1817) asserts that international transactions are likely to take place in countries that exhibit relatively lower production costs. This theory coincides with the general theory of cost-benefits and financial rate of return in which a rational investor inclines to supply capital to other country if he feels that the rate of return exceeds the cost of his investment. These theories are based on the assumptions of risk neutrality and more concentrated on the marginal productivity of capital. However, when risk neutrality assumption is eliminated, risk becomes an important determinant of the FDI decisions. The portfolio management theory advanced by Tobin (1958) and Markowitz (1959) explains the reasons for FDI inflows to a particular country. Theories on agency cost developed by Jensen and Meckling (1976), transaction cost by Williamson (1975), Demsetz's (1967) modern property rights and Akerlof's (1970) information asymmetry noted that investors tend to undertake business activities in countries that offer solid property rights protection and the business environment conducive to minimizing the transaction costs. Dunning (1993), in his eclectic theory, concludes that FDI flows across countries can be explained by the ownership advantage (O), location factor (L) and internalization of transaction costs (I). However, with the emergence of globalization, competition and internationalization, the location factor and ownership advantages fail to explain why some countries attract more FDI than others.\n4. The model, econometric methodology and data: 4.1 The model\n5. Results and discussion: Many studies, for example, Kobeissi (2005), Caetano and Galego (2009), Mengistu and Adhikary (2011), Pourshahabi et al. (2011) and Subasat and Bellos (2011) have conducted an empirical analysis of the economic and institutional determinants of the FDI inflows for different time periods and regions including Asian region and reported mixed results. The difference of results may be due to the effect of region-specific factors that explain the inflows of FDI or the difference in methodologies used in these studies. The present study employs the GMM method to estimate Equation (2), and Table III reports the results for the SAARC, Central Asian and ASEAN regions.\n6. Conclusion and policy implications: Institutions are considered as fundamental determinants of the FDI inflows with varying degree of impact across countries. Asia is a heterogeneous region and countries in this region have diverse characteristics in many aspects. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of institutional quality, that is, governance and economic freedom, on FDI inflows by controlling the effects of real GDP, domestic investment and labor force among the SAARC, Central Asia and ASEAN regions over the period 2002-2014. The results suggest that real GDP, domestic investment and economic freedom exerts positive and significant effect on FDI inflows, while labor force and governance index influence FDI inflows negatively in the SAARC region. In ASEAN region, we find that real GDP is negatively correlated with FDI, while domestic investment, labor force, governance and economic freedom indices are positively and significantly associated with FDI inflows. The determinants of the FDI inflows in the Central Asian region are somewhat different from that of SAARC and ASEAN regions. Our results establish that real GDP, domestic investment and governance index exerts positive and significant impact on FDI in the Central Asian region, while labor force and economic freedom index are negatively related to FDI inflows in the same region. The economic freedom index, however, remains statistically insignificant.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) by focusing on institutional and economic factors among South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as Central Asian countries over the period 2002-2014.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The generalized method of moments technique is employed for analyzing the impact of institutional quality on FDI inflow by controlling for the effect of market size, domestic investment and labor force.\nFindings: The authors found large variations in terms of the impact of institutional and economic variables in regards to FDI in the SAARC, Central Asian and ASEAN regions. The results reveal that real GDP, domestic investment and economic freedom index have a positive and significant effect on FDI inflows in the SAARC region, while governance index and labor force have a negative impact on FDI inflows. In Central Asia, the real GDP, domestic investment and governance index are positively associated with FDI inflows, whereas the effect of economic freedom index on FDI is negative as well as insignificant. Apart from the GDP, other variables such as labor force, domestic investment, governance and economic freedom indices influence FDI positively in the ASEAN region. It is worth mentioning here that domestic investment produces positive effect on FDI inflows in all the regions. On the whole, the authors may conclude that institutional factors play an important role in attracting FDI inflows in the ASEAN region as compared to Central Asian and SAARC regions.\nOriginality/value: A limited research work is available that could help in identifying the role of institutional and economic factors simultaneously in attracting FDI in the SAARC, Central Asian and ASEAN regions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Creating ventures: decision factors in new venture creation	[ "Opportunity identification", "Entrepreneurship", "Decision-making", "New venture creation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The current focus on globalisation and the rapid development of technology have vastly improved the potential for new venture creation. Small business and new ventures have long been considered economic indicators of a nation's economic health and prosperity (Hatten, 2006; Hoelscher and Elango, 2012). The increasing awareness of global markets and rapid market expansion has served to create a wide and varied range of new potential which allows businesses to expand their scope of operations across international borders (Knight, 2001; European Commission, 2011). The increasing pace of technological development has furthermore significantly improved the potential for new venture creation. Together, globalisation and technology have enabled the positive development of economic conditions, increased benefits and raised employment levels in domestic markets throughout the world (Barba-Sanchez and Atienza-Sahuquillo, 2011).\nBackground to this study: An entrepreneur, in the context of this study, is an individual who typically has limited resources, which he/she attempts to efficiently utilise to exploit a viable business idea through new venture creation (Sobel, 2008). By creating a new venture, the entrepreneur gains access to additional resources, which assist in increasing the point of differentiation and competitiveness of the new venture. Entrepreneurs therefore utilise specific skills and capabilities to help them in making rational decisions and which lead to achieving success through new venture creation (Ozdemir et al., 2014).\nEntrepreneurship and new venture creation: A review of extant literature on new venture creation and, in particular, entrepreneurial decision-making forms the basis of this study. It includes an analysis of previous literature, theories and frameworks that provide information on new ventures and the notable factors that influence the decisions related to start-ups.\nResearch approach: The research approach adopted in this initial pilot study is predominantly a qualitative, inductive research strategy built on a constructivist framework of entrepreneurial decision-making. The strategy is based primarily on the premise that humans are intrinsically motivated to acquire and assimilate information relevant to a particular decision-making process and to give it their own meaning. It is also based on the further premise that the factors taken into consideration when starting a new venture are not only common amongst certain individuals, but are also relatively stable over long periods of time. Although this may be the case, the factors themselves will be subject to individual interpretation and weighted differently in terms of emphasis and impact. The objective set for this study was to explore in greater depth those factors that most influenced entrepreneurs to engage in new venture creation. A secondary objective was to confirm the investigative direction, validity and reliability of the questions used here to a future exploratory study on the cognitive antecedents associated with entrepreneurial decision-making.\nFindings: The qualitative approach used was largely successful in soliciting data from the five founding members of businesses housed in the business incubation/start-up facility. The respondents were in the \"proof of concept\" phase of their start-up having recently established a need/problem in their respective market places. This was considered an appropriate stage at which to conduct semi-structured interviews, as the decision whether to establish a new venture was still being investigated and tested for feasibility.\nDiscussion: The literature above consistently refers to three primary areas of focus in the entrepreneurial decision-making process, namely, the entrepreneur (their individual expertise and capability), the environment (the market needs/problems) and the strategy (the best approach to market entry), when deciding to launch a new venture. Furthermore, entrepreneurial decision-making takes place against a backdrop of uncertainty and risk, so although a potential idea may have been identified, there is a degree of risk associated with creating a solution and uncertainty connected with the best strategic approach to resolve it. This was less so in this study, considering that the sample was drawn from a business incubation unit where there is relative \"safety\" from harsh market conditions and volatility. The planned subsequent study will therefore need to be directed at entrepreneurs in a real operating environment, experiencing prevailing market conditions, and will need to carefully probe the \"entrepreneurial\" (individual) factors associated with decision-making.\nConclusions: The decision to build a new venture by an entrepreneur has been revealed as somewhat complex, requiring a considerable degree of knowledge and skill. The process of identifying, defining and assessing a market-related need or problem through new venture creation is, in itself, a time-consuming and often frustrating exercise. Despite the rapid and significant advances in technology enabling the simplification of complex processes and quick deployment of innovative solutions, considerable reliance is still focused on the cognitive capacity of entrepreneurs to build sustainable new ventures that will cater for dynamic market needs and problems. This pilot study is a precursor to a larger initiative that will probe the cognitive antecedents to market need/problem identification, assessment and exploitation; and will provide a platform for further investigation in this area.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to identify the key factors that influence the decisions of entrepreneurs who are considering the creation of a new venture. The pilot was conducted to explore the cognitive antecedents of entrepreneurial decision-making and whether specific factors contribute to the decision to create a new venture.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study utilised an inductive and interpretive research design within a constructivist paradigm. The sample comprised entrepreneurs situated in a business incubation unit who engaged in a series of semi-structured interviews. The results of this study will be used to refine the questions asked in preparation for a larger sample using in-depth interviews with identified entrepreneurs. The resulting narrative in this pilot was subjected to discourse analysis and is categorised into relevant themes.\nFindings: The findings in this pilot study reveal that factors such as technological advancement, market opportunity, competition, customer demand and prevailing market conditions have a significant influence on the decision-making process involved in creating a new venture.\nResearch limitations/implications: Although the pilot has identified several factors in entrepreneurial decision-making, further work will be needed in the research design to be able to expose the cognitive processes associated with each factor. The aim is to identify the common cognitive characteristics associated with thinking through the decision to create a new venture with a much larger sample of entrepreneurs.\nOriginality/value: The value of this research lies in exploring and developing a better understanding of the antecedent cognitive processes used by entrepreneurs for identifying unique, innovative new ideas and converting them into exploitable products or services through new venture creation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
University students and retirement planning: never too early	[ "Retirement planning", "Theory of planned behaviour", "Financial decisions", "Financial literacy", "Pension fund", "A20", "I20", "G11", "J26" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the past 20 years, pension systems across the OECD countries have undergone important reforms to address the challenges posed by population ageing and, in more recent years, by an economic environment of low growth and low interest rates brought on by the global financial and economic crises (OECD, 2016). Consequently, state pension systems have become less generous, and the choice of private retirement investments has become more prominent (Morrin et al., 2010). In particular, arrangements have been made to determine a more direct and straightforward link between contributions and future benefits. As a result, individuals must now make retirement decisions and bear the risks associated with saving for retirement, which may result in shortfalls in retirement income (OECD, 2016). This situation is in contrast with past pension arrangements in which employers or the state bore these risks.\n2. Hypotheses development: Pension funds are one of the dedicated financial instruments that individuals can choose to save for their retirement period and to reduce the pension gap. Pension funds are institutional investors that assure the income of part of the population for a long period time (Sievanen et al., 2013). Their aim is to ensure the pension of the funds' participants. This scope is ensured by investing money collected among investors in a profitable and secure way (OECD, 2009). Usually, the contributors are employees and the self-employed, and the relationship between the pension fund and its contributors is a relationship of trust. Del Guercio and Tkac (2002) compared mutual funds and pension funds and found major differences among the subscribers of these two apparently similar financial products. In particular, the typical pension fund customer appears to have greater financial experience than the average mutual fund investor. Woods and Urwin (2010) emphasise that pension funds manage contributions to maximise the financial return and to ensure the pay-out of the pension during retirement. However, as they usually do so by delegating the management of the collected funds to a third party (i.e. professional fund managers), an agency problem may arise when these fund managers do not work in the best interest of the original principals, households (Klumpes and McCrae, 1999; Mishra, 2016). According to Klumpes and McCrae (1999), pension trusts are often financially naive and cannot maintain the required control over the performance of such fund managers, who may benefit from the information asymmetry that arises in such circumstances. This is a particularly relevant issue in Italy in the case of contractual pension funds that are specifically established by labour unions and employers' associations.\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Data collection and respondent profile\n4. Robustness check: Considering the unexpected low significance of the level of FL on the intention to plan for the future and to check the robustness of our results, we decided to use an improved measure of FL. In line with Sekita (2011), Lusardi (2011) and Garabato (2016), we constructed a dummy variable that equals 1 if the respondent gives the correct answer to the five questions asked (FL index equal to 5 - FL_corr) and 0 otherwise. This variable distinguishes only between individuals who have the highest FL index and individuals with lower FL without considering the differences among individuals belonging to the second group. The results are reported in Table VII and show that when we consider only individuals who respond correctly to all five FL questions, the variable positively affects the intention to invest in a pension fund, whereas the common FL index does not indicate a significant relationship with the dependent variable, thus confirming the previous results.\n5. Discussion: The findings underline the importance of feelings regarding a savings decision (attitude), social pressure and the perception of one's own abilities as drivers of the decision to invest in a pension fund. In particular, the stronger effect of SN indicates the effect of social environment on an individual's likelihood to invest in a pension fund. Students face perceived social pressures from their friends and family members that lead them to invest in a pension fund when they comprehend the importance of these financial instruments. In line with Ghorbani and Salehi (2014) and Farah (2017), we emphasise that SN are reference points for individuals and contribute to determining their choices and actions.\n6. Conclusions and policy implications: The aim of this study was to investigate the drivers of the decision to invest in the retirement period (i.e. plan for the future) by the younger generation. The issue of pensions has become very important in recent years. Individuals are called upon to think about saving for a pension in addition to the state pension plan because it is a matter of fact that the state pension will not support the same standard of living that retirees had while working. For this reason, it is never too early to save for retirement. Individuals should understand that one priority when they start to work should be retirement planning. Consequently, we felt it important to investigate the younger generation's propensity to invest in a pension fund and to identify the determinants of this choice. In addition, our design strategy enabled us to investigate students' actual behaviour and its determinants.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main predictors of university students' intention to invest in a pension fund: an understanding of how young people perceive retirement planning is relevant for its policy implications.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors apply the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) proposed by Ajzen (1985) which explains how human behaviour is guided, and provides a framework to explore the underlying beliefs that affect one's behaviours.\nFindings: The evidence on a sample of Italian university students highlights that the TPB predictors, pension knowledge, money management and the highest level of financial literacy, positively influence their intention to invest in a pension fund.\nResearch limitations/implications: Although the authors are aware of the limitations of the analysis (limited to a specific country and to a specific financial product), the authors believe that the study has the merit of offering a number of ideas for further research. In fact, there are few contributions in the literature that identify the intention of young people to save for retirement. The study sheds light on this important issue. However, because it is limited to Italian university students, its findings cannot be generalised.\nPractical implications: The study can be used by regulators, financial educators, counsellors and public institutions to increase the propensity of young people to plan for their future and guide them towards attitudes and behaviours most likely to increase their savings for retirement.\nSocial implications: The evidence suggests that regulators, institutions and educators should improve the information that is provided to families first and to the younger generations - at school, for instance - about the functioning of the pension system. The survey's findings emphasise that university students are generally unaware of the many reforms to the system while believing that their state pensions will be sufficient to maintain a retirement standard of living that is the same as the standard of living achieved during their working lives.\nOriginality/value: In the authors' knowledge, there are not studies that focus on the youngs' intention to invest in a pension fund. The authors believe that millennials are the most hitted by the Fornero's reform and understand which predictors affect this intention can allow to drive the decision in investing in these important financial tools.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Intellectual capital in support of farm businesses' strategic management: a case study	[ "Intellectual capital", "Strategy", "Accounting", "Farm business" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The literature has recognized the critical role of knowledge and, thus, intellectual capital (IC) in the enhancement of firms' strategy (Eisenhardt and Santos, 2002; Marr and Roos, 2005; Sveiby, 2001) and competitiveness (Grant, 1996). IC generally includes human, structural and relational capital (Meritum, 2002; Roos, 2005). Examining IC components, human resources contribute to organizational innovation through individual creativity (Amabile, 1988) which is dependent on domain-specific skills, creativity skills, an individual's intrinsic motivation and conditions of social environment (Amabile, 2012). Amabile (1988) stated that domain-relevant skills represent the \"individual 'raw materials' for creative productivity\" (p. 131), and include basic knowledge and technical skills in a given domain (e.g. expertise), while creativity-relevant skills represent a \"cognitive style favorable to taking new perspectives on problems, an application of heuristics for the exploration of new cognitive pathways, and a working style conducive to persistent, energetic pursuit of one's work\" (p. 131) (e.g. flexibility, social skills, risk orientation). Domain-relevant skills can be innate or acquired by formal and informal training in the domain; creativity-relevant skills depend on experience and training (Amabile, 1988). Transformations of IC, by way of the interaction of assets, as in the case of human capital into new products and services (Edvinsson and Sullivan, 1996) are the main source of value creation (Peppard and Rylander, 2001).\n2. IC development and its link with strategy: In order to be competitive, firms need to fully exploit IC resources to enact strategies; this, in turn, requires firms to be able to identify the performance drivers as well as their links and roles for value creation (Marr et al., 2004). New approaches focus on value mapping techniques to identify key assets and their relations that can provide value creation as they drive the pursuit of organizational goals (see e.g. Marr et al., 2004). Indeed, the literature has called for research on how these relationships work (Habersam and Piber, 2003) within a particular setting that has one strategy rather than conflicting ones related to different assets (Mouritsen, 2006) and, more generally, how IC behaves within organizations (Guthrie and Dumay, 2015; Mouritsen, 2006). The contribution of IC to value creation depends largely on transformation choices made by the organization on IC assets and it is contingent on the use of IC within business processes (Cuganesan, 2005). It follows that the goal for each organization's management and reporting system is to describe which combinations of tangible and intangible resources affect value creation (Lev and Daum, 2004; Mouritsen, 2006). Based on the above-cited premise, to what extent do the different assets (and their interconnectedness) of IC contribute to strategy and value creation in a farm business? To answer this question, trends in the current agricultural sector must first be described and discussed, and second, a review of the role of IC in this emerging context must be provided. The next section tries to meet these goals in order to outline the theoretical framework that has been used for the analysis of the case study.\n3. Current uncertainty in the agricultural sector: The agricultural sector has faced a crisis for more than a decade mainly due to: the industrialization of agriculture; the liberalization of food and agricultural production markets and the rise of food empires in the food supply chain (Van der Ploeg, 2010). The industrialization of agriculture has been progressively based on artificial growth to the detriment of nature, locality and sustainability, requiring investment in technology that has high costs on the one hand and a reduction in margins that has to be recovered through scale production gains on the other hand (Van der Ploeg, 2010). This condition has emphasized the dependence of farm businesses on credit institutions and their advancing diversification into non-agricultural activities. In addition, with reference to agricultural sustainability, large-scale production is considerably inefficient in energy and water use (Van der Ploeg, 2010) and their overuse and misuse in agriculture led to environmental degradation and climate change effects (de Janvry, 2010). The liberalization of the markets led to a huge decrease in crop prices due to globalization processes. Finally, food empires, which expanded through credit availability and acquisitions (food industry and food delivery chains), have increasingly exercised downward pressure on prices paid to farmers and upward pressure on the prices consumers have to pay, in order to compensate their contracted debts (Van der Ploeg, 2010).\n4. Competences in support of farm businesses: Based on the literature, this section provides details about competences that are considered relevant to farm businesses to create and support their competitive advantage in the current agricultural operating environment (please see Table I).\n5. The setting and design of the study: The chosen case study was one of the biggest farm businesses in Italy. For privacy reasons, in this paper, the authors address the company as Alpha. The company started in London, UK, in the late 1800s with one subscriber and a starting capital of PS300,000, handling in a short time, more than 7,000 hectares of land, to carry out land reclamation in North Italy. After the company was licensed by Royal Decree to operate in the Kingdom of Italy, and in the first half of the 1990s, the Bank of Italy became the largest shareholder of Alpha. In 2014, a holding formed by a group of private investors took a majority of shares with the objective of transforming the company into a European agricultural business of excellence. The actual Industrial Plan of Alpha (2015-2019)[1] allocates an investment of more than EURO 30m for the actual property as follows:\n6. Methodology: This case study analysis (Yin, 2013) is based on a two-step model, including both interviews and questionnaire survey, and is explained in detail as follows.\n7. Results: 7.1 Results of interviews and the strategy map of Alpha\n8. Discussion: From the case study, it emerged that human capital, defined as the skills of full-time employees of the investigated company, was functional to exploit the company's investment in structural capital, while relational capital was the major source of this structural innovation and a potential contributor to the company to enter new market segments. The interactions among different IC assets (Habersam and Piber, 2003; Marr et al., 2004) represented the major source of value creation for the analyzed case study (Roos, 2005; Peppard and Rylander, 2001; Lev and Daum, 2004).\n9. Conclusion: This study represented an attempt to investigate the role of IC within organizations (Guthrie and Dumay, 2015; Mouritsen, 2006), investigating the combinations of corporate resources, and tangible and intangible factors that affect value creation (Lev and Daum, 2004). From the study, it emerged that the development of human capital was considered essential to the effective use of the structural innovations introduced by the firm. Employees' self-assessment was also performed and combined with the firm's future strategical development of human capital competences, in line with the call of scholars to use IC accounting for strategic purposes in the agricultural sector (Kozera, 2011), and to contribute to management and reporting activities (Guthrie et al., 2012; Mouritsen et al., 2001).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the role of and relationships between human, structural and relational capital assets for strategic management in a farm business. In particular, it analyzes the interaction between human capital's creativity skills and the introduction of climate-smart technologies for the competitiveness of the firm.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An explorative case study was conducted on one of the largest Italian farm businesses to gain an understanding of the drivers of intellectual capital (IC) and of their implications for strategic management. Full-time employees' perception of the skills required to achieve strategic goals and their perception of whether they possessed these abilities were investigated to determine if an alignment was present. The skills were subsequently classified using the framework of Amabile (1988) into domain-relevant and creativity-relevant skills. Then, two linear regression models were used to investigate the effects of training on the acquisition of these two sets of skills.\nFindings: The analysis confirmed the strategic role of interactions among human capital assets to effectively exploit the structural capital of the company. When investigating employees' perceptions, a gap emerged about informatics capabilities and knowledge of soils. As the company's investments in innovation are oriented to ICT technologies, the company could strengthen informatics training to enable its employees to implement effective innovation.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to the literature on IC by highlighting the role of interconnections of assets to align organizations with their strategic goals. Therefore, the provision of IC accounting contributes to the strategic management of human capital.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Welfare states, families, job attribute preferences, and work	[ "Cross‐cultural studies", "Welfare", "Family", "Employment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: This study examines a 12-country sample to determine the impact of welfare state configurations and individual family status and responsibilities on the job attribute preferences of women and men. It then examines the effect of welfare state configurations, individual family status and responsibilities, and job attribute preferences on actual paid work behaviors. Job attribute preferences refer to the importance individuals attach to qualities and outcomes they desire from employment, including such things as job security, advancement opportunities, and autonomy. These preferences can impact organizations through job selection decisions and employee retention (Judge and Bretz, 1992; Sheridan, 1992).\nLiterature: When examining gender differences in job attribute preferences and subsequent work behaviors, it is important to consider gendered family behavior as well as the broader social structure that supports and maintains gender stratification. Within most families in industrialized nations, women hold primary responsibility for unpaid family labor and men for market labor (Juster and Stafford, 1991; Kallenberg and Rosenfeld, 1990). Feminists have argued that the combination of family labor and organizational structures disadvantage women in the labor market. Moreover, countries vary in the types of state support available to sustain the paid work and family lives of their citizens. Legislated family leave, childcare subsidies, family allowances, and tax policies are likely to affect individual job attribute preferences and employment decisions.Gender, family labor, and market labor\nMethod: Sample\nResults: Descriptive statistics\nDiscussion: It is interesting to note that contrary to predictions, having a spouse/partner had little effect on women's or men's job attribute preferences. Perhaps this reflects the growing acceptance of the employment of married women (Alwin et al., 1992; Treas and Widmer, 2000). The two relationships that were found could be viewed in light of gender stereotypes. Women who had a spouse/partner placed less value on independence in work. It is possible that married/cohabitating women place less emphasis on independence in their lives in general when compared to single women. Men who had a spouse/partner placed less value on flexibility in work. If men have someone to take care of their non-work lives, they have little need for flexibility to do it themselves.In keeping with gender stereotypes, children affected women's job attribute preferences more than they did men's. Congruent with stereotypical gender roles, mothers valued flexibility more than women without children. Men with children valued income more than those with no children, perhaps because fathers may feel increased breadwinning pressure. Surprisingly, mothers valued income and advancement more and interesting work less than those without children. It could be that mothers view earning money and advancing at work as a form of caring for their families and are willing to trade off intrinsic for extrinsic rewards.The findings indicated that women's and men's actual family responsibilities were good predictors of job attribute preferences. In general the findings indicate that sharing the provision of family income with a spouse/partner reduces pressure for men and women to seek extrinsic rewards. Several findings were consistent with Becker's (1985) allocation of energy model, which holds that engaging in household labor reduces paid work effort, resulting in lowered work productivity and proportionately reduced earnings. Men who participated in household labor valued income less than non-participants. Moreover, both women and men who participated in household labor valued flexibility on the job more than those with no housework responsibilities.Siaroff's (1994) welfare state typology had significant effects indicating that women's paid work prospects and societal supports for the family affect both women's and men's job attribute preferences. It is interesting to note that welfare state patterns for women and men were identical in the cases of income and social rewards, and very similar for advancement, independence and flexibility.When compared to women in late female mobilization states, women in states high on FWD and FWO had less desire for income and advancement. This is contrary to the structuralist view, which would suggest that women in these Protestant social democratic states would value income and advancement more because these job characteristics are within their reach. At least in Sweden, however, women are often segregated into public sector care work jobs that are not highly remunerated (Bjornberg, 2000). Women in Protestant liberal states valued income and advancement more than women in late female mobilization states. In keeping with the structuralist view, these extrinsic rewards may be valued more because they are within women's reach. The fact that the state provides limited support to the family may further increase the valence of extrinsic rewards.It makes sense that men in Protestant social democratic states place less value on income, advancement and security than men in late female mobilization states; more favorable paid work opportunities for women and state support for family reduces pressures of breadwinning. Surprisingly, compared to men in late female mobilization states, men in Protestant liberal states placed more value on income and advancement. This occurred despite the more favorable work opportunities for women in these states. Perhaps the breadwinning role is more entrenched in these societies, or there may be another factor affecting the results such as the fact that these countries all rank high in societal practices emphasizing performance orientation (Javidan, 2004).Siaroff's (1994) welfare state typology was also useful in predicting employment and hours of paid work. It is somewhat surprising that compared to those in late female mobilization states, men in Protestant social democratic and Protestant liberal states were more likely to engage in paid labor. One might think that men in late female mobilization and men in advanced Christian democratic states would face more breadwinning pressure because women are less likely to engage in market work. Perhaps the results would have been altered if Siaroff's typology controlled for male employment rates. Men in Protestant social democratic, Protestant liberal democratic and advanced Christian democratic states work fewer hours than men in late female mobilization states. Perhaps breadwinning pressures are reduced when working conditions are favorable for women and there is state support for the family.These findings provide new perspectives for international managers. While the attributes that people seek from their employment vary from individual to individual, it is also important to recognize that there are cultural patterns that can inform motivational efforts. Vroom's (1964) expectancy theory stresses the importance of valence or the desirability of expected outcomes in motivation. Fulfilling desirable rewards, i.e. job attribute preferences that are important to employees, will increase the effectiveness of motivational efforts. Also, work-family interface is an increasingly important topic in industrialized countries. Multinational employers must realize that there is no one-size-fits-all program to help employees manage their work and family lives. Program design must take into account the cultural context, societal family supports, work structures, and life stages of employees.This multinational study is the first to examine the relationship between conducting housework, providing family income and job attribute preferences while considering labor market opportunities for women and societal support for the family. It also examines the effects of job attribute preferences and responsibility for housework on employment and work hours. Despite its contributions, the study has several limitations. Cross-sectional data limit the ability to determine causality. Most of the job attribute preferences are assessed with single-item measures, limiting their reliability and validity. West Germany was the only country representing the advanced Christian democratic state. It was not possible to control for child age, occupation or individual gender role attitudes. Nevertheless, ISSP has the distinct advantage of collecting comparable job attribute preference data for nationally representative samples in multiple countries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to examine the relationship between welfare state configurations, family status, family responsibilities, job attribute preferences, employment, and weekly paid work hours.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - International data for women and men were analyzed separately using regressions to determine if different welfare state configurations and individual family status and responsibilities predicted job attribute preferences. Additional regressions examined the effects of welfare state configurations, family status, family responsibilities, and job attribute preferences on women's and men's employment and weekly paid work hours.\nFindings: - In many cases, the variables were significant predictors of women's and men's job attribute preferences, employment and paid work hours.\nPractical implications: - While the attributes that people seek from their employment vary from individual to individual, it is also important to recognize that there are cultural patterns that can inform motivational efforts.\nOriginality/value: - This multinational study is the first to examine the relationship between family status, conducting housework, providing family income, and job attribute preferences while considering labor market opportunities for women and societal support for the family. In addition, it examines the effects of these variables on employment and weekly paid work hours.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Learning design: requirements, practice and prospects	[ "Learning", "Design", "Curriculum development", "Conversation", "United Kingdom" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: We use the term \"learning design\" to refer to the process of designing effective learning experiences for a variety of contexts: in the classroom or laboratory, in the field, online and via standalone packages using a range of media. Learning design involves a wide set of knowledge, skills and competencies, including: learning theory and its applications, course design principles and procedures, use of media, use of different technologies, relevant business processes and so on. In this paper we describe how a perceived shortfall in training and professional development opportunities for learning designers in the UK motivated us to investigate:* what the requirements are for good learning design practice, i.e. what are the knowledge and skills that a learning design practitioner should possess;* what the current practice is with respect to the education, training and deployment of professional learning designers; and* what the prospects are for seeing an increased professionalisation of learning designers.In the belief that there was a clear disparity between the UK and North America in terms of how learning designers are trained we carried out a research project to find out the state of the profession in the UK and examine the differences in order to inform UK practice and make recommendations. Presented in the paper are the emerging results and conclusions from the project, including:* a review of the literature on learning design to identify and compare extant models of best practice, as found, for example, in Gagne et al. (2005) and Reigeluth (1999, 1987, 1983) and competence frameworks (Department for Education and Employment, 2000; Richey et al., 2001);* a survey by interview and questionnaire of how learning designers in the UK, North America and elsewhere have been educated and trained and what, typically, they regard as good working practices; and* a comparative survey of education and training opportunities for learning designers available in the UK and North America.\nOrigins: Currently, in the world of e-learning the terms \"instructional design\" and \"learning design\" are used to refer to the application of theories of learning and instruction to the creation of e-learning material and online learning experiences.Below we examine the roots of the two terms; instructional design and learning design, and discuss similarities and differences in usage. As explained with theoretical justification, we propose that \"learning design\" should be adopted as the preferred generic term. We then describe our research activities into learning design practice as they stand at the time of writing and outline our plans for the future.Instructional design\nAre instructional design and learning design the same?: A discussion of two approaches\nResearch: The research was designed to explore three key questions:1. What are the requirements for good learning design practice, i.e. what are the knowledge and skills that a learning design practitioner should possess?2. What is the current practice with respect to the education, training and deployment of professional learning designers?3. What are the prospects for seeing an increased professionalisation of learning designers?Methodology\nCurrent practice: We are aware of the unavoidable weaknesses in this exploratory research design. However, the data are providing a picture that indicates a need for more practice-based training. As part of the ongoing literature review, a series of competency and skills frameworks were examined including those produced in a report for the UK's Department for Education and Employment and (Department for Education and Employment, 2000), and Richey et al. (2001). Following analysis, we attempted to match these and our own pilot competency framework with results of a survey of 337 UK higher education institute online prospectuses. It was found that only nine could provide learning design related programmes that would be likely to prepare individuals to work in the profession.\nConcluding comments: The data analysed thus far make clear that there is a broad consensus amongst practitioners across the world about what constitutes the relevant knowledge and skills for good learning design practice. What has also become clear in accordance with our initial hypothesis is that the opportunities for the education and training of learning designers in the UK are seriously lacking compared to those in North America. Furthermore, UK practitioners themselves are aware of this and would welcome more opportunities for relevant professional development.Not surprisingly, respondents from the UK formed the second lowest membership of a professional body with just 50 per cent of respondents belonging to one. The lowest number was in the category for \"other\" areas. The reasons for this will be further explored as analysis and interpretation continue.During the interviews it became apparent that even in areas where satisfaction is high there may be a requirement for more practical training, even internships, for learning designers. As one interviewee said when discussing the need for learning designers to comprehend how business works:Until they understand a bit of that, they're always going to be plain foot soldiers in the war of performance and development.We have made a cogent argument for the use of the terms \"learning designer\" and \"learning design\" as generic terms that should be applied to describe the people working within the diverse world of designing e-learning and their profession. However, we remain mindful of the fact that in other quarters positive work is afoot to help bring order to this diverse world. For example, although the use of learning design is more in line with IMS LD, and the context limited to higher education, Falconer et al.'s (2007, pp. 32-5) timely and highly informative report emphasises the requirement for controlled vocabularies for e-learning design. We suggest that future research could deploy conversation theory (Pask, 1975; Scott, 2001) as a unifying conceptual framework for understanding a wide variety of learning designs in addition to modelling the design of controlled vocabularies. Conversation theory was devised to be a unifying meta-theory over other extant theories of learning and teaching and is thus especially fit for this purpose.It is clear that there gaps are in the professionalisation and development of learning designers and that the field itself needs further definition if it is to advance. It is our hope that the publication of our full research results and recommendations will prove useful to those trying to remedy the shortcomings and can provide a foundation for further research in the field.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to describe research into the requirements, practice and prospects for the field of learning design and provide the findings of this study to date alongside early recommendations for furthering the profession in the UK.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper describes the findings of a review of the literature on learning design and the study's research methodology, which comprises focus groups, an online questionnaire deployed for use in the UK, North America, Australia, telephone interviews, and surveys of higher education programmes.\nFindings: - Initial analysis of the data indicates that learning design professionalisation and training in the UK are behind those found in other areas of the world.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research was of an exploratory nature and thus limited. However, it shows that additional research into distinct aspects of learning design is required to explore further phenomena described in this paper.\nPractical implications: - The findings suggest that more and appropriate training opportunities are required for UK learning designers. This could be supplemented by further professionalisation of the field.\nOriginality/value: - Key aspects are revealed in the paper of the learning design field in the UK where development is required in order to place learning design on a par with the field in other countries. These findings should be of interest to learning designers, the institutions that train them, their employers and those that use their services.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Employee's perspective towards strategy execution in facility management in Thailand	[ "Facilities management", "Communication", "Training and development", "Strategy execution", "Employees’ perspective", "Reward and recognition" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: If companies want to grow and sustain their business in competitive markets, they must provide employees with a platform of opportunity to develop themselves. There is strong evidence that employees are crucial in enhancing a company's productivity and performance (Saif et al., 2013; Wart, 2010; Renckly, 2004; Kusluvan, 2003). Employees have been the primary driver and resource that benefit organizations through their contribution in decision-making, strategy formulation and translating and communicating the strategy into operational practices (Salas and Huxley, 2014; Huselid and Becker, 2011; Shirey, 2011; Porter and Kramer, 2002). However, previous studies indicate that employees need to have appropriate skills and competencies to further strengthen their work in the company (Khadem, 2008; Neilson et al., 2008; Donlon, 2007; Khanaporn, 2007; Raps, 2004). Without these skills and competencies, companies have less chance to succeed (Hrebiniak, 2005; McKnight, 2005; DeLisi, 2003; Bossidy and Charan, 2002), and their execution of strategy would be vulnerable and may pose a significant challenge. Thus, employees need to be recruited according to the identified competencies and skills required to execute the given assignments and tasks within specific time frame (Khadem, 2008; Neilson et al., 2008; Donlon, 2007; Raps, 2004).\nLiterature review: FM is an integrated approach for maintaining, operating and improving building facilities and its infrastructure of an organization to establish the environment that strongly sustains the main objectives of the organization (Barrett and Baldry, 2003). Managing building facilities efficiently and effectively needs a vigorous strategy. Once the strategy has been selected, the organization must then execute it according to the organization's business plans and objectives. Many initiatives are required to support the execution of the FM strategy such as a training and development plan, change management program, performance measurement and benchmarking and HR management (Wiggins, 2014).\nMethodology: This study used a qualitative research approach (Creswell, 2012; Denzin and Lincoln, 2011), as it is suitable when inquiries are focused on the how's and why's. Also, it is a desirable technique when the researchers have minimal control over the events and when there is a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2009). Therefore, a case study is pertinent to this research study. The total number of cases is within the range from four to ten cases, which are appropriate for qualitative research (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2009). Therefore, five FM companies, both foreign and Thai firms, were selected as case studies in this research because of information accessibility and their leading position and reputation in FM industry in Thailand. For confidentiality purpose, the five cases will be referred to as Company A, B, C, D and E. Their brief profiles are presented in Appendix A1 (profiles of case companies).\nFindings and discussion: Based on our analysis of in-depth interviews with key respondents from the five FM companies, the results pointed to three main areas that would impact strategy execution of the sample companies. These are communication, reward and recognition and training and development. Our findings are in line with previous studies discussed in the literature review. These three categories of management practices fall into three dimensions, the nature of the impact, implications toward employee capacity and relationship to the strategy execution. For more information, please refer to Table I.\nConclusion and managerial implications: In FM, people/employees are key drivers in strategy execution. This study adds value and more understanding and insights into the strategy execution, especially, in FM business. Our study revealed that interpersonal relationship is another crucial factor leading to better execution results achieved through effective communication. In Thai context, people tend to work together very well when staff and leader share good relationship. The relationship, in this case, involves not only working relationship but also personal relationship established through many forms of activities such as social bonding activities as described in this study. For instance, in the case of Company C, people were happy with their company, peers and supervisor, and, as a consequence, their project performance was better compared to other project sites.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: There is limited empirical research that investigates issues related to strategy and its execution in facility management (FM) business especially in Thailand. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing the execution of the strategy of FM companies located in Thailand from employees' perspective.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study used a qualitative research approach. Five FM companies, both foreign and Thai firms, were selected as case studies in this research because of information accessibility and their leading position and reputation in the FM industry in Thailand. The interviews were conducted with the companies' Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), directors, managers, officers, engineers, technicians and administrators.\nFindings: The findings indicate that communication, training and development, as well as reward and recognition, are the three main and critical factors in executing the company's strategy from the employees' perspective in the FM business.\nSocial implications: This study suggests that strategy execution should be built upon a long-term relationship with employees, and company management should recognize the employees' contribution to the company. Management should also raise employees' knowledge and understanding of the execution of the company strategy.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides an enhanced understanding of employees' perspective toward strategy execution in the FM business. It offers a basis for further study of human resources practices in the context of the FM business.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Leadership styles' influence on the quality of nursing care	[ "Leadership", "Quality healthcare", "Quality management", "Patient satisfaction", "Nursing quality" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: Leadership style has vital importance in the quality of nursing care in hospitals. The leadership styles, adopted by nurse managers, are expected to affect patients' care (Sfantou et al., 2017). Nurse managers as a unit/ward leader, have various roles, including the ability to properly supervise staff nurses, organising workflow and training both junior nurses and nursing students. In addition, they guarantee a high quality of nursing healthcare for patients (Alloubani, 2016; Huber, 2017); however, the leader role of nurses is not exclusive to the managerial role. Though all successful leaders have one common characteristic. They focus on influencing people around them, with the goal of ensuring that optimum performance is achieved from the resources in the organisation. It is the leaders in an organisation who determine the culture, motivation, tolerance and values in an organisation. Leadership styles change and shape the institutional strategies, including their effectiveness and execution.\nAim: This study aimed to investigate nurse managers' leadership styles from the registered nurses' perspective and to assess the effect of leadership styles on the quality of nursing care, as rated by patients. Moreover, the aim was to evaluate the relationship between leadership styles and particular organisational outcomes (job satisfaction, leader effectiveness, registered nurses' enthusiasm to spend extra efforts).\nMaterials and methods: Design and settings\nResults: The study's findings explained the perception of the participants (nurse managers and nurses) in terms of the leadership styles and leadership outcomes (job satisfaction, leader effectiveness and extra effort). Additionally, the study findings revealed the patients' perception of the quality of nursing care.\nDiscussion: The aims of this study were to investigate nurse managers' leadership styles from the registered nurses' perspective, as well as to assess the effect of leadership style on the quality of nursing care as rated by patients. Moreover, the aim was to evaluate the relationship between leadership styles and particular organisational outcomes (job satisfaction, leader effectiveness and registered nurses' enthusiasm to spend extra efforts).\nConclusion and implication: The result of the current study has different implications for hospital administrators, nurse managers, education and research. For administrators, it's important to take nurses perception and patient satisfaction into consideration when adopting any leadership style, which should be based on the institution vision, mission, values and philosophy. Additionally, nurse managers should understand the different leadership styles and be trained on the style which reflects the institution strategy. For education, clinical leadership practice and different leadership styles should be integrated into the nursing curriculum. In the clinical practice, nursing students should be trained on different leadership styles providing them with the pros and cons of each style and the expected impact on nurses and patients' satisfaction. Regarding research, further studies should look at the cultural influence on adopting certain leadership styles among nurse managers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate managers' leadership styles, from the perspective of registered nurses, and its effects on the quality of nursing care in both the private and public healthcare sectors. An additional aim is to assess the relationship between leadership styles and particular organisational outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The sample for this quantitative research study was comprised of 400 respondents, among which 50 were nurse managers, 150 were staff nurses and the remaining respondents were patients. Two questionnaires were used in this study: the multi-factor leadership questionnaire (MLQ) 5X short and a patient satisfaction with nursing care quality questionnaire (PSNCQQ).\nFindings: A positive correlation was found between the transformational leadership style with leadership outcomes and the quality of nursing care (r=0.811, 0.759, 0.789 and 0.877 for extra effort, job satisfaction, leader effectiveness and quality, respectively).\nPractical implications: Although the sample study was extensive, a possible limitation is that the research utilised convenient sample who are working in the private and public healthcare sectors thus limiting the generalisability of the study.\nOriginality/value: This study was proposed as a baseline for upcoming studies in areas of education, nursing practice, research and quality. Moreover, this study was expected to be imperative to the hospital's management, in order to improve the current level of leadership, education models and advancement programs for the healthcare sector's senior staff.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Simulations, learning and real world capabilities	[ "Computer based learning", "Leadership", "Simulation", "Skills training", "Training methods" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Computer based simulations have been used extensively in the development of technical skills for relatively well-defined tasks, such as surgery, share trading and responding to crises. More recently, attempts have been made to integrate simulations into the development of dynamic behavioral skills that require behavioral skills that are required to deal flexibly with real world tasks that are represented in simulations. The development of dynamic behavioral skills, such as leadership, differs from the development of more task specific technical skills in several ways that have direct implications for the effectiveness of simulations in training and development. Traditional, task specific simulations focus on the development of domain specific knowledge. The set of new leadership simulations, however, aim at the development of greater levels of flexibility in the application of knowledge and the behavioral skills acquired in order to allow transfer across different simulations and into less well defined real world task settings.In this paper we describe key properties and cognitive load demands of computer based simulations. We then discuss a set of learning objectives and their differential impact on cognitive load. We also emphasize the need for sustained deliberative processing to develop fully elaborated schemata and flexible use of knowledge. We then present a set of principles and guidelines for the design of simulations and training programs that include simulations with the aim of developing behavioral skills, such as leadership. In the final section we consider research that is needed to more fully assess and validate simulations as effective teaching methods. In short, we aim to lay out a framework and supporting analyses for addressing what and how people can learn from simulations and what further knowledge is needed to validate the effectiveness of simulations in the development of dynamic behavioral skills.Before we come to our discussion of these issues, we outline reasons that have made the use of simulations attractive in training and education.\nUse of computer based simulations in education and training: Use of simulations in education and training have been purported as beneficial for a number of reasons: economy of time and cost savings, as wells as the benefit of neutralizing risks; exposure to different experiences that can accelerate learning; and the popular appeal of the simulated, and often highly interactive, experience.Computer based simulations are often used in training when it is prohibitively expensive or simply too risky to allow trainees to learn in the real world. They allow trainees to explore, make mistakes and learn valuable lessons in virtual environments that are safe and do not impose real costs on the trainee or other parts of the system. For example, in simSchool teachers practice classroom management and teaching techniques on simulated students, which avoids \"learning on the job\" that could impede the learning of real students. Management games or business simulations are used in business education to enable students to experiment with different business strategies in a risk free environment and provide a more dynamic training experience than case study discussions. Computer based simulations can also be used to accelerate learning by exposing trainees to a range of different task environments and by collapsing long periods of history into short periods of simulation. For example, trainee marketing managers can be exposed to the equivalent of five or more years of a product market experience under different competitive conditions, all in a period of two hours (Gary and Wood, 2009).Examples of simulations that are being used in the development of behavioral skills such as leadership include the popular vLeader simulation that is widely used in MBA courses, management training programs and customized leadership courses run by organizations, including the US Army. According to Simulearn, creator and owner of vLeader, \"the Army-SimuLearn program will support the development of rapid-cycle, automated influence training for officers in combat theatres to better lead others outside the formal chain of command, such as civilians, coalition forces, tribal leaders and foreign government officials\" (www.simulearn.net/leadership_training/). The exercise of influence across such a wide range of potential stakeholders and the diverse settings in which they are likely to be encountered clearly requires a much more flexible and adaptive application of the skills acquired from this type of simulation than, for example, the technical skills for a specific task or the prescribed routines in response to a crisis. Computer based simulations like vLeader adopt video gaming techniques that have trainee leaders interacting with avatars in the place of real people and receiving feedback on the impacts of their actions that includes preprogrammed oral responses and body language, including facial expressions. A trainer who provides guidance on the leadership principles that are built into the microworld model typically supports the simulation.The popular appeal of these simulations and claims for their effectiveness indicate that they are satisfying a training need in organizations, like the US Army, that use a range of training methods and critically evaluate them. However, there is not a lot of research evidence about the specific effects of simulations and which learning objectives they are best suited to achieving.\nKey features and cognitive demands of computer based simulations: The use of computer based simulations for training purposes needs to take into account how the properties of the simulation relate to the learning objectives of the training program that includes the simulation. Simulations can take many different forms and have been given many different labels. Our aim in this section is not to provide an overview of simulations, which can be obtained from several other scholarly sources (e.g. Wolfe and Roge, 1997). Rather than survey the field, we will be specific about what we mean when we are talking about computer-based simulations by describing three of their key features, the structure, the surface, and the task and how the properties of each of these features impact on the levels and types of cognitive load and, through these effects, their relationship to learning. Before describing these key features and their impact on cognitive demand, we first describe a framework for conceptualizing cognitive demand and its relationship to learning.Cognitive load theory (CLT) is a body of knowledge that has informed instructional design in educational psychology (Sweller, 1988; van Merrienboer and Sweller, 2005) but has, until this point, received little attention in the organizational training literature. The basic premise is that learning is a process of encoding information through working memory leading to the creation of schemata in long-term memory. Schemata, a form of procedural knowledge, underpin all human behavior and the level of skill displayed in the execution of task behavior is a direct product of how well developed the schema is for the task. All of the cognitive demands generated by a task and the situation in which it is presented must be processed through working memory. Learning from a cognitive load theory view, results in the formation of schemata and automatization. However, working memory capacity is limited and easily exhausted in performing complex tasks. Therefore, the primary aim in instructional design for skill development is the management of the process to ensure that cognitive load does not exceed capacity, thus facilitating the formation of schemata.Cognitive load theory (Sweller, 1994) distinguishes between three types of cognitive load, intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load, each with different implications for skill acquisition. Intrinsic load is determined by the complexity of the learning content in terms of the amount of information in the to-be-learned material that needs to be processed simultaneously. Extraneous load originates from mental activities that are not directly related to the learning content rather from coping with the design of the learning material (e.g. the user interface). Mental activities that go beyond dealing with the task or problem at hand and are directed towards the construction of schemata (i.e. a generic representation of the class of problem) and automatization cause germane cognitive load. The three facets of cognitive load are conceptualized as additive. CLT is interested in promoting germane cognitive load via the reduction of extraneous cognitive load, because germane cognitive load is associated with the development of higher order conceptualizations of the problem space.Schema acquisition leads to chunking of information which effectively allows one to process more information within the constraints of working memory capacity. While the amount of information depends on the complexity of the task, the question of what is considered as a separable unit of information depends on the availability of schemata in the learner's prior knowledge base.Design features such as procedures and other descriptive text, or graphs and tables that are part of the simulation's presentation can cause extraneous cognitive load, but they also can facilitate schema formation (i.e. impose germane cognitive load). An example given later is the use of familiar formats on graphs and tables or contextual data about a trainee's company which makes it easier for them to selectively encode and process intrinsic load data when playing the simulation because they already have established schemata for the graphs, tables or context.When working on simulations, trainees find it much easier to work with a representation format that is familiar. Familiarity primes activation of schemata, which allows a more efficient use of processing capacity. Under these circumstances the amount of intrinsic cognitive load imposed by the simulation is reduced and freed resources can be invested in processing germane cognitive load which is directly associated with knowledge and further schemata refinement and development. For example, trainees are better able to read feedback presented in graphical form if they are experienced at reading graphs. If not, they will need to be trained in how to read graphs otherwise their attempts will impose extraneous cognitive load that may use up working memory resources and undermine their learning of the simulation. However, familiarity is not panacea. Beckmann and Goode (forthcoming) show that semantically meaningful labels in a simulation can activate unspecific schemata that represent presumptions rather than knowledge per se. It could be demonstrated that the resulting \"illusion of familiarity\" has detrimental effects on knowledge acquisition.Effective instructional design, according to cognitive load theory, facilitates skill acquisition by adhering to the following guidelines. First, total cognitive load must be managed so as to not exceed trainees' working memory capacity. Second, extraneous load should be minimized so that working memory capacity is devoted to the processing of intrinsic load. Third, to the extent that extraneous load is reduced the design related optimization of learning material should promote the investment of cognitive resources in germane cognitive load.The three key features of simulations that impact on the cognitive load of trainees and therefore have to be taken into account in instructional design of programs are the structure of the simulation model, the surface of the simulation, and the type of task.The structure of the simulation\nLearning objectives: While the nature of the task, the structure and the surface of the simulation will influence the potential maximum cognitive load that a trainee will have to cope with when playing the simulation, the actual cognitive load that will need to be processed to achieve the learning objective of the simulation will depend upon what the trainee is expected to learn and how she or he approaches the task. Furthermore, while the simulation design and assigned learning objectives influence the cognitive load that the trainee might be expected to process, individuals will often manage that load through simplification of the task and adapting to less then optimal standards in their processing of the cognitive load and development of schemata (Wood et al., 2009). The effective processing of cognitive load and the development of fully elaborated schemata requires sustained metacognitive processing, akin to that described as deliberate practice in the expertise development literature (Ericsson, 2003).In this section, we discuss a hierarchy of four learning objectives: gaining insights, acquisition of task specific procedural knowledge or expertise, development of flexible expertise in the application of task knowledge, and the learning and transfer of behavioral skills such as leadership. The skill levels for each objective represent nested levels of learning in that each level requires elaboration of the schema developed at the lower levels. For each of these learning objectives, we describe the aims, cognitive load and other demands of the learning process. Later in this section, we discuss the types of metacognitive processing that have been linked to the development of the elaborated schema needed to achieve the higher level learning objectives in the hierarchy.Insight learning objectives\nInstructional design principles and guidelines: In this section, we outline a set of principles and guidelines for the effective use of computer simulations in the development of flexible expertise and behavioral skills, such as leadership communication skills that transfer to real world settings. These guidelines are a synthesis of our knowledge at this point, based on research. However, the validity and comprehensiveness of the specific guidelines is the subject of ongoing research and we point to some specific areas of needed research in the next section. The general principles that should be taken into account when designing a training program that includes computer simulations are:* Managing the trainee's exposure to cognitive load.* Ensuring trainees have the necessary deliberative processing skills.* Providing a diversity of experiences on simulations and other activities.* Supplementing simulation with relevant execution skill exercises.* Balancing guidance and self-directed exploration of trainees.Managing cognitive load\nFuture research and development: Objective measurements\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to consider how simulations are increasingly used in training programs for the development of skills such as leadership. However, the requirements of leadership development go beyond the development of task specific procedural knowledge or expertise that simulations have typically been used to develop. Leadership requires flexibility in the application of knowledge developed through simulations and the creation of linkages to behavioral execution skills needed to utilize that knowledge effectively in real world settings.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The successful acquisition of flexible expertise and the related execution skills requires instructional techniques that manage cognitive load, delay automatization of responses, and provide diversity in simulated experiences to ensure richness of the mental models developed while working on simulations. The successful transfer of that knowledge to real world settings requires supplemental instructional techniques that link the use of the mental models developed on simulations to the contexts and behavioral requirements of the trainees' roles in real world settings.\nFindings: - If simulations are going to be used effectively for the development of dynamic skills such as leadership there is a need to go beyond their traditional use. The execution of leadership skills requires flexible expertise. The successful acquisition of rich schemata and versatile mental models as the goal of leadership development programs calls for instructional techniques that also facilitate the successful manifestation of flexible expertise.\nOriginality/value: - The paper shows that, when embedded in deliberative processing, application of knowledge developed though simulations and the creation of linkages to behavioral execution skills facilitates successful performance in complex and dynamic real world challenges.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Role of innovation in the relationship between organizational culture and firm performance: A study of the banking sector in Turkey	[ "Organizational culture", "Innovativeness", "Bank sector", "Turkey", "Firm performance", "Innovation", "Banking", "Performance management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Organizations strive for improving firm performance and organizational culture has been recognized as one of the important drivers of better firm performance (Morone, 1989; Porter, 1985; Stace and Ashton, 1990). Previous researchers have emphasized the significance of organizational culture in several outcomes related to firm performance, such as job satisfaction, productivity, and employee turnover. At the same time, innovation has also been found to have positive impacts on the firms' performance, a nation's economy, industrial competitiveness, and the standard of living in the nation (Gopalakrishnan and Damanpour, 1997). Innovations are regarded as a competitive instrument for the firms' long-term performance and success and are considered an important means of adapting to the needs of a changing and evolving environment, gaining competitive advantage, and facilitating implementation for change initiatives (Blackwell, 2006; Schein, 1992; Deshpande et al., 1993; Nonaka and Yamanouchi, 1989). Therefore, organizations devote considerable energies to understanding ways for promoting and nurturing organizational cultures as well as the mechanisms for being ready for developing, buying, or adapting innovations in organizations. Several researchers have studied innovations in the context of organizational culture as an attempt to impact the innovation abilities of the organization (Bass, 1969; Damanpour, 1992, 1996; Gopalakrishnan and Damanpour, 1997; Rogers and Shoemaker, 1971; Rogers, 1995). The research reported here studies innovations and organizational culture as an attempt to understand their impact on firm performance.Recent studies on innovation suggest that organizational innovation plays a key role on firm performance and competitiveness (Baker and Sinkula, 2002; Damanpour, 1991; Farley et al., 2008; Jimenez-Jimenez and Sanz-Valle, 2011; Luk et al., 2008). It is also commonly implicit in the innovation literature that organizational culture plays an important role in impacting the innovations in the organization (Yang, 2007; Martins and Terblanche, 2003; Tushman and O'Reilly, 1997). But there are only a few studies which have specifically modeled and empirically researched the nature of relationship between organizational culture, its innovations, and firm performance (Martins and Terblanche, 2003; Deshpande et al., 1993). Therefore an examination of the relationship between an organization's culture, the firm's innovations, and the firm's performance will provide important managerial insights into impacting the firm's performance.Given the paucity of literature in this area, the aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and firm performance and the role of organizational innovations in this relationship. The context for studying the relationship between the organizational culture, firm performance, and the innovations in the organization is of a developing economy. Several motivations prompted us in this decision. We believe that innovation and firm performance are critical characteristics which can contribute to a developing economy's growth and competitiveness (Kelly and Kumar, 2009). It is important that we understand and contribute to the progress of developing economies as their growth and development has important advantages in the stability and engagement of the global community in the post-industrial era. Other studies conducted in developing economies and nations have also tried to understand the mechanisms which strengthen their innovativeness and entrepreneurial orientations (Kumar and Uzkurt, 2010; De Carvalho and Barbin Laurindo, 2006).Choice of data context\n2. Literature background: This research has utilized two main streams of literature for building our model and hypotheses. The first stream relates to innovation and innovativeness; the second stream relates to organizational culture. We also examine the literature and current findings in the area of innovations and culture specifically in banking organizations. In section after the current one, we build our research model based on literature and findings at the intersections of innovation, organizational culture, and firm performance.Organizational innovation and innovativeness\n3. Development of model and hypotheses: The main premise of the study is that an organization which has a culture that promotes innovations is likely to be innovative, which, in turn, is likely to result in achievement of superior firm performance. The model is illustrated in Figure 1.Organizational culture and innovation\n4. Research methodology: data and measures: Data: the context of the banking industry in Turkey\n5. Results: Profile of the respondents\n6. Discussion: Innovation has become one of the important means for firms to stay competitive and ensure continued good performance. Organizations spend considerable time and effort fostering an organizational culture which contributes to sustained good performance. This research studied the relationships between organizational culture, its innovations, and its performance. The overall premise of the model tested was that encouraging and increasing innovations in the organization can be positively impacted by the organization culture, which in turn would be related to good firm performance. Our results are strictly applicable to the banking industry in the Turkish financial services sector. However, the extensive literature review conducted in this study leads us to expect that perhaps results will apply to the banking sector in other cultures as well, although future research will be needed for such generalizability.Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of innovation on the relationship between organizational culture and firm performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Data for the study were collected through a survey from 154 branches of ten prominent banks in Turkey and responses were analyzed to assess the relationships between organizational culture, firm performance and organizational innovation.\nFindings: - The findings reveal that in the banking sector, although organizational culture and innovation have a direct and positive effect on the firm performance dimensions, organizational culture was found to have an insignificant regression coefficient on the dimensions of firm performance in the presence of organizational innovations.\nPractical implications: - These findings provide useful insights for organizations, particularly in the banking industry, seeking to be competitive and responsive to environmental changes by successfully introducing innovations. Conclusions emphasize that mechanisms to encourage and foster an innovative culture in the organization are likely to facilitate the introduction, adoption and diffusion of innovations which, in turn, is likely to result in achievement of superior firm performance.\nOriginality/value: - Organizational culture has been studied in the literature as one of the characteristics impacting the firm's performance. But there is a paucity of research which models and empirically studies the relationship between organizational culture and the firm performance. In addition, several researchers have studied organizational innovation as a driver of firm performance but fewer researchers have studied organizational innovations as being impacted by organizational culture. In this study, the paper examines the relationship between organizational culture and firm performance and the role of organizational innovation in this relationship. This research makes an important contribution to the existing literature by empirically examining the relationship between organizational culture, innovations and firm performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Impact of cultural differences on foreign customers' perceived local services	[ "Services", "Customer experience", "Cross-cultural management", "Foreign customers", "Taiwan", "Customers" ]	[ { "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: Marketing research studies generally agree that firms providing high service quality have a competitive advantage, and often are more profitable (Bhat, 2005). A widely accepted notion in organizations is also that well-trained employees are crucial in ensuring long-term relationships and consumer satisfaction (Chan and Wang, 2012). For instance, employees' quick and attentive responses to a service failure can be an indicator of excellent service quality and can also help prevent consumers from switching to another brand (Casalo et al., 2008; Wang and Mattila, 2011). But, will the same characteristics of the firm's employees be the center of discussion when consumers from different cultures are having their experiences?\nLiterature background: Customer experience\nResearch method and data collection: In order to explore in full detail customers' specific positive and/or negative incidents in intercultural service encounters that they perceive as significant, a qualitative approach using the critical incident technique (CIT) employing content analysis methods was employed. As a result, the following analysis typically focuses on the classification of such reports by assigning incidents into descriptive categories to explain events using a content analysis approach. The authors began by collecting actual incidents that were experienced by foreigners in services in Taiwan. After data collection, the incidents were analyzed in a multi-stage process of interpretation and sorted into groups with similar topics. A proprietary computer program - i.e. XSight Version 2 running on Windows 7 - was used for qualitative data management. Data gathered on audiotape were transcribed verbatim by the researcher and uploaded to XSight.\nResults and analysis: Sample characteristics\nDiscussion: Foreign customer perception and service evaluation\nConclusion: The study results found 286 critical incidents included in four main categories (i.e. physical environment, employee behavior, value, and functionality) as dimensions of customer perception by foreign customers' evaluation measurements of Taiwanese services. Most of the participants were likely to express positive sentiments regarding their service experience, but Western customers were more likely than their Asian counterparts to have a negative perception of the quality of Taiwan's services.\nManagerial implications: Most cross-cultural studies focus on local customers' perceptions of the domestic service industry, and have assumed that the dimensions of SERVQUAL are the same in different cultures. However, some recent studies have questioned this assumption (Winsted, 1997), and this study is an effort to test whether other service quality dimensions may be found in different cultures in a certain context. Also, when international customers undergo their environmental adaption process (e.g. they stay in a country for a long time), they also tend to adapt to local service standards. The most important moment for service providers to attract and keep customers is the first interaction between the customer and the service provider, which can determine how customers react (loyalty, switching) to such a service.\nLimitation and future research: This paper has several limitations that need to be recognized in interpreting its findings. First, the amount of data collected in the present study was numerically small, thus diminishing the possibility for generalization on a wider scale.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to investigate and explain the influence of cultural differences on foreign customers' perceptions of the local service marketplace through their consumption experience.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Exploratory research was conducted by conducting semi-structured interviews and using critical incidents technique to identify foreign customers' perception of each service. A purposive sampling method was used to collect 70 participants to recall their experience in the five most used services, including transportation, convenience stores, restaurants, healthcare, and banking.\nFindings: The results found 286 critical incidents in four main categories of the physical environment, employee behavior, value, and functionality. The participants were likely to mention positive arguments. The results also provide evidence that Western customers were more likely than their Asian counterparts to have a negative perception of local services.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study combines all the participants' perceptions of all the most used services together for measurement; therefore, it may imply some various results for individual services. This paper has several limitations that need to be recognized in interpreting its findings.\nPractical implications: These results have cross-cultural implications, especially that foreign consumers really see services in a very simplistic manner. International service providers can take advantage of economies of scale and experience curve effects, while local service providers can also make efforts to attract foreign customers.\nOriginality/value: The findings provide an initial step towards developing a comprehensive understanding of foreign consumers' perceptions of local services and make a theoretical contribution to the applicability of cross-cultural marketing.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Property market modelling and forecasting: simple vs complex models	[ "United Kingdom", "Market", "Property", "Modelling", "Complex", "Simple" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nProperty market modelling and forecasting: Property market modelling and forecasting is an indispensable activity in property investment (Mitchell and McNamara, 1997). The issue has been the subject of a number of studies. As a result, numerous models have been developed to forecast property markets (Brooks and Tsolacos, 2010). According to Harris and Cundell (1995, p. 76), \"the market crash which traumatised the property industry between 1991 and 1994 has led the institutions in particular to seek greater predictive input to their portfolio management and investment decisions\". As McDonald (2002) points out, after the 1980s property boom property researchers responded to the crisis situation, and as a result substantial progress has been made in property market research and forecasting. Though Tonelli et al. (2004, p. 1) argues that \"numerous econometric models have been proposed for forecasting property market performance, but limited success has been achieved in finding a reliable and consistent model to predict property market movements\", property researchers, including McGough and Tsolacos (1995), Wheaton et al. (1997), Barras (2009) and Bork and Moller (2012) suggest that the property market is forecastable.\nSimple and complex models: According to Caminiti (2004, p. 992), models are \"invaluable tools\". Models help users to develop a better understanding of complex systems, allow testing for possible scenarios, predicting outcomes, as well as they can assist in the setting of priorities. Byrne et al. (2010) add that models have been produced for a range of different reasons (i.e. to improve one's understanding on the subject and its processes, to predict, forecast or explore possible scenarios, or to provide a basis for decision making).\nData and its acquisition: The dependent variable\nModelling and empirical estimates: The property market modelling is performed using SR, MR, VAR, ARIMA, and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with a vector of an explanatory variable(s) (ARIMAX) techniques. The use of these methods comes from classification of real estate forecasting methods presented in Lizieri (2009). Equations for each of these specifications are as follows.\nConclusions: The current study investigates whether complex forecasting techniques outperform simple ones. The literature review is equivocal. Simple and complex models produce a state of equifinality, i.e. simple specifications are as good as, or sometimes even better at generating modelling outcomes than the more complex models.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The commercial property market is complex, but the literature suggests that simple models can forecast it. To confirm the claim, the purpose of this paper is to assess a set of models to forecast UK commercial property market.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The employs five modelling techniques, including Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), ARIMA with a vector of an explanatory variable(s) (ARIMAX), Simple Regression (SR), Multiple Regression, and Vector Autoregression (VAR) to model IPD UK All Property Rents Index. The Bank Rate, Construction Orders, Employment, Expenditure, FTSE AS Index, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and Inflation are all explanatory variables selected for the research.\nFindings: The modelling results confirm that increased model complexity does not necessarily yield greater forecasting accuracy. The analysis shows that although the more complex VAR specification is amongst the best fitting models, its accuracy in producing out-of-sample forecasts is poorer than of some less complex specifications. The average Theil's U-value for VAR model is around 0.65, which is higher than that of less complex SR with Expenditure (0.176) or ARIMAX (3,0,3) with GDP (0.31) as an explanatory variable models.\nPractical implications: The paper calls analysts to make forecasts more user-friendly, which are easy to use or understand, and for researchers to pay greater attention to the development and improvement of simpler forecasting techniques or simplification of more complex structures.\nOriginality/value: The paper addresses the issue of complexity in modelling commercial property market. It advocates for simplicity in modelling and forecasting.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of country image on hypermarket patronage intention: A cross-cultural study in China and Spain	[ "Subjective norm", "Consumer ethnocentrism", "Country image", "Hypermarket patronage intention", "Store evaluation", "TRA model" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the retail field, where more and more players compete with one another, branding is especially important to influence customer perceptions positively and drive store choice and loyalty (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004; Woodside and Walser, 2006). Grewal et al. (2004) note that the rise of the retailer as a brand is one of the most important trends in retailing. As retailers are increasingly operating in multiple geographic markets, an understanding of how evaluations and outcomes of retail store image and customer patronage differ across markets becomes more important.\nLiterature review: Country image\nConceptual framework and hypotheses: The theory of reasoned action (TRA) developed by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) has been successfully applied to explore and predict consumer behaviour. It is a well-established general theory of social psychology which asserts that behaviour is influenced by behavioural intentions, while behavioural intentions are affected by attitudes toward the behaviour and subjective norms about such behaviour. From the initial territory of marketing (Oliver and Bearden, 1985; Shimp and Kavas, 1984), it has been applied to electronic non-store retailing (Eastliek and Lotz, 1999; Hakan, 2011; Korzaan, 2003; Peroiti et al., 2003, Yu and Wu, 2007).\nMethodology: Construct measurement\nResults: Reliability and validity\nDiscussion and implications: The results in this study offer an initial step in exploring the relationship between country image and retail patronage intention in cross-cultural scenarios. The TRA model has explained well the proposed relations under the retail settings in question. Several notable and supportive results as well as some unexpected ones are found through hypotheses test. In both countries, country image has a positive impact on consumers' function based evaluations and experience based evaluations of a hypermarket store. Both types of evaluations also have positive effects on consumers' brand attitudes toward the target store. Moreover, experience based evaluations of a hypermarket store have a significant impact on consumers' patronage intentions to that store. However, the role of experience attributes in affecting Chinese consumers' store patronage intentions is more important than that of functional attributes, which exceeds our expectation. Nevertheless this finding complies with another cross-culture study which shows that the servicescape (included in the experience attributes) is the only significant antecedent to behavioural intentions in the grocery industry in China (Keillor et al., 2004). The direct influence of country image on consumers' store patronage intentions in Spain is another unexpected finding. Yet an empirical study in Germany concerning the banking and airline industry confirms the positive effect of COO on service purchase intention (Berentzen et al., 2008).\nConclusions and limitations: In summary, in this paper, the six constructs identified all have good reliability and the TRA model has well explained the proposed relations under cross-cultural retail settings. Empirical research indicates that, in both China and Spain, country image has a significant impact on consumers' function based evaluations and experience based evaluations toward a hypermarket store. These two types of evaluations have significant effects on consumers' brand attitudes toward the target store. Moreover, both consumers' brand attitudes and subjective norms significantly affect their patronage intentions to a hypermarket store. In Spain, country image has a direct effect on consumers' hypermarket patronage intentions while, in China, this effect is indirect. Furthermore, Spanish consumers tend to rely more on the experience attributes of a hypermarket store and are less likely to be affected by subjective norms in deciding on their patronage behaviours. Another finding is that Chinese consumers have stronger ethnocentric tendency in their hypermarket patronage behaviours than do Spanish consumers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural influences that country image has on consumers' hypermarket patronage intention in China and Spain.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Structural equation modelling is utilised to examine the competency of the model in explaining both Spanish and Chinese consumers' intention to patronize major hypermarket brands in their own countries.\nFindings: This study has tested the applicability of TRA model in both the China case and the Spain case and confirmed the role of national culture in influencing retail patronage behaviour. In Spain, country image has a direct effect on consumers' hypermarket patronage intention while in China this effect is indirect. In deciding on their patronage behaviours, Spanish consumers tend to rely more on the experience attributes of a hypermarket store and are less likely to be affected by subjective norms. In contrast, Chinese consumers have stronger ethnocentric tendencies in hypermarket shopping behaviour than do Spanish consumers.\nResearch limitations/implications: The coverage and components of the sample are limited. The convergent validity and discriminant validity of country image scale has not been tested thoroughly.\nPractical implications: Foreign hypermarket managers in China should attach special importance to enhancing the experience attributes of their stores and realize the important role of subjective norm in affecting consumers' retail patronage behaviour in collectivist cultures. In addition, multinational retailers in China need to forge a sound image of \"corporate citizen\" in order to diminish the negative impact of consumer ethnocentrism on their operations.\nOriginality/value: This paper for the first time tests a model developed in western contexts to explain retailer patronage behaviour in an eastern country and examines the cultural differences of country image effects on this behaviour.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Crime and economic conditions in Malaysia	[ "Crimes", "Economic conditions", "Malaysia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The criminology and sociology literature are rich with scholarly attempts to identify the variables affecting criminal activity. The empirical literature addressing the relationship between crime and various measures of economic deprivation (such as income inequality, poverty, and unemployment) is extensive. Crime results in the loss of property, lives, and misery. In the USA, Freeman (1996) estimates the total cost due to crime in 1995 is about 2 percent of GDP and another 2 percent of GDP is allotted to crime control activities. Recognizing the importance of deterring crime, Freeman (1996) notes that the state of California spent more on prisons than on higher education whereby the budget allocated to spending on prisons rose from 2 percent in 1980 to 9.9 percent in 1995 compared to spending on higher education which shrunk for 12.6 percent in 1980 to 9.5 percent in 1995.Malaysia is no exception to crime offenders. The phenomenon of crime wave has received an increasing attention and the criminal activity has been given wide coverage in the newspaper and media. Despite this alarming event, Malaysia's criminal activity has received little attention and remains largely neglected by the economics of crime literature originally proposed by Becker (1968) and Ehrlich (1973). Thus, the purpose of the present study is to fill this gap in the literature by providing some empirical evidence on the link between economic conditions and the crime rates in a developing economy, Malaysia. In any country, crime is much a nuisance. Besides endangering public security and peace, crimes also caused millions from the government's treasury to fund investigations, trials and maintaining prisons. Speaking about crime rate in Malaysia, the numbers are getting bigger and bigger. With rapid increment in population (Malaysia's population have doubled in the last two decades) more and more criminals are born. Studies have shown that economic growth and greater affluence have produced more crime. Thus, Malaysia being a rapidly developing country with fast increasing population is an important subject of study. This study considered a bivariate analysis between the impact of real gross national product per capita (rgnp) as measure of economic conditions on 15 categories of crime in Malaysia, namely total crime, violent, murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, robbery, rape, assault, property, daylight burglary, night burglary, lorry-van theft, car theft, motorcycle theft, and larceny.The paper is organized as follows. In the next section, we discuss some evidence on the effect of economic conditions on criminal activity. In Section 3, we present the unit root, cointegration and Granger causality tests in the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing framework used in the study. In Section 4, we discuss the empirical results and the last section contains our conclusion.\n2. A review of related literature: The seminal paper by Becker (1968) has resulted in the proliferation of numerous studies on the economics of crime. In his theoretical paper, Becker (1968) assumes that criminals are rational and utility maximizing individuals and therefore, contended that an individual will decide whether to engage in crime by comparing the benefits and costs of committing crime. When deciding whether to commit crimes they will compare the expected costs of being caught and punished to the expected rewards of criminal behavior. Thus, Becker (1968) emphasizes on how changes in the probability and severity of punishment can alter the individual's decisions to commit crime. Later, Ehrlich (1973) extend Becker's crime model by including the role of opportunity cost between illegal and legal work. If legal income opportunities become scarce relative to potential gains from crime, the Becker-Ehrlich model predicts that crime will become more frequent. In other words, when opportunity cost in illegal activity is low, individual will turn into criminal as the payoffs is greater.Another classic theory that should not be missed is the Anomie theory. As mentioned by Collins (2003), the theory provides an explanation of the concentration of crime. The theory leans heavily on the work of one of several founders of sociology, Emile Durkheim, who used the term anomie to describe the lack of social regulation in modern societies as one manner that could elevate higher suicide rates. Robert Merton, a criminologist that applied Durkheim's definition of anomie to modern industrial societies with emphasis towards the USA, specifically redefined the term. According to Merton, anomie is the form that societal incoherence takes when there is a significant detachment \"between valued cultural ends and legitimate societal means to those ends.\" Anomie can be separated into two specific categories: macroside and microside. The former is caused when society fails to establish clear limits on goals and is unable to regulate the conduct of members in the society. The latter, more commonly referred to as strain, stresses its attention towards the breakdown of society and the increase in deviance associated with this declining change that produces a stronger pressure among members of society to commit crimes.Strain is the pressure on disadvantaged minority groups and the lower urban populous to take advantage of any effective available means to income and success that they can find even if these means are illegal.There are numerous other traditional and modern theories of crime and the future development of crime. Among them are as mentioned by Agnew (2009): 1. Social learning theory of crime whereby according to social learning theory, juveniles learn to engage in crime in the same way they learn to engage in conforming behavior: through association with or exposure to others.2. Control theory of crime which explains that, people do not engage in crime because of the controls or restraints placed on them. These controls may be viewed as barriers to crime-they refer to those factors that prevent them from engaging in crime. So while strain and social learning theory focus on those factors that push or lead the individual into crime, control theory focuses on the factors that restrain the individual from engaging in crime.3. Labeling theory of crime, this theory mentioned that, official efforts to control crime often have the effect of increasing crime. Individuals who are arrested, prosecuted, and punished are labeled as criminals. Others then view and treat these people as criminals, and this increases the likelihood of subsequent crime for several reasons.Meanwhile:4. the social disorganization theory of crime emphasizes on the immediate social environment, like the family, peer group, and school. And they are most concerned with explaining why some individuals are more likely to engage in crime than others.On the other hand:5. critical theories of crime try to explain group differences in crime rates in terms of the larger social environment; some focus on class differences, some on gender differences, and some on societal differences in crime.6. Situational theories of crime focus on the factors that create a general willingness or predisposition to engage in crime, locating such factors in the immediate and larger social environment. People who are disposed to crime generally commit more crime than those who are not.In numerous studies on economic factors on crime, economic condition seems to be one of the most important macroeconomic variables affecting crime. Economic adversity as a result of recession would encourage criminal activity. According to the economic models of crime such as Becker (1968), when a nation's economy becomes stronger, improvements in legitimate labor market opportunities make crime relatively less attractive. A study using panel data by Fajnzylber et al. (2002) on 15 industrialized, 11 Latin American and the Caribbean, 4 Eastern Europe, 3 Middle East, and 12 Asian countries, found that an increase in GDP per capita is associated with a significant fall in the robbery rate. This result support the view that economic conditions related to the economic cycles, such as employment opportunities and salaries in legal activities, have a strong impact on the incidence of crime. Other studies support that improving economic conditions will result in a fall in the level of criminal activity include Pyle and Deadman (1994), Deadman and Pyle (1997), Hale (1998) and Masin and Msih (1996).On the other hand, strong economic performances may induce criminal activities. The level and growth of economic activity in a society create attractive opportunities for employment and investment and as a result increase their wealth, but the increase in the size of individual's wealth will portray potential loot from crime will also rises. According to Ehrlich (1973), greater wealth means a higher level of transferable assets in the community and, thus, more lucrative targets for potential criminals. Therefore, a positive coefficient between wealth and crime would support the interpretation of wealth measures as indicators of illegal income opportunities. Study by Scorcu and Cellini (1998) support the positive relationship between financial wealth and crime in Italy, however, the relationship is weak as a result of the dominant impact of unemployment and consumption expenditure.\n3. Some stylised facts on crime rates in Malaysia: Table I illustrates the crime statistics by 12 categories of crime in Malaysia for the period 1973-2003. In the table, we sub-classify the period into 1973-1982, 1983-1992, and 1993-2003. In columns 2-4, we present the average number of cases, and in columns 5-7 is the average growth rates in crime cases, and the last three columns represent the average share of criminal activities in total crime. Total crime include both violent and property crimes. While murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, robbery, rape and assault constitute violent crime, property crime consisted of daylight burglary, night burglary, lorry-van theft, car theft, motorcycle theft, and larceny.As indicated in Table I, the average number of all crime cases has been on an increasing trend. For the past three decades, the quantum of crime cases has shown an upward trend for all crime categories except for a brief dropped in number of cases for attempted murder for the period of 1983-1992, and armed robbery in the period 1992-2003. In all three periods, property crime represented more than 80 percent of all crime recorded (see columns 8-10). The main contributor to property crime is larceny and followed by motorcycle theft and night burglary. Although the share of larceny and night burglary to total crime is on a decreasing trend, the share of motorcycle thefts is increasing. The share of motorcycle thefts has increased from 8 percent in 1973-1982 to 15 percent in 1983-1992 and 24 percent in 1993-2003 periods. As for other crime category, the share to total crime has been sustained.In Table I, from columns 5-7, we observed that the average percentage growth rate of all crime categories for the period 1983-1992 suggests that the growth in the number of cases is slowing down compared to the previous period. Except for murder and lorry-van theft, all category of crime has been slower despite their higher quantum in 1982-1993 compared to 1973-1982 periods. However, for the period 1992-2003, we experienced higher growth rates in all crime categories except for murder and armed robbery, which show an average growth of 3.2 and -1.9 percent, respectively.Methodology\n4. The empirical results: Before testing for cointegration by using the ARDL bounds testing procedure, we test for the order of integration for all categories of crime and the economic condition variables. Table II show the results of the unit root test for the test of the order of integration of the economic time series under investigation. Clearly, the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test (Dickey and Fuller, 1981) statistics indicate that all categories of crime and rgnp economic series in Malaysia are difference stationary, in other words, they are I(1) in levels.Having noted that all series are of the same order of integration, that is they are all I(1) processes, our relevant critical values are the upper bound of purely I(1) regressors. These results are tabulated in Table III. When crime is used as the dependent variable, the null hypothesis of no cointegration can be rejected in the cases of murder, armed robbery, rape, assault, daylight burglary, and motorcycle theft. On the other hand, when economic condition is used as the dependent variable, in all cases the null hypothesis of no cointegration cannot be rejected at least at the 10 percent level. Both these results suggest that there are long-run relationships between rgnp and the crime variable, namely; murder, armed robbery, rape, assault, daylight burglary, and motorcycle theft. Further, these results also suggest that the causal direction runs from economic condition to criminal activity and not vice versa. This implies that rgnp as a measure of economic condition is exogenous and thus is useful for the purpose as policy variable.In Table IV, we report the long-run elasticities and the short-run elasticities in Panels A and B, respectively. First, in all cases except for armed robbery, the long-run relationship between economic conditions and murder, rape, assault, daylight burglary, and motorcycle theft are positive. Results from both estimators, OLS and DOLS give similar size and sign of the parameters. In other words, in a strong economic performances criminal activities with respect to murder, rape, assault, daylight burglary, and motorcycle theft will rises in Malaysia. Higher economic growth means higher income and an increase of accumulated wealth of the population. But, the increase in the size of individual's wealth will portray potential loot from crime will also rises. As pointed by Ehrlich (1973), greater wealth means a higher level of transferable assets in the community and, thus, more lucrative targets for potential criminals. However, strong economic performance lead to a reduction of crime involving armed robbery in Malaysia in the long-run. On other hand, in the short-run, Panel B in Table IV indicates that strong economic conditions result only in the reduction of motorcycle theft.\n5. Conclusion: In this study, we employed the ARDL bounds testing procedure to investigate the long-run relationship between economic conditions variable and criminal activity using annual data for the period 1973-2003.The results suggest that rgnp and all categories of crime are non-stationary variables and achieved stationarity after first differencing. The cointegration analysis using the ARDL bounds testing approach indicate that murder, armed robbery, rape, assault, daylight burglary, and motorcycle theft are cointegrated with economic conditions measured by rgnp. The presence of cointegration between these variables tends to suggest they are bound together by common trends or long-run relationships. According to Masin and Msih (1996), although these cointegrated variables will have short-run or transitory deviations (or departures) from their long-run common trends, eventually forces will be set in motion which will drive them together again. Another important finding of this study is that the causal effect in all cases runs from economic conditions to crime. Important implication of this result is that rgnp is an exogenous variable and it is therefore useful for fiscal policy variable. Government of the day should seriously consider the results of this study in any crimefighting policies that are formulated. Further researches using other macroeconomic variables and also other countries are also encouraged.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of economic conditions on various categories of criminal activities in Malaysia for the period 1973-2003.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing procedure was employed as the main tool. Dynamic ordinary least squares was also used to check the robustness of the results.\nFindings: - The results indicate that murder, armed robbery, rape, assault, daylight burglary, and motorcycle theft exhibit long-run relationships with economic conditions, and the causal effect in all cases runs from economic conditions to crime rates and not vice versa. In the long-run, strong economic performances have a positive impact on murder, rape, assault, daylight burglary, and motorcycle theft, while on the other hand, economic conditions have negative impact on armed robbery.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Further researches using other macroeconomic variables and also other countries are encouraged.\nPractical implications: - The important implication of this result is that real gross national product per capita is an exogenous variable and it is, therefore, useful for fiscal policy variable. Government of the day should seriously consider the results of this study in any crimefighting policies that are formulated.\nOriginality/value: - An economic viewpoint of criminal activities in Malaysia.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reassessment of sentence combining and decombining: The effects of sentence manipulation activities on reading comprehension	[ "L2 learners", "Reading comprehension", "Sentence combining", "Sentence decombining", "Syntactic knowledge" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Sentence combining (SC) is a widely used instructional technique for the development of writing skills (Graham and Perin, 2007). In this approach, students are given several short sentences and asked to combine them into a longer and more complex sentence by applying syntactic knowledge. Early studies of SC (Mellon, 1969; O'Hare, 1973) documented the positive effects of this instructional approach on the development of syntactic fluency in composition among lower-secondary students in English Language Arts (ELA) classes, and since then, SC has attracted studies concentrating on the same issues with other age-group learners such as students in secondary-and-above levels (Daiker et al., 1978; Keen, 2004). Moreover, research on SC has expanded the technique's potential for fostering reading comprehension (Graham and Hebert, 2010). Along these lines, a number of studies have attempted to demonstrate the effects of SC on reading comprehension, in particular with upper elementary students (Neville and Searls, 1985; Wilkinson and Patty, 1993).\nBackground: Reading research has focused on different dimensions or aspects that may contribute to reading comprehension: for example, from lower-level processing, such as word recognition, orthographic processing and phonological processing (Cunningham et al., 2001; Holmes, 2009), to higher-level processing based on syntactic knowledge (Nation and Snowling, 2000). Among these dimensions, the importance of syntactic knowledge has been strongly highlighted not only in L1 studies (Cain, 2007; Nation and Snowling, 2000) but also in L2 studies (Bernhardt, 1991; Shiotsu and Weir, 2007). As the importance of syntactic knowledge in reading comprehension becomes ever clearer (Alderson, 2000; Bernhardt, 1991), continuous efforts have been made to enhance readers' syntactic knowledge. SC, which will be discussed next, is one of the explored approaches in this regard.\nMethods: Participants and context\nResults: Quantitative findings\nDiscussion: The present study focused on the effects of sentence manipulation activities on the development of reading comprehension among L2 adult learners during a six-week English language learning program. Overall, in comparison with the pre-test, all three groups scored higher on both the syntax section and the reading comprehension section on the post-test. However, it was found that SD was more effective in enhancing syntactic knowledge and reading comprehension than the other conditions, although the statistical significance for the comparison between the SD group and the control group on the syntactic part was marginal. Taken together, the finding suggests that SD activities, at least for the participants of this study, made a skill transfer possible (i.e. from writing to reading), which may be mediated by syntactic knowledge (Fitzgerald and Shanahan, 2000).\nConclusion: The present study examined the effects of SD and SC on reading comprehension among L2 learners. In short, we found that, for those L2 learners who have passed a pre-intermediate threshold level, SD is preferable to SC for enhancing syntactic knowledge, which, in turn, appears to contribute to better reading comprehension. The finding of the present study has pedagogical implications for ELA classrooms in English-speaking countries (Australia, the UK, the USA, etc.) where both NESs and ELLs are learning English literacy. Given that previous studies in this context have shown that SC activities bring about a positive effect on improving students' reading and writing skills, particularly for young learners who are developing their syntactic knowledge, we can further assume that SD activities could have some positive effects on these (or other) aspects of academic literacy, which calls for future research. In addition, the finding of the present study highlights the value of using pedagogical practices aimed at enhancing linguistic awareness through writing exercises for L2 learners. In this way, ELA teachers, who might not be familiar with this teaching technique, can study and examine syntactic constituents of the English language, particularly from the perspective of ELLs. Thus, formal training in sentence manipulation instruction should be mandatory for ELA teachers, so that they can be instructed on how to adapt existing sentence manipulating exercises to their own teaching contexts, in terms of the characteristics of their student population. Overall, educators and teachers are encouraged to exploit sentence manipulation activities (i.e. SD and SC) as an effective English teaching strategy according to the learner population.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of sentence combining (SC) and sentence decombining (SD) activities on fostering reading comprehension. As a widely used writing activity for enhancing syntactic fluency in English Language Arts (ELA) classes, SC requires learners to combine short sentences into longer and more complex sentences, while SD requires learners to break down a long sentence into the shortest grammatically allowable sentences.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study assessed the effects of SD and SC in comparison with a control group on the improvement of reading comprehension ability among college students learning English as their second language (L2) in the context of a six-week English language learning program. Participants with overall intermediate English language proficiency were randomly assigned to one of three different conditions: SC, SD and control. Also, a subset of the participants was interviewed after the intervention.\nFindings: The results showed that SD was more effective than SC or control condition in enhancing syntactic knowledge and reading comprehension, as measured by a standardized English proficiency test. Data obtained from post-study interviews further suggested that only SD was perceived by the participants as having enhanced their reading comprehension.\nOriginality/value: The present study provides a valuable addition to a body of research on sentence manipulation activities in ELA classes. For those L2 learners who have passed a pre-intermediate threshold level, SD appears to be more beneficial than SC in enhancing syntactic knowledge, which, in turn, appears to contribute to better reading comprehension.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
COO vs ROO: importance of the origin in customer preferences towards financial entities	[ "Financial sector", "Country-of-origin", "Preferences", "Conjoint analysis", "Region-of-origin" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Research on the place-of-origin (POO) effect has been present in the international marketing literature for the last few decades. An example of this is the work of Schooler (1965), which showed that regional fears, jealousies and animosities constitute invisible barriers to increase trade within the Central American Common Market. This is considered as one of the pioneer studies in this field. In this period, the number of works focussed on this research topic is significant and it can be held that research on POO effect is in a mature phase (Papadopoulos and Heslop, 2003; Ahmed and D'astous, 2008).\n2. Conceptual framework: 2.1 The POO effect\n3. Objectives and research design: 3.1 Hypotheses development\n4. Results: The scores given by the respondents to the eight financial institutions proposed were used to estimate the utilities they were implicitly assigning to the levels of the attributes considered (Table III), and thus the relative importance of those attributes. The value obtained for Kendall's t coefficient showed the model to fit correctly.\n5. Conclusions: The POO effect has been extensively studied. It is not a universal effect, but rather one that varies geographically and by category of product (Johansson, 1989). In the case of ROO studies, the primary focus has been on consumer goods, with little attention to the services sector. Very few works have considered regions and countries simultaneously. These reasons were the motivation behind the present work that, in particular, has sought to at least partially cover the gap in understanding the POO at different levels in the financial sector.\n6. Implications for management: In a study of this type it is important to emphasize the value of transferring the knowledge to the business sector. In the present case, the international economic and financial crisis has had a major negative impact on Spain, forcing it to restructure its financial system. Savings banks and credit unions represent more than half of the sector and usually have a regional scope of action. Most of them have been forced to undertake processes of integration to improve their solvency and competitiveness. From a marketing and brand management point of view, regional financial institutions which are in the process of integrating with competitors should consider whether to keep their regional brand (brand ROO) and enhance communication in this regard, or instead opt for a single common brand for all the regions in which they compete (national origin or brand COO). Our results constitute clear evidence in favour of the first option as brand strategy in internal markets.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the importance that customers give to the origin attribute when selecting a financial entity compared to other features directly related to the service that these institutions provide. In addition, this study aims at analysing what level of brand origin provides a greater utility for customers in their preference structure: regional, national or foreign.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The technique of conjoint analysis is applied via a survey of 427 customers to determine customers' preference structure when choosing a financial entity.\nFindings: Of particular note among the main results is the great importance the respondents give to the origin of the entity, preferring regional over national or foreign institutions. The existence of three different segments of customers based on their preference structure is also a remarkable result.\nResearch limitations/implications: Place-of-origin effect is not universal. Due to this fact, the results of the studies focussed on this research topic are difficult to extrapolate to other geographical areas.\nPractical implications: The current situation in southern Europe financial sector obliges many small financial entities to undertake mergers in order to face the stability and solvency policies established by European Central Bank. In this sense, these institutions must decide whether or not to maintain their regional brand identity. The results of this study show the appropriateness of maintaining and communicating the regional origin of the entities. These findings will contribute to guiding decision making on brand management for financial entities.\nOriginality/value: To the best of the knowledge, there is a lack of research on the place-of-origin through different levels simultaneously. This paper provides a starting point for further research about this effect in the services sector.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A transformative approach to work integrated learning in legal education	[ "Social transformation", "Transformative learning", "Legal education", "Work-integrated learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over the last decade, there has been a major push to produce \"work ready\" graduates across all professions including in legal education in Australia, England and the USA, with work-integrated learning (WIL) having been positioned as one of the central recommendations for the development of graduate attributes and employability skills (Smith et al., 2009; Universities Australia, 2008; Stuckey, 2007; Barker, 2012; Boon and Webb, 2008; Legal Education and Training Review, 2013; Lande, 2013; Backman, 2007-2008; Keleher et al., 2007; Watts, 2008; Lester and Costley, 2010; Costley et al., 2008).\nWIL in legal education - current context, scope and problems: There is a very long tradition of workplace training in legal education which is seen as essential to imparting practical lawyering skills. Workplace training in legal education has traditionally taken place after the student has completed their bachelor of laws studies (Woodley and Beattie, 2010; Stuckey, 2007; Flood, 2011; Hall and Kerrigan, 2011; Legal Education and Training Review, 2013). There is agreement amongst all law schools that a key function of the law school is to ensure that students are adequately prepared for the practice of law (McNamara, 2008, 2009; Legal Education and Training Review, 2013; Sullivan et al., 2007). Stuckey (2007) argues that WIL provides an effective mode of study to ensure that students gain the requisite experience and skills necessary to work in the legal arena. The literature identifies three types of WIL programmes offered in legal education: in simulation-based courses (these involve hypothetical situations where students assume a professional role and perform law related tasks), in-house clinics (where students perform professional tasks under the supervision of a faculty member) and externships (where students perform professional tasks under the supervision of a legal practitioner) (Stuckey, 2007; McNamara et al., 2009; Barker, 2012; Evans et al., 2012; Backman, 2007-2008; Feeley, 2007-2008).\nStructuring critical reflection and dialogue to enhance transformation: Reflective processes are increasingly used in CLE in each jurisdiction. Smith and Betts (2000) advance that the quality of learning in WIL programmes largely depends not on the quality of an experience but on the quality of the reflective process. Reflection turns experience into learning (Bolton, 2010). Critical reflection can enable students to see the law, the legal world, legal problems, the practice of law and the legal profession through alternative and multiple lenses (Way and Gilbert, 2008).\nConclusion: Drawing on Australia and incorporating comparative insights from England and the USA, this paper has demonstrated that the principal aims of legal education and WIL offered in legal education in these countries is directed at enhancing lawyering skills to produce \"work ready\" graduates. It has been argued that much of what is learnt and taught in legal education concerns a set of discipline based norms, aspirations, beliefs and attitudes with students being required to present their knowledge and findings to conform to and discipline-set modes. Given the structured nature of the law discipline, students often fail to challenge and venture from discipline-based modes of inquiry and thus fail to challenge the status quo.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current context, scope and problems in the provision of work-integrated learning (WIL) in legal education and how the adoption transformative pedagogies in WIL which is offered in legal education can foster personal and social transformation in addition to enhancing lawyering skills. The paper draws on learning from Australia, England and the USA.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The backdrop of this conceptual paper is WIL and transformative education. The text begins with a critique of existing WIL frameworks and practices in legal education in Australia, England and the USA. This exposes a focus on skills enhancement at the expense of social and personal transformation. Drawing on transformative learning, the paper proposes practices which can be used in WIL offered in legal education to enhance personal and social transformation.\nFindings: There is very little literature on how legal education and WIL in legal education can enhance personal and social transformation. Tensions continue to exist between the predominant aim of instilling the legal skills necessary to ensure that graduates are prepared for legal practice through WIL programmes and between the need to simultaneously enhance critical consciousness and social transformation necessary for active participation in social and professional life.\nResearch limitations/implications: More research is required on the best manner in which the ideals and practices of emancipatory education can be installed within WIL programmes so as to successfully reduce the tensions between the instilling of legal skills required to practice law and the need to train students to be holistic, critical and constructive thinkers.\nPractical implications: The suggestions made in this paper provide a framework to adopt critical pedagogies in the provision of WIL in legal education. The theoeretical and practice-based suggestions presented in this paper are also relevant to other professional disciplines where personal transformation is desired.\nOriginality/value: The literature on legal education predominantly focuses on enhancing lawyering skills and competencies and there is an absence of the utilisation of transformative pedagogies in legal education generally and WIL offered in legal education. Drawing predominantly on the literature and practices relating to legal education in Australia and incorporating comparative insights from England and the USA, the paper contributes to the broader literature on transformative learning. Most significantly, the paper contributes specifically to the use of transformative pedagogies in WIL offered in legal education through the suggestion of practices relating to critical reflection and dialogue which are not commonly used in legal education.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Research "push", long term-change, and general practice	[ "Sustainability", "Qualitative research", "Organizational change", "Implementation", "Clinical guidelines", "General practice" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: Increasing attention has been paid to the social processes associated with the uptake of evidence, and in particular, through the notion of complex interventions in health care. The Medical Research Council defines these as \"interventions that contain several interacting components\" (MRC, 2008). Many complex interventions are driven by researchers attempting to implement evidence and such endeavours are described as \"research push\" (Greenhalgh et al., 2004). A growing empirical and theoretically informed literature explores and debates the issue of implementation. It demonstrates that there are a number of difficulties associated with implementing complex interventions, resulting from multiple cross-cutting factors such as policy context, organizational factors and challenges facing organizational change, professional identities and relationships, dissemination and uptake of knowledge, and individual actions (Pentland and Feldman, 2007; May et al., 2007; Swan et al., 2007; Lourencoa et al., 2011; Kitchener and Mertz, 2012; Glasziou and Haynes, 2005; Greenhalgh et al., 2004). These insights offer a focus on the significance of social structure and the workings of human agency whereby organizational systems are created and recreated by the actors located within them (Pawson, 2006; Callaghan, 2008) and that health care interventions are \"affected by past history, present context and the inter-relationships of the individuals (considered as complex systems) with other complex systems\" (Byrne, 2013, p. 221). Research to date has tended to focus on the reasons why interventions have not been fully operationalized with less attention paid to the issue of longer term routinization or sustainability (Martin et al., 2011, 2012). A review of the literature is followed by an outline of the exemplar of one intervention, this study's methods, findings, and a discussion of relevance to understanding uptake of new (\"research push\") interventions.\nMethods: The trial intervention\nResults: In this section we discuss the themes that we identified in the data relating to operationalizing and integrating the intervention into usual ways of working, experiences of delivering the intervention, and strategies to continue using elements of the trialled approach whilst negotiating contextual barriers. Where appropriate we situate themes against NPT constructs and in the discussion we reflect on what may be missed by the NPT and how these issues may be addressed and incorporated theoretically.\nDiscussion: Applying the NPT constructs to the MOSAICS study allowed for a systematic assessment of the processes of implementation and embedding. One tension in utilising such an approach is that it can influence the focus of the data collected, subsequent analysis, and the findings. But as detailed in the methods section we took steps to ensure themes, issues and topics which sat outside of the scope of NPT could be explored and accounted for. We detail the implications of these findings for theory and practice below.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Intervention evaluations have not always accounted for long-term implementation of interventions. The purpose of this paper is to explore implementation of a primary care intervention during the lifespan of the trial and beyond.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Eight general practices participated in the trial (four control and four intervention). In-depth interviews (with nine GPs and four practices nurses who delivered the intervention) and observation methods were employed. Thematic analysis was utilized and Normalization Process Theory (NPT) constructs were compared with emergent themes.\nFindings: Macro-level policy imperatives shaped practice priorities which resulted in the \"whole system\" new intervention not being perceived to be sustainable. Continued routinization of the intervention into usual care beyond the lifespan of the funded study was dependent on individualized monitoring and taking forward tacit knowledge.\nResearch limitations/implications: The authors discuss the implications of these findings for sociological theories of implementation and understanding outcomes of research led complex interventions.\nOriginality/value: The study describes the complex interplay between macro processes and individual situated practices and contributes to understanding if, how, and why interventions are sustained beyond initial \"research push\". The value of the study lies in describing the conditions and potential consequences of long-term implementation, which might be translated to other contexts.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Cross-border B2C e-commerce to China: An evaluation of different logistics solutions under uncertainty	[ "Risk", "Uncertainty", "Logistics", "Decision analysis", "CBEC", "Cross-border e-commerce" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: China is the largest B2C e-commerce market in the world, valued at over EUR1,000bn in 2018 and with a market share of almost 40 per cent of global e-commerce (Lee, 2017). Since 2013, it has been attracting numerous foreign companies to set up their online business, mainly facilitated by large players such as Alibaba's Tmall or JD.com (Giuffrida et al., 2018) and by the emergence of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC). This model allows foreign legal entities to sell online in China without a local physical presence, partly simplifying internationalisation processes. However, CBEC has also brought new challenges, especially in the logistics domain. These are related to the increasing demand for advanced service features, including quick delivery to designated locations, tracking of delivery status or possibility to return goods. The urge to meet such needs has led to the creation of innovative and collaborative business models characterised by a strong coordination between logistics service providers and e-commerce operators.\nLiterature review: CBEC logistics in China: main challenges and logistics models\nMethodology: Research framework\nResults and discussion: RQ1\nImplications of the research: Implications for theory\nConclusion: The overarching aim of this research is to help companies solve the \"decision problem\", here defined as the risk-informed selection of an appropriate CBEC logistics solution. This topic is analysed through two research questions that compare the performances of four main logistics solutions under probabilistic and deterministic scenarios.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to support companies' risk-informed selection of a logistics solution to operate in China via cross-border e-commerce (CBEC).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Decision theory is applied to the recent field of CBEC. This theoretic setup involves a decision maker who must choose among a set of alternatives, whose consequences depend on uncertain factors (Savage, 1954). The study develops an activity-based model to calculate logistics costs in a deterministic setting. Simulations and probabilistic sensitivity analyses are later performed to evaluate the impact of uncertainty.\nFindings: There are four main solutions to enter China, determined by the adopted international transport mean and the presence of a local warehouse. The most important risk factors affecting the choice of the logistics solution are change of CBEC regulation, product value, expected service level and demand level.\nOriginality/value: From a theoretical perspective, this study improves CBEC literature, so far characterised by descriptive papers, often lacking industry focus or empirical exploration. It also provides new application opportunities for decision theory, whereas previous contributions have proposed different theoretical approaches, such as transaction cost or institutional theory. From a practical viewpoint, the paper is the first to compare the costs of the main logistics solutions to sell online to China, by taking uncertainty into account. The results can be used to better understand the differences among solutions and identify the most critical parameters. Finally, this research provides some observations for policy implementation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Effects of the Dutch Skills for Life program on the health behavior, bullying, and suicidal ideation of secondary school students	[ "Health education", "Health", "Bullying", "Schools", "Well-being", "Adolescent health", "Disadvantage", "Skills", "Suicide", "School health promotion", "Social and emotional learning", "Health promoting" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Estimates indicate that each year 20 per cent of adolescents in the world suffer from mental health problems, such as aggression, depression and anxiety (WHO, 2012). Mental health and well-being in adolescence have implications for self-esteem, school attendance, academic achievement, social cohesion and future health and life chances and vice versa (Zins et al., 2006; WHO, 2012). Support from, and feelings of connectedness with, social contexts at home, at school and in the community are important in this age group for the development of healthy behaviours (WHO, 2003; Atkins et al., 2010; Weist et al., 2010; Trickett and Rowe, 2012; Busch et al., 2013). Schools should therefore not only aim their efforts at improving academic achievement of students, but also pay attention to the social emotional and moral development by teaching students appropriate skills that they can use during the course of their life (Onderwijsraad, 2013; Eccless and Roeser, 2011; Stewart and Wang, 2012; Langford et al., 2014).\nMethods: The \"Skills for Life\" programme\nResults: Participating schools and students\nDiscussion: The main goal of the current study was to evaluate the effects of the Dutch \"Skills for Life\" programme on health behaviours. The \"Skills for Life\" programme aims to improve students' social and emotional skills and the teachers' ability to transfer these skills.\nConclusion: Overall it is concluded that the Dutch universal SEL programme \"Skills for Life\" has some positive effects on some health outcome measures among students especially for the disadvantaged. Universal SEL programs can be considered a promising option to be included in the Health Promoting School framework. This may benefit especially those students from a more disadvantaged background.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of the Dutch \"Skills for Life\" programme on students' health behaviours, bullying behaviour and suicidal ideation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The effectiveness of the \"Skills for Life\" programme on health behaviour outcomes was evaluated at three points in time in using a cluster randomized controlled study design with a follow-up of 20 months. In total, 27 schools and 1,394 students were included.\nFindings: The programme was judged to be well implemented in just under half of cases. The outcome results for the experimental group (EG) compared with controls present a complex picture at the three different time points used for evaluation. There was a clearly positive effect on levels of alcohol consumption and a clearly negative effect on smoking across time. There was a mixed picture over time for suicide ideation and for bullying including sexual bullying (although the prevalence rates for bullying were low and thus results should be treated with caution). There were generally more positive impacts on students with lower educational levels including less suicidal ideation and less bullying.\nResearch limitations/implications: Limitations were the dropping out of several schools during the study and the low level of fidelity of the curriculum. Social emotional learning (SEL) programs can be part of a health promoting school framework but should be more tailored to disadvantaged school populations.\nOriginality/value: The findings indicate that students with a less optimal starting position, when it comes to health related behaviours, benefit most from a SEL programme. This indicates that schools with disadvantaged school populations could benefit most from a Health Promoting School approach.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Maintenance practices and parameters for marine mechanical systems: a review	[ "Maintenance strategies", "Maintenance analytics", "Marine", "Marine vehicle", "Maintenance parameters", "Maintenance practices" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Incident and accident investigation reports by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have attributed that approximately a quarter of all maritime incidents and accidents are due to machinery failure (Dobie, 2015; Islam et al., 2017). The type of marine vehicle(s) (MV) depends on its purpose as summarized in Table I, right from the design phase to the final product (IMO, 2017; IACS, 2016). Table II indicates the world merchant vessels by age and size. Equasis (2017) classified MV into four categories depending on their Gross Tonnage (GT) as follows: small (100<= GT <500), medium (500 GT <25,000), large (25,000 GT <60,000) and very large (GT 60,000). On average, the lifespan of an MV varies depending on the type of vessel. Container ships are the youngest type of MV, with the average of 10.7 years, and second in the rank are the bulk carriers with the average age of 15.3 years, followed by oil tankers, general cargo ships, and other vessels with the average ages of 16.4, 24.2, and 25.1 years, respectively (UNCTAD, 2017).\n2. Maintenance framework, methodologies and tools for marine mechanical systems: The International Safety Management (ISM) code, IMO (2018a), Section 10 Element 1-4, governs the marine maintenance framework for MV and PME systems. Section 10 of the ISM code emphasizes the relevance of maintenance intervals, maintenance records, regular testing of PME systems to ensure their reliability during operation (IMO, 2018a). Although there are set of guidelines stipulated by the ISM code, Bhattacharya (2012) discovered that there is a considerable disparity between managers' and seafarers' understanding of the use of the ISM code resulting in a wide gap between its intended purpose and practice. This is also supported by Schroder-Hinrichs et al. (2011), who found out that the spirit of the ISM code was lacking in the analysis sections of MV accident reports which requires a direct intervention of MV owners.\n3. Marine maintenance parameters: Before maintenance strategies and models are developed, there is need to first identify the input and/or output parameters. This enables the implementation much easier and helps in the predefining of the expected outcomes. Tables IV and V highlight both quantitative and qualitative aspects regarding the maintenance parameters and approaches used, respectively, from the available literature in the maritime industry for selected mechanical systems. Table VI shows the classification of MV mechanical systems and the preferred maintenance practices from various authors.\n4. Conclusion: This paper aims to provide a coherent overview on the various maintenance strategies, tools and platforms that are used in the maritime industry for mechanical systems, with the objective of identifying maintenance parameters.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review maintenance practices, tools and parameters for marine mechanical systems that can be classified as plant, machinery and equipment (PME). It provides an insight for the maintenance crew on which maintenance parameters and practices are critical for a given PME systems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The review paper characterizes the various maintenance parameters and maintenance practices used onshore and offshore for PME and identifies the possible gaps.\nFindings: A variety of maintenance techniques are being used in the marine industry such as corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance and condition-based maintenance. As marine vehicles (MV) get older, the most important maintenance parameters become maintenance costs, reliability and safety. Maintenance models that have been developed in line with marine mechanical systems have been validated using a single system, whose outcome could be different if another PME system is used for validation.\nResearch limitations/implications: There is a limited literature on MV maintenance parameters and maintenance characterization regarding mechanical systems. The maintenance practices or strategies of marine mechanical systems should be based on maintenance parameters that suit the marine industry for a given PME.\nOriginality/value: Based on the available literature, the paper provides a variety of maintenance framework, parameters and practices for marine mechanical systems. The paper further gives an insight on what maintenance parameters, strategies and platforms are given preference in the shipping industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Advancement of behavioral energy interventions in commercial buildings	[ "Behaviour", "Energy management", "Energy saving", "Commercial buildings", "Energy interventions", "Occupant behavior" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Commercial energy use is the fastest growing energy demand sector worldwide (EIA, 2016). Approximately one-third of this energy is consumed by plug and process loads that are mainly controlled by building occupants (NREL, 2013). Thus, to limit the growth in global energy consumption, the focus of recent energy-conservation efforts in office environments has turned from technological or operational modifications to controlling end-user behavior.\nResearch methods: To collect and analyze all relevant information presented in prior research, the authors followed the procedure of systematic literature review (Brereton et al., 2007; Cook et al., 1997; Kitchenham, 2007). The applied methodology consisted of the following three phases:\nAntecedent interventions: Antecedent interventions aim to influence one or more behavior determinants prior to the behavior by raising participant awareness about the target behavior. Depending on the study design, the awareness raising can be done by sharing information, setting goals and/or providing incentives and rewards.\nConsequence interventions: Consequence interventions aim to influence behavior determinants after the behavior has occurred by providing information, or feedback, about its consequences. Feedback interventions differ in terms of the frequency and content of the feedback. Based on the frequency and timing, the feedback methods can be roughly divided into delayed and real-time feedback. In terms of feedback content, the studies can be divided to self and peer comparison.\nDiscussion and recommendations: The review on the past ten years of commercial energy intervention studies showed mixed evidence of the reducing impacts that interventions can have on occupants' energy behavior in office settings. In general, interventions that allowed occupants to compare their energy consumption with their peers' were the most successful in reducing energy consumption (Dixon et al., 2014; Gulbinas and Taylor, 2014; Gustafson and Longland, 2008; Metzger et al., 2011; Orland et al., 2014; Yun et al., 2014). The least impressive and often negligible energy savings were observed when occupants were solely provided untargeted energy conservation information or education (Jones et al., 2011; Metzger et al., 2011; Zografakis et al., 2008). These findings align with the conclusions of prior meta-analyses on household energy interventions (Abrahamse et al., 2005; Fischer, 2008), and demonstrate that the energy-reducing impacts of eco-feedback are not limited to residential setting. However, the wide range in the length and extent of the reported energy savings shows that more empirical research is still needed to fully understand the mechanisms through which long-term changes in occupant energy behavior can be achieved.\nConclusions: This paper summarizes the findings of energy behavior intervention studies that were conducted in commercial buildings between 2005 and 2015. The reviewed studies were selected by applying a three-step screening protocol in four major scientific databases. The assessment of the research findings revealed large variability in intervention designs and resulting outcomes, but showed that commercial energy interventions were generally successful at impacting occupant energy consumption. While best results were obtained by applying comparative feedback and energy competition strategies, the lack of long-term effect measurements prevents conclusions from their effectiveness in changing occupant behavior permanently.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify opportunities, barriers and guidelines for future research in behavioral energy interventions in commercial buildings.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study methodology includes a three-step screening protocol with a collection of prior publications, clustering of related studies and results and analysis of the findings of the prior studies.\nFindings: The review showed that commercial energy interventions were generally successful at impacting occupant energy consumption. Most energy savings were obtained by applying comparative feedback and energy competition strategies, but the lack of long-term effect measurements prevents drawing conclusions regarding their long-term effectiveness. The authors suggest that future studies should explore the impacts that occupant characteristics, environment and community and intervention implementation have on the success of the energy intervention, and integrate these findings into the intervention design. In addition, the authors call for more discussion on the feasibility issues that researchers, policymakers and educators face when implementing these energy interventions to streamline sustainability efforts in the future.\nOriginality/value: Research on assessing the effectiveness of occupant behavior interventions has increased considerably over the past decade. This review includes a structured analysis of prior studies of behavioral energy interventions in commercial buildings and encompasses studies conducted between 2005 and 2015. The review is unique in that it focuses on comparing empirical studies that quantified measured energy savings.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A new approach to the Scoreboard	[ "Competitiveness", "Public finance", "Contagion", "External position" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In order to provide a broader macroeconomic surveillance of all member states, the European Commission raised a proposal to establish the Excessive Imbalance Procedure (EIP henceforth) and discussed about the details of it during the LIME meetings. A first task was to complete the design of the initial Scoreboard of early warning indicators, which, combined with economic reading, will be used in the Alert Mechanism Report.\n2. Literature review: To give a well-detailed overview of the literature's debate in each area of interest, we will discuss the principal findings of the relevant studies, dividing them by topics, although these arguments are much related to each other.\n3. Data and empirical approach: 3.1. Database and methodology\n4. Conclusions: Persistent macroeconomic imbalances, which can be observed in increasing external deficits, losses in competitiveness, increasing debt-to-GDP ratio are the indicators of the economic crisis and the situation in which Euro-area countries are dealing with. The main feature of the approach adopted in this paper is the introduction of more variables than those initially proposed by the European Commission in the construction of the Scoreboard. This provides more information about the macroeconomic situation in each country, preserving, however, the simplicity of the analysis as the variables are aggregated by homogeneous areas. Furthermore, correlation analysis has been undertaken in order to verify the influence that some variables might have on others, as well as to obtain more accurate information about the relationship between different kinds of imbalances. As catching-up countries can have different development patterns from the developed countries, not all of their imbalances are to be considered problematic. The analysis and an early warning system should not derive from a mechanical application of the Scoreboard results, but from an in-depth-analysis that the Scoreboard will trigger.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the information content of the variables that can help detecting external and internal imbalances in an early stage. The starting point is the Scoreboard, where nine indicators are chosen in order to increase macroeconomic surveillance of all member states.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper provides an overview of the variables that could be informative for imbalances by focusing on EU-27 countries over the period 1960-2010. The number of chosen variables is 28, and they are aggregated in six macro-areas. Therefore, once an imbalance is observed in any of those areas, it is possible to detect in a simple way which specific variable is determining such outcome.\nFindings: In general, this approach provides reliable signal to the policy-makers about the indicators that can drive imbalances within the area, shedding light on the relationship among the variables included in the analysis, too.\nResearch limitations/implications: In fact, the empirical results underline some well-known critical issue for several countries, and is largely in line with results obtained in a variety of EC and OECD studies.\nOriginality/value: The main added value of the approach adopted in this paper is the introduction of more variables than those initially proposed by the European Commission in the construction of the Scoreboard. This provides more information about the macroeconomic situation in each country, preserving, however, the simplicity of the analysis as the variables are aggregated by homogeneous areas.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Construct creation from research questions	[ "Self-generated validity", "Attitudes", "Ecological validity", "Survey", "Methodology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Consider a scenario in which a consumer is asked to evaluate a fictional brand, or a real brand, that they have never encountered using a survey scale which asks the consumer to rate the \"confidence\" of the brand on a one to five scale. In either case, the consumer will rate the brand, despite having no knowledge and no pre-existing attitude to the brand. In other words, the consumer will provide an answer by creating an attitude on-the-spot, this being the result of the researcher asking the question. Whether the brand is real or fictional, the attitude that is expressed does not in any way represent anything about the consumer's attitude to the brand prior to the research. It does not matter whether the brand is real and unknown, or fictional, the answer in both cases provides no real insight into the consumer's views outside of the narrow boundaries of the research setting. While the rating of the \"confidence\" of the brand might appear to be useful data, it represents only an artefact of the research process, rather than data that might inform researcher about real world setting.\nWhat is construct creation?: The idea that constructs need to address issues of validity is not new, for example Churchill (1979) observes the problem of \"garbage in, garbage out\", meaning that while the statistical analysis might provide a veneer of legitimacy to research, the underlying construct that is measured needs more than statistical validity. In particular, Churchill argues that a \"trait\" should not simply be an artefact of the measurement procedure. A parallel stream of literature has considered problems of bias and measurement error (Podsakoff et al., 2012), and there have been ongoing efforts to address this (Krosnick and Presser, 2010).\nParticipant construct creation in research and theory: In this section, we aim to highlight a longstanding interest in CC and examine literature on CC in more detail. In particular, we focus on the way in which previous research has come to discuss CC but noticeably, not go so far as to outline how CC can develop a field of enquiry or infiltrate empirical data where findings are not valid for a participant beyond the research process. Following this, we outline how the concept of CC is \"sidestepped\", and the efforts made to \"explain away\" CC.\nMethodology: Study overview\nResults: Pre-test\nDiscussion: One of the key aims of the study was to demonstrate how constructs can be created from nothing more than the researcher's research process, to which participants respond. Before entering our laboratory, our participants had no constructs, whether latent or otherwise, or indeed any ideas about the construct of brand personality in relation to rocks. As a result of our questions, which clearly lacked ecological validity (Brunswik, 1955) and were reliant on an attitude being created on-the-spot, a brand personality for rocks was constructed: the \"creation\" of a construct. This is a significant concern for research, as CC highlights the potential for researchers themselves to develop a field of enquiry despite it only existing in the minds of the participant because of the researcher's query. As such, we have extended prior research on CC by overcoming the previous explanations used to sidestep it (Krosnick et al., 2002; Krosnick et al., 2005), in particular in relation to discussion of DK research, as they are irrelevant in relation to our research.\nConclusion: If this were not a methodological paper, how would you view our findings? We would have presented a strong case for the idea that people are walking around the world thinking of rocks as friendly, sincere and intelligent. Of course, we know that brand personality for rocks is nonsense and this is why we emphasise the importance of avoiding self-generated validity and maintaining ecological validity. Although statistical tests have their place if we are to understand inattentive responses amongst participants (McGonagle et al., 2015; Meade and Craig, 2012) and the validity of measures (Ping, 2004), researchers do not statistically test for the incidence of self-generated validity or ecological validity.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Construct Creation (CC) is a methodological problem occurring when a research process, instead of measuring an extant construct in the participant's mind, creates the construct. The purpose of this paper is to argue that CC derives from problems around ecologically invalid research and attitudinal responses developed on the spot, both resulting from self-generated validity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A between-subjects design was used to explore whether the personification prime (PP), a component of brand personality (BP) methodology, influenced the CC of BP for rocks. Analysis of qualitative data on how participants made their BP ratings in the absence of a PP was also completed.\nFindings: Findings revealed that a methodology can enable CC in the participant's mind, despite the construct being ecologically invalid prior to them participating in the study. Analysis also revealed that participants will use varied, and sometimes elaborate, strategies to enable CC and provide researchers with the answers to their questions.\nResearch limitations/implications: Previous research has drawn attention to CC as a problem but the implications of prior research have so far been \"sidestepped\". Consequently, this paper demonstrates CC and why it is a problem, while rebutting some arguments made in prior research for sidestepping CC.\nPractical implications: CC is a potentially serious methodological problem that can result in invalid findings informing or misdirecting theory used by practitioners. As such, this paper proposes methods to ameliorate CC and improve ecological validity of future research.\nOriginality/value: This study will contribute to methodological literature by refocusing attention to the currently neglected problem of CC and by proposing a model of CC by participants.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Working women work-life conflict	[ "Banking", "Women", "Work‐life conflict", "Work place environment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Critics argue that women have been excluded from the study of work, and that, when they are studied, the analysis has often been distorted by sexist assumptions (Acker, 1977; Acker and Van Houten, 1974; Brown, 1976; Kanter, 1975, 1977; Oakley, 1974) and women's relationship to employment is treated as derivative of personal characteristics and relationships to family situations (Oakley, 1974; Laws, 1976).Prior to the industrial revolution, the family economy operated as a cohesive unit; typically all family members, regardless of age or gender, were engaged in productive labour (Tilly and Scott, 1978). Women presumably traded off work effort and income for more time and energy to devote to domestic labour (Becker, 1985). The greater the family demanded on a working woman, and the less help she receives, the more time she spends on housework (Silver and Goldscheider, 1994). As the boundaries between the \"separate spheres\" of home and work diminish, the workplace may have become friendlier to the family roles and responsibilities of both women and men (Silver and Goldscheider, 1994).The entrance of women of all ages into the labour force in the second half of the twentieth century has created another period of structural lag (Moen and Yu, 2000). During times of major social upheaval, when old rules and routines no longer apply, individual households may adopt various lines of adaptation (Moen and Wethington, 1992). In the case of dual-earner families, the focus should be on couple-level lines of adaptation and how they shift or, conversely, remain constant over the life course (Han and Moen, 1999). \"Balance\" is not simply the adjudication of two competing roles (employee versus spouse/parent), but, for two-earner couples, the three-way juggling of his job, her job, and their family goals and responsibilities.The life course formulation also underscores the notion of \"linked lives\" (Elder et al., 1996; Giele and Elder, 1998), and the paradigm of the social construction of gender emphasizes how women's \"choices\" are constrained by their husbands' circumstances (Bielby and Bielby, 1992; Risman, 1998). Gender, life stage, and one's spouse's circumstances constitute important contextual considerations in understanding the strains, conflicts, and overloads of workers in two-earner families and also important is the work environment (Moen and Yu, 2000). The two (related) family strategies that have been adopted culture-wide are postponing marriage and/or childbearing and reducing family size (Clarkberg, 1999; Pittman and Blanchard, 1996).Job autonomy, flexibility in when and where one works, and a supportive supervisor, should promote life quality, while job insecurity, a strong job ethic, and non-regular hours, might reduce life quality (Maret and Finlay, 1984). Given gendered expectations, along with a gendered opportunity structure (Browne and England, 1997), we, therefore, assume that women would benefit from arrangements providing the most family-related resources and supports-in terms of both economic capital (e.g. income, security) and social capital (e.g. less time on the job, a supportive supervisor). Wethington and Kessler (1989) found women with high employment commitments were more vulnerable to distress (see also Mirowsky, 1996).\n2. Significance of the study: The impact and significance of work-life conflict of women in the banking sector in Attock and Islamabad cities of Pakistan is addressed in this study. The reason for choosing this topic is to pinpoint the issue of work-life conflict faced by women, which is a significant dilemma which needs to be addressed, in order to develop strategies that will provide support for women who are balancing work-life and family-life. In fact, there exists a gap that can be analyzed and explored further by studying the relationship between work-life conflict and the dual responsibilities of women. Moreover, an argument can be given for further reducing this conflict because dual earning families are increasing in both industrial and non-industrial countries, where women at work are confronting the same quandary around work-home issues. It is therefore necessary to seriously tackle this issue to prevent it from becoming a dilemma in the future.\n3. Literature review: Pleck et al. (1980) reported that physical and psychological work demands were positively related to several types of work-family conflict. Goode (1960) suggests that role strain may well be endemic to living. The problem faced by all individuals is \"how to allocate energies and skills so as to reduce role strain to bearable proportions\" (Goode, 1960). In addition, Burke et al. (1980) found that the following work stressors were related to work family conflict: rate of work environment changes; participation in boundary-spanning activities; stress in communications; and mental concentration required at work. The gender roles perspective focuses on socialized attitudes and behavioral expectations of males and females (Ferree, 1990). Resources such as income, education, and occupational status are thought to contribute to a spouse's prestige or power in a relationship, making it possible to avoid \"mundane\" housework (Huber and Spitze, 1983).As Harriman (1982) points out, the length of the standard work week is not written on tablets of stone, although we often act as though it were. Women's increased share of the labour force has prompted businesses to respond to their family needs by providing \"flexitime\", or flexible work schedules (Wiatrowski, 1990).To resolve the time conflicts between the demands of paid work and family responsibilities, working women with families may turn to \"flexible\" jobs, which have become increasingly available (Silver and Goldscheider, 1994). Other opportunities for flexible employment have been growing in response to the needs of businesses to cut costs and respond to rapid changes in labour needs (Silver and Goldscheider, 1994). There is also evidence of increasing use of \"spatially flexible\" labor, i.e. home workers (Horvath, 1986).With technological change and the growth of the 24-hour economy, opportunities have grown for staggering working parents' work shifts, which appears to provide another method of reconciling demands on women to be in two places at once (Presser, 1988). In economic terms, flexible work may offer a \"compensating differential\" in the form of greater flexibility to organize time in one's personal life. Given that middle class women are having fewer children; their labour force participation is now less responsive to their position in the family cycle (Bergmann, 1986). Longitudinal evidence suggests that young working women do not switch to part-time employment after they marry or have a child unlike earlier cohorts who reduced their labour supply after these events (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1992). Women still do much more housework and family care than men, but the hour's women spend performing these duties have been declining, particularly among younger women (Robinson, 1988). Women's time spent on housework declines as their paid work hours rise (Ross, 1987). Time-based conflict is consistent with the excessive work time and schedule conflict dimensions identified by Pleck et al. (1980) and role overload identified by Kahn et al. (1964). Evidence indicates that the ability to bring one's paid work home may make it possible to interleave housework tasks, such as laundry and child care, with paid work (Silver, 1993). In general, the more demanding or disruptive a job is, the more it is likely to cut into domestic time (Silver and Goldscheider, 1994).Men are more likely to work outside a regular day shift than women (Mellor, 1986) but mothers are five times more likely to work evenings or nights primarily because of childcare (Presser, 1989). In dual-earner families, husbands are more likely to care for children when their wives are at work during non regular shifts (Presser, 1986, 1988). The larger the household, the more the housework, but also the more potential people there are to share the housework (Goldscheider and Waite, 1991). Women who earn more are likely to hire domestic help, since their time is more valuable (Goldscheider and Waite, 1991). More-educated women have been shown to do less housework (Berk, 1985; Goldscheider and Waite, 1991). Many of the variables associated with housework - like education, husband's employment, and traditional gender role attitudes - may also be determinants of taking flexible jobs, such as part-time, temporary, and noonday shift work, or working exclusively at home (Silver and Goldscheider, 1994). The rising number of nannies and au pairs points to another strategy for those who can afford it: in essence, hiring a \"wife\" (Hochschild, 1999).Kahn et al. (1964, p. 19) have defined role conflict as the \"simultaneous occurrence of two (or more) sets of pressures such that compliance with one would make more difficult compliance with the other\". Work-family conflict is positively related to the number of hours worked per week (Burke et al. 1980; Keith and Schafer, 1980; Pleck et al., 1980) as well as the number of hours worked/commuted per week (Bohen and Viveros-Long, 1981). Work-family conflict also has been associated with the amount and frequency of overtime and the presence and irregularity of shift work (Pleck et al., 1980). Herman and Gyllstrom (1977) found that married persons experienced more work-family conflict than unmarried persons. In a similar vein, it might be expected that parents would experience more work-family conflict than non-parents. Although support for this expectation has been mixed (Holahan and Gilbert, 1979; Pleck et al., 1980), having the major responsibility for childrearing may be the significant contributor to work-family conflict (Bohen and Viveros-Long, 1981). Large families, which are likely to be more time demanding than small families, also have been associated with high levels of work-family conflict (Cartwright, 1978; Keith and Schafer, 1980).The family becomes, in Goode's term, a \"role budget center\" (Goode, 1960), assuming a central position in the resolution of competing work and family claims. Parents with very young children cannot, for example, control the time pressures inherent in this life stage (Moen and Dempster-McClain, 1987). Ambiguity and/or conflict within the work role have been found to be positively related to work-family conflict (Jones and Butler, 1980; Kopelman et al., 1983). In addition, low levels of leader support and interaction facilitation appear to produce work-family conflict (Jones and Butler, 1980).3.1 Problem statement\n4. Research methodology: 4.1 Sampling and data collection\n5. Conceptual framework and hypothesis: The following hypotheses were suggested based on the comprehensive literature review:H1. House hold responsibility has a significant relationship with women's work life conflict.H2. Work place environment has a significant relationship with women's work life conflict.H3. Financial needs have a significant relationship with women's work life conflict.H4. Women earning potentials have a significant relationship with women's work life conflict.\n6. Results and analysis: 6.1. Descriptive statistics\n7. Discussion: Having a supportive supervisor and flexi-time work is negatively related to all the parameters of work life conflict. A bad supervisor's role during hard times is highly positively related to demands at work and peer assistance is highly negatively correlated to work overload and restricted work hours which means peer assistance can reduce demands at work but has no significant impact on reducing time conflict, mental distress and work overload.When there is more household expense i.e. money requirements and children (regardless of their number) are also present, then all four parameters show more work life conflict being faced. Whereas, family size and husband's income are negatively related to demands at work, time conflict and mental distress show the same trend. As the number of family members increases and there are more earning hands in the family so there will be a reduction in work life conflict, however this is likely to result in work overload for women and there will still be more burden on them to manage all the work. An increase in a husband's income is likely to lower the mental distress and time conflict faced by women because they will be at ease of having an additional earning support for the family in the form of their husbands.The greatest R2 value is for work overload showing less variation in results and most reliability of findings. It can be seen that when there are more demands at work then less mundane household responsibilities are fulfilled, whereas mundane household responsibilities are positively related to time conflict, mental distress while being in two roles at a time and work overloads. A husband's attitude about their wife's job directly affects demands at work, time conflict and mental distress while being in two roles, the most and highly negatively related to work overload of wife. So if the husband adopts a traditional way of conceptualizing his wife's working, then his wife will surely experience more demands at work, more time conflict and increased mental distress while being in two roles at a time.\n8. Implications of the findings: It is evident from this study that the effects of stressful life events and the effects of conflict arising from the juggling of work and family responsibilities have individual and interactive adverse physical and mental health consequences for women. For instance, long working hours lead to stress and mental health problems in women such as burnout, depression and a variety of other illness. Burnout in women leads to reduced energy, difficulties in dealing with others and difficulties completing the required tasks and duties of a job. They usually also have feelings of loss of control, helplessness and powerlessness. The findings revealed that improvement in the quality of work and family would produce a corresponding improvement in the quality of life. We have therefore concluded that positive stress, which is the competent management of stress, can enhance the wellbeing of women and can be harnessed to improve their job performance.\n9. Direction for future research: In order to develop a better understanding of this research, it would be useful to address such factors as the presence of children, number of children and marital status. Similarly, literature suggests that work life conflict leads to job turnover so there is a need for a separate study looking at women's work life conflict and job turn over.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Working women being housewives have to face major problems. They have to trade off between work domain and family life domain, in perspective sector and area chosen. This study investigates the factors behind work-life conflict experienced by women with responsibilities and type of work arrangement experienced\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study is conducted by exploring the responses of 100 women working in 25 different banks (public as well as private banks) in non-contrived environment using random sampling in Attock and Islamabad cities of Pakistan. Regression and correlation is used for statistical analysis\nFindings: - The impact of women's earning potentials, household responsibilities, workplace environment and financial needs is analyzed on women work-life conflict. Results from the study indicate that household responsibilities and workplace environment are strongly correlated to women work-life conflict. Response rate is 75 percent and all the values for Cronbach Alpha are agreeable. Women earning potential and workplace environment are negatively related while household responsibilities and financial needs are positively correlated to women work-life conflict\nResearch limitations/implications: - This research selected sample from only two cities Pakistan i.e. Attock and Islamabad. Future studies could select other cities and compare results with city of selected sample. This research used random sampling procedure, which is the main limitation of this study. Future studies could use stratified random sampling procedure with more sample size.\nPractical implications: - It is hoped that the findings of this study will assist the human resource managers, practitioners and strategy makers to better understand women problems.\nOriginality/value: - The added value of this paper is to link theory and practice, and explore the working women life conflict with job environment. Few studies have conducted over the years under this perspective in the Pakistan.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]

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