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Financing preferences of micro and small enterprise owners in Tigray: does POH hold?	[ "Entrepreneurialism", "Small enterprises", "Financing", "Ethiopia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Currently, micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are recognized as socio-economic and political development catalysts in both developed and developing economies (Hussain et al., 2006; Gregory et al., 2005; Fielden et al., 2006). Literature in the area show that, regardless of size, access to finance is one of the key impediments of MSEs' development (Gregory et al., 2005; Van Auken, 2005). Compared to large firms, MSEs face a relative disadvantage to raise finance from formal institutions such as banks. Tucker and Lean (2003) articulated the extant knowledge on this matter as follows:Smallest firms generally have smaller financial reserves geared compared to larger firms due to the difficulty and expense of attracting new equity finance. Thus, such firms do not only bear higher business risk but also higher financial distress risk. Banks tend to respond to this risk by adopting a capital-gearing rather than an income-gearing approach to lending. Thus, rather than focusing their attention on evaluating income streams flowing from an investment project they may focus more on the value of collateral available in the event of financial distress. This creates a problem for small firms in that they often do not have significant fixed assets to secure on in their early years of establishment. The stage of development then may be an important determinant of, and constraint on, the type and amount of external fund.Particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia, where the financial market is weakly efficient, there is high information asymmetry between financial institutions and MSEs. As a result, financial institutions face severe problems of adverse selection. That is why access to formal finance is usually difficult for MSEs.Johnsen and McMahon (2005) summarized five competent theories of MSEs financing; namely, Static Trade-off Theory, Agency Theory, Growth Cycle Theory, Alternative Resource (or Bootstrapping) explanations and Pecking Order Theory. According to Static Trade-off Theory, firms prefer external financing scheme to the extent that the marginal benefit due to tax shield advantage of debt is exactly equal to the marginal cost of financial distress (Ross et al., 2000, p. 504). This theory assumes that all factors are assumed to be fixed but the debt-equity ratio. In this theory, value of the firm and total debt are non-linearly related (Ross et al., 2000). Johnsen and McMahon (2005) stated that other factors held constant firms with more intangible assets need to borrow less, compared with firms with more tangible assets, because of the collateral factor.The Static Trade-off Theory has been more important and sensitive area of research for academics that practicing managers could not follow as much (Silveira and Slack, 2001). Particularly for MSEs, the importance of static trade-off is expected to be low because the theory requires practicing MSE owners to have financial sophistication, but customarily MSE owners are rather product specialists. On the other hand, an application of firm value optimization technique under static trade-off theory demands substantial reliable data. However, MSEs usually have weakly organized accounting system adding complexity to data generation problems.Agency Theory (Jenson and Meckling, 1976) explains the principal-agent relationship between equity holders and debt holders. In a principal-agent framework, the MSE is the agent and the finance provider is the principal. This theory asserts that principals have higher agency costs because equity-controlled firms have a tendency to invest sub optimally to expropriate wealth from debt holders (Jordan et al., 1998) that in turn results in incremental risk for the principal. That is, MSEs owners invest on high risk projects that the cost of debt should have been higher to share on the marginal return on investment. Johnsen and McMahon (2005) also pointed that firms experience higher agency cost due to the fact that equity-controlled firms have a tendency to sub optimal investment.Tucker and Lean (2003) showed that MSE owners might fail to perform to their full capabilities giving rise to the problem of moral hazard. This problem prevails in MSEs due to higher degree of information asymmetry between financial institutions and the owners of MSEs; that is why the former \"regulate\" performance of its loans by designing \"collateral incentives\". This incentive mechanism shapes the financing behavior of the MSEs owners particularly for MSEs organized as sole proprietorship and partnership forms of business. The issue of \"collateral incentive\" necessitates marginal risk that is applicable on the personal assets of the MSE owners. Hence, MSE owners sub-optimally finance their business through debt, other things being constant. They forgo additional value that could be generated through financial leverage that can be treated as a measure of \"liability risk\". Therefore, a given financing theory needs to embrace the \"games\" played between the agent, the firm, and the principal, the finance provider.Berger and Udell (1998) initiated the Growth Cycle Theory of small business financing. This theory illustrates the dynamic financial needs, as the small business becomes more experienced and enhanced informational transparency. In this theory, the firm gets better access to venture capital as a source of equity and midterm-loans as a source of debt (Gregory et al., 2005); yet, as the firm gets older and information-wise transparent it tends to have better access to public equity and long-term financing. Gregory et al. (2005) found that only firm size, as measured by total employees, could significantly determine the decision of whether to use insider financing instead of going for public equity or long-term financing.Van Auken (2005) defined Bootstrap Financing as a method of acquiring the use resources without resorting to debt or equity financing. He identified 28 possible sources of Bootstrap Financing that in turn are categorized onto five factor dimensions, namely: delaying payments, minimize accounts receivable, minimize investment, private owner-financing and sharing resources. Bootstrap financing claims that MSEs exhaust the possibilities of self-financing before going for external financing sources.Myers (1984) proposed the POH asserting, small firms strive for external sources of finance only if the internal sources are found inadequate. Besides, firms prefer to exhaust their borrowing capability before issuance of new equity due to reasons explained by Agency Theory (Jenson and Meckling, 1976), Information Asymmetry (Myers and Majluf, 1984) and Signaling Theory (Ross, 1997). Empirical evidence on the applicability of the POH in MSEs shows mixed results (Paul et al., 2007). MSE owners are generally concerned with level of intrusion instead of optimizing their firm value choosing the \"right\" debt-equity ratio (Hamilton and Fox, 1998). They try to meet their finance needs with a pecking order of personal savings and retained earnings, short-term borrowing, long-term debt and issuance of new equity (Hussain and Matlay, 2007).According to Paul et al. (2007), the POH has a relatively dominant explanation for small business finance. Hence, in this paper, the author set out to investigate the determinant factors of MSE owners' financing preference in Tigray regional state of Ethiopia in light of the POH. The paper proceeds as follows. First, hypotheses are developed based on the literature thereof. Second, the research method is outlined. Thereafter, research findings are presented followed by result based conclusions and implications for further research.\n2. Hypotheses development: Education versus financing preference\n3. Research method: Research data\n4. Research findings and discussion: Education versus financing preference\n5. Conclusions and further research: This paper presented empirical investigation of MSE owners' financing preference in light of POH. Factors such as; ownership type, acquisition type, level of education of the owner/s and reason for business startups are found to be major determinants of MSEs financing preferences.This paper has shown that MSEs owners' financing preference depends on the level of education. That is, educated owners of MSEs are in a better position to understand the link between finance and firm value. Hence, MSE owners with lower educational background are found to strictly follow the explanations of POH, exhausting all internal financing source possibilities before going for external finance. On the other hand, MSE owners with higher educational background have higher probability for choosing external sources of fund mainly debt with the intention of optimizing firm value. This conclusion has significant implications for financial and other related institutions that have stakes on MSEs. Possibly, MSEs owners could benefit from finance-related education and training.This paper empirically underpinned on the relationship between ownership type and financing preference. There seems to be an implied risk aversion behavior on the MSE owners that are established as sole proprietorships. To the contrary, with the presence of much intrusion, such as in ownership forms of partnership and companies there tend to exist financing preferences in favor of external sources even if internal sources are not exhaustively used.Finally, this paper has shown the fact that MSE owners that started their business based on self-initiation (that did not start the business as a matter of last choice) exhibit a strong tendency to use internal sources before looking for external source of finance. Hence, MSE entrepreneurs tend to operate at a financial sub-optimal level.The conclusions could substantially benefit from further researches with respect to the role of finance education and training on the financing preferences of MSEs owners. Qualitative assessments on the temporal stability of financing preferences of owners, the implication of culture on financing preferences of MSEs owners. With respect to the relationship between MSEs ownership structure and financing preference, the risk taking behavior of MSEs owners could be further researched. The relationships among degree of intrusion, risk diffusion and risk proclivity could also be further interests for research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to investigate the determinants of financing preferences of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) owners in Tigray regional state of Ethiopia in light of the Pecking Order Hypothesis (POH).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 120 MSEs in six zonal towns of Tigray regional state. Logistic regression model was used to empirically test the literature-driven hypotheses.\nFindings: - Key findings include that POH holds true for MSE owners in Tigray regional state as the educational level of owners decreases and there is less intrusion in the form of ownership. On the other hand, MSE owners with a higher degree of entrepreneurial skills are found to conform with the predictions of POH. Furthermore, factors such as ownership type, acquisition type, level of education of the owner/s and reason for business startups are found to be major determinants of MSE owners' financing preferences.\nResearch limitations/implications: - There are of course elements that could determine MSE owners' financing preferences that require better understanding before a reliable prescriptive position on SME financing can be reached. At the same time, in this paper, data were collected from one regional state of Ethiopia that limits the generalization power of the conclusions reached. A need for more in-depth qualitative investigation is further pointed out.\nOriginality/value: - The research shows significance of ownership structure, entrepreneurability and MSE owners' education level in financing decisions of MSEs. The paper empirically tests POH in MSEs in Tigray regional state of Ethiopia.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of strategic consistency on market share and ROA	[ "Marketing strategy", "Strategic fit", "Firm performance", "Credit unions", "Miles and Snow typology", "Porter typology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In difficult economic downturns, facing financial insecurity and increased job uncertainty shakes consumers out of their habitual decision making and makes them more price sensitive (Lamey et al., 2012). In order to lure the ever more demanding consumer and in response to the intensification of competition, in recent years financial service providers have begun to pursue more aggressive marketing strategies (Barboza and Roth, 2009). As there exist many different frameworks providing a diverse set of ways to think about marketing strategy, the need arises to research the importance of aligning these various aspects of strategy to firm performance (Uzelac and Sudarevic, 2006).\n2. Miles and Snow typology: Miles and Snow (1978) outline four different types of firms based on their strategic orientation: defenders, prospectors, analyzers, or reactors. Defenders focus on establishing and maintaining dominance in narrow and often premium niches in relatively stable industries. Such a strategy involves stressing efficiency of operations, offering high-quality, well-targeted products or services, and avoiding costly product/market development. In contrast, Prospectors operate in a multitude of product-markets and constantly and aggressively seek new opportunities and initiate product or service development which often helps redefine industries. Prospector firms foster a culture that encourages innovation and pioneer thinking. Analyzers exhibit characteristics of both Defenders and Prospectors in that they are opportunistic in widening their spectrum and reach by quickly following in the footsteps of first movers while also relying on a strong position in a few essential product/service categories or among a firm core of customers. This strategy requires careful decision making and long-term planning. Finally, Reactors are usually companies that failed to effectively implement one of the other three strategies. They are rarely aggressive in attacking new opportunities or defending current markets, and take action primarily when pressured to do so by environmental factors.\n3. Strategic consistency: While Miles and Snow's (1978) typology has been lauded as one of the more solid and parsimonious frameworks of business strategy thought, it is only one of several useful strategy classification systems in existence. Almost as influential as Miles and Snow's work was Porter's proposition that firms, by and large, follow three basic strategies: low-cost leadership, differentiation, and focus (1980). Another earlier popular theoretical model is Ansoff's (1957) market growth matrix, according to which the three generic strategic options available to companies are to focus on new markets, existing markets, or both. Pleshko and Heiens (2008) built on that model to suggest a framework specific to the service sector - their services growth strategies include emphases on existing services, new services, or both. Other strategic choices a firm makes include its market coverage (the number of markets it will compete in; Pleshko et al., 2013), its service focus (the extent of relatedness or similarity of services within the firm's portfolio; Pleshko et al., 2013), and the level of marketing initiative it displays (measured by the introduction of new products, services, ad campaigns and promotions, initiation of pricing changes and distribution patterns, adoption of new technology, and the active search for new markets; Heiens et al., 2004). Finally, Jaworski and Kohli (1993) took a slightly different approach to classifying companies' strategic stance by distinguishing between those characterized by a high level of market responsiveness and those not adapting well to market changes. An overarching dimension within each of these classification schemes is the extent of aggressiveness of the constituent strategies - a firm may choose to follow either a proactive and more aggressive path or a reactive and less aggressive one (Table I).\n4. Hypotheses: The very definition of a Prospector as an innovator constantly seeking out opportunities and capitalizing on them through the introduction of new products and superior market penetration (Miles and Snow, 1978) suggests that companies pursuing such a strategy would ideally be focussing on a wide portfolio of services and a large number of markets. In contrast, the proper execution of a Defender strategy would require a firm to concentrate on few markets and minimize investment in new product development. Not only did McDaniel and Kolari (1987) corroborate this perspective, but they also extended it by grouping Analyzers and Prospectors together and demonstrating that pricing, promotion, and distribution initiatives are more important for those two types of companies than they are for Defenders. Therefore, we hypothesize that RFit strategic configurations between Miles and Snow strategy type on one side and services focus, services growth, market coverage, strategic marketing initiative (SMI), and market growth on the other, will outperform the respective OFit and NoFit configurations (Table III). This leads to research hypotheses H1 through H5:\n5. Data collection: Data for the study were gathered from a statewide survey among chief executives of all the credit unions belonging to the Florida Credit Union League (FCUL). Credit unions are cooperative financial institutions that, unlike banks, are owned and controlled by the account holders. Credit union membership in the FCUL represented nearly 90 percent of all Florida credit unions and included 325 firms. One mailing directed to the president of each credit union asking for their participation was followed by a second mailing containing the actual four-page questionnaire and a cover letter. This approach yielded 125 useable surveys (38 percent response rate). In all, 92 percent of the respondents were presidents and the remaining 8 percent were marketing directors. Further analysis revealed that the responding firms were larger than the sample population based on asset size (kh2=20.73, df=7, p<0.01).\n6. Measurement: In order to determine the fit configuration of each institution, respondents were asked questions regarding their firm's performance and the Miles and Snow classification system. In addition, respondents answered questions about their perceptions regarding their firm's position relative to a variety of marketing strategy concepts including services focus, market coverage, the Porter strategy groups, SMI, market orientation, market growth, and services growth. The precise methodology used to measure these variables is explained in the following paragraphs.\n7. Analysis and results: Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if any of the alignments between a company's type from Miles and Snow's (1978) perspective and each of the other seven marketing strategy constructs affect the firm's market share or ROA - a total of fourteen ANOVA tests were performed, seven for each performance indicator. Significant findings were further investigated using least-squared distances to determine if the means of any of the specific groups differed significantly. A correlation analysis was performed to determine if the number of recommended strategic alignments, the total number of RFits, is related to either performance indicator.\n8. Discussion: Intensifying competition in the financial services industry puts pressure on companies operating in the sector to identify the marketing strategies that maximize performance (Uzelac and Sudarevic, 2006). The contingency approach to this task implies considering not only strategy, but also organizational structure and environmental factors which together provide the configuration most conducive to success. The purpose of our research was to determine if the appropriate recommended fit between the Miles and Snow typology groups and other marketing-related strategy concepts would result in higher levels of market share and/or ROA.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to take a contingency theory approach to examine how performance is affected by the relationships between the Miles & Snow strategic groupings and a variety of marketing strategy concepts, including a firm's service focus, service growth, market coverage, marketing initiative, market growth, Porter strategy, and market orientation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data for the study were gathered from a statewide survey among 125 chief executives of credit unions belonging to the Florida Credit Union League (FCUL). ROA figures were derived from government-mandated accounting reports in the state of Florida. ANOVA and correlation analysis were employed to analyze data.\nFindings: This study shows that firms that match an aggressive Miles and Snow profile with a more aggressive approach to seven other strategy dimensions often enjoy higher market share relative to credit unions characterized by a different alignment of the various aspects of marketing strategy. The results also suggest that achieving such a fit is not relevant to maximizing a firm's ROA.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research sample was biased toward medium to larger firms that may possess strategic resources superior to those of the smaller firms in the industry. Also, credit unions may tend to have somewhat less aggressive profit objectives compared to other institutions in the banking industry.\nPractical implications: The findings outline to financial services executives the benefits of considering all dimensions of corporate strategy simultaneously, rather than one at a time.\nOriginality/value: The paper illustrates how aligning certain aspects of marketing strategy can boost particular performance indicators and provides insight as to what the most appropriate alignments are depending on the circumstances.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Women and leadership: challenges and opportunities in Saudi higher education	[ "Women", "Leadership", "Managers", "Higher education", "Saudi Arabia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Across the world women are gaining greater visibility and recognition as professionals in organizations. This trend can be attributed to various factors including economic growth, changes in societal attitudes towards working, married women with children, in addition to other political and legal changes (Burke and Richardsen, 2016; Powell, 2010). Nevertheless, despite the increase in women's participation in the labour force in all countries, women still cannot achieve equality with men (World Economic Forum, 2015). The Global Gender Gap Index shows that in 145 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the gap between women and men remains wide in relation to economic participation and political empowerment (World Economic Forum, 2015).\nLiterature review: The glass ceiling\nThe Saudi institutional context: Saudi Arabia is an interesting context in which to study women in management since the cultural value system, in combination with Islam, has shaped the characteristics of the society in which these women live and has profound implications on their careers (Abalkhail and Allan, 2015). An examination of the socio-cultural outlook of the country is useful to develop an understanding of the status of women managers. Two main institutional factors informing Saudi culture shape women's career choices and patterns: Islam and family. The patriarchal system is linked to these institutions.\nResearch methods: Aims of the study\nResearch findings: The themes analysed, together with supporting quotations from respondents, establish an overview of the women's perceptions of challenges and facilitating factors that influence women's career development to leadership positions in Saudi public universities. It is important to note that these themes are tangled due to the interplay between organizational policies and practices and the influence of institutional forces. It is also important to point out that the analysis of findings will be presented without specific reference to any individual university, but will refer in general terms to Saudi HE.\nChallenges constraining women managers from accessing leadership positions: Recruitment and promotion\nFacilitating factors supporting women's careers: Access to education\nDiscussion: The findings presented in this paper clearly show the interplay of macro- and organizational-level factors in accounting for women managers' experience in Saudi HE. Nevertheless, the analysis of the findings proved to be a complicated and difficult task since the picture they revealed was complex due to the intertwining of the two levels of analysis. The facilitating and constraining factors facing women managers in this study were difficult to isolate from each other and it was not easy to isolate the macro from organizational forces that influence women's careers. This study suggests that opportunities available for women are based mainly on accessing HE, family support and their own strengths and aspirations. Following the Saudi Government's efforts that allowed for significant changes in socioeconomic life, access to education, particularly HE, has had a tremendous influence on women's self-perception, expectations of social mobility, visibility in the public sphere and job opportunities provided. Furthermore, the family, particularly educated male family members, plays an essential role in the lives of women managers. It is through family networks that women gain access to information and attain positions in institutions. Also, women's strengths and aspirations help them to work towards their goals and tasks. Nevertheless, the number of women who are working in HE remains low, particularly in higher positions. Karam and Afiouni (2014, p. 526) report \"a 'bursting pipeline' of sorts where more and more Arab women are prepared with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities, but are unable to secure employment\".\nLimitations: The findings of this study have provided an in-depth understanding of Saudi women's experience in management, which might stimulate interest in conducting further research on women's careers in similar contexts. However, acknowledgement of a study's limitations is an important aspect of any research. One important limitation in this study is that the data collected are based on qualitative research with a relatively small sample of women managers drawn from within a Saudi HE context, so the findings may not be generalized to other cultural contexts. Therefore, future research needs to be carried out using quantitative or mixed-methods research based on large samples of women in different contexts, which would allow for more information and add rigour to the results. Another limitation is that all participants in the current study were female managers and, therefore, the findings do not reflect the perceptions of all university managers on issues related to the glass ceiling. Thus, future research could incorporate accounts of male managers at various organizational levels, to analyse in more detail the concept of the glass ceiling and how it can be challenged and changed from a different perspective.\nImplications for theory and practice: This study has generated implications for future research on women's career development. First, the study highlights the importance of understanding the glass ceiling within a non-western context. Career literature has, so far, focussed on the exclusion of women from leadership across the globe, particularly in western contexts (e.g. Acker, 2009; Eagly and Carli, 2007; Powell, 2010). Nevertheless, previous research has not identified clearly the causes of the glass ceiling phenomenon within the Saudi HE context. Therefore, and guided by the lens of previous research, particularly the work of Karam and Afiouni (2014) and Morley et al. (2006), this study develops a new understanding of the complex phenomena, which shows the intertwining of macro factors and organizational process and practices, and their impact on women's positions in the organizational hierarchy within Saudi HE. Thus, this study contributes to the literature of career development as it shows macro factors, including Islam and family with their patriarchal assumptions, and organizational factors including gendering of power, promotion, physical space, wage discrimination and networks, overlapping as they interact in a dynamic way to produce barriers that influence the positions of women in management. Second, this study also confirms that access to education and male family members play an essential role in women managers' lives as career facilitators. This was shown in the Saudi Arabian context, where women live in a highly conservative society whose traditional social values determine the position of both men and women in private and public spheres even though Islam as a religion fundamentally guarantees women's rights. Third, this research suggests that the status of women in Saudi society in public spheres, including managerial life, is defined in relation to the institutional forces. Hence, men are privileged over women, and assigned to leadership and the guardianship of women economically and socially.\nConclusion: This study aimed to investigate women's perceptions of forces influencing women's career progression to leadership positions in Saudi Arabian HE. To do so, it adopted a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews with women managers working in Saudi HE. This examination takes the complexity of Saudi culture into account to provide a rich understanding of how organizational policies and processes interact and intersect with the macro forces that have an influence on the current status of women within organizational hierarchies. The findings of this study confirm that context does matter when studying Saudi women's experience in management, and this requires contextual HR practices to improve their situation. Given the centrality of Islam and family in Saudi Arabia countries, any attempt to affect social change will have to take the cultural norms and values pertaining to women into consideration.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine women managers' perceptions of forces influencing their career progression to leadership positions in Saudi Arabian higher education (HE).\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative, interpretive approach is adopted for analysing in-depth interviews with women managers in Saudi HE.\nFindings: The findings of this study provide an in-depth understanding of Saudi women's experience in management in HE. This study shows that women face a number of challenges preventing them from achieving equitable representation in leadership positions; conversely, they do have some opportunities which help them in their careers. Additionally, it provides more explanation of how the macro factors trickle down to the organizational level to shape organizational process and practices, and have an impact on women accessing leadership positions. Furthermore, this study suggests that socio-cultural background does matter when studying women in management in the Saudi context.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper, mainly focussing on women managers in Saudi HE, gives a clear picture of women's careers and influencing factors.\nPractical implications: The research has implications for government and other related institutions to formulate effective policies and appropriate strategies to help Saudi women access leadership posts.\nOriginality/value: The novelty of this paper is in its focus on the under-researched topic of careers of Saudi women managers. The paper is also valuable as it emphasizes the societal context for researchers wishing to study women's careers in the Arab world.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Complexity, creeping normalcy and conceit: sexy and unsexy catastrophic risks	[ "Environmental politics", "Risk assessment", "Cognitive biases", "Existential risk", "Global catastrophic risks", "Overpopulation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The basic concept of a catastrophic risk is fairly self-explanatory: whether natural or anthropogenic, this kind of risk has the potential for causing severe harm to people's lives and livelihoods. This paper concerns global catastrophic risks (GCRs). By this, I do not mean risks that would affect all areas of the world equally, or at the same time, such criterion would tend to define GCRs out of existence. For the purposes of this paper, a GCR describes potential events or developments presenting a significant probability of catastrophic effects in multiple countries, as well as harmful effects (whether directly or indirectly) in multiple continents[1].\n2. Global catastrophic risks and human cognitive weaknesses: Before delving into the existential vs sub-existential and sexy vs unsexy dichotomies, it is useful to consider three cognitive weaknesses[2] that hinder recognition, engagement and rational responses to GCRs: probabilistic thinking, caring about people we cannot see and valuing the future.\n3. Catastrophic and existential risks: All GCRs are important, though not equally so. As with any risk, the relative seriousness of a GCR will turn on a combination of three dimensions: probability (likelihood of crystallisation), severity (how bad the consequences if the risk crystallised) and magnitude (how many people affected). A further consideration is that some GCRs are more amenable to mitigation than others. The more serious the GCR, and the more we can do to mitigate it, the greater the moral imperative that we do so.\n4. Sexy and unsexy risks: 4.1 Existential risks are sexy\n5. The unbearable awkwardness of overpopulation: As noted above, unsexy risks are hard to visualise. This alone can lead us to seriously underestimate their probability (Tversky and Kahneman, 1974; Lichtenstein et al., 1978). There are too many moving parts and feedback loops, complex patterns of cause and effect that impose a high cognitive cost onto anyone attempting to engage with these problems. Timothy Clark (2016) aptly speaks of the \"chameleonic insidiousness of overpopulation\". Virtually, any unsexy GCR can be reinterpreted as overpopulation, which is the nature of the beast and its main disguise. We can endlessly reinterpret aspects of overpopulation as a vague something else: consumerism, greed, social inequality, excessive corporate power and an unexpected delay on the promised saviour technology that will expiate our sins. There is always something else we can call it, some way to recategorize one or another aspect of overpopulation as a symptom of some other, more appealing or real problem that is supposedly easy to solve, via non-existing technology to be implemented by a non-existing world government, the supposed power of justice-based demands to multiply resources, or some other hand-waving sophistry.\n6. Conclusion: Many GCRs standardly regarded as existential are sexy. They are easy to visualise and are reasonably contained from an epistemic perspective, and we anticipate they would play out in an excitingly sudden (if horrifying) manner. Further adding to their sexiness, these risks typically have a technological cause or solution. Other GCRs risks are much more likely to crystallise, if in sub-existential ways, but are unsexily driven by collective action problems. These risks are epistemically all over the place and tend to both accrue and materialise in a creeping, gradual manner that is easy to miss until crystallisation is well underway. There is no sexy, cost-free technological solution available that will realistically do away with the need for awkward, unpopular behavioural and attitudinal adjustments; to assume that one will exist in future is indistinguishable from doing nothing about these grievous, cumulative hazards.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to consider few cognitive and conceptual obstacles to engagement with global catastrophic risks (GCRs).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper starts by considering cognitive biases that affect general thinking about GCRs, before questioning whether existential risks really are dramatically more pressing than other GCRs. It then sets out a novel typology of GCRs - sexy vs unsexy risks - before considering a particularly unsexy risk, overpopulation.\nFindings: It is proposed that many risks commonly regarded as existential are \"sexy\" risks, while certain other GCRs are comparatively \"unsexy.\" In addition, it is suggested that a combination of complexity, cognitive biases and a hubris-laden failure of imagination leads us to neglect the most unsexy and pervasive of all GCRs: human overpopulation. The paper concludes with a tentative conceptualisation of overpopulation as a pattern of risking.\nOriginality/value: The paper proposes and conceptualises two new concepts, sexy and unsexy catastrophic risks, as well as a new conceptualisation of overpopulation as a pattern of risking.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Study shows psychological capital and work engagement mediate the impact of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on intentions to quit, creativity and extra-role performance	[ "High performance work system", "Work engagement", "Psychological capital", "Black box", "Romanian hotel sector" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: A recent study has revealed that both psychological capital and work engagement mediate the impact of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on intentions to quit, creativity and extra-role performance. The analysis of customer-contact employees and their supervisors in the Romanian hotel industry suggested that psychological capital and work engagement were the two most important factors operating in the \"black box\" between HPWS and employee outcomes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The researchers wanted to examine the mediating factors operating in the \"black box\" between HPWS and employee outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors obtained their data from a variety of customer-contact employees, such as front desk agents, food servers and concierges, in four and five-star hotels in the Romanian cities of Sibiu and Bucharest. They sent out questionnaires measuring psychological capital, such as self-reliance, hope, resilience and optimism, as well as work engagement, creative performance and extra-role performance. Supervisors were also asked their opinions.\nFindings: The analysis of customer-contact employees and their supervisors in the Romanian hotel industry suggested that psychological capital and work engagement were the two most important factors operating in the \"black box\" between HPWS and employee outcomes.\nOriginality/value: There is great value for businesses in the conclusions of the research. It shows how critical it is to establish various HPWS programs that boost engagement, as well as indicating the importance of providing job security and designing recruitment processes that root out people with the right skills.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Who are the victims of property crime in Mexico?	[ "Development", "Crime", "Poverty", "K40" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: For the last few years, crime in Mexico has increased significantly and has drawn worldwide attention (Molzahn et al., 2012). Not surprisingly, the recent and significant increases in crime have resulted in unprecedented levels of violence[1]. One of the leading explanations for the upsurge in crime and violence in Mexico is the implementation of the government's strategy to fight drug cartels (Guerrero, 2012). The assertion is that the removal of some drug cartels' leaders have led to unprecedented fighting amongst cartel members and between cartels to stay in business and retain control of drug markets, critical routes of distribution, and access to the main suppliers. At the same time, the fragmentation of the drug cartels structure and the subsequent increased fighting and violence have spilled over local mafias and gangs dedicated to other types of crimes like extortions, kidnappings, and property crime (Buscaglia, 2008). In other words, the ongoing war on drugs in Mexico has exacerbated another more common social problem; property crimes. This problem, even when overshadowed by drug-trafficking crime and violence, is more likely to affect the average Mexican citizen.\n2. Victimization in Mexico: Empirical studies about the determinants of crime in Mexico are limited, and most of them consist of victimization studies. This might be explained to some degree by the lack of reliable and systematic information about crime (World Bank, 2011). There is a generalized perception that official crime statistics in Mexico are often contradictory and greatly understate the real magnitude of the problem. However, there have been some real efforts to overcome such deficiency. Between 2002 and 2008, the Citizen's Institute for the Studies of Insecurity (ICESI) carried out six nationally representative household surveys called ENSIs (Encuesta Nacional Sobre Inseguridad). The ICESI was a non-profit organization founded by private citizens whose main objective is to provide reliable information on crime and victimization in Mexico. In 2010, Mexico's National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI) took over the survey and carried out the last existing household victimization survey.\n3. Literature review: The majority of the literature on crime has focused on the macro determinants of crime rates and on the characteristics that affect the probability of victimization for the individual. In trying to identify the victims of crime from an international perspective, Gaviria and Pages-Serra (1999) use a victimization survey and found evidence that the typical victims of crime in Latin America come from middle and high income level households and they tend to live in large cities. Similarly, Demombynes and Ozler (2005) analyze the determinants of crime in South Africa using information at the district level. They find that property crime reporting rates at high income neighborhoods are 20-30 percent higher than at lower income neighborhoods, suggesting that criminals might travel to wealthier neighborhoods where the expected returns from burglary are higher.\n4. Empirical strategy: To model the probability of victimization, we refer to the state preference model like the one described by Allen (2011). This model is based on a hypothetical economic agent that faces two possible states: a loss state in which crime victimization occurs with probability \"p\" and a no-loss state in which victimization does not occur with probability \"1-p\". It's assumed that the victimization probability is increasing in social exposure activities, \"r\", and decreasing in self-protection activities, \"s\".\n5. Data and statistics: The data used in our analysis come from three sources, from which we construct a data set at the individual level. Information about victimization, self-protection, previous victimization, and socioeconomic characteristics of the individuals and their families comes from the ENSI surveys. Individual and family data from the 2008, 2009, and 2010 ENSI surveys is pooled and then matched with several marginalization indices at the municipality level obtained from CONAPO, which are computed using the 2000 population census. Indicators of internal and international migration, population size, and population growth are estimated at the municipal level using the 2000 and 2010 population census.\n6. Results: In this section, we present the Logit regression results for the probability of victimization for males and females separately. Tables V and VI present the odd ratios from the main regression results using victimization as the dependent variable. All specifications include heteroskedastic standard errors.\n7. Conclusions: This paper evaluates the impact of social exposure activities, risk awareness measures, and the socioeconomic characteristics of the family and the environment where the individual resides on the probability of victimization for males and females separately. Given Mexico's poor economic performance during the last three decades and persistently high levels of income inequality, we are particularly interested in assessing the role played by poverty and marginalization on the probability of victimization. To that end, we combined data from several rounds of a nationally representative individual victimization survey in Mexico with marginalization and other characteristics at the municipality level to obtain a unique data set.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of social exposure activities, risk awareness measures, individual and family characteristics and the socioeconomic environment where the individual resides on the probability of property crime victimization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A state preference model of crime is employed using victimization surveys data for several years complemented with municipality level data from population census. Logit regressions for the probability of victimization are run for males and females separately and using different specifications.\nFindings: Regression estimates show that self-protection measures do not offset significantly the probability of victimization and that the likelihood of repeat victimization is highly significant. The most likely victims of property crime in Mexico do not live in highly marginalized communities. Finally, the covariates related to income are stronger predictors of victimization than the level of social exposure.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research is needed that considers other types of crime and complements the victimization data with police resources data.\nSocial implications: This paper helps to obtain a better understanding of property crime in Mexico and its victims. The main results can help policy makers to allocate scarce resources more efficiently and design more efficient measures to fight property crime in Mexico.\nOriginality/value: The data set used combines individual and family data from several victimization surveys and complements it with municipality level characteristics from population census. The analysis of victimization is made for the entire country and not for large cities only.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Outsourcing relationship management: accounting in the decision mix	[ "Performance measurement", "Outsourcing", "Management accounting", "Cost analysis", "Gas refinery", "Risk-reward payment schemes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: As the world becomes increasingly dynamic and competitive, companies are seeking more innovative ways to create value and improve their levels of operations and capabilities. More companies have come to realize that strategic relationships can deliver significant improvements in productivity, process efficiency, operating cost, profitability and customer services. Of these strategic relationships, outsourcing, in particular, has grown in size and popularity and attracted a great deal of interest in industrial and business practices. Since the early 1990s, it has been featured in both public and private sectors, and increasingly being applied, not only to manufacturing activities but also to traditional in-house administrative and management functions.\n2. Case 1: outsourcing of reliability centred maintenance at Gulf refinery: Oil refineries are increasingly looking towards asset management and maintenance as a strategy to improve efficiency and reduce costs. This is a result of growing and escalating pressure to improve equipment availability and reliability and meet customer and corporate demands. Therefore, maintenance, with its various strategies, activities, resources, performance measurement and management, has become critical to these organizations. With limited maintenance facilities and a growing shortage of skilled and experience maintenance engineers, oil refineries are increasingly outsourcing their maintenance functions to outside venders. However, maintenance outsourcing also brings with it many challenges for these companies, including problems of coordination and monitoring, alignment of interests of collaborative partners, potential risks of opportunism, stability and continuity, creating a healthy working relationship with the partner, trust, safety, social and environmental costs. These are challenges and issues that GR, a Saudi oil refinery, found itself dealing with when it decided to outsource the maintenance of its rotating equipment section.\n3. Key takeaways: An interesting finding from our case study indicates that while the engineering staff and information system specialists undertook the larger role in data collection and information processing at the operational level, the role of accountants and finance staff was not totally absent in the overall planning, monitoring and control processes of the outsourced function. A senior management accountant at GR's head office explained how finance and accounting play a supporting role in the planning stages of outsourcing projects:\n4. Case 2: third-party manufacturing at C: Over the past two decades, although managers have continued to pursue efficiency and effectiveness internally, increasingly improvements are obtained across the value chain and collaborative arrangements: through expanding the firm's boundaries, process re-engineering, relocating resources and re-evaluating products and service offerings in relation to customer demand and requirements. Teece (1996) suggested that new hybrid organizational arrangements (inter-firm agreements linking firms with complementary capabilities and capacities) may turn out to be a significant organizational innovation such as moving an assembly line or a production function across the value chain. In this context, also Dyer and Singh (1998) argue that firms' strategic calculations need to be made not just with respect to their own resources and routines, but with respect to the resources and routines that might be available through their links with other firms. This seems the case for C in terms of its attempt to integrate, build and re-configure its internal and external resources/competences to achieve new and innovative form of competitive advantage.\n5. Key takeaways: One key feature of this outsourcing project has been the way in which the multifunctional team from C consisting of a management accountant, a product designer, a supply chain officer and a manufacturing engineer working closely to assist in coordinating and managing the production of the outsourced product component beyond the physical and legal boundaries of the firm. The key focus of the team was to secure a reliable source of manufacturing and assembling some components, select a target price, determine a target cost and proactively work to improve product and process design to achieve target cost and better quality. The case analysis identified interesting developments in terms of the role management accounting and accounting information in the domain of the outsourcing project and the work of the multifunctional team. For example, the SCD worked with C's management accountants for developing a business case for the initiative where the latter developed cost comparatives between current and proposed states taking into consideration only \"relevant costs,\" while the former added financial and nonfinancial justifications such as the permanent reduction in working capital, redeployment of resources higher up the value chain and accessibility to talent. In this respect, management accounting proved to be a source of input for strategic decision-making while at the same time remaining as a follower rather than an initiator of strategic outsourcing initiative.\n6. Concluding remarks: The management accounting field has been dealing with such questions as whether new management accounting techniques have been developed by companies with new organizational forms such as outsourcing arrangements, and if these techniques have been developed, how they evolved, where they come from (e.g. consultants, imitation of best industry practices, developed internally) and whether these new techniques predate or precede change in organizational forms. Equally, the possibility that management accounting techniques may have experienced no changes (but their uses may have changed) with new organizational forms has also been debated (Tomkins, 2001). The evidence presented here by the two outsourcing case studies clearly indicates that no new management accounting techniques have been developed, it demonstrates a considerable change in the use of management accounting information and the role of management accountants. The contribution of management accountants is more evident in GR's outsourcing case in tasks related to performance measurement, risk-reward payment and working within multifunctional teams performing internal audit, reviewing outsourcing contract budget, cost compliance and assessing deliverable outcomes. There was a parallel expansion in the communicative role of accounting and the use of expert knowledge of supply chain management in the third-party manufacturing project at C. The case presents evidence of management accountants moving from the decision support, to participation in the decision process.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The paper aims to examine the role of management accounting and accounting information in decisions to outsource and manage outsourcing relationships.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper uses a case study method. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews and informal discussions with executives of the participating companies. Official documents and secondary materials were analysed.\nFindings: The findings of these cases present evidence of some roles given to accounting information and varying tasks assumed by accountants and finance staff in the outsourcing projects undertaken. These roles and tasks range from financial evaluation of new outsourcing proposals and alternatives, consultation and price negotiations in the planning and feasibility stages to the management of outsourcing relationships including monitoring, cost analysis, performance measurement, internal audit, design and implementation of risk-reward payment schemes. Managing the outsourced functions in one case involved in the use of informal control mechanisms such as trust, knowledge sharing, mutual understanding and cooperation between partners.\nPractical implications: The paper highlights the role of management accounting and information in outsourcing relationship management and evaluation. The case findings provide the opportunity for management practitioners to understand the strategic role of management accountants in the management of inter-firm relationships.\nOriginality/value: The case study presents new empirical evidence of the role of management accounting and accounting information in the management control of outsourcing relationships.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Toward Experimental International Business: Unraveling fundamental causal linkages	[ "International Business", "Experiments", "Laboratory research", "Causality" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe external validity myth: In terms of an empirical research design, the randomized experiment is without any doubt the Holy Grail. Only then can causalities be really unraveled; any other design cannot be but imperfect, notwithstanding the impressive econometric toolkit packed with a plethora of correction tricks (see, e.g. Antonakis et al., 2010). Indeed, in their Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) editorial, Reeb et al. (2012, p. 211) argued that \"In general, the iconic test procedure involves developing a random experiment, regardless of whether the unit of analysis centers on individuals, firms, industries or countries.\" The dominant manifestation of the randomized experimental design is laboratory research. The term \"laboratory\" (or lab, for short) refers to any artificial experimental setting, from computerized rooms with cubicles and classroom contexts to mobile laptop facilities and internet platforms. Strictly speaking, of course, experiments are not limited to lab settings, as is clear from the popularity of field experiments in economics (see, e.g. Harrison and List, 2004; List, 2011)[1]. However, in International Business (IB) and management, lab and experiment tend to come together, because (particularly western and international) enterprises are rarely willing to engage in randomized field experiments within their organizations (but see Bandiera et al., 2011, for intra-firm field experiments in economics)[2]. Therefore, this editorial mainly relates to lab work[3].\nThe internal validity miracle: The extremely valuable, and difficult to overrate, twofold advantage of randomized experimentation is high internal validity in combination with identification of causality (cf. Spencer et al., 2005; Falk and Heckman, 2009). Key is the randomization of a controlled treatment, similar to drug-and-placebo studies in medicine. A randomized half of the participants receives the \"drug\" (say, performance-based pay) and the other randomized half the \"placebo\" (say, a fixed salary) in an experimental setting (say, in which they have to decide to compete or collaborate: cf. Boone et al., 1999; Huck et al., 2004). This offers a powerful test of the causal effect of the treatment (performance-based pay) on the outcome variable (to compete or cooperate) in a noise-minimizing environment (a laboratory setting). As Colquitt (2008, p. 616) rightly points out, \"For this reason, random assignment [in combination with a treatment] has been termed \"the great ceteris paribus\" of causal inference (Cook and Campbell, 1979, p. 5; italics in original).\"\nA desperately needed treatment: A cursory electronic search in IB's top journal - the Journal of International Business Studies - in May 2015 revealed that laboratory work is very scarce indeed. Using search keys such as \"experiment\" and \"laboratory\" identified six studies. Of these six studies, only two turned out to really use a randomized laboratory experiment (close to) as defined above. Buckley et al. (2007) report the findings of 70 managers making investment choices in a controlled setting, and Grinstein and Riefler (2015) include three randomized experimental framing paradigms. But Bruton et al. (2011) utilize a series of non-experimental qualitative case studies; Lam et al. (2012) use a randomized survey method; Williams and Gregoire (2015) develop a verbal protocol design; and Harmeling et al. (2015) employ a web survey. Of course, this selection of six is unlikely to be representative. In JIBS, and in the other IB journals, lab-based work has been published, certainly in the domain of cross-cultural psychology. But this disclaimer notwithstanding, randomized experimentation is a rarity in IB (cf. Reeb et al., 2012). In this editorial, my key plea is that the IB domain would benefit from a desperately needed treatment, by establishing a powerful (lab) experimental tradition, as I hope to illustrate below by providing a series of examples.\nA basket with golden eggs: A few examples, out of many, should suffice to illustrate the huge potential of Experimental IB, fitting within either the economics or psychology experimental traditions, or both. For one, at the macro-level of the market, Experimental Economics has a long tradition of investigating a wide variety of issues relating to market competition (see, e.g. the early review of Plott, 1982). From an IB perspective, these experimental market designs can be the platform from which to develop quasi-experiments by adding an international dimension in terms of a participants' country-of-origin effect. An interesting take may be to focus on the impact of culture or cultural differences on market outcomes. For readers of this journal, it will not come as a surprise that country-of-origin has an impact on participants' behavior in experimental settings (see, e.g. Boone and van Witteloostuijn, 1999; Oosterbeek et al., 2004). In the context of market experiments, adopting an IB lens immediately triggers two questions that can be examined easily in a lab setting, using well-established experimental market designs[19]: first, do markets behave differently in one cultural context than they do in another?; and second, how do firms from country A behave if they compete against enterprises from country B?\nThe way forward: Already in the classic book The Behavioral Theory of the Firm (1963) of Richard Cyert and James March, a chapter was included that reported the findings from an experimental lab study, based on Cyert et al. (1961); and in 1965, Karl Weick had a chapter titled \"Laboratory experimentation with organizations\" in the Handbook of Organizations edited by James March. But for whatever reason, probably the external validity myth, an Experimental Management tradition never really gained momentum. To me, however, the lab experimental design has a very bright future in IB (and management at large). The experimental design is so powerful and the to-be-studied IB issues are so rich that bringing both together carries a great promise. To facilitate the development of an experimental IB tradition, initiating web-based tools would be highly instrumental. This will not only boost further progress in IB research, but will also increase the effectiveness and playfulness of IB teaching. The well-known experimental economist Charles Holt's classroom games (http://people.virginia.edu.pitt.idm.oclc.org/~cah2k/teaching.html) are a good example, offering about 60 web-based experimental programs in the Experimental Economics tradition to the worldwide economics' community[25]. In an IB context, an additional web-based service could be to pool participant samples - student and non-student - across the globe, providing access to a very international subject pool.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that the time is ripe to establish a powerful tradition in Experimental International Business (IB). Probably due to what the Arjen van Witteloostuijn refers to as the external validity myth, experimental laboratory designs are underutilized in IB, which implies that the internal validity miracle of randomized experimentation goes largely unnoticed in this domain of the broader management discipline.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the following pages, the author explains why the author believes this implies a missed opportunity, providing arguments and examples along the way.\nFindings: Although an Experimental Management tradition has never really gained momentum, to the author, the lab experimental design has a very bright future in IB (and management at large). To facilitate the development of an Experimental IB tradition, initiating web-based tools would be highly instrumental. This will not only boost further progress in IB research, but will also increase the effectiveness and playfulness of IB teaching.\nOriginality/value: Given the high potential of an Experimental IB, the Cross-Cultural and Strategic Management journal will offer a platform for such exciting and intriguing laboratory work, cumulatively contributing to the establishment of an Experimental IB tradition.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A shiitake mushroom extract as a viable alternative to NaCl for a reduction in sodium in beef burgers: A sensory perspective	[ "Sodium", "Beef burger", "Lentinus edodes", "Umami" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the human body, sodium participates in the regulation of several metabolic functions, such as control of the volume of extracellular fluids and plasma, muscle contraction processes, acid-base balance, and nerve impulse transmission (McArdle et al., 2011). On the other hand, excessive consumption of sodium is related to a greater risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (He and MacGregor, 2010; Israr et al., 2016; Rodrigues et al., 2016), kidney failure (Mcgough et al., 2012; Yi et al., 2017), and osteoporosis (Prince and Devine, 1998; He and MacGregor, 2010; Yi et al., 2017).\n2. Materials and methods: 2.1 Materials\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 TI Analysis\n4. Conclusion: The shiitake mushroom extract obtained from the 20 per cent mushroom homogenate (E3) was found to be effective as a taste enhancer because it increased perception of the salty taste in beef burgers with a 50 per cent NaCl reduction. Although this formulation caused minor changes in physico-chemical characteristics (pH, yield, shrinkage, shear force, and colour), this version of extract contributed to the increased acceptance of these burger formulations in relation to colour, aroma, texture, flavour, and overall impression.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a shiitake mushroom extract as a potential natural taste enhancer in low-sodium beef burgers by means of sensorial and physico-chemical assays because nowadays there is a trend in the market for the development of clean-label products.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Ten formulations of beef burgers were developed, varying in the percentage reduction in NaCl (0-75 per cent) and mushroom water extracts (obtained from a 5, 12.5, or 20 per cent mushroom homogenate). Sensory characterisation was performed by time-intensity (TI) and acceptance tests. In addition, physico-chemical analyses (pH, yield, shrinkage, shear force, and colour) were conducted.\nFindings: Extracts obtained from 5, 12.5, or 20 per cent mushroom homogenate (E1, E2, and E3, respectively) did not enhance the salty taste in formulations with a 0 or 75 per cent reduction in NaCl. In formulations with a 50 per cent reduction in NaCl, all the extracts enhanced salinity perception, with E3 being the most effective. E3 also increased acceptance of colour, aroma, texture, flavour, and overall perception, although it caused changes in some physico-chemical characteristics (pH, yield, shrinkage, shear force, and colour).\nOriginality/value: The shiitake mushroom extract is a natural ingredient with a potential to serve as a taste enhancer in meat and other food products, for the purpose of reducing sodium content without compromising sensory acceptability. Therefore, this extract will enable the development of healthier products (owing to a reduction in sodium) with preserved sensory quality and will meet consumers' requirements for the minimal use of chemical additives in food.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Youth identity ownership from a fashion marketing perspective	[ "United Kingdom", "Youth", "Consumer behaviour", "Social networking sites", "Fashion", "Identity", "Marketing strategy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: It is thought that a teenager's expression of identity is largely through the clothing they wear, with style usually indicating membership of a group or \"tribe\" (Balet, 2006). This tribalisation may be inferred in a growth in the teenage clothing sector (Mintel, 2003). Even though this growth was later predicted to shrink again due to the more recent economic recession, for marketers, teenagers would still appear to be increasingly lucrative consumers (Mintel, 2009). Moreover, teenagers are a target for considerable marketing investment as fashion companies attempt to gain long-term loyalty from potentially affluent emerging adults. The short- and long-term influence that marketers have on this highly receptive group is undeniably powerful (Solomon, 2004). This study explores the teenagers' quest for identity in a local community and how they redefine themselves as adults through the constant change in trends imposed by the fast paced fashion industry. The influences that shape a teenager's choices and the wider challenge that they face to conform to the concept of being \"cool\" are explored. In this study, cool is interpreted in its broadest context in relation to being fashionable through clothing, music tastes and social community groups that participants of the survey identified themselves with. While attempts were made through the survey to ascertain individuals' understanding of the meaning of cool due to its subjective nature and transient associations with aesthetic style and appearance, and attitudes and behaviours which may often be attached to or implied by marketing, product availability and societal influences at any one time, the meaning still remains fluid and superficial, thus imposing a limitation in the depth of this research.In addition, through a literature review, the study looks at the role of the cool-hunter and internet marketing techniques used to influence teenagers, before evaluating the ethics of such practices. What identity is and why the quest for identity is most prevalent during adolescence is highlighted. The secondary research considers the views and suggested concepts of developmental theorists such as Erikson and Loevinger (Kroger, 1996), and correlates these views with the role of the cool-hunter and that of marketing in general, thus exploring in theory, the strength of the influence marketing has on the teenage demographic and the ethical implications of this. The evaluation draws upon the theories discussed to evaluate the significance of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the development of identity in adolescence. Erikson's identity versus role confusion model (Kroger, 1996) and Goldsmith et al. (1999) self-concept study were the key models used to explore the intrinsic development of identity within adolescence, though it is acknowledged that other models exist including those by authors Herbert Blumer and Ted Polhemus. The extrinsic development of identity was considered through the impact that popular culture, the role of the family and social groups have on a teenager's development. Early findings suggested an apparent need for teenagers to feel cool and appear cool and that the industry responds to this supply and demand opportunity, thus suggesting that cool is a commercial commodity. The notion of commoditised cool is further explored through an example of an advertising campaign observed on a social networking site. The study suggests that marketing methods promote Cushman's (1990) concept of the empty self, at least within the selected teenage demographic surveyed, that essentially encourages feelings of emptiness before offering a sustenance that may appear filling. However, it can be argued that this sustenance is under-nourishing and thus creates a perpetual hunger for what is deemed by marketers as cool.1.1 Aim and objectives\n2 Identity: Identity is viewed as a process that develops through one's life span and is heightened at the stage of adolescence. Kroger (1996) questions the concept of adolescence and the quest for identity during this period of development, suggesting that adolescence is a construct of western culture. Developmental theorist Erikson (1970) proposed identity versus role confusion with passive or active sensibilities as the stage of identity development in adolescents (Kroger, 1996). Passive is defined as the acceptance of role confusion or foreclosed acceptance of others' choices, recommendations or expectations. The characteristics of a passive adolescent include traits such as: low self-esteem, low social adjustment, limited analytical ability, lack of family interaction and affection. In contrast, the active adolescent is described as warm, compassionate, ethically consistent, with high self-esteem, secure attachments, socially mobile, socially active and capable of probing and expressing feelings (Archer, 1994).2.1 Intrinsic development of identity - the self and the empty self\n3 The survey findings: In the first instance, the statements given in question 4 of the questionnaire (Figure 1) were used to determine each participant's characteristics as being either active or passive. Those scoring 50/50 were appropriately labelled as being active/passive. To assist with the analysis, the statements in questions 4 and 5 were allocated a letter and a number and are referred to by their allocations here-on-in. The results shown in Figure 2 clearly show that the majority of the respondents were passive and the hierarchy shown in Figure 3 clearly depicts the broad base of the passive majority against the fewer, and arguably more select actives. In a more in-depth exploration of the completed questionnaires, patterns could be observed in the strength of answers given by the participants. Referring back to the questions shown in Figure 1, active participants strongly agreed with statement F6, whilst consistently disagreeing with statement C3. The passive participants also agreed or strongly agreed with statement F6, yet contradicted this statement by always agreeing or strongly agreeing with statement C3.When asked what type of music was preferred (question 1, Figure 1), 32 per cent favoured R&B, 16 per cent preferred Rock/Heavy Metal and 13 per cent Pop music. From the 32 per cent who chose R&B music, 75 per cent of the respondents were identified as being passive, 21 per cent as active and 4 per cent active/passive. Of the 16 per cent who selected Rock/Heavy Metal, 58 per cent were characterised as being passive and 42 per cent as being active, none were active/passive. The Pop music contingent consisted of 70 per cent passive, 30 per cent active and none were active/passive. The results and relationship of characteristics are shown in Figure 4.In response to question 2 (Figure 1), 53 per cent of the sample associated themselves with the social group \"trendy\", 70 per cent of which were identified as being passive, 23 per cent as active and 7 per cent as active/passive. 21 per cent selected \"other\" and did not associate with the listed social groups; 75 per cent of which were characterised as being passive, 19 per cent as active and 6 per cent as active/passive. Only 1 per cent of the sample associated with the Goth social group and was identified as being active. Conversely, all the 9 per cent who identified with the Chav group were found to be passive. A comparison of the groups and their active/passive characteristics is shown in Figure 5.When asked (question 3, Figure 1) what aspects the respondent felt likely to make them a part of the group they identified with in question 2, it was found that 32 per cent of the sample attributed this association with their personality (intrinsic), 12 per cent with their clothing (extrinsic) and 7 per cent exclusively to their music preference. About 5 per cent of the sample attributed all three options (intrinsic, extrinsic and music preference) and 2 per cent indicated two relevant choices, all but one of which highlighted personality and clothing as the two attributes. The results are shown in Figure 6.Figure 7 shows the percentage of the sample that agreed or strongly agreed that they felt part of their school community, web community and local area (question 5, Figure 1). The percentage of passive, active and active/passive respondents that agreed or strongly agreed to this statement is shown in Figure 8.\n4 Evaluation: The findings were evaluated in relation to the intrinsic and extrinsic development of identity.4.1 Intrinsic development of identity\n5 Conclusion: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence marketers have on teenagers in their quest for identity and to examine the ethical implications of this possible influence. This was achieved through an investigation into the intrinsic and extrinsic influences on a teenager's identity development and the methods used by marketers to manipulate the teenager demographic. The concept of cool had an important role in this study, its significance to both teenagers and marketers became even more apparent from the interpretation of advertising that featured on social networking sites such as Bebo. Cool is a lucrative commodity and is greatly sought after. The very existence of the role of the cool-hunter highlights the importance of cool and the necessity for brands to be aware of, and indeed incorporate, what is perceived to be cool into their products. However, there appears to be a grey area in defining who is responsible for initialising concepts of what is deemed cool, as well as the inherent problems imposed by the mutability of a definition for cool. Cool-hunting of the teenage demographic suggests a stealthy pursuit of up and coming trends from cool teenagers and a process of commercialising these trends for the majority of hungry teenagers aspiring to be cool. Superficially this would appear to be a self perpetuating cycle of supply and demand. However, this study questions who is actually deciding/determining what is cool? The \"prey\" of the cool-hunter is rather subjective; cool after all is based on personal opinion which leads to the conclusion that there is no set formula, but rather a wide spread appreciation amongst teenagers for the need to be cool. When the sample were questioned about what was cool, they appeared to place a high value on being cool as it would lead to acceptance from their peers, which as Loevinger (1976) suggests is very important at the stage of adolescence. However, interestingly the participants were more easily able to identify what was not cool and appeared to have strong views on this. This would suggest that being cool is more about being accepted and less about a specific product, and therefore one could begin to draw conclusions upon how cool is commoditised.The empty self-concept was discussed in this study as a possible basis from which marketers manipulate the path taken by teenagers on their quest for identity. The theory of the empty self, it is suggested, is a result of the absence of \"community, tradition and shared meaning\" (Kroger, 1996) a void which is conveniently filled through consumer products. If this is indeed the case, the empty self is arguably an ideal status from which marketers can manipulate and access the teenage demographic. If cool is not formulaic, then the role of the cool-hunter could be perceived as rather hit or miss and their success would appear to be reliant on the whim of the consumer. However, through the manipulation of how the consumer sees themselves, through the use of the empty self, the marketer has a much greater degree of control. They are in the position to create the need with one hand, and supply that need with the other. This process is arguably a valid means of marketing a product. However, when applying this approach to teenage demographic, it is important to highlight the increased impact such an approach could have. First, it is arguably exploitation of their increased vulnerability and their sensitivity to being accepted by their peers and society. Second, the marketers' covert approach through social networking sites arguably plays on the teenagers' lack of analytical understanding (Bergadaa, 2007) through a stealth approach to advertising. Finally, this approach could be seen as imposing a pernicious influence on a teenager's quest for identity, forming their foundations of their identity on superficial and commercial considerations. Imposing restrictions and encouraging an insatiable appetite for commercial products in order for teenagers to feel a sense of belonging, arguably denies teenagers the possibility to explore their identity organically. The manipulation both overtly and covertly of the teenage demographic seems to continue unchecked and to be increasing an apparent psychological need for consumerism in adolescents.This study has attempted to address the issue of youth identity ownership, however due to the relatively small scale survey in one location larger scale surveys covering many locations are now necessary in order to make strong generalisations about the topic.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence that marketing has on teenagers and their development of identity and question the ethical implications of this influence. It aims to explore the extrinsic identity and the intrinsic identity using Erikson's model of identity versus role confusion; to identify passive and active personality types within adolescents; and to establish the importance of local community compared with web-based communities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The views of developmental theorists are discussed and correlations between teenagers characterised as active; those who would be identified as being \"cool\", and passive characters; those lacking \"cool\" are drawn. This is then applied to the theories of the self and the empty self, a concept arguably used by marketers who wish to encourage notions of the empty self through negative references to being uncool, with the aim of stimulating a demand for the cool sustenance that they supply. Data were gathered from a questionnaire survey comprising 79 secondary school teenage pupils.\nFindings: - The findings, though limited to only one locality, show that the majority of the sample was identified as being passive, implying that the majority of these teenagers were aspirational in their quest for cool. In addition, more of the participants felt a part of web-based communities such as Bebo than of their local community. The study suggests that marketers, ethically or otherwise, are able to target the passive majority by encouraging feelings of being un-cool encouraging the empty self to then profit from the sales of a cool fulfilling product.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The localisation and survey sample size impose limitations on the generalisation of the findings for a national or even a regional location. Also, the primary research provides only a snap shot of the tastes and personality traits of individuals taking part in the survey at that point in time that are susceptible to change as is the definition of cool. However, the evaluation of the findings offer some interesting and valuable indications of support and contradictions to the theories discussed.\nOriginality/value: - Through an understanding of the strength of the influence marketing has on a teenage demographic and the importance that the teenagers surveyed attached to social network sites, some indication is given of the quest for identity of the youths of today in a UK locality. This study therefore provides a small but valuable stepping stone for a much larger investigation of this concept on a regional or national scale.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of network structure on radical innovation in living labs	[ "Incremental innovation", "Open innovation", "Radical innovation", "Business network", "Living lab" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Companies are networking with each other to a greater extent than ever to develop or absorb technologies and to commercialize new products and services (Pittaway et al., 2004; Ramaswamy and Gouillart, 2010). This is particularly important in industries in which technology changes rapidly and product life cycles are short (Dittrich and Dyusters, 2007). However, networks are facing new paradigms that affect the ways in which they operate. One of the most remarkable recent paradigm changes is the opening up of innovation (Chesbrough, 2003; Vanhaverbeke, 2006), which includes more activities and actors than those that were assigned to the traditional innovation model (van de Vrande et al., 2009). The benefits of open innovation include improved user value (Almirall and Casadesus-Masanell, 2010) and innovation performance (Chiaroni et al., 2010). This is due to the fact that the open innovation model puts users in the center of innovation activity. Involving users to learn from and with them in the innovation process has become a key success factor for companies (Edvarsson et al., 2010). Users are recognized as co-innovators, developing new functions for technologies, solving unforeseen problems and demanding innovative solutions (Moors et al., 2008).\nThe living lab as an open innovation network: According to von Hippel (2007), open and user innovation assume a variety of forms. The living lab is a new focal point for multi-organizational collaboration on innovation (Dutilleul et al., 2010). A living lab brings the scientific experimentation process into everyday life, or rather transforms everyday life into an experiment to promote discovery and change (Lin et al., 2012). Living labs gather people whose usage of and response to new technologies are recorded by an elaborate technological infrastructure, providing data for designers or for investigation by researchers (Dutilleul et al., 2010). In addition, many users and stakeholders participate in co-creating, exploring, experimenting, testing, evaluating and improving innovation (Kviselius et al., 2009; Lin et al., 2012; Vicini et al., 2012). Conceived as in vivo experimental settings, living labs are open innovation networks that enable observation of and experimentation on a \"living\" social system (Dutilleul et al., 2010).\nIncremental and radical innovation in networks: Prior research suggests different innovation typologies and continuums (see e.g. Avlonitis et al., 2001; Garcia and Calantone, 2002; Camison-Zornoza et al., 2004; Oke, 2007). In particular, incremental innovations are fundamentally different from radical innovations because technological and market related uncertainties increase from incremental to radical innovations (McDermott and O'Connor, 2002). Incremental innovations are step-by-step improvements to a product, service and/or their process designed to better meet customer and market needs (Dannels, 2002; Benner and Tushman, 2003). These are minor changes in products and processes and do not involve a sufficient degree of novelty (Popadiuk and Choo, 2006). Conversely, radical innovations have the purpose of creating new customer markets and propose drastic changes to existing ones by enabling new design and channel of distribution (Abernathy and Clark, 1985). Radical innovations are revolutionary changes in technology, and they represent clear departures from existing practice (Popadiuk and Choo, 2006).\nStructures of living lab networks: The potential of networks for innovation depends on the network structure (Capaldo, 2007). Therefore, a continuity of collaboration and the composition of the network are significant dimensions for any innovation network's success (Nieto and Santamaria, 2007). The structure of the network becomes a vital aspect in the search for innovation. Jansen et al. (2006) stress that centralization in decision-making leads to exploratory innovation. Furthermore, Moller et al. (2005) suggest that centralized network structures target predetermined activities to be handled efficiently, while decentralized network structures support research and development activities between actors in networks. However, industry fluctuations bring about various types of networks and destabilize network structures (cf. Low, 1997).\nMethodology: Research setting\nStructures of living lab networks and innovation outcomes: All cases were categorized using the matrix (see Figure 1), allowing us to identify 12 distinct configuration modes. Figure 2 summarizes the findings by mapping the identified novelty of innovation (i.e. whether the innovation outputs were radical or incremental by nature) in relation to the living lab network structure (centralized, distributed or multiplex structure) and the type of orchestration (utilizer-, user-, provider- or enabler-driven). Our analysis of 24 living labs shows that all but two innovation outputs were incremental improvements by nature. This is in line with the findings from Garcia and Calantone (2002) and Cooper (2011), who state that most innovations are incremental by nature and that radical innovations are increasingly rare. Cooper (2011) suggests a rate of one radical innovation to nine incremental innovations. The two radical innovation outcomes were both associated with the (distributed) multiplex structure; one with the provider-driven and the other with the utilizer-driven orchestration type.\nConcluding discussion: Theoretical contributions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to focus on living labs as a means of achieving radical innovation by discussing the differences in their network structure and its effect on the type of innovation outcome.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research analyses 24 living labs in four countries using qualitative methods.\nFindings: A specific network structure referred to as a distributed multiplex supports radical innovation in living labs, while distributed and centralized network structures support incremental innovations. Also, the results suggest that radical innovation depends on the driving actor and objectives in a living lab.\nResearch limitations/implications: A bias on the perceived novelty of innovation may exist when analyzing data collected through interviews with a limited number of living lab participants compared to a large number of informants. This study proposes a two-dimensional framework based on the network structure to investigate innovation in living labs.\nPractical implications: This paper offers a classification tool to identify, categorize and make sense of organizations' participation in open innovation networks and in living labs.\nOriginality/value: The study provides evidence that, although the distributed multiplex network structure supports the emergence of radical innovations, the distributed and centralized network structures support incremental innovation. A combination of a provider- or utilizer-driven living lab and a distributed multiplex network structure, with a clearly defined and future-oriented strategic objective, offers good potential for radical innovation to occur.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Professional service firms, globalisation and the new imperialism	[ "Accounting firms", "Globalisation", "Imperialism", "Professional service firms", "Core-periphery relations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the last few decades, globalising professional service firms (GPSFs) - of which the \"Big Four\" accountancies, the leading management consultancies and the \"elite\" law firms are prime examples - have emerged as major international corporate players. They have offices dotted all around the world and are often more internationalised than the Fortune Global 500 companies which they serve (Suddaby et al., 2007). Importantly, they play a very important role in the global expansion and management of capitalism. They, for instance, contribute significantly to spreading \"best\" management practices around the world (Kipping and Wright, 2012); to setting \"global\" accounting standards (Botzem, 2014); and to establishing \"universal\" corporate laws (Halliday and Carruthers, 2009). GPSFs also offer specialised services that are crucial for major multinational corporations in growing and running their geographically dispersed operations (Sassen, 2001).\nFrom national to transnational dynamics - and beyond: In the last two decades or so, a growing body of scholarship in the field of MOS has examined the work and impact of GPSFs. Following an initial phase of research conducted from organisational change and international management perspectives (e.g. Aharoni, 1996; Ferner et al., 1995; Fenton and Pettigrew, 2003; see also Greenwood et al., 2010), scholars have gradually turned attention to issues of institutional embeddedness and institutional change. One key contribution here has been to show how national institutional contexts shape and constrain efforts by GPSFs to organise professionals and serve clients across nations (e.g. Boussebaa, 2009, 2015; Muzio and Faulconbridge, 2013; Morgan et al., 2006). For instance, using the notion of \"institutional duality\" (Kostova and Roth, 2002), Faulconbridge and Muzio (2013) revealed how attempts by English law firms to reproduce their UK model of professional practice in Italy created \"conditions of institutional illegitimacy\" (p. 21) in that country and, as a result, various problems, including \"demergers, lawyer exoduses [and] clashes with local regulators\". Work such as this has been very useful in revealing the presence of strong national path-dependencies inside GPSFs (see also Morgan and Quack, 2006). It has shown that GPSFs, as in the case of multinational enterprises in other sectors (see, e.g. Boussebaa and Morgan, 2008; Ferner et al., 2001), remain deeply rooted in their country of origin and are also significantly influenced by the host national institutional contexts across which they operate.\nImperialism in the modern world economy: A considerable amount of literature has been produced on the theme of imperialism in the last few decades, spanning fields as diverse as geography (Harvey, 2003), economics (Amin, 1976), literary theory (Said, 1993), sociology (Pieterse, 2004) and political science (Panitch and Gindin, 2012). A growing number of studies on the topic has also appeared in the field of MOS in recent years (e.g. Boussebaa et al., 2014a; Frenkel, 2008; Jack et al., 2011; Ozkazanc-Pan, 2008; see also contributions in Prasad, 2003). Running through this body of work is the view that imperialism, in one form or another, is not over; that the dissolution of the European empires after the Second World War simply marked the end of a particular phase in the long history of imperialism or perhaps a particular form of imperialism, not imperialism itself.\nGlobal accounting firms and the new imperialism: The accounting literature has, over the last four decades, produced a rich vein of research on the link between the accounting profession and imperialism. Much of this work is historical in nature, concentrating in particular on the role of accounting associations during British imperialism in the late nineteenth century (e.g. Chau and Poullaos, 2002; Johnson, 1973; Johnson and Caygill, 1971), but a growing body of research focuses on the twentieth century (e.g. Annisette, 2000) and recent decades (e.g. Caramanis, 2002; Cooper et al., 1998; Dwyer and Roberts, 2004; Gallhofer et al., 2011; Kamla et al., 2012). Much can be derived from this work on the link between GPSFs and imperialism in the contemporary world economy. In what follows, I explore such work through a consideration of the emergence of global accounting firms on the back of colonialism; the role of these organisations in (re)producing core-periphery relations today; their efforts at universalising an Anglo-American mode of professional practice; and their dependence on collaborative yet resistive local professionals.\nTransnationalism in context: GPSFs and the new imperialism: The case of the Big Four discussed above shows that the international expansion and associated international strategies and organisational efforts of GPSFs have been bound up with Western imperialism - past and present. Several insights can be derived from this in relation to ongoing discussions about the societal role and impact of GPSFs at the global level.\nConcluding remarks: This paper began with a brief overview of the growing body of institutionalist research on GPSFs and with the argument that global inequalities and relations of power have been given insufficient attention in this work. Building on earlier work (Boussebaa, 2009; Boussebaa et al., 2012, 2014b). I have sought to address this problem by, first, positing that GPSFs cannot be divorced from imperialism and, second, illustrating this relationship through an analysis of relevant research conducted in the specialist field of accounting. Broadly speaking, I have argued that GPSFs, in expanding across nations to serve multinational clients and, as a consequence, in attempting to leverage resources and control professional standards on a worldwide basis, are (re)producing the core-periphery hierarchy that was created by the European colonial project. In this sense, the globalisation of professional service firms is not just contributing to building a transnational field for professional services, it is also serving to reinforce long-standing West/Rest relations of domination and subordination. Perhaps the more important contribution of this paper, however, is that it formally connects professions-focused MOS research with studies of imperialism in the field of critical accounting and the social sciences more broadly. The former has been largely oblivious to processes of imperialism, but this is no longer tenable given the major impact that imperialism has had, and continues to have, on the world economy.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw critical accounting research to ground the study of globalising of professional service firms (GPSFs) more firmly in the history and actuality of imperialism. In so doing, the paper also helps in forging a stronger connection between accounting scholarship and interdisciplinary GPSF-focused debates in the wider field of management and organisation studies (MOS).\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a desk-based study, analysing the globalisation of professional service firms through the lens of imperialism via an exploration of relevant research on the accounting profession.\nFindings: The analysis sheds light on the link between GPSFs and contemporary imperialism. In particular, it shows how the organisation of GPSFs (re)produces core-periphery relations in the modern world economy and how this is facilitated and reinforced by universalisation efforts on the part of the firms' core offices. The paper also highlights the role of local professionals in both enabling and resisting GPSF domination.\nResearch limitations/implications: One main implication of this paper is that the organisational nature and societal impact of GPSFs (and the professions more generally) are further illuminated. The paper deepens understanding of GPSFs' role in (re)producing global inequalities and colonial-style power relations in a supposedly post-imperial world and calls for a reconceptualisation of these firms as agents of imperialism. In so doing, the paper also opens new avenues for future research on the organisation of GPSFs and on their impact on societies worldwide.\nOriginality/value: This is the first attempt to draw together critical accounting studies of globalisation with research GPSFs in the generalist field of MOS. In so doing, it contributes to a cross-fertilisation of the two fields and helps in making the former more central to ongoing debates in the latter. The paper also contributes to the emerging body of post-colonial theorising in MOS by shedding light on the crucial role of professional service firms in (re)producing imperialism in the modern world economy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Climate change education in school: knowledge, behavior and attitude	[ "Teachers", "Sustainable development", "School", "Climate change education", "Agenda 2030" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Climate change education (CCE) is a recent theme (Laessoe et al., 2009), as compared to environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) (Rocha et al., 2019). Communicating knowledge about the CCE approach requires multiple efforts, as it is a complex subject, which diverges opinions on its causes (anthropic issues) and needs a sense of belonging of people involved in the process (UNESCO, 2014; Casagrande et al., 2011).\nMethodology: The CCE-focused training was conducted at a state public elementary school in the city of Passo Fundo, in the North of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil [Figure 1(a)]. According to IBGE (2019), Passo Fundo has about 200,000 inhabitants; a schooling rate of 97.3 per cent (considering people aged 6-14 years); about 1,853 teachers (considering elementary and high schools); 103 schools (considering elementary and high schools); and a total of 29,085 enrollments, also considering elementary and high schools.\nResults and discussion: Teachers' look at climate change in the present and in the future\nConclusions: In Brazil, as well as in other countries, learning about CCE is a challenge represented not only by the complexity of the subject, but also because of the government's negligence on the subject (climate change) and the lack of teachers' professional knowledge about it. In Brazil, the lack of teachers' professional appreciation is an aggravating problem of motivation for changes and updating.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an experience of inclusion of the theme \"climate change\" in a Brazilian public school through training conducted with teachers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodology was based on three specific phases: reflection, focusing on the application of a pretest with 45 questions directed to three domains (knowledge, attitude and behavior); climate change education (CCE) training; and application of a post-test and action, regarding the insertion in the school space.\nFindings: The survey results highlight the difficulty teachers have in understanding and applying CCE in the classroom and it underscores the importance of this approach.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research approach is related to a specific case in a school located in south of Brazil. Although the school has its own context, the reported experience can be considered elsewhere.\nPractical implications: This case study reinforces that CCE presents broad challenges for the scientific community. For the reason that the understanding of the topic (CCE) is complex, considering the global context and the divergent opinions on the subject.\nSocial implications: The paper reinforces that for today's society, sustainable development is no longer a choice but a necessity, underpinned by global Agenda 2030 discussions. In this context, teachers are essential to the transformation toward a better future.\nOriginality/value: The difficulties and facilities encountered during the experience serve to enhance new actions at national or even global level, respecting each new context of study and insertion of research directed to the theme - CCE.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Technology push without a patient pull: Examining digital unengagement (DU) with online health services	[ "Digital unengagement", "Online health services", "Accessibility", "Diagnosticity", "Healthcare", "Digital engagement" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Today consumers of health care face a plethora of online services across multiple platforms. Some health service providers offer online services to facilitate access to offline services, for example, the option to choose and book a buddy volunteer to accompany patients to consultations, access to Electronic Health Care Records and 3D online tours of health institutions. Other service providers facilitate patient decision-making through online services that, for example, help patients prepare for consultations or review options about chemotherapy treatments. Others use innovative service delivery, for example, augmented reality-based diagnoses and online mental health counselling. Rapid deployment of technological innovations and their associated efficiencies are largely driving this distinct push for expanding the delivery of online health services (Parasuraman and Colby, 2015; Patricio et al., 2018; Viswanathan et al., 2017). In a bid to enhance public service efficiency and reduce the growing cost of health-care demands, policymakers increasingly resort to a broader set of touchpoints with patients (Pinho et al., 2014; Viswanathan et al., 2017). The underlying assumption of this technological push to offer online services is that it promotes more patient engagement in self-managing conditions and delivers greater opportunities for co-created value, hence facilitating patient-centred care and better health outcomes (McColl-Kennedy et al., 2017).\n2. Conceptualizing digital unengagement: Contemporary theorizing argues for a distinction between unengagement and engagement (Longley and Singleton, 2009; O'Brien and Toms, 2010). A large and growing body of literature has contributed to strong conceptualization of consumer engagement generally (Brodie et al., 2011; Hollebeek et al., 2016b) and in health care (Sudau et al., 2014; Xiao et al., 2014). Building a similar level of understanding of DU requires first establishing the nature of DU. We argue that DU is not simply the absence of engagement, rather it is conceptually related yet distinct.\n3. Drivers of digital unengagement with online health services: Non-experienced and experienced consumers may have different perceptions and beliefs about a service (Bowden et al., 2015; Collier and Kimes, 2013). Indeed, early work on pre- and post- engagement with technological innovations, suggests that DU is likely based on a richer set of drivers than for the digitally engaged (Karahanna et al., 1999). Further, recent work reveals that less engaged groups may be further negatively affected by marketers' tactics (Weiger et al., 2018). Yet, we lack knowledge of a defined set of drivers of DU. As such, we draw on two pertinent theoretical streams to inform our identification of the drivers of DU.\n4. Methodology: Adopting a survey methodology, data were collected using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), using quota based on the population's demographic profile. Survey informants were screened to ensure they had access to online services and asked to declare any current health condition. A total of 915 were surveyed, of which, 623 (68.1 per cent) stated that they used online health services and 292 (31.9 per cent) did not (Table I provides a comparison by condition). Of the 292 in this unengaged group, 110 (37.7 per cent) declared a current health condition. This paper focusses on the latter group (hereafter our DU group), as they were all internet users with an active rationale (a health condition) for engaging with health services, yet they were unengaged with those services (in contrast to the majority of people with a declared condition; Table I).\n5. Drivers of digital unengagement with online health services: We identified four main levels of DU drivers: Subjective Incompatibility; Enactment Vulnerability; Sharing Essentiality; Strategic Scepticism. These levels represent the families of interrelated drivers that work independently or in combination to drive DU with online health services. The four levels are ordered to reflect the underpinning framework and the flow of our informant narratives. We start with person-specific levels (Subjective Incompatibility and Enactment Vulnerability) through the social-specific level (Sharing Essentiality) to the application-specific level (Strategic Scepticism). We identify the drivers at level and discuss the challenges through which these drivers work to shape DU (Table II). Selected quotes exemplify the issues raised.\n6. Robustness check: We classify the drivers of DE into four main themes (Table IV): strategic self-management; forecasting; affirmation; play and exploration. Given space limitations and the large corpus of knowledge on consumer DE we briefly summarize the findings here and relate these to wider engagement literature.\n7. Discussion: Adding to both the emerging literature on consumer unengagement and wider engagement literature, this study offers insights into the nature and drivers of DU with online health services. We posit that DU is distinct from, rather than simply a lack of, consumer engagement. As our first contribution, we develop a conceptualization of DU founded on three elements:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Policymakers push online health services delivery, relying on consumers to independently engage with online services. Yet, a growing cluster of vulnerable patients do not engage with or disengage from these innovative services. There is a need to understand how to resolve the tension between the push of online health service provision and unengagement by a contingent of health-care consumers. Thus, this study aims to explore the issue of digital unengagement (DU) (i.e. the active or passive choice to engage or disengage) with online health services to better inform service design aligned to actual consumer need.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Adopting a survey methodology, a group of 486 health services consumers with a self-declared (acute or chronic) condition were identified. Of this group, 110 consumers were classified as digitally unengaged and invited to write open-ended narratives about their unengagement with online health services. As a robustness check, these drivers were contrasted with the drivers identified by a group of digitally engaged consumers with a self-declared condition (n = 376).\nFindings: DU is conceptualized, and four levels of DU drivers are identified. These levels represent families of interrelated drivers that in combination shape DU: subjective incompatibility (misalignment of online services with need, lifestyle and alternative services); enactment vulnerability (personal vulnerabilities around control, comprehension and emotional management of online services); sharing essentiality (centrality of face-to-face co-creation opportunities plus conflicting social dependencies); and strategic scepticism (scepticism of the strategic value of online services). Identified challenges at each level are the mechanisms through which drivers impact on DU. These DU drivers are distinct from those of the digitally engaged group.\nResearch limitations/implications: Adding to a nascent but growing literature on consumer unengagement, and complementing the engagement literature, the authors conceptualize DU, positioning it as distinct from, not simply a lack of, consumer engagement. The authors explore the drivers of DU to provide insight into how DU occurs. Encapsulating the dynamic nature of DU, these drivers map the building blocks that could help to address the issue of aligning the push of online service provision with the pull from consumers.\nPractical implications: This paper offers insights on how to encourage consumers to engage with online health services by uncovering the drivers of DU that, typically, are hidden from service designers and providers impacting provision and uptake.\nSocial implications: There is a concern that there will be an unintentional disenfranchisement of vulnerable segments of society with a generic policy emphasis on pushing online services. The paper sheds light on the unforeseen personal and social issues that lead to disenfranchisement by giving voice to digitally unengaged consumers with online health services.\nOriginality/value: Offering a novel view from a hard-to-reach digitally unengaged group, the conceptualization of DU, identified drivers and challenges inform policymakers and practitioners on how to facilitate online health service (re)engagement and prevent marginalization of segments of society.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Is psychotropic medication use related to organisational and treatment culture in residential care	[ "Organizational culture", "Anxiety", "Psychotropic medication", "Depression", "Dementia", "Patient-focused care", "Pharmaceuticals", "Nursing homes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Medication is a mainstay of medical treatment for most patients, particularly those who are older. However, some medications may be used inappropriately, such as psychotropic medication (i.e. antipsychotics, sedative hypnotics and anxiolytics) and are associated with poor outcomes in residential care (Oborne et al., 2003; Ruths et al., 2003; Briesacher et al., 2005; Rochon et al., 2007; Hosia-Randell et al., 2008; Kamble et al., 2008; Mann et al., 2009). We know that some individuals need these medications based on clinical diagnosis. However, facility characteristics such as the size of the home (Sloane et al., 1991; Lapane and Hughes, 2004), the staffing levels (Svarstad et al., 2001; Lau et al., 2004) whether the home is for profit or not for profit (Garrard et al., 1995; Hughes et al., 2000) have also been associated with use of psychotropic medication. Despite understanding variability related to individual- and facility-level factors, a large amount of variability remains unexplained. In relation to the use of antipsychotic medication, some care homes are thought to be more \"permissive\" about antipsychotic use, based on research showing that these medications were being prescribed outside of appropriate clinical indications (Rochon et al., 2007). Chen et al. (2010) reported similar findings and stated that \"organisational culture\" may play a role in medication prescribing.\nMethods: The participants in the study were nurse managers, registered nurses, general practitioners (GP) and residents working and living in residential care in NZ. Participation was voluntary and ethical approval was granted from the regional ethics committee.\nData collection: Staff\nAnalyses: Descriptive statistics were used to convey the characteristics of the residents and the homes. Univariate analyses used a logistic regression with the resident as the unit of analysis, adjusting for the variance related to the facility using xtreg command in STATA, cluster option with facility number as the cluster variable and robust standard errors.\nResults: We approached 16 facilities and 14 agreed to participate (87 per cent response rate). These 14 facilities contained either single type units, or multiple units of different types. In total there were 24 units, comprised 13 low-level residential care units, four dementia rest home units and seven units which provided high-level dependency care (Figure 1).\nDiscussion: There is an increasing interest in culture and performance in health care. This is one of the only studies to enumerate the relationship between organisational culture and outcome, in this case psychotropic medication use in residential care settings.\nLimitations: There may be a response bias present in this study as only 58 per cent of facilities agreed to participate and the GP response rate was less than desirable. However, the descriptive statistics relating to resident and facility characteristics increases our confidence regarding the generalisability of our sample. The sample size is small, leaving the study open to type 2 error in not finding significant associations between expected factors. In this analysis we chose not to examine the congruence of nurses and health care assistance in agreement about culture type. Further research could examine this.\nConclusion: This is a novel study showing a significant relationship between organisation culture, measured using two tools, and psychotropic medication use. We need to develop strategies that change culture to one that supports resident-centred care. Such care is more difficult for nursing staff to deliver (Krause, 2006) and changing culture is very difficult with successful strategies yet to be identified (Parmelli et al., 2011) but this study supports a more resident-centred culture being related to lower use of psychotropic medication both as perceived by health care assistants (hierarchical culture related to high use) and by GPs (medication philosophy related to reduced use).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between organisational culture and psychotropic medication use in residential care.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Cross-sectional analyses of staff and resident's record survey in residential aged care facilities in Auckland, New Zealand (NZ). The competing values framework categorised organisational culture as clan, hierarchical, market driven or adhocracy and was completed by all staff. The treatment culture tool categorised facilities as having resident centred or traditional culture and was completed by registered nursing staff and general practitioners (GP). Functional and behavioural characteristics of residents were established by staff report and health characteristics and medications used were ascertained from the health record. Multiple regression was used to test for associations between measures of culture with psychotropic medication use (anxiolytics, sedatives, major tranquillisers).\nFindings: In total 199 staff, 27 GP and 527 residents participated from 14 facilities. On average 8.5 medications per resident were prescribed and 42 per cent of residents received psychotropic medication. Having a diagnosis of anxiety or depression (odds ratio (OR) 3.18, 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 1.71, 5.91), followed by persistent wandering (OR 2.53, 95 per cent CI 1.59, 4.01) and being in a dementia unit (OR 2.45, 95 per cent CI 1.17, 5.12) were most strongly associated with psychotropic use. Controlling for resident- and facility-level factors, health care assistants' assignation of hierarchical organisational culture type was independently associated with psychotropic medication use, (OR 1.29, CI 1.08, 1.53) and a higher treatment culture score from the GP was associated with lower use of psychotropic medication (OR 0.95, CI 0.92, 0.98).\nOriginality/value: Psychotropic medication use remains prevalent in residential care facilities in NZ. Interventions aimed at changing organisational culture towards a less hierarchical and more resident-centred culture may be another avenue to improve prescribing in residential aged care.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Network analysis: emergence, criticism and recent trends	[ "Social capital", "Network analysis", "Economic sociology", "Relational sociology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Throughout all social sciences, the imagery of \"networks\" has sparked the imagination of scholars and practitioners (Castells, 2000, 2016; Knox, Savage, & Harvey, 2006). Network Analysis research has gained in the last decades a position of centrality in Management studies (Borgatti & Halgin, 2011). Within the last decade, Network Analysis scholars have consolidated this approach's core premises, while addressing enduring criticism. In contrast to a view that Network Analysis is mainly macro, scholars have shed light on studies that emphasize individual choice and individual personality (Fang et al., 2015; Tasselli, Kilduff, & Menges, 2015). Instead of a conception of networks as static and bearing deterministic effect on individual performance, several reviews have unearthed research efforts that highlight change and dynamics (Borgatti, Brass, & Halgin, 2014; Tasselli et al., 2015). In contrast to a perception that Network Analysis is fully committed to a structural perspective, recent manuscripts attempted to underscore human agency (Borgatti et al., 2014; Gulati & Srivastava, 2014; Kilduff & Brass, 2010). In opposition to views that conceive the patterns of relations as dissociated to culture and meaning, several recent studies have brought back a concern with meaning (Borgatti et al., 2014). These studies have expanded Network Analysis's boundaries and theoretical interfaces.\nContext: To contextualize the Network Analysis within the management studies scholarship, I chose to identify the articles that were ever published at flagship journals that cite specific core concepts. The journals chosen were ASQ, AMJ, AMR, Org Science, Org Studies, JMS, and SMJ. To represent the evolution of the volume of papers associated to \"social capital\", I chose the \"betweenness\" and \"structural hole\" terms, as they are widespread metrics of individual success within networks. In contrast, I chose the term \"blockmodel\" to identify the papers associated with a system approach to Network Analysis. These terms and approaches will be further elaborated in the coming sections in this paper. An examination of the evolution of a number of articles that cite these terms at the selected journals shows that this research stream has carved out an important segment (Figure 1).\nEarly network analysis research program: foundational ideas: The Network Approach, like any other discipline, lays on widely accepted beliefs (Freeman, 2004; Kilduff et al., 2006). At this paper, I suggest that two beliefs are widely shared by several streams of Network Analysis: the primacy of relations and the structural patterning of social life.\nThe early network analysis research tradition: emphasis on meaning, context and social systems: In 2004, Linton Freeman wrote a book called \"The Development of Social Network Analysis\", where he attempted to reconstruct the genealogies across the Network Analysis community (Freeman, 2004). His identification of Network Analysis's forefathers included Simmel, Moreno, Heider and Lewin as great influences. Before World War II, several initiatives were undertaken at both sides of the Atlantic. This effort included scholars like George Caspar Homans, William Foote Whyte and Elton Mayo. The late thirties \"Western Electric Company\" studies, a precursor of the Human Relations school in management mapped six types of relations among employees and espoused preliminary social network depictions (sociograms) (Roethlisberger, Dickson, Wright, & Western Electric Company, 1967). Yet, it was at the late fifties and early sixties that the Network Analysis research blossomed, mainly as a response to the \"structural functionalist\" hegemony. It is worth concentrating on two specific hubs: Harvard University and Manchester communities.\nThe emergence of social network analysis social capital approach: In the late seventies, but mostly during the eighties and nineties, Network Analysis would suffer a shift that established the construction of its current mainstream core, mainly due to Mark Granovetter and Ronald Burt translations of the idea of \"social capital\" into network constructs. At this paper, I espouse a restricted definition of social capital, offered by Adler and Kwon:\nCriticism to social capital mainstream and responses: In parallel to the emergence and consolidation of the \"social capital\" paradigm, criticism was offered, internally and outside the Social Network community. In this section, I will present three major themes that were presented as criticism to Network Analysis, as well as the responses developed by Network Analysis mainstream.\nDiscussion and conclusion: Throughout this paper, the main goal was to present the emergence of Network Analysis studies, subsequently the development of its mainstream core associated with social capital, and how the mainstream research responded to related criticism. At this section, I take in stock the debate above and discuss the extent that the mainstream has been able to respond to its critics, and the likely limits to its expansion.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Network analysis is a well consolidated research area in several disciplines. Within management and organizational studies, network scholars consolidated a set of research practices that allowed ease of data collection, high inter case comparability, establishment of nomological laws and commitment to social capital motivation. This paper aims to elicit the criticism it has received and highlight the unsettled lacunae.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper sheds light on Network Analysis's breakthroughs, while showing how its scholars innovated by responding to critics, and identifying outstanding debates.\nFindings: The paper identifies and discusses three streams of criticism that are still outstanding: the role of human agency, the meaning of social ties and the treatment of temporality.\nOriginality/value: This paper brings to fore current debates within the Network Analysis community, highlighting areas where future studies might contribute.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Estimation of a Cox process for credit spreads with semi-stochastic intensity	[ "Financial modelling", "Financial risk", "Securities", "Credit", "Pricing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The New Basel Accord (International Convergence of Capital Measurement and capital Standard, Basel II, 26 January 2004) promotes the standards for credit risk management, obligating financial institutions to fulfill a variety of regulatory capital requirements. By increasing the reliability of the credit derivative market, the Basel II rules contributed to its success.In the literature, two principle kinds of models are visible: the structural model and the reduced form model. Structural models are suggested by Merton (1974), Black and Cox (1976), Shimko et al. (1993) and Longstaff and Schwartz (1995). These models focus on the analysis of a firm's structural variables: default event derives from the evolution of firm assets and it is completely specified in an endogenous way.The factors affecting the price of a default-risky bond in a structural model differ for the various variants and extensions of Merton's basic model 3. They are determined by the respective specification of the firm value process, the definition of the threshold for the default event and other modeling issues like consideration of bankruptcy costs, stochastic interest rates (Longstaff and Schwartz, 1995; Briys and de Varenne, 1997), taxes, debt subordination, strategic default, time dependent and stochastic default barrier (Hui and Lo, 2002; Bryis and de Varenne, 1997; Hsu et al., 2002), jumps in the asset value process (Zhou, 2001). Although these extensions introduce more realism into model, they increment its analytical complexity. In the reduced form approach 4, the default is not causally modeled in terms of firm's assets and liabilities, but is typically given exogenously.In this ad hoc approach, the default occurs completely unexpectedly, by surprise so to speak. The stochastic structure of default is directly prescribed by an intensity or compensators process. Defaultable bond prices can be represented in terms of the intensity or the compensator, leading to tractable valuation formulas very similar to those arising in ordinary default-free term structure modeling. Owing to the unpredictability of defaults, the implied credit spread properties are empirically quite plausible. The modeling framework is similar to that of Jarrow and Turnbull (1995), Jarrow et al. (1997), Lando (1994), Madan and Unal (1995), Artzner and Delbaen (1995), Duffie (1997), Duffie and Singleton (1999) and Duffie et al. (1996) in that default is modeled through a random intensity of the default time. However, this paper dispenses with the independence assumption employed in Jarrow and Turnbull (1995), Jarrow et al. (1997) and Madan and Unal (1995). In this respect, our approach resembles that of the works of Duffie (1997), Duffie and Singleton (1999), and Duffie et al. (1996).The approach in this paper is not based on the recursive methods employed there. This sacrifices some generality but the structure of Cox processes produces a class of models which are simple to derive yet seems rich enough to handle important applications when only one-sided credit risk is considered. For an analysis of two-sided default risk in an intensity-based framework (Duffie and Huang, 1996).\n2 The Cox process with semi-stochastic intensity: Recall that an inhomogeneous Poisson process N with (non-negative) intensity function f(.) satisfies: Equation 1 In particular, assuming N0=0, we have: Equation 2 A way of simulating the first jump t of N is to let E1 be a unit exponential random variable and define: Equation 3 A Cox process is a generalization of the Poisson process in which the intensity is allowed to be random but in such a way that if we condition on a particular realization f(.,w) of the intensity, the jump process becomes an inhomogeneous Poisson process with intensity f(s,w). Random intensity can be written in the form: Equation 4 where g is constant in time and Ys:Rd-[0,[?]) is a non-negative, continuous function. This is the reason for calling it semi-stochastic.We can now rewrite equation (3) in the form: Equation 5 Given a probability space (O,G,P) large enough to support a standard unit rate Poisson process N with N0=0 and a non-negative stochastic process g(t) which is independent of N and assumed to be right-continuous and integrable on finite intervals, i.e.: Equation 6 Then L(0)=0 and L has non-decreasing realizations. Now defining: Equation 7 we have a Cox process with intensity measure L.\n3 The double experiment: The data contains 20 corporate bonds observed in American market. I note that this database contains two rating categories: investment grade (rating A) and speculative grade (rating BBB). For each observation in our database, credit rating information is provided. I use Fitch's rating. Estimating the residual spread requires the data necessary to measure both firm default spread and credit spreads. The default spreads calculated herein require the data for the structural model. The model has been estimated with maximum likelihood. Credit spread data are given for the two rating classes and are quoted as the spread above an equivalent maturity treasury rate. Results are shown in Figure 1.\n4 Conclusions: In this paper, we provide a modified Cox model for defaultable interest rate term structure when the forward rate volatilities functions depend on time to maturity, on the instantaneous defaultable spot rate and on the entire forward curve. The Cox process describes the default event and its intensity denotes the credit spread.The main feature of the framework is that it reduces the technical issues of modeling credit risk to the same issues we face when modeling the ordinary term structure of interest rates. Results show a clear maturity-dependent path.A main application of this model is pricing of claims in which the credit rating of the defaultable party enters explicitly. An implementation is given in a simple one factor model in which the affine structure gives closed form solutions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The paper aims to present a framework for modeling defaultable securities and credit derivatives which allows for dependence between market risk factors and credit risk.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The default event is modeled using the Cox process when the stochastic intensity represents the credit spread. A method of one-sided risk approach is used in that default is modeled through a random intensity of the default time.\nFindings: - The paper proposes a modified Cox model for defaultable interest rate term structure when the forward rate volatilities functions depend on time to maturity, on the instantaneous defaultable spot rate and on the entire forward curve. The Cox process describes the default event and its intensity denotes the credit spread.\nResearch limitations/implications: - A method of one-sided risk approach sacrifices some generality. Recursive models are better to reach the latter.\nPractical implications: - The main feature of the framework is that it reduces the technical issues of modeling credit risk to the same issues faced when modeling the ordinary term structure of interest rates. Results show a clear maturity-dependent path.\nOriginality/value: - A main application of this model is pricing of claims in which the credit rating of the defaultable party enters explicitly. An implementation is given in a simple one factor model in which the affine structure gives closed form solutions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Predictors and mediators of sustainable collaboration and implementation in comprehensive school health promotion	[ "Health promoting schools", "Collaboration", "Implementation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Intersectoral collaboration plays an increasingly important role in public health (Barry et al., 2012; Warner and Gould, 2009; Stahl et al., 2006; Butterfoss et al., 1996). Health problems are often multifactorial and can best be solved by combining effective interventions implemented with the support of different sectors. Such multi-strategic approaches to health problems are complex and difficult to implement, however. One of the challenges to their implementation is the establishment of a functional collaboration between stakeholders (Gray, 1989; Zuckerman et al., 1995; Roussos and Fawcett, 2000; Lasker et al., 2001). The ultimate goal is often to develop a stable, long-term and self-supporting collaboration.\nIntersectoral collaboration for CSHP: CSHP is endorsed by the World Health Organization and has been implemented in different forms worldwide (IUHPE, 2009; Stewart-Brown, 2006; Leurs et al., 2005a). The Dutch equivalent of CSHP, called the Healthy School Approach (HSA), basically includes the following steps: creating a supportive collaboration for the HSA, using demand-driven practices in school health promotion based on the epidemiological data of the school community, prioritizing school needs, compiling a multi-year school health plan, executing the plan, evaluating the activities, and creating an education care continuum by linking available care structures in schools with the necessary structures for prevention. Multi-stakeholder engagement is needed to put the HSA into practice (Buijs, 2005; Leurs et al., 2006; Jongh and Bos, 2010).\nDISC model: The first attempt to establish a functional collaboration between these stakeholders was managed by using the practice-oriented DISC model (Leurs et al., 2008). The DISC model originates from Dutch multiple-case studies aimed at bringing different health domains together in integrated care (Van Raak et al., 1999) and is based on organizational change theory (Cummings and Worley, 2001; Daft and Noe, 2001; De Caluwe and Vermaak, 2003). Its validity in the context of the HSA has been established in a single case study (Leurs et al., 2008) and its application as a diagnostic instrument further confirmed in a study of multiple partnerships (Pucher et al., 2015b). The results of DISC analyses showed to be useful to guide future actions in HSA partnerships. The DISC model includes five factors that predict sustainable collaboration: change management, stakeholders' support, project management, context and external factors. Each factor can be assessed on the basis of a set of subfactors.\nMultiple-case study based on the DISC model: In 2008-2011, the DISC model and results of DISC questionnaires were used to support five Dutch regions in the systematic development of intersectoral collaboration in a two-year trajectory. The five HSA collaborations were diagnosed by means of a survey among the relevant stakeholders from health services, PHSs and municipal authorities (Pucher et al., 2015b). Regions independently indicated that adequately situating the HSA within the PHS and positioning it in the region together with PSSs should get priority. Based on the results and the preferences of the regions, recommendations were made to improve the collaboration, followed by a one-year period of support for its implementation. The recommendations targeted representatives of the PSSs and PHSs, and only data from these stakeholders were included in the current study. The DISC recommendations concerned improvements in the management of the collaboration, which were summarized in the following DISC-based strategy: bringing different stakeholders together, developing a common vision, identifying the possibilities and impossibilities for each collaborating partner based on the DISC analysis, determining the desired collaborative structure, developing a task distribution based on the information and discussing the choices at the management and the executive levels. After one year of support, the collaborative process was followed up for an extra year and then ended with an additional assessment of the current state of the collaboration. We present the qualitative data on the managerial activities employed in the regions to bring the DISC-based strategy into practice in a further work (Pucher et al., 2015a).\nResearch goals: The longitudinal quantitative data from the DISC survey offered the opportunity to study previous assumptions regarding: the processes connecting DISC factors to the sustainability of the collaboration, including the mediation by stakeholders' support, and the effects of DISC factors on the actual implementation of the HSA in schools. These assumptions are evaluated in the current paper, by using a quantitative approach, involving path analyses.\nMethods: Procedure\nStatistical analyses: The scores for specific subfactors of each DISC factor were combined into a mean score. The same was done with the scores on items measuring the HSA activities. The DISC subfactors and items for HSA activities were considered formative indicators and satisfied the criteria proposed by Diamantopoulos and Winklhofer (2001) for averaging the scores on such indicators.\nResults: Response\nDiscussion: This study attempted to open up the \"black box\" of collaborative processes by which sustainable collaboration evolves and CSHP is implemented, using mediation analyses based on the DISC model. It used longitudinal data from the two-year DISC-based trajectory, which targeted the systematic development of intersectoral collaboration in CSHP. The systematic approach included the assessment of facilitating and hindering conditions for collaboration which set the basis for strategic planning. Targets to be accomplished were better change management and project management (DISC-based strategy) to enhance stakeholders' support. Professional support was delivered to attain these targets. In the following, we discuss the most important findings and compare these findings with the results of inquiries evaluating health promotion in schools or studying collaboration in public health.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The Diagnosis of Sustainable Collaboration (DISC) model (Leurs et al., 2008) specifies five factors (i.e. project management, change management, context, external factors, and stakeholders' support) which predict whether collaboration becomes strong and stable. The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamics of these factors in a study of multiple partnerships in comprehensive school health promotion (CSHP).\nDesign/methodology/approach: A Dutch two-year DISC-based intervention to support coordinators of five CSHP partnerships in the systematic development of intersectoral collaboration was studied in a pretest-posttest design. To uncover the determinants of sustainable collaboration and implementation of CSHP and to find possible mediators, the authors carried out multi-level path analyses of data on the DISC factors obtained from 90 respondents (response of approached respondents: 57 percent) at pretest and 69 respondents (52 percent) at posttest. Mediation mechanisms were assessed using joint significance tests.\nFindings: The five DISC factors were important predictors of implementation of CSHP (explained variance: 26 percent) and sustainable collaboration (explained variance: 21 percent). For both outcomes, stakeholders' support proved to be the most important factor. Regarding sustainable collaboration, mediation analysis showed that stakeholders' support fully mediated the effects of change management, project management, external factors and context. This indicates that the extent of stakeholders' support (e.g. appreciation of goals and high levels of commitment) determines whether collaboration becomes sustainable. The authors also found that the extent of stakeholders' support in turn depends upon a well-functioning project management structure, the employment of change management principles (e.g. creation of a common vision and employment of appropriate change strategies), a favorable organizational context (e.g. positive experience with previous collaboration) and external context (e.g. positive attitudes of financing bodies and supporting health and educational policies). For the actual implementation of CSHP, partial mediation by the support factor was found. There was a direct positive effect of change management indicating that organizational knowledge is also necessary to implement CSHP, and a direct negative effect of project management, probably pointing to the negative effects of too much negotiation in the collaboration.\nResearch limitations/implications: A design lacking a control group, a small sample and a relatively early assessment after implementation support stopped limit the generalizability of the results.\nPractical implications: Strategies targeting the DISC factors can enhance stakeholders' support and thereby promote sustainable intersectoral collaboration and the implementation of CSHP.\nOriginality/value: The DISC model provides a fruitful conceptual framework for the study of predictors and processes in public health partnerships. The importance of stakeholders' support and other factors in the model are demonstrated.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Procedure structuring for programming aircraft maintenance activities	[ "MRO", "Project management", "TOC", "Aircraft maintenance", "Critical chain project management", "Critical path method" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Nowadays the Brazilian aeronautical sector is among the four largest aircraft manufacturers in the world. This sector is characterized by its strong growth potential, a positive contribution to the trade balance and the generation of jobs and income because of the high technology and added value of its products. These achievements are due to, among other reasons, the decision taken by the Brazilian Government to define the domain of aeronautical technology as a strategy and to invest in the development of this industry (Gomes, 2012; Montoro and Migon, 2009).\n2. Theoretical contextualization: 2.1 Maintenance\n3. Results: 3.1 Methodology\n4. Discussion and final considerations: Maintenance execution time is an important factor when choosing a service center, since the unavailability of an aircraft can generate high costs for the customer. Therefore, it is important that MRO companies seek to reduce maintenance downtime to remain competitive. As discussed previously, the application of the traditional project management tool, CPM, combined with CCPM method can help to reduce project duration and delays in aircraft deliveries, as these tools can reduce activities duration and increase the adherence to project completion date, due to the protection that buffers offer against the variability in maintenance activities execution.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to exemplify the use of project management tools in the scheduling of aircraft maintenance activities. This process is known as maintenance, repair and overhaul and it has gained importance within the aeronautical sector due to its expected growth in the coming years; however, it also faces increasing competitiveness in its market. This fact gives rise to the need of acting in maintenance management and seeking lower costs while maintaining the quality of the service provided. The purpose of this paper is to propose the structuring of a procedure that aims to reduce the total maintenance time (downtime) and guarantee the delivery of the aircraft on time.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper, through a case study at a Brazilian aircraft maintenance center, used critical path method and critical chain project management, the latter being derived from the theory of constraints, with the purpose of analyzing resources systematically and synchronizing the activities in the precedence network.\nFindings: As a result, it is shown that downtime can be reduced from 11 to 5 days and improvements are proposed to achieve greater market competitiveness.\nOriginality/value: This paper demonstrates the competitive advantage that resulted from the application of project management tools in the aircraft maintenance planning and execution.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Revitalising the trade union movement through internationalism: The grassroots perspective	[ "Trade unions", "United Kingdom", "Change management", "Communities" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The trade union movement has faced a period of dramatic uncertainty in recent decades. Declining membership levels, influence and bargaining power have led many, both within and external to the movement, to question the role of trade unions. Experience has demonstrated that as with all organisations, trade unions are sensitive to wider issues and events, particularly labour market changes and the impacts of neo-liberal state policies. Such developments heralded a necessity for trade unions to adopt measures of organisational change, in order to identify means for reform and revitalisation. At first slow to respond, many trade unions have more recently been adopting various strategies of reorganisation, with moves away from traditional forms of trade union organisation towards initiatives based upon the narratives of both community unionism and social movement unionism as part of attempts to build a new model of representing and relating to a changing workforce. Organisational change management is also evident in a process of merger between unions, and the emergence of so-called \"super unions\". As part of this, unions have begun to look beyond national borders in attempts to (re)develop international solidarity, once the very backbone of trade unionism. Labour internationalism has to some extent resulted in the creation of transnational links for information and best practice exchange, for example. Furthermore, the aim for some is to re-establish networks of solidarity between workers across borders to pursue the original raison d'etre of the trade union movement - for workers of the world to unite, creating a global community based on worker identity.As yet, however there has been very limited investigation into how union initiatives encouraging internationalism and internationalist identification are received, understood and interpreted at the grassroots, by union members. There have been studies of the development of transnational alliances created through the international networking of localised protests and campaigns, for instance in the evolution of the Liverpool dockworkers dispute in the 1990s (Castree, 2000). There have been analyses of the impacts of specific institutionalised forms of international labour organisation, such as European Works Councils (Wills, 1998). What remains to be explored in depth, however, is how union agendas that aim to promote labour internationalism, and in related fashion, that aim to align union work with broader international development issues such as the fight against global poverty, are seen by those to whom such agendas are targeted: the union members whose subscriptions sustain union activity in the first place.This paper therefore explores grassroots perspectives on trade union methods of organisational change management through internationalisation. We first identify the motives behind change and sketch the various attempts to revitalise union positions. Then we draw upon case study field research in the conduct of organisational change management through an examination of how one of the UK's biggest trade unions, itself a result of merger - UNISON, representing public sector workers - is perceived by its grassroots members within the North West region of England. The case study is particularly significant as UNISON has international activity as core to its organisational change management strategy, and because UNISON stresses that it aims to be a union that is led by members in all that it does. Whilst much of the debate about labour internationalism focuses on the private sector and the role of global corporations, the prospect and reality of privatisation of governmental functions, coupled with the fact that union membership density has historically been relatively high in the public sector, makes the actions of trade unions in the public sector of extra significance. The aim of the case study is therefore to identify whether or not there are opportunities for the rebuilding of grassroots-led collective identities, solidarity and community beyond national borders. The research reported here is at an early stage and is being conducted in collaboration with the UK's leading public sector trade union, in a deliberate attempt at opening up the space for exploration of these challenging issues.\nOrganisational change in the trade union sector: Analysing three decades of change, Heery et al. (2003) depicted trade unions as having lost power and influence over governments and employers, and suggested their legitimacy has been questioned as they have become less able to attract new members and less representative of the working population. Howell (2005) argued these factors contribute to diminishing revenues pushing many unions into financial crisis. He continues by claiming that this lack of resources will ensure that any attempt to reverse decline is doomed to failure.Despite this picture however, evidence exists of trade union revitalisation (Heery et al., 2001). Trade unions have reviewed and adopted organisational change management strategies in an attempt to revitalise their position within the realm of industrial relations and the wider political and economic context. Often, these choices on revitalisation strategies are determined by a trade union's culture and identity:Identities may be viewed as inherited traditions which shape current choices [...] although this can be disturbed by outside factors. In times of crisis unions may be driven to choices at least partly at odds with traditional identities [...] to the extent that old beliefs, slogans and commitments - the ideological supports of union self conceptions - are undermined, an explicit and plausible redefinition of trade union purpose is essential (Hyman, 1994, p. 132).Some trade unions have begun to develop new models of organising which look beyond the workplace to forge links and develop shared agendas with the wider community (Wills, 2001, p. 466). This model is termed \"community unionism\" and is an organising model based upon the creation of alliances between unions and non-labour groups to strive for certain common objectives (Sadler, 2004, p. 37). Moody (1997) presents an alternative conceptualisation termed \"social movement unionism\", encapsulating the centrality of union democracy as opposed to traditional affiliations with political parties.Union revitalisation is defined by Frege and Kelly (2003, p. 9) as a \"variety of attempts to tackle and potentially reverse problems\". They identify six key strategies: organising to increase mobilising capacity and labour market power; employer partnerships to increase influence at the national, industrial or workplace level and discourage the negative image of militancy and conflict; political action providing access to and potential influence upon legislation and industrial relations regulation; coalition building with other social movements; organisational restructuring including mergers and internal reorganisation; and international links to enhance union influence at international levels and create an arena of information exchange. Increasingly, there has been recognition that:* organisational restructuring; and* coalition building through the adoption of international links are potentially key determinants of trade union effectiveness and survival.Organisational restructuring\nThe case study design: UNISON has actively engaged in labour internationalism and in campaigning on issues to do with social justice in the wider field of international development. More recently it has entered into a strategic partnership with the German public sector workers union, Ver.di, ratified in October 2004. Both unions believe that they have a great deal in common and that by working together they can considerably enhance the conditions of workers in both the private and public sector (the former as a consequence of campaigning against privatisation). The two unions agreed to work on a range of policy issues, particularly at the European level, and to undertake joint action in a number of transnational companies engaged in the provision of public services where both have members.Very little is known however, about the extent of membership understandings of this international role. In order to explore these perspectives, research was undertaken in the North West region of England. Participant observation was conducted at the annual UNISON National Delegate Conference and two UNISON and Ver.di joint seminars. Semi-structured interviews were held with UNISON key informants and a sample of UNISON North West's membership was drawn upon to participate in focus group discussion, extracts of which are presented below. The sample was collated using the method of stratification to ensure representation of the study population (focus groups included members from the key areas UNISON represents, i.e. health, local government, utilities sector; included branches varying in membership size and levels of branch activism and internationalism). The intention was to explore perspectives on labour internationalism in order to aid a grassroots-led development of future UNISON international policies.Focus group discussions initially concentrated on participants' views on the role of a trade union, eliciting an understanding as to whether they were aware of the international role and whether they supported it or perceived it as a distraction from the core agenda. Participants were asked to discuss the role of a trade union and outline their understandings of UNISON's international policy activities. They were then asked to discuss the measures trade unions might adopt to revitalise their position in a challenging environment. A number of potential strategies were presented before attention was placed upon the UNISON - Ver.di alliance as a working example of internationalism aimed at revitalising UNISON's position and creating strong solidarity links with another union in a different country.\nGrassroots perspectives on UNISON's labour internationalism: Some initial reactions produced highly negative comments querying the international role and associating internationalism with one-way solidarity:I think we've got enough problems over here. I want my money to stay in our country.Such a comment encapsulated the individualist nature of some participants, far from the collective solidarity many might associate with trade unionism. Instead, participants claimed the \"core\" role of a trade union is to represent its workers in the workplace; \"it's an insurance policy in case anything goes wrong\". Participants presented an image of \"the union\" and \"members\", using the analogy of service \"providers\" and service \"users\", thus portraying the member-union relationship as an economic exchange based upon individual considerations as opposed to collective solidarity. Viewed in this way, these members depicted UNISON's role as workplace bound, with little recognition of the importance of internationalism.Some members understand that there is a wider role for UNISON, as long as the \"core\" is given priority: \"the other stuff just comes secondary although I guess it is important\". Participants identified that \"issues in one area have an impact upon somewhere else\", moving discussions towards the external influences on the workplace and the strategies trade unions should adopt to deal with these.Participants saw trade union merger as a response to change and offered examples of possible motives including the desire for increased membership levels, power and influence, and to remove what was seen as competition from other unions. There was no indication that mergers may result in benefits for members. Instead participants were highly sceptical of the motives for merger. There was certainly no recognition that union merger could result in increased co-operation between unions on the basis of solidarity or community building. This scepticism was particularly intense on the subject of \"super unions\" and their potential to dominate the industrial relations landscape, as encapsulated by one participant who used an analogy of \"monopoly over the market\" in reference to how a wave in union mergers resulting in super unions might shift power and influence away from the smaller unions. Perceptions of trade union merger activity being similar to the actions of companies in the pursuit of size and profit were presented during each focus group discussion. Participants also raised concerns about whether the increased size of a union through a merger would have a detrimental effect upon representative effectiveness: \"big's not always better is it? I mean, if you get too big you start to lose focus on what you're meant to be concentrating on\".The following extract of a debate between two focus group participants presents two opposing perspectives on the idea that to increase global influence trade unions should act like multinational corporations:Thing is if you want the union to be like a business and do things like this [referring to super union mergers] well, it's these things that the union are meant to be fighting against.\nConclusion: In this study, we have presented evidence on how grassroots members understand and relate to the internationalisation strategies of one of the UK's largest and most internationally-oriented trade unions. We have related this to how processes of change management in the union sector (such as growth through merger and the development of international solidarity) might be understood. In particular, the case study sought to identify whether such solidarity as has been created through the international alliance between UNISON and Ver.di is transformatory or accomodationist in character. We argue that in practice and for many members, both motivations co-exist in a complex and contingent fashion. We also suggest that there remains a big divide between the aspirations of unions such as UNISON, and the grassroots perspectives upon labour internationalism of many members.Whether this divide can be bridged remains an important question for further investigation (and the collaborative research reported here is ongoing). Equally worthy of further enquiry is how far union strategies of change management that are built on growth through merger (which in some ways mirrors the growth of the companies in which members are recruited and represented) and on international collaborative activity, allied to community relationship building in the international sphere through engagement in global humanitarian and human rights causes, can be successful without such engagement and buy-in from the membership base. There are also numerous tensions here between different parts of the organisational structure, and it is beyond the bounds of this study to do any more than flag these as additional issues for further enquiry: the relationship between international officials and others within the administration; the role of internationalism at union branch level; and the impacts of new or emergent civil society agendas such as global climate change, to name but a few. As trade unions increasingly recognise that the choice is between organisational change and growing irrelevance, it is clear that the way in which organisational change is understood by the grassroots will be of growing significance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to present an exploration of grassroots perspectives on trade union methods of organisational change management through internationalism. A case study of UNISON (one of the largest UK trade unions, representing public sector workers) is explored with the intention of identifying whether or not there are opportunities for the rebuilding of grassroots-led collective identities, solidarity and community beyond national borders.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper is based upon a case study of UNISON's North West region in England. Participant observation was conducted and semi-structured interviews were held with UNISON key informants. Focus group sessions were conducted with UNISON grassroots members.\nFindings: - There remains a big divide between the aspirations of unions such as UNISON, and the grassroots perspectives upon labour internationalism of many members. Nonetheless, as some trade unions increasingly recognise that the choice is between organisational change and growing irrelevance, we show that the way in which organisational change is understood by the grassroots is of growing significance.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research raises implications for understanding the relationship between international officials and others within union leadership roles; the meaning of internationalism at union branch level; and the impacts of new or emergent civil society agendas such as global climate change.\nPractical implications: - The research equips trade unions with a deeper understanding of how their organisational change management strategies are supported, or questioned, by members. It demonstrates the level of grassroots support for internationalism, enabling the identification of how members position themselves with respect to cross-border solidarity, and how they interpret organisational change strategies.\nOriginality/value: - There has been great debate as to the effects of globalisation and neoliberalism on trade unions and the strategies available to achieve renewal. One such strategy is trade union internationalism. Very little is known, however, about the extent and manner of membership understandings of internationalism. Do members support internationalism, or do they perceive it as a distraction from a core agenda? The paper explores this grassroots perspective.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
On document supply in Ireland and the USA: experiences at the Boole Library, Cork University	[ "Document delivery", "University libraries", "Ireland", "United States of America" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Boole Library at Ireland's University College Cork was not as luxurious as many American university libraries to which I was accustomed. The carpets were worn and the book selection relatively small for such a strong research university.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to compare the Boole Library at Cork University, Ireland with university libraries in the USA in terms of resource sharing and inter-library lending.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Comparisons are made between Boole Library and university libraries in the USA with reference to lack of funds and resources. The paper highlights the differences in funding of inter-library lending.\nFindings: - Much could be said about how electronic resources are altering the landscape and future of interlibrary loan, but no media forms have evolved to entirely satisfy readers' need to handle the physical book in front of them.\nOriginality/value: - One of the remarkable things about the physical book is what a superb technological form it is. Books are both portable and strong. There is still no better way to read lengthy texts. Although more people are requesting articles electronically, the demand for books seems to keep growing apace with the development of shared library catalogs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Affective choosing of clustering and categorization representations in e-book interfaces	[ "Information visualization", "Information-seeking behaviour", "E-book", "Affective computing", "Human information interaction", "Interface usability" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Owing to advances in network access and information technology, mass communication has undergone a transformation from one-way broadcasting to interactive media channels complete with user feedback. Uses and gratification theory (UGT) attests that an audience actively chooses the most desired channel from a variety of media channels, and their affective and cognitive states and behaviours affect their choices (Katz et al., 1974; Weibull, 1985). UGT uses an audience-centred approach to illustrate how the users prefer to make decisions about which media channel they will be exposed to. This illustration encourages researchers to consider how new approaches and technologies might further affect the information-seeking (IS) methods of users.\nRelevant literature: Wilson (1981) proposed that with respect to information needs, classification should not be the sole factor for consideration; rather, researchers should to pay attention to the individual's motivation and how the disparity between individuals plays a part in the process of decision making. O'Brien (2011) explained information behaviour has advanced to focus on the HII between systems and users, to foster models that encompass user behaviour, cognition and affect, and to comprehend the ways in which context and tasks motivate information needs and identify IS and use. According to UGT, users select media channels according to their need for information; therefore, identifying the specific information need, motivation, or purpose of the user is very crucial in understanding why the subject chooses a certain channel or interface.\nResearch models: Observed variables for information needs\nHypotheses: Information needs\nResearch questions: According to the theories of UGT, the e-book touch wall must allow for a rapid dissemination of information for library members to utilize at will:\nMethodology: Participants\nResults: Test of dimensionality\nDiscussion: When a visitor enters a library, what are his expectations for the books recommended by the library? Put differently, how can a library present its collection as beautifully as a museum exhibition, so that the library will be teeming with enthusiastic readers? Here we want to ask: how can we attract readers to visit a library more frequently? Aside from providing them with advanced OPAC for the purpose of information diagnosticity, a library may attempt to trigger people's curiosity by taking initiative in recommending books by providing services such as the e-book touch wall (information accessibility). Furthermore, a library should adopt different approaches to suit patrons' different needs and feelings. By taking positive and negative responses into consideration, we examined the following issues which may arise during use of the e-book touch wall.\nConclusions: One of the service goals of a library is to introduce books to visitors. This study examines the e-book touch wall that displays digital book covers and icons in the hope of increasing the visibility of e-books. This differs immensely from traditional OPAC, which relies on Metadata for retrievals and physical checkouts of books. For a relatively small database of roughly 700 copies of digital books, we have constructed an interface that incorporates the clustering and categorization presentations at the same time, in order to meet the utilitarian as well as hedonic needs of library members. According to UGT, users choose a desired media channel based on their likes or dislikes. Therefore we tried to understand what kind of readers (with utilitarian or pleasure-related purposes) would choose which type of interface (clustering vs categorization), and understand their psychological states (uncertainty vs perceived EU). It is our hope that these research findings will be helpful for those implementing developments in the current OPAC. For example, a recommendation function could be included to suggest a specific interface according to user characteristics, mood, and task attributes of the system. Research results are as follows:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate user experiences with a touch-wall interface featuring both clustering and categorization representations of available e-books in a public library to understand human information interactions under work-focused and recreational contexts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Researchers collected questionnaires from 251 New Taipei City Library visitors who used the touch-wall interface to search for new titles. The authors applied structural equation modelling to examine relationships among hedonic/utilitarian needs, clustering and categorization representations, perceived ease of use (EU) and the extent to which users experienced anxiety and uncertainty (AU) while interacting with the interface.\nFindings: Utilitarian users who have an explicit idea of what they intend to find tend to prefer the categorization interface. A hedonic-oriented user tends to prefer clustering interfaces. Users reported EU regardless of which interface they engaged with. Results revealed that use of the clustering interface had a negative correlation with AU. Users that seek to satisfy utilitarian needs tended to emphasize the importance of perceived EU, whilst pleasure-seeking users were a little more tolerant of anxiety or uncertainty.\nOriginality/value: The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) encourages library visitors to borrow digital books through the implementation of an information visualization system. This situation poses an opportunity to validate uses and gratification theory. People with hedonic/utilitarian needs displayed different risk-control attitudes and affected uncertainty using the interface. Knowledge about user interaction with such interfaces is vital when launching the development of a new OPAC.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Contingencies and characteristics of service recovery system design: Insights from retail banking	[ "Service design", "Service operations", "Case study", "Service recovery" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Service recovery (SR) refers to the actions taken by organisations to deal with service failures and customer complaints (Michel et al., 2009). It contributes to enhancing competitiveness by restoring customer satisfaction and maintaining loyalty as well as by facilitating utilisation of failure information to improve operations (Smith et al., 2012b). For instance, Dell estimates that it is able to convert an unsatisfied customer into a satisfied one in more than 30 per cent of cases (Barry et al., 2011). Substantial operational benefits have also been reported by organisations that analyse failure data to identify and eliminate the root causes of problems (Johnston and Michel, 2008).\nTheoretical foundations: SR is an important field of study given the difficulty to achieve \"zero defects\" in service delivery (Hart et al., 1990). This multifaceted phenomenon has been conceptualised as a triad encompassing three kinds of interrelated practices: \"customer recovery\" (i.e. practices aimed at dealing with the customer, solving the problem and restoring customer satisfaction), \"employee recovery\" (i.e. practices focussed on training and rewarding employees to help them handle failure situations) and \"process recovery\" (i.e. practices targeted at ensuring changes to the service delivery system are implemented to prevent the problem from happening again) (Michel et al., 2009). Contributions that address the \"customer recovery\" theme include: understanding customers' expectations of recovery efforts and the antecedents to these expectations (Kelley and Davids, 1994; Goldstein et al., 2002); developing recovery plans that are successful in restoring customer satisfaction (Tax and Brown, 1998); articulating the \"SR paradox\", which suggests that outstanding SR leads to higher customer satisfaction compared to a situation where a failure does not occur (Hart et al., 1990); introducing justice theory to explain changes in customers' evaluations of recovery actions (Blodgett et al., 1997) and examining how SR can lead to desirable customer outcomes such as repurchase intentions, favourable word of mouth and loyalty (Brown et al., 1996). The topic of \"employee recovery\" has also received attention. The attitudes and behaviours of the employees who handle the complaint and the complainant are a major influence on the success of SR actions (Homburg and Furst, 2005). Miller et al. (2000) show that training and empowering employees to solve failure situations is essential. Boshoff and Allen (2000) demonstrate the importance of frontline employees to make emotional atonement and display feelings of empathy.\nMethodology: This theory-building study addresses the question of how SR strategy influences SRS design. Investigating contingency effects in service operations requires accessing data that provides detailed insights into contingency factors, operational characteristics of the SRS and the recovery practices used. It involves building a robust evidence base for understanding and describing the SRS as well as for explaining relationships between the contingency factor and design characteristics. The case study methodology allows for the collection of rich operational and tactical data, both quantitative and qualitative, from diverse sources (Eisenhardt, 1989). This facilitates the development of a comprehensive picture of the phenomenon being studied. Moreover, it is the desired approach when contextual circumstances are thought to influence the use of OM practices because it enables the detailed examination of the interactions between the research variables (Zomerdijk and de Vries, 2007; Sousa and Voss, 2001). Finally, the case method allows for controlling external factors that may otherwise affect the phenomenon of interest. Control is achieved by focussing the study on a single industry (retail banking) and conducting our investigation in retail banks that deal with similar types of complaints. Previous studies found that industry factors influence the use of OM practices and SR practices. For instance, Ponsignon et al. (2015) show that managing the customer's experience in financial services is markedly different than in the entertainment and leisure industry. De Ruyter and Wetzels (2000) show that customers' perceptions of SR actions are industry specific. This realisation has driven SR scholars to narrow their focus on single industries (e.g. Gruber and Frugone, 2011).\nFindings: The findings are organised into three sections. First, we present the SR process at each bank. Second, we describe how the case data addresses SRS design, and finally, we present a comparison of the operational characteristics of each SRS.\nDiscussion: The results, presented above, provide some interesting insights into the design characteristics of SRS. These insights are organised into three distinct areas for further discussion: the additional intellectual insights into SRS design that are facilitated by the increased specificity of Smith et al.'s (2009) original framework; the identification of sub-dimensions which are contingent on SR strategy; the identification of sub-dimensions not influenced by SR strategy but exhibiting commonality across both cases.\nConclusions: This paper explores the contingencies and characteristics of SRS design. The theoretical contributions of our study are threefold. The first contribution is to extend the work of Smith et al. (2009) by empirically developing a framework comprising the original seven design characteristics and 19 new sub-dimensions. The design framework offers a more detailed view of the SRS. The increased specificity in SRS characteristics afforded by this granular approach contributes to the identification of commonality and difference in these systems, which would otherwise be overlooked. The second contribution of this research is to identify and explain the influence of SR strategy on SRS design. An identifiable set of 12 sub-dimensions, contingent upon service-focussed and cost-focussed strategic orientations, has been identified and two distinct SRS configurations (S-type and C-type) have been proposed. Our findings emphasise the level of granularity required to understand and explain SRS design from a strategy contingency perspective. Third, in addition to the 12 sub-dimensions which correspond to SR strategy, we have identified seven sub-dimensions which are common to both SRS. This set of common characteristics, independent of strategic orientation, can be, in part, explained by each organisation's attempt to meet regulatory requirements. The total framework of 19 dimensions, and their associated configurations, extends current theory, provides practical guidance for managers and identifies areas for future theoretical development.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the contingencies and characteristics of service recovery system (SRS) design.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Informed by extensive case study data from two large Italian retail banks, the theory-building study builds on the seven design characteristics proposed by Smith et al. (2009). In all, 19 sub-dimensions are identified that provide a finer-grain view of the SRS at the operational level. The design characteristics and the corresponding sub-dimensions comprise the SRS design framework. These sub-dimensions are then analysed across the two cases. Specific attention is given to sub-dimensions that are contingent upon service recovery strategy.\nFindings: The findings suggest that the extended set of SRS sub-dimensions (providing greater specificity) contributes to identifying commonality and difference between SRS configurations. This specificity facilitates the identification of two sets of SRS design characteristics (S-type and C-type) that correspond with the SR strategy. Two propositions have been formulated with respect to this SR strategy - SRS contingency. An additional set of sub-dimensions, common to both cases, is explained by conformance to regulatory control.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides novel theoretical insights into SRS design. The increased specificity of the SRS framework and the sets of sub-dimensions contingent on SR strategy extend the current theory. This provides opportunities for both practising managers and for future theoretical development.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Careers patterns in Greek academia: social capital and intelligent careers, but for whom?	[ "Academia", "Careers", "Politics", "Social capital", "National culture", "Nepotism", "Greece", "Dark side", "Intelligent careers", "Know-whom", "In-group", "Out-group" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The work at hand examines careers in the Greek academic system and depicts the mechanisms via which national cultural and environmental characteristics have led to particular patterns that careers follow within that system. The construct of social capital (Bourdieu, 1980, 1986) and the notion of intelligent careers (Arthur et al., 1995) have been employed in this endeavor. The contribution extends along two axes: first, it provides an illustration of how careers are embedded within social and cultural systems, which frame career trajectories and essentially cage career actors by means of seriously restricting their latitude of action: as to be seen, there are only certain patterns of conduct for entry and progression within the Greek academic system, and these are mostly determined by a priori membership or not into a particular \"in-group.\" Second, it demonstrates the negative effects social capital can have for the collective. Those negative consequences, or \"dark side,\" of social capital have been largely neglected so far.\nSetting the stage: Greece is a country with very long history, whose origins are traced well beyond one millennium BC. In addition, Greece has been granted the status of a country that offered lights to the rise of intellect, and is viewed as the cradle of modern western civilization (e.g. Barzum, 2000).\nMethod: A number of methods aided in the collection of information for the empirical part.\nFindings: The reporting of the findings is structured as follows: first, some fundamental facts about the Greek Higher Education system in general and about the structure of the labor market for academics are presented. This is followed by an account of the flow of social capital within the upper ranks of Greek academia, as well as between these, the political parties and the aristocracy of the country; and the meaning of this for employment and career progression within academia. Then there is a historical account of the circumstances that along with national cultural features led to the establishment of the \"in-group\" and its ruling of Greek academia. Subsequently, the methods, mechanized by social capital, the \"in-group\" employs to control the entire career system are illustrated. That part was organized according to the stage notion of careers.\nDiscussion: The work at hand focussed on careers within the academic system of a particular country, Greece and illustrated how social capital determines careers within that system. As such, the case provides strong support to the social capital approach to career success (e.g. Seibert et al., 2001). Beyond this, however, the present work suggests that social capital or know-whom is not just a contributing factor (as career theory suggests), but instead a sufficient condition for career entry and success within that labor market. On the other hand, reliance on accumulation of know-how, which would presumably be the most valued resource in a knowledge-intensive industry such as academia, is unlikely to pay dividends just by itself. The study also demonstrates the mechanisms via which the extended \"in-group\" rules the whole sector by means of their social capital.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive account for careers within the Greek academic system. Historical, cultural and geographical features of the country have created a unique context that has shaped the way academic careers evolve.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The primary methods of data collection were retrospective participant observation and discussions in interview form with individuals who have had various types of experience with the Greek Higher Education system.\nFindings: The major factor that shapes careers in Greek academia is social capital or know-whom that operates within a broader cultural environment where institutional collectivism is extremely low, the in-group - out-group distinction is a major element, and political party affiliation plays a key role in everyday affairs. As a result academic careers in Greece are almost exclusively determined by membership, a priory or earned, to an \"in-group\" that is linked via blood, family friendship, business and political party ties. This \"in-group\" uses its social capital to control academic careers across all stages for the benefit of its members.\nResearch limitations/implications: There are method limitations, but relevant concerns were largely alleviated by precautionary measures and the way data were utilized. Ethnography may be the most appropriate method to disentangle the way networks and social capital impact careers.\nPractical implications: Achieving substantive change, such as increasing meritocracy, within a sector may be impossible without considering the broader cultural context that encapsulates it.\nOriginality/value: The study is among the very first to unveil the \"dark side\" of social capital, and show how social capital may benefit the interests of in-groups at the expense of the collective.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Corruption, institutions and capital flight: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa	[ "Governance", "Sub-Saharan Africa", "Corruption", "Institutions", "Capital flight" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The issue of capital flight has remained a serious concern to many developing countries since the early 1980s. This is because of its deleterious impact, not only on macroeconomic stability and economic growth, but also on income distribution and welfare of the people (Zheng and Tang, 2009).\n2. Overview of capital flight and corruption in SSA: In order to appreciate the state of capital flight and corruption in the Sub-Saharan region, this section provides a trend analysis of the estimates of capital flight and corruption for the period under consideration. Trend analysis on the average corruption as well as capital flight estimates for individual Sub-Saharan African country under consideration is also reported.\n3. Literature review: This section is aimed at reviewing the theoretical and empirical studies on capital flight and corruption.\n4. Methodology and discussion of estimation results: This study estimates capital flight employing the methodology outlined by Boyce and Ndikumana (2001) which is a variant of the World Bank (1985) residual method. The method calculates capital flight as the residual difference between capital inflows and recorded foreign-exchange outflows. Adjustments made include: trade mis-invoicing, under-reporting of remittances, inflation and exchange rate. Capital flight is estimated for country i in year t using the following equation:\n5. Estimation results: 5.1 Introduction\n6. Conclusions: This paper estimates capital flight on corruption as well as other controlled macroeconomic and equally important institutional variables of the model. Accordingly, the return differential retained its expected sign, thus, a negative and statistically significant effect on capital flight at 1 percent level of significance in most of the specifications it appeared. The result is consistent with the theory that a rise in the return differential leads to a decline in capital flight. In addition, the variable of interest, thus, corruption regressed on capital flight retain its expected positive sign and statistically significant across all specifications it appeared in the model. The relationship remains very strong even when macroeconomic variables and other equally important institutional variables that have been used in empirical literature and significantly affect capital flight are taken into account. The result was consistent with empirical evidence. This provides us enough evidence to conclude that poor governance and weak institutions, in this case an increase in corruption, strongly leads to a rise in capital flight in Sub-Saharan Africa and that a rise in corruption by one standard deviation is associated with a rise in capital flight in Sub-Saharan Africa by approximately 0.75 percent.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of corruption and institutional governance indicators on capital flight in Sub-Saharan Africa.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a Portfolio Choice Framework, the study employs two different estimation techniques as Generalized Method of Moment and Fixed Effect Regression on panel data sets of 32 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa over the period 2000-2012.\nFindings: The variable of interest, corruption, retains its expected positive sign and statistically significant across all the estimations. The relationship remains very strong even when other equally important institutional variables such as regime durability, rule of law and independence of the executive are taken into account. This suggests that a higher perception of corruption among public authorities as in bribery, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, among others facilitates an increase in capital outflow from SSA. The findings further indicate that regime durability and rule of law are important institutional variables that also significantly influence capital flights in SSA.\nPractical implications: The findings imply that institutional reforms should be encouraged if SSA is to win the war against corruption and by extension against capital flight. There should be a creation of democratic environment and good governance practices that foster stronger governance institutions, decline in corruption and better domestic investment climate to help reverse the high spate of capital flight in the region.\nOriginality/value: The main value of this paper is using the portfolio choice framework to analyze the relationship between capital flight and corruption in the Sub-Saharan African context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Food consumption and manufacturing output: Why eating healthily can bear fruit	[ "Healthy eating", "Manufacturing", "Health promotion activities" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Recent decades have witnessed growing concerns about obesity and serious medical conditions. These issues are especially prominent in the USA.\nEmployee health and workplace productivity: One significant consequence is a stronger commitment toward improving health in the workplace. It is widely accepted that positive correlation exists between employee well-being and productivity. The reverse is also true though. Chronic disease among the workforce invariably affects the organization's ability to compete with its rivals. An inevitable rise in health-care costs further heightens the negative fallout.\nHealth promotion initiatives: Involving workers in the design and implementation of any initiative is advisable. Greater buy-in typically results. In a health promotion context, participation can take several forms including:\nThe importance of effective communication: Intended change is only possible if those targeted are properly informed. Appropriate communication is therefore a must. Its importance cannot be overstated. Companies should ideally aim to reach and engage employees using the variety of channels which are typically available to them. Most effective could be:\nComment: The review is based on \"Increasing fruit and vegetable intake among manufacturing workers\" by Rueff and Logomarsino (2016). The authors examine the use of health promotion activities as a means of influencing dietary habits of the workforce. Practitioners can gain valuable insight into the type of interventions likely to succeed and how using them in combination increased their effectiveness. Another key conclusion offered by this informative piece is the importance of employee involvement in the planning and execution of initiatives.\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: Recent decades have witnessed growing concerns about obesity and serious medical conditions. These issues are especially prominent in the USA. One significant consequence is a stronger commitment toward improving health in the workplace. It is widely accepted that positive correlation exists between employee well-being and productivity. The reverse is also true though. Chronic disease among the workforce invariably affects the organization's ability to compete with its rivals. An inevitable rise in healthcare costs further heightens the negative fallout.\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" } ]
Children's experiences and parents' perceptions of retailers' mobile applications	[ "Retailing", "Experiential marketing", "Child behaviour", "Mobile applications" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Tablets can no longer be considered a fad: According to e-marketer, more than one billion people worldwide use a tablet in 2015[1]. The initial use of mobile devices was constrained to the activity of calling and texting. Smartphones (e.g. Blackberry) added e-mailing but the next generation of smartphones (e.g. Samsung Galaxy and I-phone) and tablet (I-Pad) introduced mobile applications. In 2013, US internet users downloaded about 33 apps to their phones and regularly used about 12 - similar numbers are found for other developed countries - e.g. 37 apps downloaded and 12 regularly used in France (Google, 2014). The use of mobile phones is becoming pervasive in consumers' behaviour (Kulviwat et al., 2009) and electronic personal objects could be assimilated perceived by individuals as \"extensions of themselves\" (Bruner and Kumar, 2007). In parallel, there is growing scepticism about the effectiveness of traditional TV advertising as traditional media have difficulties in competing for consumers' attention (Bellman et al., 2011; Teixeira, 2014). The traditional interruption-based advertising model (i.e. advertising breaks on TV or radio) is on its way out. According to e-marketer, the share of time spent on mobile by US adults has shifted from 3.7 to 23.3 per cent between 2010 and 2014 while in the same time TV decreased from 40.9 to 36.5 per cent (eMarketer, 2014a, b).\nBrand and mobile applications experience and the connected child: Due to the fast pace of development of digital technology and its almost immediate adoption by children, academic research tends to lag behind industry practice and consumer behaviour. Hence, to comprehend the children's experience of a branded app, it is necessary to briefly call on the literature of experiential marketing in the context of children's use of mobile and digital devices in an attempt to delineate a theoretical framework.\nResearch design and methodology: Sample\nResults: characterising the branded app experience for children: The use of tablets and mobile phone is very well accepted and understood by children. Of the 17 families interviewed (20 children), only six families do not have a tablet at home, while all have a smartphone. All children use applications on a regular basis (daily or weekly use, e.g. on weekends). The children were very receptive to the use of the selected applications.\nTheoretical and managerial implications: There are a number of implications that could be drawn from this initial study. From a theoretical point of view, the study relates to a number of projections already put forward by other authors. First of all, the study confirms the potential of experiential marketing when targeting children (Damay and Guichard, 2011). The emotional rather utilitarian benefits of the apps were fully embraced by children. Tablet apps seem to combine some of the feature of experiential and digital marketing. The notion of escapism, the result of a fully immersive experience seems to corroborate previous evidence on video game and advergame studies (Bailey et al., 2009). Similar to the findings on advergames, the younger children seem to have difficulties in recognising the branded nature of the app (An and Kang, 2013); in the case of the tablet app, this resulted in the children not recalling the name of the sponsor. This is possibly due to the discreet nature of the logo. Children consciously or unconsciously seem to keep a cautious distance from brands while embracing the experience that they may offer (for free). In that regards, the study does not seem to conclusively corroborate the findings of Lee et al. (2009) on the effectiveness of advergames in increasing brand memory and loyalty.\nLimitations and future research: This study represents an initial foray into research in the area of sponsored mobile apps aimed at children. Although the present study has yielded some preliminary findings, it is not without limitations. The limited number of applications available restrains the generalisability of the findings as the nature of the children experience of a mobile apps could vary significantly depending on the type of apps used. Although the number of branded apps aimed at children is increasing, future research may consider the experimentation route in order to control the variable of the content and type of app used. Further investigation is also needed on a larger sample of children and parents to determine the impact of various execution variables such as children and parents' preferences including a predisposition to advertising and gaming to assess the effect of sponsored apps on brand attitudes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of a branded mobile application experience for children, and analyse how these experiences affect the children's and parents' brand perceptions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors use a qualitative approach focussing on the consumer perspective. Children were asked to use two selected applications from an I-Pad tablet (\"La Grande Recre\" - A1 and \"MonkiMi\" - A2). Children and parents were subsequently interviewed.\nFindings: Children primarily valued the emotional experience of the application (app). The parents appreciated their children's cognitive experience of the mobile app. Parents are much more responsive to mobile application communication, as they perceive to have more control over this new media and value the cognitive and emotional dimension of their children experience of the app.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study shows that branded apps can be an extremely effective way in delivering valuable brand content which positively impact brand perceptions. This initial and exploratory study calls for further extensive research in this area.\nPractical implications: This research demonstrates the untapped potential of sponsored apps as a communication medium.\nOriginality/value: The paper indicates that mobile applications constitute a new communication channel for retailers and brand owners to interact at an emotional level with their existing or prospective customers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Legal remedies for girls' under-representation in nontraditional career and technical education	[ "Education", "Secondary schools", "Gender", "Women", "Law", "Sexual discrimination" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: A female high school student in Michigan encounters resistance when she wanted to enroll in an auto body course: \"My counselor even tried to talk me out of [it]\" (US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2000a).Another high school student in Palm Beach, Florida, is told by peers that she is \"too cute to take auto tech\" courses (Shah and Marra, 2002).A high school student from the Pittsburgh area is discouraged from taking masonry courses; her classmates say that girls are not supposed to take these classes and are not strong enough to do the tasks required in masonry (Johnson, 2002).Young women who want to pursue nontraditional training and employment must often overcome obstacles such as sex discrimination in course enrollment and recruiting procedures, biased career and academic counseling, and sexual harassment. These obstacles not only reinforce negative gender stereotypes but also deny girls equal opportunity to be hired for and succeed in jobs that offer opportunities for good wages and benefits.In US high schools, career and technical education (hereinafter \"CTE\", formerly known as \"vocational education\") enhances traditional academics by providing students with an opportunity to learn practical skills that can lead to high-paying, stable employment, and benefit them as they continue their education. CTE is popular - nearly half of all high school students take CTE courses (US Department of Education, 2004). However, pervasive patterns of low enrollment in CTE courses that are nontraditional for young women indicate that young women are not receiving the full benefits of career preparation.Thousands of young women in the US remain clustered in CTE courses directed at traditionally female occupations, with very small numbers pursuing nontraditional fields (occupations in which one gender represents less than 25 percent of workers). Sex segregation in career and technical education courses has critical implications for girls' economic security as adults. In contrast to traditionally male occupations, traditionally female occupations generally do not pay well, often do not include benefits, and hold the possibility for only limited advancement. Therefore, female students' low enrollment in traditionally male CTE courses can negatively impact their future earnings.State-level data reveal substantial gender disparities in course enrollment in career and technical education. In a sample of twelve states, girls make up on average only 15 percent of enrollment in nontraditional fields, yet constitute a full 87 percent of enrollment in fields traditionally considered to be women's work. In some states, as few as 6 percent of female CTE students are enrolled in nontraditional courses. These statistics illustrate the stark disparities that persist in career and technical education in US high schools and the need for action to remedy the situation.The 12-state CTE enrollment data show that there has been no significant improvement in girls' representation in nontraditional fields since the National Women's Law Center documented the problem in 2002. There has also been little change since 1977, when the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights conducted compliance reviews and found that students were \"concentrated in programs traditionally intended for them\" (45 CFR SS80 Appendix B). At that time, OCR reported that female students were 79 percent of those enrolled in health occupations and 14 percent of those enrolled in trade and industrial courses. The most recently available data (ranging from 2001 to 2004) show that girls currently make up 87 percent of enrollment in traditionally female courses and only 15 percent of enrollment in nontraditional courses - strikingly similar to the pattern found nearly thirty years ago.Drawing from a Fall 2005 report released by the National Women's Law Center, this article investigates students' enrollment in high school CTE and the presence of laws and regulations at the federal and state levels that may provide means to address sex discrimination in these programs. The article begins with a description of our methods for evaluating patterns of secondary CTE enrollment and for interpreting state law. Second, we present the data on girls' enrollment in nontraditional courses and the implications of those data. The role of sex discrimination in the patterns of disproportionate enrollment is discussed, followed by an analysis of federal and state laws that may be utilized to address sex discrimination in CTE courses. The article concludes by offering suggestions for improving state law and increasing female enrollment in nontraditional career and technical education courses.\n2. Methodology: This article examines the enrollment patterns in selected CTE courses in fields that are traditional and nontraditional for girls, using a sample of twelve states. Data from Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, and North Carolina are from the 2003-2004 school year. Data for Florida, Illinois, and Maryland are from 2002-2003. The most recently available data from Washington State are from 2001-2002. These states were originally selected because they are geographically diverse; one falls in each of the US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights' 12 regions.CTE courses in most states are identified by a code from the 2000 Classification of Instructional Programs (\"CIP code\"), developed by the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the resource for defining nontraditional occupations - those in which one gender comprises less than 25 percent of the workforce. For the purposes of this report, \"traditionally female\" fields are fields in which women constitute over 75 percent of the workforce (US Department of Labor, 2003). Because there is no definitive resource for the classification of career and technical education courses as nontraditional, we used the NCES occupational crosswalk between CIP codes and the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics Classification (US Department of Education, 2000b) to identify CTE courses that correspond with the occupations classified by the BLS as nontraditional, as well as additional resources prepared by CTE consultants (Klein, n.d.; Planning, Research and Evaluation Services Associates, n.d.).CTE course offerings can vary greatly from state to state, making it impossible for us to include every single course that could be classified as traditional or nontraditional. Therefore, we developed a list of 38 CIP codes (organized for our purposes into eight broader occupational categories: child care, cosmetology, health services, agriculture, precision production, engineering, construction and repair, and automotive) to be representative of the range of traditional and nontraditional program offerings across the 12 states[1]. For each state, every course offered from this list was included in our analysis. These programs were chosen before enrollment data were analyzed.We used the most recently available statewide CTE course enrollment data, obtained from state departments of education and disaggregated by gender, to determine the level of male and female representation in the identified traditional and nontraditional courses in the twelve states. For six states (Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Michigan) it was also possible to determine the proportion of CTE courses offered that are traditional for females, nontraditional for females, or neither. We then compared these results with the proportion of girls enrolled in each type of course. It was not possible to calculate this for other states because enrollment information was not readily available for all courses offered.We also used the most recently available National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005) to determine the median wage of each specific occupation and then computed an average median wage for each of the eight broader categories.We considered several sources of law and legal guidance at the federal and state levels: constitutions, statutes, regulations, guidelines, and caselaw. Constitutions establish a respective government's structure and may set out general citizens' rights. Statutes are passed by the legislative branch of the government and are usually signed by the head of the executive branch. Regulations and guidelines are written by administrative bodies in the executive branch to help implement laws passed by the legislature. Caselaw is the written opinions of judges who interpret the law when a lawsuit is before them.For the federal law section of this article, we draw from the US Constitution, Title IX and its implementing regulations, and subsequent caselaw. To understand the legal tools available at the state level to address girls' under-representation in nontraditional CTE courses, we researched state statutes, administrative codes, and constitutions in selected states. To provide clarification of statutes and the codes, we reviewed relevant caselaw when necessary and available.\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Gender disparities in enrollment patterns for traditional and nontraditional courses\n4. Legal remedies: Federal, state, and sometimes even local laws can be effective tools for combating discrimination and girls' under-representation in nontraditional career and technical education courses. The law can be used to request that schools or government enforcement agencies systematically investigate the barriers leading to girls' under-representation in nontraditional CTE programs. The law may bolster requests that schools voluntarily correct discriminatory conditions or take proactive steps to advance gender equity in CTE. If schools are not willing to take voluntary steps or to comply with legal requirements, individuals can use the law to file complaints with administrative enforcement agencies, or file lawsuits, at the state or federal level. Individuals may also try to improve the provisions of existing state or federal law by advocating for changes to relevant statutes or administrative regulations or guidance.Relevant laws and regulations take numerous forms and can be found through a variety of sources, as discussed below. Note that while neither local ordinances (which are laws passed by local governments) nor local school board policies are within the scope of this article, these types of legal tools may also contain relevant protections.4.1 Federal anti-discrimination law\n5. Conclusions: While there has been substantial research conducted on girls' participation in math and science and success in the classroom, little attention has been paid to the participation of girls in nontraditional career and technical education programs at the secondary level. Similarly, there has been little discussion about the legal environment in which sex disparities in CTE exist and how legal approaches may be used to remedy the problem.Our research quantifies the sex disparities in CTE enrollment, especially as pertaining to girls' enrollment in nontraditional courses. In our twelve-state sample, girls make up only 15 percent of enrollment in nontraditional courses overall, and as low as five percent of students in some specific subjects. In a six-state sub-sample, just one in seven female students are enrolled in a nontraditional course. At the same time, girls make up 87 percent of enrollment in traditionally female courses.We not only point out such sex disparities, we also provide guidance for ways in which the law can be used to address girls' under-representation in nontraditional fields. Federal, state, and sometimes even local laws can be effective tools for combating discrimination and girls' under-representation in nontraditional career and technical education courses. It is important for students, teachers and parents to be aware of their rights and take advantage of the legal remedies available to them.We hope our work will serve as a springboard for future research into girls' participation in nontraditional career and technical education and into the impact of vigorous enforcement of strong anti-discrimination laws on girls' under-representation in these programs. We also hope this article can serve as a starting point for state advocates and legislators who are considering improving their states' educational equity laws. Addressing girls' under-representation in nontraditional courses is a key component to ensuring the effectiveness of secondary career and technical education in improving the career prospects of all students.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to document the extent of girls' under-representation in nontraditional high school career and technical education courses, examine the role of sex discrimination in these disparities, and identify legal remedies for addressing the problem.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This article uses high school CTE enrollment data from 12 states to document female students' under-representation in nontraditional courses and uses wage data to show the negative implications for girls' future earnings. Drawing on the experiences of female students, this study explains how sex discrimination contributes to their low rates of participation in nontraditional training. The study then discusses how laws and regulations at the federal and state levels may provide means to address such discrimination.\nFindings: - Finds high levels of sex segregation in CTE course enrollment, with female students making up on average 15 percent of students in nontraditional courses and 87 percent in traditionally female fields. Substantial evidence of sex discrimination in CTE makes a strong case for its role in contributing to girls' low enrollment in nontraditional courses. Varied state laws can be utilized to address this underlying cause.\nOriginality/value: - While much research has looked at girls in math and science, less attention has been paid to their participation in nontraditional CTE. This paper offers quantitative evidence of girls' under-representation in such courses and qualitative evidence of the role sex discrimination plays. Offers a unique solution by showing how state laws can be used to address such discrimination and increase girls' participation in nontraditional training.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An investigation of the neural correlates of purchase behavior through fNIRS	[ "Decision-making", "Neuromarketing", "Purchasing behavior", "Purchasing decision", "FNIRS", "Optical brain imaging" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Traditional marketing research and consumer decision-making\nLiterature review: Existing work in the neuroscience literature include decision-making scenarios ranging from simple decision tasks such as choosing pizza over salad for lunch to decision-making under uncertain, dynamically unfolding circumstances such as gambling tasks (Glimcher and Fehr, 2014). Although these studies include rather simple decision-making scenarios because of the limitations imposed by brain imaging tools, they collectively identified important neural mechanisms underlying related cognitive and emotional processes such as reward evaluation, ambiguity/risk management and value comparison (Smith and Huettel, 2010).\nMaterial and methods: A total of 33 participants (17 females) in the age range 18-46 years participated in the experiment. They were selected randomly from the consumer database of a neuromarketing research company. All participants were right-handed as measured by the Edinburgh handedness survey (Oldfield, 1971). None of the participants had a history of psychiatric disorders. Participants were paid TL10 (Turkish Lira) for their participation and TL40 as a bonus in compensation for the items they selected to purchase during the experiment. The data of one participant had been excluded because of the fact that he had not made any buy or pass responses during the experiment. The study was approved by the METU human subjects research ethics committee. Written informed consent was obtained prior to the experiment.\nResults: Behavioral results\nDiscussion: Marketing literature puts strong emphasis on exploring purchase decision-making processes of consumers and developing models to predict purchase decision. However, the success of previously adopted models developed through conventional marketing research tools has been controversial. Existing studies show how self-reported intentions measured through traditional methodologies fall short in predicting actual purchase behavior. Appropriate use of neuroimaging methods can contribute to this need in marketing research by providing neurophysiological markers that may better account for consumers' intuitive tendencies that are difficult to verbalize or articulate in terms of self-reports, surveys or interviews.\nConclusion and future work: This empirical study has aimed to explore neural correlates of purchase decisions in the prefrontal cortex by using fNIRS and to devise and test the accuracy of a multivariate model for decoding such decisions based on optical brain imaging measures. The participants were demonstrated the products, the price of the products and the decision screen by which they needed to respond either with buy or pass decisions. The findings of this study indicate that modulations in oxygenation in the right fronto-polar cortex associated with subjective value management play an important role during purchase decisions for the whole sample. More interestingly, if the participants are separated into two subgroups in relation to their attitudes toward their budgets, the decoding accuracy rises from 71 to 85 per cent in relation to different neural patterns within their prefrontal cortex. The difference between the two subgroups could be attributed to the difference in goal structures they generated, as they interpreted the task instructions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to explore the plausibility of the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) methodology for neuromarketing applications and develop a neurophysiologically-informed model of purchasing behavior based on fNIRS measurements.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The oxygenation signals extracted from the purchase trials of each subject were temporally averaged to obtain average signals for buy and pass decisions. The obtained data were analyzed via both linear mixed models for each of the 16 optodes to explore their separate role in the purchasing decision process and a discriminant analysis to construct a classifier for buy/pass decisions based on oxygenation measures from multiple optodes.\nFindings: Positive purchasing decisions significantly increase the neural activity through fronto-polar regions, which are closely related to OFC and vmPFC that modulate the computation of subjective values. The results showed that neural activations can be used to decode the buy or pass decisions with 85 per cent accuracy provided that sensitivity to the budget constraint is provided as an additional factor.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study shows that the fNIRS measures can provide useful biomarkers for improving the classification accuracy of purchasing tendencies and might be used as a main or complementary method together with traditional research methods in marketing. Future studies might focus on real-time purchasing processes in a more ecologically valid setting such as shopping in supermarkets.\nOriginality/value: This paper uses an emerging neuroimaging method in consumer neuroscience, namely, fNIRS. The decoding accuracy of the model is 85 per cent which presents an improvement over the accuracy levels reported in previous studies. The research also contributes to existing knowledge by providing insights in understanding individual differences and heterogeneity in consumer behavior through neural activities.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating policy approaches for tackling informal entrepreneurship	[ "Informal sector", "South-Eastern Europe", "Tax morale", "Horizontal trust", "Vertical trust" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over the past decades, it has been widely documented that the informal economy is a persistent phenomenon which affects both developing and developed countries. The average size of the informal economy across 158 countries has been estimated as equivalent to 31.8 per cent of the official GDP over the past two decades, decreasing from 34.5 per cent in 1991 to 27.8 per cent in 2015 (Medina and Schneider, 2018). Similarly, it has been estimated that two thirds of businesses start-up unregistered (Autio and Fu, 2015) and that globally, about a half of businesses are unregistered (Acs et al., 2013). However, these figures do not include formal businesses that employ informal practices such as under-reporting their turnover/profit, or employ unregistered employees, which would result in an even larger proportion of entrepreneurship being in the informal economy (Williams, 2018).\nSmall business and the policy measures for reducing informal economy: Although several studies have documented the prevalence of informal entrepreneurship (Chepurenko, 2016; London et al., 2014; Williams et al., 2016), there are only a few attempts to explore the effectiveness of policy approaches used by governments to tackle informal work. Reviewing the literature on the informal sector in general, two types of approach are apparent, namely, the \"rational economic actor\" approach and the \"social actor\" approach. We will here discuss each in turn.\nMethodology: To evaluate the effectiveness of the two policy approaches, we here use data gathered by the authors in a representative business survey conducted in 2015 in three South-Eastern European countries, namely, Croatia, Bulgaria and FYR Macedonia, chosen because they are the countries with among the highest levels of informal work in the Europe (Medina and Schneider, 2018). The sampling methodology ensured that the samples are proportionate to the universe in each country in terms of firm size, region and sector. Out of 1,430 surveyed businesses using face-to-face interviews conducted by established well-known market research agencies in each country, we here kept the 1,384 conducted with small businesses.\nFindings: Examining the descriptive findings, Table I shows that, overall, more than a half of small businesses (56 per cent) consider that their business is affected by informal competitors. However, there are differences across the three countries. While Bulgarian small businesses are less widely affected by informal competitors, with 43 per cent of the respondents reporting that this is the case, in FYR Macedonia and Croatia this is higher, with 55 and 66 per cent of small businesses, respectively, reporting that they are affected by informal competitors.\nDiscussion and conclusions: This paper has investigated whether there is an association between the perceived threat of informal competition witnessed by small businesses and two distinct policy approaches for reducing informal work. Analysing a representative sample of small businesses in three countries, namely, Bulgaria, Croatia and FYR Macedonia, the finding is that there is no association between the perceived threat of informal competitors by small businesses and the perceived level of risk of detection or of the severity of sanction for such practices. Put another way, entrepreneurs do not consider that the threat of informality is reduced by applying tougher deterrents. They do not consider that competitors will reduce the informal practices they employ (e.g., under-reporting profit or turnover, using undeclared workers) with increased penalties. However, a strong association is identified between the level of tax morale and the perceived threat of informal practices employed by competitors. The intimation is that increasing the level of deterrents will have little impact on informality, while measures seeking to improve tax morale and thus the social contract between the government and citizens may result in less informality. This implies that changes are required in both formal institutions, by improving procedural justice, procedural fairness and redistributive justice (Horodnic, 2018; Horodnic and Williams, 2018; Molero and Pujol, 2012; Murphy, 2005; Williams and Horodnic, 2015a, 2017, 2018) as well as changes in informal institutions by reducing the acceptability among entrepreneurs of non-compliant behaviour (e.g., under-reporting profits/turnover, under-reporting the number of employees or their wages).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: When tackling the informal economy, an emergent literature has called for the conventional rational economic actor approach (which uses deterrents to ensure that the costs of undeclared work outweigh the benefits) to be replaced or complemented by a social actor approach which focusses upon improving tax morale. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of these two policy approaches in reducing informal sector entrepreneurship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To evaluate this, data are reported from a 2015 representative survey involving 1,384 face-to-face interviews with owners or managers of small businesses in three South-Eastern European countries, namely, Croatia, Bulgaria and FYR Macedonia.\nFindings: The findings provide support for the \"social actor\" approach and display that small businesses have a greater propensity to perceive competitors as operating informally when the level of tax morale is lower. Meanwhile, no support for the deterrence measures of the \"rational economic actor\" model is reported.\nResearch limitations/implications: The major limitation of the study is that the paper is not able to display the reasons for the low level of tax morale and horizontal trust. Therefore, further in-depth qualitative research is necessary to explain whether and how the low levels of trust are determined by the failures of various formal institutions.\nOriginality/value: This is the first known study on small businesses which analyses simultaneously two distinct policy approaches that aim to reduce participation in informal entrepreneurship.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Institutional pressure and the implementation of corporate environment practices: examining the mediating role of absorptive capacity	[ "Environmental management strategy", "Resource-based view", "Absorptive capacity", "Organizational capability", "Corporate environmental practices", "Partial least square-structural equation modelling" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Managing and mitigating the adverse impact of businesses on the environment has become a critical issue for firms around the globe as they are confronted with increasing pressure from different institutions and stakeholders for environmental conservation. Firms have been implementing diverse environmental practices in the light of the increased institutional and stakeholder pressure, increased community awareness toward the adverse environmental effect of businesses and the discovery of a potential competitive advantage by being \"environmentally sustainable\" (Zhu et al., 2013; Delmas and Montiel, 2008).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development: 2.1 Theoretical background\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Sample and data\n4. Analysis of results: Data analysis was done through PLS path modeling. PLS is variance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, appropriate for exploratory models and small-sized samples (Hair et al., 2006). PLS-SEM modeling was chosen over covariance-based SEM for the analysis as the model is exploratory in nature rather than confirmatory and also because the sample size is small (Hair et al., 2006). The analysis was done using SmartPLS 3.2.3.\n5. Discussion: Previous research highlights the role firm-specific internal capabilities can play in helping organizations achieve sustained competitive advantage (Hart, 1995). Therefore, it becomes necessary to extend the research on corporate environmentalism by looking beyond the traditional inquiry of analyzing external institutional dynamics.\n6. Conclusion, limitations and future research directions: Recent literature has not addressed the limitations of institutional theory in explaining heterogeneity among organizations in the same institutional field. Previous studies have also not addressed intra-organizational dynamics such as an organization's environmental responsiveness and orientation, organizational capabilities in explaining corporate sustainability. This paper addresses this research gap and integrates RBV with the institutional theory framework to examine the role of ACAP in mediating the influence of institutional pressure, which drives the organizational implementation of CEP. The findings suggest that the link between institutional pressures and implementation of CEP requires the development of organizational capabilities to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit environment specific knowledge. It is argued that external triggers such as institutional pressure lead to the development of absorptive capacity for acquiring environmental knowledge. The results indicate that the institutional pressure for implementing corporate environmental practices is mediated by organizations' development of absorptive capacity for environmental knowledge.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Contemporary frameworks on institutional theory and corporate environmentalism observe that institutional fields positively influence a firm's environmental response in the form of implementation of environmental practices. These frameworks, however, provide little evidence on why firms facing similar institutional field differ in their environmental response. This paper aims to incorporate the intra-organizational dynamics within the traditional institutional theory framework to address this heterogeneity, examining specifically the role of absorptive capacity for environmental knowledge in the organizational implementation of corporate environmental practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Integrating the institutional theory and resource-based view, this paper examines the mediating role of absorptive capacity in the relationship between institutional pressure for corporate environmentalism vis-a-vis the implementation of corporate environmental practices. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used for hypotheses testing based on data obtained from the Indian apparel and textile industry.\nFindings: The results support the mediating role of absorptive capacity in the relationship between institutional pressure and implementation of corporate environmental practices. Further, this study highlights the importance of acquisition and utilization of environmental knowledge in driving environmentalism through developing absorptive capacity; the findings also suggest that the role of institutional pressure in the implementation of environmental practices should not be analyzed in isolation but rather in conjunction with the development of absorptive capacity that forms the internal basis of implementation.\nPractical implications: Managers need to focus on the development of organizational capabilities for acquiring and exploiting environmental knowledge to complement their preparedness in responding to any institutional pressures for environmental sustainability. Firms also need to link their environmental orientation with various sources of environmental knowledge and capabilities residing outside the organizational boundaries. It is important to note here that the development of absorptive capacities for the exploration and exploitation of external knowledge is indeed both required and necessary to build sustainable organizational capabilities.\nOriginality/value: This paper is among the very few studies that address the issue of knowledge and development of related organizational capabilities for corporate environmentalism. Recognizing that environmental knowledge resides outside organizational boundaries with regulatory agencies and special interest groups, this paper highlights the importance of developing organizational capabilities for the acquisition and exploitation of environmental knowledge.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The direct and mediated relationships between supply chain coordination investments and delivery performance	[ "Supply chain management", "Delivery services", "Operations management", "Regression analysis" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The past decade has been characterized by a move away from independent operations strategies towards integrated supply chain strategies based on improved coordination with both suppliers and customers (Spekman et al., 1998; Lambert and Cooper, 2000). Market-based relationships have been increasingly replaced by relationships focused on improved collaboration and integration with supply chain partners (Hoyt and Huq, 2000; Frohlich and Westbrook, 2001).A broad array of literature has explored the role of supply chain coordination using organizational or information systems perspectives (Piplani and Fu, 2005; Kim et al., 2006; Xu and Beamon, 2006). This literature has been complemented by empirical studies exploring the performance impact of improved supply chain relationships (Carr and Pearson, 1999; Johnson, 1999). However, as Vickery et al. (2003) suggested, following Eloranta et al. (1991) who investigated the coordination of logistics networks involving both \"manufacturing\" and \"distribution\" chains, most empirical studies have focused exclusively on either supplier or customer relationships. To date, research on the combined effects of supplier and customer coordination, especially from an empirical perspective, still appears to be limited.Recent studies have aimed to fill that gap by focusing on relationships with both suppliers and customers. Salvador et al. (2001) found that the impact of supplier and customer interactions on delivery performance was often mediated by internal coordination. Frohlich and Westbrook (2001) indicated that improvements in many performance indicators appeared to be more positive in companies that integrated with both suppliers and customers than in companies that integrated exclusively with suppliers or exclusively with customers. Vickery et al. (2003) indicated that supply chain integration incorporating both \"supplier partnering\" and \"closer customer relationships\" was directly related to customer service, and that the relationship between supply chain integration and financial performance was mediated by customer service. Droge et al. (2004) found significant relationships between \"external integration\" incorporating both suppliers and customers, and performance. These studies indicated that coordination involving both suppliers and customers has positive effects on performance. However, we still need research to investigate whether performance associations with supplier and customer coordination may be explained by direct relationships only, or result from mediation effects of supplier coordination on customer coordination relationships and vice-versa.This study investigates the direct and mediated relationships between supplier and customer coordination investment, and delivery performance. Direct relationships indicate straight associations between supplier or customer investment and performance. Mediated relationships indicate intervening effects of either supplier investment in relationships between customer investment and performance or customer investment in relationships between supplier investment and performance. The analysis incorporates data on supply chain coordination investment and delivery performance of 243 manufacturers from 13 countries, using the third International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS-III).\nTheoretical framework: Supply chain coordination\nHypotheses: Improving performance in areas such as manufacturing and delivery lead-time and delivery reliability has been considered a primary goal with supply chain coordination. Such emphasis on delivery performance has led authors to explicitly associate coordination with the \"time-based\" strategies proposed by Stalk (1988). For example, Rich and Hines (1997) suggested that long-term relationships were needed to support time-based strategies. According to Naylor et al. (1999), improved lead-time performance could be a major focus in both lean and agile supply chains as it helped lean chains to reduce waste, and agile chains to be more responsive to demand. Finally, Droge et al. (2004) provided evidence that supply chain integration related positively to time-based metrics.Based on the literature and the Williamson (1983) framework discussed earlier, we expect investments in dedicated assets to relate positively to delivery performance through improving coordination in three areas. In the production area (incorporating both physical assets and plant capacity), Bensaou and Anderson (1999) indicated that dedicated assembly capabilities were needed to support coordination with suppliers delivering non-standard parts or components. According to Boyaci and Ray (2003), dedicated capacity might help to match delivery time requirements across different market segments. Finally, dedicated capacity in close proximity to customers and co-suppliers could support innovative delivery-focused networks such as \"industrial condominiums\" and \"modular consortiums\" (Pires, 1998; Frigant and Lung, 2002).In the logistics area, integration of dedicated storage and transportation facilities helps to improve synchronization and delivery times, and to increase customer satisfaction (Christopher, 2005; Tracey et al., 2005). Dedicated storage also holds consignment stocks that help to maximize responsiveness and minimize safety stocks (Corbett et al., 1999).In the human area, relationship-dedicated labor and organization structures are needed to gather and share information and knowledge across the supply chain (Parker and Anderson, 2002; Campbell and Sankaran, 2005; Christopher, 2005). Furthermore, dedicated personnel might develop long-term relations with fewer supply chain partners to improve integration, joint action, and communication (Rich and Hines, 1997; Corbett et al., 1999; Knemeyer and Murphy, 2005). Finally, these personnel help to provide both technical services to customers and knowledgeable support to product and process development (Blois, 1972; Parker and Anderson, 2002; Christopher, 2005). Given these arguments, we hypothesize that investment in both supplier and customer coordination assets are positively associated with delivery performance:H1. Supplier coordination investment is positively related to delivery performance improvements in manufacturing.\nMethodology: Data\nResults: Table III presents the variable means, standard deviations, and correlations. The correlation between Supplier_Invest and Customer_Invest indicates that companies with higher supplier coordination investments had higher customer coordination investments. The significant correlation provided further justification for testing the mediating effects posited by H3a and H3b. The positive correlations between Speed, Reliability, and Leadtime indicate that companies that improved in one dimension of delivery performance were more likely to improve in other dimensions of delivery performance.Direct relationships\nDiscussion: Direct and mediated relationships\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To explore the paths by which coordination investments with suppliers and customers relate to improvements in delivery speed, delivery reliability, and manufacturing lead-time.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Regression analysis of data on supply chain coordination investment and delivery performance from 243 manufacturers from 13 countries.\nFindings: - Results provide evidence of direct relationships between supplier coordination investment and manufacturing lead-time, and between customer coordination investment and delivery speed and delivery reliability. Moreover, they suggest that customer investment mediates the relationship between supplier investment and delivery reliability, and that supplier investment mediates the relationship between customer investment and manufacturing lead-time.\nPractical implications: - To achieve sustainable improvements in multiple aspects of performance, management may need to invest in coordination with partners both upstream and downstream in the supply chain.\nOriginality/value: - This appears to be the first study to provide evidence of both direct and mediated relationships between supplier and customer coordination investment, and delivery performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Multifractal analysis of atmospheric carbon emissions and OECD industrial production index	[ "Industrial production index", "Climate change", "Multifractal detrended cross-correlation", "Environmental Kuznets curve", "Q58", "E21", "E32" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The purpose of this study is to analyze the dynamic behavior of the relationship between carbon emissions and the industrial production index (IPI) in the short and long term. In this work, the local singular behavior of the time-series is analyzed to test for the multifractality characteristics of these series, namely, carbon emissions and the IPI. In this context, the scaling exponents and the singularity spectrum are obtained to determine the origins of this multifractality. The multifractal time series are defined as the set of points with a given singularity exponent a where this exponent a is illustrated as a fractal with fractal dimension f(a). Therefore, the multifractality term indicates the existence of fluctuations, which are non-uniform and more importantly, their relative frequencies are also scale-dependent. This means that there will be more heterogeneous fluctuations when the exponent a becomes wider.\n2. Literature review on climate change in relation to industrial production: 2.1 Climate change\n3. The data and methodology: In the literature, it is generally accepted that the return series show a normal distribution characteristic (Bachelier, 1900); the pricing behavior carries the characteristics of \"random walk\" and also supports the existence of \"efficient market hypothesis.\" This hypothesis has been widely used in various asset pricing modeling approaches. However, it is argued that return series are not normally distributed, rather they are subject to fractal distribution. Especially, for trade specialists and investors, volatility is the strategic variable for understanding market microstructure. This is because they need accurate volatility forecasts in relation to various undertakings such as derivatives pricing, value-at-risk measurement, portfolio analysis and managerial decision-making processes.\n4. Empirical findings and discussion on the policy instruments for climate change in relation to industrial production: All our empirical analysis is executed by using the R program, i.e. MF-DFA[6] package, 2019. Our empirical findings regarding the fluctuation function show that the scaling properties of the observed time series at the two data sets present a long-range correlation, showing a long-term persistence of the previous state. In other words, the relationship between atmospheric carbon emissions and IPI shows different memory characteristics in different frequency ranges, which are shown in Figure 6. There is a long-range correlation including both small fluctuations and big fluctuations in the observed period for both of the time series. Also, there is a fat tail distribution considering both of the return series. This situation is the major reason for the formation of multifractality. There is a strong q-dependence of H(q), which indicates the strong multifractal characteristics in carbon emissions and IPI data. In addition, the positive Df values demonstrate that the relationship between these two data set may have a locally increasing trend. Considering the Hurst exponent (in the range of 0.40-0.75) and the multifractal strength of these time series data, there is a long-range correlation between small and big fluctuations shaping the multifractal characteristics of these observed time series data.\n5. Concluding remarks: In this paper, the MF-DFA technique is used for the analysis of dynamic behavior of atmospheric carbon emissions and OECD IPI. The empirical findings and test results provide information about the fluctuation in IPI, which determines the main conjuncture of the economy. This study may be of practical and technical importance in regional climate change forecasting, extreme carbon emission regulations and industrial production resource management in the world economy. These results also provide information for the analysis of the environmental cost of the social expenditures, depending on the magnitude of the impact on the total supply.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study aims to analyze the dynamic behavior of the relationship between atmospheric carbon emissions and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) industrial production index (IPI) in the short and long term by applying multifractal techniques.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Multifractal de-trended cross-correlation technique is used for this analysis based on the relevant literature. In addition, it is the most widely used approach to estimate multifractality because it generates robust empirical results against non-stationarities in the time series.\nFindings: It is revealed that industrial production causes long and short term environmental costs. The OECD IPI and atmospheric carbon emissions were found to have a strong correlation between the time domain. However, this relationship does not mostly take into account the frequency-based correlations with the tail effects caused by shocks that are effective on the economy. In this study, the long-term dependence of the relationship between the OECD IPI and atmospheric carbon emissions differs from the correlation obtained by linear methods, as the analysis is based on the frequency. The major finding is that the Hurst coefficient is in the range 0.40-0.75 indicating.\nResearch limitations/implications: In this study, the local singular behavior of the time-series is analyzed to test for the multifractality characteristics of the series. In this context, the scaling exponents and the singularity spectrum are obtained to determine the origins of this multifractality. The multifractal time series are defined as the set of points with a given singularity exponent a where this exponent a is illustrated as a fractal with fractal dimension f(a). Therefore, the multifractality term indicates the existence of fluctuations, which are non-uniform and more importantly, their relative frequencies are also scale-dependent.\nPractical implications: The results provide information based on the fluctuation in IPI, which determines the main conjuncture of the economy. An optimal strategy for shaping the consequences of climate change resulting from industrial production activities will not only need to be quite comprehensive and global in scale but also policies will need to be applicable to the national and local conditions of the given nation and adaptable to the needs of the country.\nSocial implications: The results provide information for the analysis of the environmental cost of climate change depending on the magnitude of the impact on the total supply. In addition to environmental problems, climate change leads to economic problems, and hence, policy instruments are introduced to fight against the adverse effects of it.\nOriginality/value: This study may be of practical and technical importance in regional climate change forecasting, extreme carbon emission regulations and industrial production resource management in the world economy. Hence, the major contribution of this study is to introduce an approach to sustainability for the analysis of the environmental cost of growth in the supply side economy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Study on work-life balance of women entrepreneurs - review and research agenda	[ "Economic development", "Flexibility", "Women entrepreneurship", "Work-life balance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Entrepreneurship is a process of starting a new venture. Entrepreneurs develop business models by assembling and utilizing resources such as human capital, raw materials, land, and labour. They envision a futuristic approach (James, 1996) and are responsible for their firms' accomplishments and failures (Sandelands, 1997). The term \"entrepreneur\" was first coined by Richard Cantillon (1680-1734, cited by Landstrom, 1999). He has defined entrepreneur as a person who identifies opportunities and takes risk in order to maximize firms' monetary returns. However, this definition is not specifically limited to a particular gender. In the era of globalization, women realize that for their recognition and sustenance of their families, they have to work equally as men (Marlow, 2002). The working environment of corporate world is however not very conducive for achievement-oriented women, so they move towards the entrepreneurship field (Appelbaum et al., 2011). A woman entrepreneur is an enterprising individual having a clear vision to identify market opportunities, immense potential to takes risk, commercial acumen, and achievement motivation to run business (Vinze, 1987). The contemporary women entrepreneurs have emerged as strong economic contributors in global prosperity and growth (Davis, 2012). Therefore, involvement of women is required in an increased manner for overall socio-economic and cultural development of the country.\nWork-life balance of women entrepreneur: The financial condition of a family does not solely depend on earning of men. Women are also responsible for better economic health of family. Women break the stereotype barriers, created by both culture and society and exhibits the push and pull factors to earn recognition and identity in society. To develop their economic prowess, they set up their own venture. Push and pull factors generate motivational drives for women (Brush, 1992). Pull factors are recognition, self-esteem, to become own boss, work on own rules and regulations, earn more money, and become independent. Push factors are job dissatisfaction, family's financial condition, child's education and care, and husband's sickness or death. Therefore, they overcome economic crisis of family and provide better life to their children through their entrepreneurial skills. In the era of high technology, women are rising as a powerful force which cannot be ignored by policy makers. Women entrepreneurship has been recognized as wealth creators, employment generators, and also provides solutions to problems related to society.\nReview on work-life balance of women entrepreneurs: Need for maintaining work-life balance has been widely acknowledged by both employees and managers as it affects their performance (Bird, 2006).\nFindings and discussion: The review of literature has been scrutinized on the grounds of why women entrepreneurs leave corporate world to enter entrepreneurial activities. To incorporate flexibility and manage their work and personal lives, women have initiated their own enterprises in order to enhance work-life balance (Ward, 2007) Women have to work for the betterment of their children by balancing work and family life (Platske, 2007). In this competitive scenario, women are more confident, enriched with entrepreneurial skills and believe in following relational approach in the working environment. They focus more on maintaining effective communication and relationship with employees and customers. Because they perceived that problems in business or family can affect their performance in either. Therefore, a woman handles the problems both emotionally and practically with their emotional intelligence. The women entrepreneurs believe that effective communication and relationship building with family and customers can reduce the stress encountered in both personal and professional lives and helped them to achieve balance (Jome et al., 2006).\nConclusion: Entrepreneurship is considered as a prominent field in the competitive business world. It generates employment and helps in sustaining economic development of a country. Due to globalization, the growth of women-owned enterprises has been recognized in increasing manner by the world and they have become representatives of a nation. They are accountable for the growth of income and employment generation. Women have involved themselves in entrepreneurship and have left their career in order to overcome gender-related biases and work-life balance. Lack of proper guidance, government training, technical knowledge, family support, and poor network are hindrances in their entrepreneurial venture. Work and family are prominent aspects in the life of working women. Therefore, women entrepreneur prefer to run their own business from home to control work and personal life style. Their involvement in entrepreneurial activities helps them in gaining recognition and confidence. Women try to maintain work-life balance through their entrepreneurial skills like effective communication, organizing, planning, leading and delegating skills.\nFuture scope of study: Women entrepreneurship has been gaining attention of policy makers for economic growth and development of country. The various government agencies and NGOs focus on training programs and entrepreneurial education to enrich skills of women entrepreneurs. Future research should focus on making a comparative study between men and women entrepreneurs on work-life balance issues. There is also need for a comparative study between working women executives and entrepreneurs.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review and conceptually explain the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Through the secondary data, selected papers have analysed to prepare a conceptual framework depicting the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs.\nFindings: Entrepreneurship has emerged as a global concept and contributed for economic development of the country. It utilizes competencies of entrepreneurs for success of their enterprises. Working women executives suffers the problem of work-life balance. Developing family responsibilities as well as their potential roles, generate the issue of role conflict. In order to overcome role conflict, they need to balance between work and personal life style. To gain more flexibility and control on their work and personal obligations, women start up their own business. They contribute in job creation, innovation, and economic development of nation through their entrepreneurial activities.\nOriginality/value: It provides future direction to various researchers, academicians and policy makers in this field.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Q-methodology: theoretical framework for policy making in the Croatian wine sector	[ "Planning", "Croatia", "Strategy", "Individual perception", "Psychometric/qualitative", "Conceptual/theoretical", "Q-methodology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since the independence in 1991, the Croatian Parliament and Government tend to positively influence the domestic viticulture and enology sector based upon their legislative roles. Primarily that was visible through the adoption of various laws and ordinances aimed at regional and rural development and agricultural support, as well as strategies, plans and programs in the wine sector. It is occasionally mentioned in the Croatian public that Croatian legal and incentive frameworks do not reflect the security of business and do not provide a chance to support achievement (Maric, 2009; Bicak, 2014; Petkovic, 2016; Klikaj, 2014). On the other hand, Croatian Government is willing to introduce selective measures to cope with sector-specific threats (Rak-Sajn, 2016).\n2. Literature review: There are no available scientific papers mentioning or analyzing the path or approach that was used in the process of making the policy programs in viticulture and winemaking for Croatia. However, there are several research papers that emphasize participatory discourse, e.g. importance of the participatory dialogue for the development of rural areas by using Q methodology as a dialogue tool (Messely et al., 2013), determination of the success factors in participatory planning process (Gedikli, 2009), overcome of initial stakeholder attitudes with aim to develop sustainable development in rural areas (Cuellar-Padilla and Calle-Collado, 2011), use of Q methodology to determine negative environmental and social impacts of projects on sub-national level (Weldegiorgis and Saleem, 2016) and role of the Q methodology in a process of discursive democracy in creation of the feasible resource management plan (Kincaid, 2011). The participative approach can be addressed differently as well, e.g. by nonlinear analysis instrument like fuzzy cognitive maps (Fabbrizzi et al., 2015) or correlating expert and producer answers in correlated competitive profile matrix (Jaksic et al., 2015).\n3. Methodology: Q methodology is a relatively less known, \"abductive\" methodological tool that has a starting point in observation, collection, and analysis of qualitative data (p. 148, Rogers, 2011). The abductive reasoning goes from an observation to a theory, which accounts for the observation, ideally seeking to find the simplest and most likely explanation (Sober, 2004). Q methodology was developed by William Stephenson, a doctor in physics and psychology in the thirties of the twentieth century. The methodology is explained in the book entitled \"The study of behavior: Q-technique and its methodology\" and its use is suggested in a variety of psychoanalytic directions (social, self, clinical and type) together with projective tests and personality tests (Stephenson, 1953). It is used to uncover what individuals believe and think about the topic of the study (Sickler et al., 2006).\n4. Results: 4.1 Setup for data analysis\n5. Discussion: Perception 1 accentuates factor loadings on the \"State problem area\" statements, and this may indicate respondents' strong concern towards the economic situation, buying power of consumers and business perspectives in Croatia. At the same time, there is a strong commitment to keep the business running straight (64 - Expand my cheaper product assortment by importing wine, 65 - To move the business to another country). This may be explained by the existing awareness that quality-oriented wine business is a long-term project and goes hand in hand with identity building.\n6. Conclusions, implications, limitations and future research: Analysis of a sample of 30 Croatian small winemakers revealed factors of their future prosperity. According to the obtained results, respondents share a diversity of both perspectives and concerns. Most important are: perceived threat from the import lobby (27), level of Value Added Tax (35) which was at the time 25 per cent, wine margins at HORECA (59), luck (69), grants by simplified procedure (14), state effectiveness in reduction of unfair competition (17), purchasing power of consumers (19), continuation of state support (26) to small winemakers/cease of support for large market players (25), and payment delays (61) connected with poor business culture. All respondents have a strong will to stay in the business independently (High negative loading on statements 65, 64 and 63 - Table I), even though it appears that they distinguish major threats for their business, for instance: tax policy, import lobby, high prices in HORECA, dependence on the continuation of state support and unfair competition.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show the application of Q methodology in the practice of policymaking, namely, in the field of the wine business. Today, Q methodology has a rising significance in all aspects of human behavior where there is a need for gathering and analyzing qualitative data. This paper discusses the applicability of Q methodology as a participative bottom-up tool for extracting priorities for tailor-made sectorial policies in the field of the wine business.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Developed by William Stephenson almost a century ago, Q methodology was primarily used to study human behavior in different psychoanalysis practices and personality tests. But it can be used also as a tool to extract important opinions of stakeholders in the process of making new sectorial policies. To prove the applicability of Q methodology for this task, data collected from 30 small and medium Croatian winemakers are used as a case study. Selected winemakers originate from coastal and continental regions of Croatia covering the whole country. Gathered data were analyzed using the PQMethod ver. 2.35 software.\nFindings: The results of the data analysis have given an insight into Croatian small wine business perspectives, rapidly revealing factors which matter the most to them (luck, value added tax, import lobby, margins in HORECA). On the other side, factors like automated grape harvesters, subsidized fair participation were identified that matter the least, and factors like prices and procedures for mandatory analyses, paperwork for exports and development of new sales channels are considered as neutral.\nResearch limitations/implications: The selected participants are a small, but representative, group of Croatian winemakers and generalization of findings to the whole winemaking sector should be undertaken with caution. Q methodology is primarily an explorative technique, which brings a sense of coherence to the relation of the research question and contested answers, but prone to straightaway change.\nPractical implications: Q methodology enables a participatory approach, rapid analysis and focus on the most important factors for changing relations and effects of planning and execution of sectoral policies. It can be used to effectively extract relevant factors common to group of different individuals acting in the same sector with the same goal.\nOriginality/value: This research provides an insight into potentials of Q-methodology approach when considering the theoretical framework for the policy making process. Therefore, it also widens its applicability in research of subjective viewpoints on different issues in a particular business sector.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The Boeing blueprint for dealing with organized labor: Employer strategies in a changing slow-growth economy	[ "Trade unions", "Employee relations", "Employers", "Manufacturing industry", "Pensions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Fixed graphic\nBoeing history and its IAM labor relations: Boeing envisions the manufacture of its 777X to set the foundation for the company's growth over the next 20-30 years, and views as essential smooth (or \"strike-free\") production of the aircraft to enable it to more effectively compete with Airbus in the global passenger-aircraft market for the foreseeable future. However, the rocky, strike-prone relationship with the Puget Sound IAM District Lodge 751 that Boeing has weathered for more than 50 years may stand in the way of this.\nBoeing proposal splits local and international IAM union representatives: When IAM District 751 failed to ratify its November proposal, Boeing was handed an unexpected gift - a rift between local union officials of District 751 and the international representatives of the IAM. Although adept at playing wedge politics in its collective bargaining, this time Boeing enjoyed a wedge it did not engineer itself. On one side was a militant local union that refused to concede hard-fought gains over the years regarding its DB pension plan. On the other were international IAM representatives who took Boeing's threat to move production more seriously, potentially taking thousands of jobs and with them, substantially reducing or eliminating union dues estimated at more than $25 million a year. The international IAM set a revote for January 3, 2014.\nBest practice in preparing for union contract negotiations: The Boeing/IAM bargaining scenario will doubtless be analyzed for years to come. It boils down to the convergence of several significant factors - the \"perfect storm\" that presented itself during Boeing's negotiations with its machinists' union. Boeing has developed a stellar blueprint for employers facing union contract negotiations with firmly established goals - and achievable results - in mind. While every set of union contract negotiations presents its own issues and challenges, there is no substitute for careful analysis and advanced strategic planning on how best to achieve the desired results in negotiations, with as little disruption to operations as possible.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine changing employer strategies in dealing with organized labor through Boeing's negotiations with its local Puget Sound, Washington-based District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and the district's international parent.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Considers factors including leveraging the slow growth of the US economy and the resulting job-security issues among US workers generally and Boeing workers in particular, along with the divided age composition of Boeing's workforce to achieve market-share competitiveness with Boeing's chief global rival, Europe-based Airbus Industries.\nFindings: Advises that there is no substitute for early strategic analysis of bargaining goals and strategies, particularly with respect to economic bargaining.\nPractical implications: Advances the view that a well-defined bargaining plan is the most likely key to success in any set of union collective bargaining agreement negotiations.\nSocial implications: Considers the tensions that may exist between younger members of the workforce, whose priority is likely to be job security, and older members, who may be more concerned about their pensions.\nOriginality/value: Presents the ongoing story of collective bargaining agreement negotiations at Boeing.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Creating organizational conditions that foster employee spirit at work	[ "Organizational change", "Morale", "Employee attitudes", "Employees", "Leadership" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nCreating organizational conditions that foster employee spirit at work: Spirit at work, at the personal level, reflects a distinct state that involves profound feelings of wellbeing, a belief that one's work makes a contribution, a sense of connection to others and common purpose, an awareness of a connection to something larger than self, and a sense of perfection and transcendence (Kinjerski and Skrypnek, 2004). Perceived as beneficial to employees, customers, and employers, spirit at work is being promoted by academics and organizational consultants. Organizations are introducing programs to increase spirit at work, however, research identifying organizational characteristics that directly cultivate an individual's experience of spirit at work is lacking. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify organizational factors that individuals with high spirit at work perceive to foster their personal experience of spirit at work.The changing nature of work\nMethod: Research design\nFindings: Participants' reports of organizational conditions that fostered their spirit at work clustered into seven categories: inspiring leadership and mentorship; strong organizational foundation; organizational integrity; positive workplace culture and space; sense of community among members; opportunities for personal fulfilment, continuous learning, and development; and appreciation and regard for employees and their contribution.Although a priority sequence among each of the categories was not evident, inspiring leadership emerged as instrumental in all of the organizational factors identified as fostering spirit at work and, thus, is shown as the hub of the wheel in Figure 1. Each of these themes is briefly described below.Inspiring leadership\nDiscussion: Our research revealed that individuals' experiences of spirit at work are associated with:1. leaders and senior members who inspire employees through their leadership and their example;2. a strong organizational foundation that includes a shared vision, mission, purpose, and an intention to contribute to the overall good of society;3. organizational integrity and work that is aligned with its mission and purpose;4. a positive workplace culture including a positive physical space for employees to work in;5. positive connections among all members and a sense of community in the organization;6. opportunities for members to pursue professional and personal growth and to fulfil their own personal mission through work; and7. appreciation and regard for the contributions made by its members.Whereas these seven conditions all contribute to the experience of spirit at work, inspiring leadership stood apart from the other factors. Leadership was identified as the most important organizational component in the development of spirit at work and was seen to be instrumental in all of the organizational conditions identified as fostering spirit at work. Leaders were seen to cultivate a strong organizational foundation with a compelling vision and clear purpose. They influenced the tone and direction of the organization as well as the way work was completed. They exemplified personal integrity and promoted organizational integrity. Leaders demonstrated and fostered a culture of caring that contributed to a sense of community among employees. They supported and created opportunities for personal development and fulfilment through the provision of opportunities for engaging work, creativity and initiative, flexibility and autonomy, and life-long learning. Finally, leaders were in a position to inspire, appreciate, and reward those who contributed to the intention of the organization. Given the powerful influence attributed to the leaders in each of these conditions, it would be difficult for the other six conditions to occur without the presence of an inspiring leader.Given the strong emphasis placed on leadership in this study, it is not surprising that visionary and inspiring leadership was found to be a critical trait in the top 100 best companies in the USA (Leiber, 1998) and identified as the most influential factor in fostering spirit at work (Cavanagh, 1999; Fairholm, 1996; Moxley, 2000). Inspired leadership, as identified in this study, has much in common with spiritual leadership as posited by Korac-Kakabadse et al. (2002). Moreover, it has been suggested that successful leaders will be spiritual leaders (Cacioppe, 2000b), who build shared values, set a common vision, create shared meaning, enable growth and transformation, help followers to feel powerful and influential, follow intuition to produce real change that matters, commit to service and servant leadership, and transform themselves, others, and their organizations (Korac-Kakabadse et al., 2002).This research pointed to the importance of a strong organizational foundation in fostering spirit at work. A shared vision, mission, values, purpose, and goals along with an intention to contribute to the higher good seemed to foster that sense of shared purpose among staff. Interestingly, a sense of purpose among staff was the second critical trait in the top 100 best companies (Leiber, 1998). It is reasonable to expect that alignment among the organization's mission and purpose and employees' values and higher purpose promotes organizational integrity, another factor identified in this study as fostering spirit at work. Moreover, clarity of personal and organizational values (Kouzes and Posner, 2002) and alignment between the two (Milliman et al., 2003) is associated with increased employee commitment to the organization and decreased intention to quit. Thus, in addition to obtaining clarity about the organization's higher purpose, helping employees to identify their personal mission and values, and then to align their work with the organizations' mission and that which gives them meaning, is expected to increase the likelihood of being engaged in one's work. Engagement in work that carries personal meaning tends to have high intrinsic reward, and thus is motivating.A strong connection with others and a sense of community often develops when a common purpose is shared among staff (Kinjerski and Skrypnek, 2004). When collaborative and cooperative relationships are fostered, employees are enabled to work together effectively for the collective benefit of the organization. Moreover, a culture of caring and compassion can be cultivated as co-workers and colleagues get to know one another personally and have fun at work. This sense of community and culture of caring is expected to free employees to be authentic and express their whole selves at work, factors suggested as important in fostering spirit at work. Employees experiencing a strong sense of connection and sense of purpose report that they are more creative and innovative at their work (Harman, 1992; Hawley, 1993). It is not surprising that Milliman et al.(2003) found that as the sense of community increased, the employee's commitment to the organization increased and the intention to quit decreased.A physical work environment with amenities to support employees was one of three critical traits found in the top 100 best companies (Leiber, 1998). It is reasonable to expect that a positive workplace culture, in which employees are supported, feel worthy, and treated with respect, will create an atmosphere where employees feel good about their workplace and are able to focus on their work. It is likely that a positive workplace space adds to employee comfort and the sense that the organization cares.The number one thing that gives employees meaning and purpose at work is the ability to realize one's full potential (Mitroff and Denton, 1999). Providing opportunities for personal fulfilment, continuous learning, and development is expected to foster spirit at work because of this intrinsic reward. The more one experiences personal purpose and meaning in one's work, the more they experience intrinsic satisfaction (Milliman et al., 2003). Encouragement to be open to possibilities and new ideas and to focus on positive outcomes likely offer an outlet for creative expression and passion. Moreover, the ability to be flexible and autonomous in one's work not only enables decision making and the opportunity to influence outcomes, but should encourage initiative, creativity, and self-expression, all of which are identified as factors that foster spirit at work.Finally, showing appreciation and regard for employees and their contribution contributes to a sense that they matter and that their work is meaningful. It follows then that helping members understand how they contribute to the mission and intention of the organization contributes to the alignment of the employees' work with the organization's intention, a sense of community, a positive workplace, and an increased sense of personal intrinsic reward.The factors participants identified as fostering spirit at work are consistent with the practices and programs of successful organizations discussed earlier. For example, the integration of spirituality into corporate programs (Brandt, 1996) facilitates that desire to find ultimate meaning and purpose in one's life. Exploration of working consciously at higher levels (Leigh, 1997) and introducing a \"whole person\" model (Leigh, 1997) fosters the development of an integrated, authentic, and creative self. Development of a shared vision for the organization and fostering alignment between personal goals and that vision (Cacioppe, 2000a) establishes a strong organizational foundation and promotes organizational integrity. Cultivation of the spiritual energies of employees (Harrington et al., 2001) should promote personal fulfilment. Finally, emphasis on values, social responsibility and meaningful work (Cacioppe, 2000a) are ways to give employees a sense of the organization's higher purpose. These are all strategies that have been employed by successful organizations to enhance employee wellbeing and to improve performance.Implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study sought to identify organizational factors that foster an individual's experience of spirit at work.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Ten women and three men, ranging in age from 26 to 81, who were in full-time paid employment in a variety of occupations, and who self-identified as having high spirit at work, participated in in-depth, reflective interviews.\nFindings: - Inspired leadership emerged as central to influencing individual experiences of spirit at work and was strongly linked to six other organizational factors (strong organizational foundation; organizational integrity; positive workplace culture and space; sense of community among members; opportunities for personal fulfillment, continuous learning, and development; and appreciation and regard for employees and their contribution).\nResearch limitations/implications: - Future research needs to investigate how each of these conditions is related to measured levels of spirit at work in a larger, representative sample, and how measured spirit at work is related to work outcomes.\nPractical implications: - Although this study did not investigate specific practices or strategies to increase spirit at work, results suggest that organizations wishing to enhance their employees' spirit at work could focus efforts on creating organizational conditions that encourage inspiring leadership and mentorship and the other six identified factors.\nOriginality/value: - The paper raises awareness and highlights issues surrounding organizational factors that foster an individual's experience of spirit at work.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Sensing the scent of service success	[ "Services marketing", "Sensory perception" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived (Helen Keller).\nIntroduction: Considering the impact of services on nations' economies and our daily lives, it is important to study marketing of services, especially since this is commonly regarded as more difficult and complex than marketing of goods (Pitt et al., 1999). Although \"pure\" services rarely exist, it can be said that a primary difference between goods and services is that goods are produced whereas services are performed (Rathmell, 1974). From this difference, some unique characteristics of services can be derived. It is argued that the most important of these characteristics is intangibility (McDougall and Snetsinger, 1990), which often is explained as \"you cannot drop a service on your toes\". Since the intangible character makes it difficult for customers to evaluate a service offering before consumption, they tend to facilitate evaluation by looking for tangible evidence of what the service actually is, what it comprises, and what its quality may be (e.g. Levitt, 1981). Firms often respond to this behaviour by attempting to make the intangible tangible (Rushton and Carson, 1989); i.e. a tangibilisation of the offering.As tangible evidence will be seen, heard, felt, tasted, or smelt by the customer, the five senses play an important role in tangibilisation of services. So far, the major part of service companies' tangibilisation efforts seems to be limited to the use of vision or sound. The interior design of restaurants, the arrow-folded ends of toilet paper in hotels, and background music at department stores are just a few visual and aural examples of how companies try to tangibilise services. There is, however, considerable potential in addressing the sense of smell in marketing. Researchers contend that \"smell is the sense that is most closely linked to the brain's emotional centre and could therefore be harnessed to provoke a powerful emotional reaction\" (Spence, 2002, p. 19). Despite this, most companies concentrate their marketing efforts on what we see and hear (Lindstrom, 2005).Considerable research concerning smell and its effect on humans has been conducted within medicine and psychology. Though a number of studies on the effects of scents have been done within retailing, it is notable that smell has rarely - if at all - been researched as a tangibiliser, enhancer and differentiator of services. For instance, a recent best practice article in the Harvard Business Review (see Berry and Bendapudi, 2003) offers some interesting examples of how a hospital uses tangible evidence to present its patients with evidence of competence, caring and integrity. Several tangible visual and aural evidences are discussed in the article, but nothing is mentioned about scent, even though negative associations often arise from the typical smells of hospitals.Considering the emotional power of smell, and the fact that the atmosphere of the service firm can be strongly affected by scents (Hoffman and Bateson, 2002), this area is important to explore. This paper therefore aims to contribute to the understanding of how scents can be used for services marketing purposes.\nAspects of scents in services marketing: When using scents for services marketing purposes, at least four important aspects should be considered: the presence (or absence) of a scent; its pleasantness (or unpleasantness); its congruity or fit with the actual service (Bone and Ellen, 1999); and the relationship between scents and memory.Presence of a scent\nScent as a tangibiliser, enhancer and differentiator of service: Despite the marketing possibilities that can be derived from the discussed aspects of scents, this is still a rather neglected area in services marketing literature. The intention of the following examples is, therefore, to serve as an introduction on how scents can be used to tangibilise, enhance or differentiate services.Smells like brand spirit\nConclusion: Within the frame of four different aspects of scent, this paper has provided several illustrative examples of how scents can be used to tangibilise, differentiate and enhance service offerings, service environments, or even advertisements of services. There is little doubt that smell provides managers with a potentially powerful tool, and that by adding the component of scent to their offerings, service providers have the opportunity to create a competitive advantage. Since this area has been virtually neglected in the literature, the field is open for more research on this topic.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The intangible character of services makes it difficult for customers to evaluate a service offering before consumption. Scent offers a powerful means of making services tangible. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to the understanding of how scents can be used for services marketing purposes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper presents an overview of studies, mainly from the area of retailing, indicating how scents can be used in services, and this is followed by a number of examples of such applications.\nFindings: - The paper finds that, although there are examples of service providers utilising scents to tangibilise, enhance and differentiate services, this area has been relatively neglected in marketing literature.\nPractical implications: - By adding the component of scent to their offerings, service providers have the opportunity to create a competitive advantage. When using scents in services marketing, managers should consider the aspects of presence, pleasantness, congruity and memory of scents.\nOriginality/value: - No other paper with a specific focus on scent as a tangibiliser, enhancer and differentiator of services has been found in marketing literature. This paper provides important insights into the use of scents for services marketing purposes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Luxury consumption factors	[ "Consumption", "Design", "Consumer behaviour", "Premium products", "Bosnia and Herzegovina" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nLuxury consumption: Definition of prestige and luxury\nMethodology: Research for this paper was conducted in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Southeastern European country. In 1992-1995 Bosnia and Herzegovina experienced severe war and aggression by neighbouring countries. Its economy is post-socialist, which influences its market orientation and standard of living. The survey (see the Appendix) was distributed at the Mercator and WISA shopping malls, and in different luxury stores, such as Natuzzi (international high-quality furniture originally from Italy), Baldinini (Italian luxury shoe brand), Villeroy Boch (exclusive tableware and silverware), Bruno Magli (luxury shoes and accessories), Max Mara (luxury Italian designer) and others. Only respondents who satisfied the eliminatory criteria or proved themselves to be luxury consumers were interviewed and used in this study. A total of 300 respondents were approached, of which 198 satisfied the set criteria and proved to be luxury consumers as defined by Dubois and Duquesne (1993). The acquisition of luxury goods was measured over 14 products, classified into two groups, i.e. accessible and exceptional. As defined by Dubois and Duquesne (1993), a luxury consumer is a person who had acquired at least three accessible products in the last two years and at least three exceptional products in the last three years.The total sample was 198 respondents, and of that number, 70.3 per cent were women. The average age of the sample was 37.85 years, with a standard deviation of 12.044. Among the respondents, 45.7 per cent held a university degree. The income distribution is shown in Table II.The research instrument was a structured questionnaire composed of two parts:1. Questions concerning luxury consumption - These were eliminatory questions which determined whether respondents fitted our sample, whether they were luxury consumers, and the intensity of their consumption (Dubois and Duquesne, 1993). For the purpose of this research, minor adjustments for Bosnia and Herzegovina were necessary. The currency was converted from US dollars to euros, while considering that purchasing power in Bosnia and Herzegovina is significantly lower than that in Western Europe (Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) where the research was conducted by Dubois and Duquesne (1993).2. A PRECON scale for measuring individual differences in consumers' prestige shopping preferences - The scale is based on five factors (i.e. quality, fashion, branding, store atmosphere and patron status), all of which influence luxury consumption (Deeter-Schmelz et al., 2000).The study concerned identification and explanation of the factors which influence luxury consumption. Deeter-Schmelz et al. (2000) defined five factors:1. image;2. quality;3. fashion;4. store atmosphere; and5. patron status.To explain these factors, two hypotheses were developed.H1. Luxury consumption is influenced by the following factors: image, quality, fashion, store atmosphere and patron status.It was assumed that, as in the USA where the initial research was conducted, in Bosnia and Herzegovina factors/criteria would be grouped according to the same categories. High-class consumers use similar products and have similar buying habits, regardless of their country. Their income is similar in the USA, China, New Zealand, France or Bosnia and Herzegovina.For additional explanation, it was assumed that the most influential factor would be patron status. Luxury consumers, especially those from the lower classes, use luxury products because of the special feeling it gives them, and the perceived power they then feel they have in society. Therefore, we developed H2:H2. Patron status has the most relevant influence on luxury consumption.To understand the actual motives for luxury consumption, factor analysis was conducted in order to determine the validity of the PRECON scale and the aforementioned factors in the examined market. This analysis shows which of the present factors explains the most variability, or which factor has the highest influence on luxury consumption. Furthermore, regression analysis of all PRECON factors was conducted on luxury consumption as a dependent variable.\nAnalysis: This study uses a reliability assessment which determines the consistency of respondents' answers and reveals what proportion of variance in the data is true variance. The Cronbach's a is 0.95, which suggests high, almost perfect reliability.Luxury consumption\nDiscussion: Analysing the luxury market, with its constant and extreme growth, we come across different unanswered questions and more dilemmas are raised. Conducting research on prestige consumption in troubled, post-war, post-socialist economy is a challenge per se. It is surprising to find how popular luxury consumption is in a market where average per capita income is EUR3,600 annually.Nevertheless, this is one of the major issues of this paper. Luxury consumers are not average by any means. Luxury consumers in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not differ from those in France or Russia or Australia. They use the same brands, they have similar discretionary incomes, and they wish to fulfil the same needs with luxury products. And the main purpose of luxury products is to impress others and position the owner in one specific group to which he/she wishes to belong.Why do consumers try to fit in certain group by consuming specific goods? Why isn't education or family background sufficient? Why do they always aim to be accepted by the wealthier and mightier group? Perhaps the answers are not to be found in sociological studies, but psychological. Prestige-sensitive consumers feel protected and safe when wearing well-known and recognised brands. This is what gives them confidence, or perhaps they just want to enjoy it.Throughout the study, it is clear that luxury consumers come from different social classes and have different incomes. Prestige consumption is used by individuals who are concerned about the impression they make on others. By using status goods as symbols, individuals communicate meaning about themselves to their reference groups. This is not determinant only for the highest social status, but for the total hierarchy scale. However, income or money is a necessity for luxury consumption. The results show that wealthiest group is the heaviest consumer of luxury goods, which is expected. Those consumers are used to having prestige products in every aspect of their lives, and they can afford it. On the other side, there are less wealthy consumers who treat themselves with a few luxury products a year, in order to either enjoy them or to be accepted by the rich.Mainly, this study concerns factors which influence luxury consumption. In this sample, factors are grouped into four categories:* brand image and quality;* fashion;* store atmosphere; and* patron status.Unlike the results reached by Deeter-Schmelz et al. (2000), which were the model for this research, the findings of this study group two factors into one: brand image and quality are combined into one category. Consumers use brand as a quality indicator, and therefore the two are mutually influential. There could be another issue here as well. Since this is a troubled market, consumers are extremely concerned about the quality of the product they are purchasing, and probably its durability too. As a post-socialist country, consumers perceive image only through good quality and they are very loyal to the idea that every well known brand has to be of good quality. However, there is a lot of unexplained variance left in this research, which indicates hedonistic behaviour. Consumers try to treat themselves with a luxury product and to enjoy it for own sake, not to impress anyone.Other interesting results are reached by regression analysis of the single influence of each factor. It is significant that patron status has a negative influence on consumption, which suggests the presence of a \"snob effect\" in this sample. Consumers wish to have unique luxury products, since they pointed out that they do not like to shop in the same stores as their friends, or people they admire. This directly implies snobbishness, or consumers desiring products that are in limited supply and therefore have a high value, while those readily available are seen as less desirable. Products have an even greater effect on demand if people also perceive the product to be unique, popular and expensive. Still, as mentioned above, everyone can have and afford luxury now. So, if everyone can have it, is it still prestige? And what will be the driving force for exclusive snobs at this point? It will be interesting to follow future trends, where snob consumers will probably try to find other means of exclusivity, as it is known that purses made of endangered albino alligator skin exist on the market, and they are by definition exclusive and unique.However, when one chooses a brand, one communicates the desire to be associated with the group who regularly use that brand. Therefore, the authors assume that respondents can also be divided into either snobs or \"aristocracy\" and bandwagon consumers or \"new money\". Bandwagon consumers may be conceptualised as the antecedent of the snob effect. Even though snobs and followers buy luxury products for apparently opposite reasons, their basic motivation is essentially the same: whether through differentiation or group affiliation, they want to enhance their self-image. Only they are doing it differently; the new flashy money will use LV bags full of logos, while snobs will a pay higher amount for a Hugo Boss hidden brand label. What is their future? Will they try to find new role model, not just a wealthier group, but intellectually, emotionally, or in any other way superior? Probably not. Money seems to be a reflection of power and happiness, and money is shown by visible luxury goods.This behaviour illuminates the present situation on the luxury market. On one side there are consumers who wish to differ from others in order to suggest their power and success, with the courage to be \"trend setters\", while on the other are those who can be described as \"new money\", who imitate the first group in everything, including their aspiration to distinguish themselves from others. Nevertheless, one can always say \"Nouveau riche is better than no rich at all\".To conclude, factors of luxury consumption can be well grouped into four categories:1. brand image and quality;2. fashion;3. store atmosphere; and4. patron status.However, there are areas not covered by those factors, and they reflect hedonism and other psychographic characteristics. The intensity of the factors' influence varies, with the most important being patron status, which revealed a strong snob effect among respondents. Luxury consumers want to be different, so they use products to which others have limited access, no matter what the price. Still, two subgroups were defined: the \"old aristocracy\", or real snobs, and \"new money\", their followers, which accords with the situation of a developing market and society.The main limitation of this research was the uneven distribution of respondents according to income. Lower incomes were not represented due to the presence of eliminatory questions in the questionnaire, which left only luxury consumers in the sample. The uppermost social class was not present, since those respondents are rare and difficult to reach. Therefore, this study had a homogeneous sample and its analyses and tests can only be applied to the present luxury consumers.Furthermore, in the questionnaire, income was shown as total household income, which does not give a clear idea of the discretionary income used to finance luxury consumption. However, this is difficult to measure, as respondents often strain to provide complete and honest answers.In the further research, other factors of luxury consumption should be analysed, such as lifestyle and hedonic behavioural factor. Lifestyle involves different psychographic characteristics among consumers, including hedonism, and would provide a better vantage for the examination of luxury consumption.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of the paper is to analyse the luxury market and determine the factors that determine luxury consumption. Luxury consumption has been neglected, and yet many questions arise concerning the underlying dimensions of luxury shopping.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Two scales were used: questions concerning luxury consumption were used in order to determine the sample of luxury consumers, and a PRECON scale was used to measure individual differences in consumers' prestige shopping preferences. After the scale validation process, factor analysis was conducted, along with regression analysis of all PRECON factors.\nFindings: - The results show that in this market consumers perceive quality as a brand determinant. Further, strong patron status suggests a \"snob effect\" among respondents, who buy exclusive items in an attempt to distinguish themselves. Hence, rare products indicate respect and prestige among the respondents. Furthermore, this paper defines two sub-categories, namely \"old aristocracy\" and \"new money\", with the latter more ascendant in the case of a developing market. It also showed that luxury consumers behave similarly worldwide, regardless of economic or social surroundings.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Luxury consumption should be put in the context of psychological determinants, and perhaps tested according to lifestyle.\nOriginality/value: - This paper brings attention to luxury consumption, its motives and consumer styles.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Impact of electronic-wallet system on farmer's welfare in Oyo State, Nigeria	[ "Impact", "Productivity", "Poverty", "Propensity score matching", "E-wallet" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Escaping poverty traps in many developing countries depends on the growth and development of the agricultural sector (World Bank, 2008). In Nigeria, a high percentage of total food production comes from small farms, and 60 percent of population earn their living from small-scale farming. Decline in farm output could be due to low income, small farm holdings, low resource utilization (Ibitoye, 2012), as well as rising prices for basic farming tools and other essential inputs (Manyong et al., 2003). Moreover, rural farmers have little or no access to credit from conventional banks (Haruna and Saifullahi, 2011), while non-conventional banks like the \"ajo/isusu\" have had no significant effect in increasing farmer's income (Yustus et al., 2014). The availability of input (fertilizer) on time and at fair prices has been a challenge for farmers (Ogunfowora, 1996; Mwangi, 1997). As inputs (fertilizer) consumption in Nigeria increases, the inadequacies of public sector-controlled procurement and distribution arrangements began to manifest in leakages and transit losses, cross-border trade in fertilizer, late and non-deliveries of fertilizer to designated depots, artificial scarcity, and unsustainable subsidy burden on the government (Isokrari, 1995; Ogunfowora, 1996; International Fertilizer Development Centre, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, West Africa Rice Development Association, 2000). Different agricultural programs collapsed due to lack of continuity, coherence, issues in relation to other sectorial policies and implementation at various institutional levels (Idachaba, 2014).\nLiterature review: Welfare is defined as the quality of life of people and forms the foundation of public policy analysis. The indicators for household welfare include the following: income, poverty, social exclusion, living condition, consumption, housing, health, occupation, educational level, and geographical location (Lanjouw, 1994; Slesnick, 1998; Dong, 2002; Noll, 2004). Different agricultural programs, such as input subsidy, phasing out agricultural tax, seed insurance, integrated soil fertility management, and direct seed marketing program in China, Malawi, and Ethopia, have been used to increase small land holder farmer's income and improve welfare (Daryll and Harwood, 2013; Chunping et al., 2013; Karl and James, 2013; Matous and Todo, 2013). Agricultural programs such as FADAMA and seed voucher have been used in Nigeria to improve the welfare of rural farmers (Kudi et al., 2008; Umar, 2012; Awotide et al., 2012; Girei et al., 2013).\nData/methodology: The study employed a multi-stage sampling procedure to select respondents for the research. The first stage was the purposive selection of Ibadan/Ibarapa zone from the four Agricultural Development zones in Oyo state. The choice was premised on the fact that it has rural characteristics with their main occupation as farming. The second stage was the random sampling of five local government areas (LGAs) from the 14 local governments in the zone (Ido, Lagelu, Egbeda, Akinyele, and Ona-Ara). The third stage was the random selection of three wards in each local government. The fourth stage was the random selection of two villages in each ward, and the fifth stage was a random selection of eight respondents from each village. A total of 240 questionnaires were administered out of which 204 were used in the final analysis while 36 could not be used due to incomplete information.\nThe study area: Oyo State is an inland state in South Western Nigeria with its capital in Ibadan. It lies on longitude 8deg00'N and latitude 4deg00'E. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east by Osun State, in the south by Ogun State, and in the west partly by Ogun and partly by the Republic of Benin. It has 33 LGAs and covers 28,454 square kilometer (10,986 sq mi), with population density of 200 square kilometer (510 sq mi). The population of the state is approximately 5,591,589 (National Population Commission (NPC), 2010). The ecological zones or vegetation pattern of the state is that of rainforest to the south and savannah to the north. Thick forest in the south gives way to grassland interspersed with trees in the north. The total mean rainfall is 1,420.06 mm falling for approximately 109 days. The maximum temperature is 26.46degC, and minimum temperature is 21.42degC. The average daily temperature ranges between 25degC (77.0degF) and 35degC (95.0degF) almost throughout the year with relative humidity of 74.55 percent (Oyo state, 2017). The dry season last from November to March, while the wet season starts from April and ends in October. The climate favors the cultivation of crops like maize, yam, cassava, millet, rice, banana, plantain, cocoa tree, palm tree, and cashew. There is abundance of clay, kaolin, and aquamarine. There are also vast cattle ranches in Saki, Fasola, Moniya, and Ibadan. The LGAs in Oyo State has been grouped into four zones by Oyo State Agricultural Development Project, namely, Ibadan/Ibarapa, Oyo, Ogbomosho, and Saki zones. For this study, Ibadan/Ibarapa zone was selected which is made up of 12 local governments, namely, Ido, Lagelu, Akinyele, Ona-Ara, Egbeda, Oluyole, Ibarapa north, Ibarapa east, Ibarapa central, Ibadan north, Ibadan southeast, and Ibadan southwest. Figure 1 shows the map of Oyo State from which the five local governments for this study are selected.\nResults and discussions: Descriptive analysis of the socio-economic characteristics of respondents\nSummary and conclusion: This paper assessed the impact of electronic-wallet system on farmer's welfare in rural Nigeria. PSM was used to estimate the gains in the use of such system and examine the poverty status of the users and non-users of electronic-wallet system. While this method does not require ad hoc assumptions about the functional form of impacts and exclusion restrictions, it only eliminates selection bias on observable differences between adopters and non-adopters. The empirical analysis has shown that the use of e-wallet system has enhanced household chances of escaping poverty. Variables such as gender, household size, occupation, total area cultivated, and farm income had a significant effect on the program. The e-wallet system had a positive impact of N 3,054.99 on its users and a decreased poverty incidence (21 percent), measured by headcount, when compared to the non-users (52 percent) of e-wallet system.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of e-wallet on farmer's welfare in Nigeria.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Primary data were used to collect information on 81 users and 123 non-users of e-wallet system. Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) analysis was used to profile farmer's poverty status, while propensity score matching (PSM) was used to assess the impact of e-wallet on welfare using per capita expenditure as its proxy.\nFindings: The FGT analysis shows that poverty incidence, depth, and severity were found to be higher among non-users of e-wallet than its users. The PSM analysis showed that e-wallet had a positive impact on welfare; Rosenbaum sensitivity analysis revealed that the findings are sensitive to hidden bias due to unobserved characteristics.\nResearch limitations/implications: The relevance of matching method depends on data availability for the specific policy problem. Hence, the study is limited to the use of the PSM because of the limitation of household data availability to only a sample of farmers in Oyo State.\nOriginality/value: This paper examines the impact of the new system of input distribution (e-wallet) on farmer's welfare.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Follow the leader: how corporate social responsibility influences strategy and practice in the business community	[ "Negotiation", "Network organization", "Isomorphism", "Stakeholder theory", "Institutionalism", "CSR business practices" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nHow CSR generates standard and acceptable practices in the business community: Companies face increasing pressure from stakeholders such as governments, consumers, and employees to play a leading role in addressing a wide array of environmental, social, and governance issues - ranging from climate change to water preservation or human rights. But who is responsible for each of these issues, and who is expected to take action?\nCSR: leveraging isomorphism in management processes: CSR may be considered a network of actors managing conflicts and coordinating productive activities. As such, CSR is an institution looking at ways to reduce the occurrence of potential conflicts within a given stakeholder community.\nEmpirical standard and acceptable business practices: The following examples test the above hypothesis using real life examples.\nUnder-normalization market isomorphism: reinsurance power: Reinsurance and insurance companies need to find new financial models to finance climate change impacts (see the Stern Report for an economic evaluation). The Belron/AXA partnership is an interesting initiative using the emerging environmental concerns of customers to drive operational efficiency in daily operations, and to proactively capitalize to face potential costs of impending natural disasters.\nMimic market isomorphism: energy efficiency programs: For corporations, climate change has broad effects: increased costs caused by different precipitation patterns, a growing cost of energy from greenhouse gas (GHG) laws, or non-adaptation risks. As a way to mitigate such risks, supply chain energy management is increasingly part of corporate climate change strategies. A growing number of companies, such as IKEA, Walmart and H&M are working on programs to understand key greenhouse gas impacts in the supply chain and to identify opportunities for improvement, such as a management plan for energy and GHG in the global supply chain, as well as engagement with suppliers to provide programs and tools for improvement of their own GHG emissions management. In recent years, an increasingly standard approach has been to involve suppliers in programs combining capacity building and giving access to tools for carbon footprinting, with the intent to allow suppliers themselves to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions within their companies.\nSocial innovation market isomorphism: nano-purification: The World Health Organization claims that about 25 million people die every year from consuming water contaminated by toxins and viruses. In emerging economies, sanitation is often expensive and not accessible to the poor. Epicenter Biotechnologies is a manufacturer and reseller of molecular biology products for life science research, clinical research, molecular diagnostics and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This company developed a nano-scale purification system which consists of a simple bucket which filters water at nano level removing toxins and viruses in situ at extremely low costs. In theory, the solution is cheap and communities can pool their resources to buy a few buckets. In practice, raising awareness of targeted communities on water sanitation and developing the appropriate distribution channels has become the major challenge. This illustrates that technical innovation is not enough. Social innovation is required to define the appropriate business model to sell nano-filters among the appropriate communities.\nConclusion: Standard and acceptable business practices defined throughout the CSR negotiation processes drive changes in business strategies (O'Connor and Spangenberg, 2008). Corporations need to keep up with these changes or they may not survive. The examples of isomorphisms outlined in this paper all align on the same patterns:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Companies face increasing pressure from stakeholders to play a leading role in addressing a wide array of environmental, social, and governance issues. What are the relevant and responsible contributions that corporations are expected to provide in support of defining solutions to sustainability issues? This paper shows how corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a negotiation process to help corporations manage uncertainties through collaborative work and alignment with stakeholders. From that angle, CSR is a process that generates standard and acceptable business practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper uses both an adductive as well as an interpretative approach of CSR and looks at CSR as a collaborative process that builds rules and norms.\nFindings: CSR is defined as a contractual process between stakeholders in order to drive decision making processes and agree on commitments between business and society. Interestingly, all studied examples depict the development of standard and acceptable business practices with very little involvement of stakeholders, which is not the understood way of driving changes to business strategy as defined by the CSR negotiation processes.\nPractical implications: A framework is presented linking CSR business practices research findings to empirical market isomorphism. The paper is of practical relevance for management practitioners. The limitations of recent research are also discussed.\nOriginality/value: Our examples show that CSR is no more than the achievements of fragmented initiatives led by companies showing limited transparency toward external stakeholders. There is no overall coordination. The paper is original in its recommendation that public authorities play a strategic role showing clear direction, and establish themselves as a strategic platform enabling more engagement between stakeholders.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Sustainability in African higher education institutions (HEIs): Shifting the focus from researching the gaps to existing activities	[ "Africa", "Sustainability", "Higher education", "Language", "Indigenous knowledge systems" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Higher education institutions (HEIs) have made considerable progress in sustainability in recent years. HEIs are appropriate places to implement sustainability because the most dire threats, such as natural resource depletion and climate change, are better understood because of the research of HEIs (Leal Filho, 2015; Mohamedbhai, 2012). Furthermore, many authors have highlighted that it is not the poor and uneducated who are causing the environmental problems that the world is currently facing, but rather, highly educated people with PhDs and MAs (Orr, 2004). It is, therefore, crucial to involve those who are responsible for leading the current \"unhealthy, inequitable and unsustainable path\" (Cortese, 2003, p. 16) in sustainability efforts. Moreover, it is the graduates of higher education who are likely to hold influential positions later in their lives (Lozano, 2006; Elliott and Wright, 2013; Thompson and Green, 2005).\nResearch methodology: The Delphi study was conducted between December 2017 and May 2018. The data were collected through the online survey tool, LimeSurvey, and was disseminated and collected in the English language. The Delphi technique was chosen because it is most appropriate for problems, which do not lend themselves \"to precise analytical techniques but cart benefit from subjective judgments on a collective basis\" (Linstone and Turoff, 2002, p. 4). The drafted questionnaires for both rounds were discussed with professors and the vice chancellor of a Tanzanian University and modified accordingly. The researcher subsequently pre-tested the questionnaires in both rounds with six professors working in Tanzanian and Ethiopian Universities who were not taking part in the actual study.\nConclusion: Contrary to previous research that has primarily focussed on the absent factors concerning sustainability activities in African HEIs, this study focussed on existing activities through exploring experts' experiences. This study sought to explore the status quo and to better understand what is currently happening in the field of sustainability in participants' respective institutions. The results of this Delphi study demonstrated the immense importance of the cultural dimension for successful implementation of sustainability in participants' HEIs. The results of this study extended the findings of previous research in the following ways: First, according to participants' responses, there was no clear indication of either a dominant or a neglected field within the four fields of research, teaching, campus operations and community outreach. These results expand upon the findings of the GUNi, IAU and AAU (2011) report, which stated that physical operations \"are not a major focus in African universities\" (GUNi, IAU and AAU, 2011, p. 60). In addition, this study contradicts the finding of previous studies that community engagement is the most neglected area, as the results were on par with campus operations.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Research on sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs) is unequally distributed globally. The existing publications on sustainability in HEIs have largely focussed on the Global North. Meanwhile, little is known about the state of sustainability in HEIs located in the Global South, and within African HEIs in particular. This study aims to fill this gap and investigates the status of sustainability activities in participating African HEIs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A Delphi study involving 32 experts from 16 African countries and a total of 29 HEIs was conducted between December 2017 and May 2018. Experts were asked to share their insights on sustainability and Africanisation through an online questionnaire in two rounds.\nFindings: Although 30 of the 32 participants agreed with the provided definitions of sustainability and sustainable development (two participants did not answer), 11 of the participants commented that important issues such as governance and culture were missing. This trend indicates that the sustainability discussion is still led from a western vantage point. Nevertheless, Africanisation plays a role in around two-thirds of participating HEIs' sustainability activities, with the language factor representing the most pressing issue.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the current state of sustainability activities and Africanisation of participating African HEIs, and the importance of language and culture in this process.\nOriginality/value: This study is one of few works that have investigated the state of sustainability activities in African HEIs. Furthermore, it adopts a positive stance on sustainability in Africa, rather than focussing on negative circumstances.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Optimizing success in supply chain partnerships	[ "Partnership", "Strategic alliances", "Supply chain management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Many firms in the last two decades have restructured their businesses in dramatic ways, typically moving away from traditional vertically integrated forms towards leaner and more flexible hybrid organizational forms (Powell, 1987). These new organizational forms, which are based upon cooperative and close relationships among independent organizations, extend the benefits of both open markets and formal organizations to adopting firms (Miles and Snow, 1992). Supply chain partnerships or strategic alliances[1] in the supply chain are one of the most popular hybrid organizational forms (Powell, 1987). These have been increasingly adopted by firms to manage inter-organizational collaboration in the supply chain. They provide both large and small firms with numerous opportunities to improve their conduct of business such as: wider diffusion of products without costly physical presence in the markets, risk and reward sharing, resource pooling, reduction in coordination and transaction costs, ability to concentrate on core competency, and rapid response to market needs (Spekman et al., 1998).As more and more firms subscribe to the practices and philosophy of supply chain management, they are increasingly linked to their suppliers and customers inextricably throughout the entire value creation process, i.e. from conception and design to the very end of delivering products to end customers, and often re-cycling activities post-use. A firm's ability to successfully form, nurture, and manage supply chain partnerships thus becomes a key factor that influences the gap between outstanding and mediocre performance (Spekman et al., 1998). Consequently, partnerships between organizations in the supply chain has been strongly recommended by many academics and practitioners alike. However, there is a wide gap between executive intent and achievement of firms, reflecting the novelty, scale, risks, and complexity of the change being attempted, especially when most of the strategic benefits of supply chain partnerships are long term and rewards increase over time. For example, in a survey of partnering firms, less than half of the 100 respondents considered themselves to be successful in implementing supply chain partnerships (Boddy et al., 1998).Supply chain partnerships are living systems which evolve progressively in their possibilities (Kanter, 1994; Chelsom, 1998). Typically, a company forming a partnership with its suppliers and/or customers forces a change in relationships, expectations, and job descriptions. Partnership is only a means of organizing for inter-firm collaboration; it does not assure that the performance objectives for building partnerships, such as operational excellence, can be automatically realized. The departments and functions in partnering companies need to work with each other in evaluating inventories, systems, processes, new technologies, training, work methodologies, equipment utilization, and a host of other opportunities to reduce the cost of operations and explore opportunities for the partnership. We find that not many researchers have focused on post partnership formation issues, which are extremely important for realizing business value. Most of the studies available are limited by their scope and focus only on a particular issue or on a few issues in managing supply chain partnerships.The focus of this paper is to present a theoretical framework for managing supply chain partnerships over their lifecycle. We model the \"partnership formation to business value\" process as a series of four linked models that correspond to the following four phases: foundation, implementation, shakedown, and onwards and upwards. More specifically, we build this framework on a particular emergent process theory framework that was designed by Soh and Markus (1995) and expanded by Markus and Tanis (2000) to explain how investments in information technology-based organizational innovation initiatives create (or fail to create) business value. While the first three phases of the framework have been captured in most of the partnership process models, we find that previous research has not looked into the fourth phase, which is one of the most important in optimizing the realization of business value. Partner organizations, after having come to know each other well enough and having established partnership assets, can considerably amplify the gains by using the partnering infrastructure to exploit innovative ideas not in the scope of the initial partnership agenda. We conceptualize optimal partnership success and highlight the critical issues faced by managers over the lifecycle of partnerships in realizing optimal success. The framework provides a broad roadmap for managers to pursue optimal success in supply chain partnerships. The next section discusses our definition of supply chain partnerships. In a following section, we briefly review the literature on supply chain partnerships. Then we describe the framework, and the final section presents our conclusions and recommendations for further research.\nSupply chain partnerships: Historically, firms arrayed along a value stream in the supply chain maintained arms-length relationships with an operative assumption that both sides would take advantage of each other. In the 1980s, a shift occurred in management thinking and the locus of conceptual strategy research on inter-firm relationships. Firms increasingly began to focus on managing the supply chain; as a result relationships in the supply chain, which were simple when they just involved processes for exchange of commodities, became increasingly complex. Business trends in the 1990s, such as shortening product lifecycles and greater product variety and complexity, augmented the need for supply chain management. The collaborative ties between the manufacturers and other upstream and downstream members of the supply chain became a means of attaining competitive advantage.Supply chain partnerships are resource-intensive investments, which involve both financial and strategic risks. Commitment in these relationships tends to be higher; the partners tend to develop joint activities in many functions; operations often overlap; and the relationship causes substantial changes in each partner's organization. Simple buyer-supplier relationships may evolve into more formal partnerships over time as commitment between the buying and supplying organizations develops into enhanced collaboration in creating new value for their ultimate customers. On the other hand, proclaimed partnerships formed with a lot of executive and media attention can wane into ordinary buyer-supplier relationships. Surprisingly, few studies have looked into the exact nature and meaning of supply chain partnerships (e.g. Lemke et al., 2003). The definitions of supply chain partnerships used in most studies focus on what they achieve (e.g. Landeros et al., 1995) or rather vague concepts such as \"meeting of minds\", rather than identifying specific attributes.We adapt the definition of supply chain partnerships used by Underhill (1996) for the purpose of this research. The definition is focused on the collaborative nature of the relationship, and the ongoing linkages between partnering firms. In many cases, the partnerships may be facilitated by independent public or private organizations (e.g. banks, government trade development offices, common customers), which play an important intermediary role in the development and success of the partnerships (Miles and Snow, 1992). However, intermediated partnerships are not considered in this paper. We define supply chain partnerships as a strategic coalition of two or more firms in a supply chain to facilitate joint effort and collaboration in one or more core value creating activities such as research, product development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution, with the objective of increasing benefits to all partners by reducing total cost of acquisition, possession, and disposal of goods and services.\nTheoretical background: Research and knowledge based on supply chain partnerships has grown at a rapid rate, driven by the increased use of partnerships in practice. However, most of the literature addressing supply chain partnerships is largely anecdotal in nature. Few researchers have made conscious efforts around theory building. For example, Landeros and Monczka (1989) ground their research in Porter's theory of competitive strategy, exploring how purchasing can support cost, differentiation, and mixed strategies of the firm through supplier relationships. It still remains for researchers to establish how partnerships should be pursued in practice, and how various issues identified by research may affect management of supply chain partnerships. Very few studies have focused on process issues of managing partnerships (Spekman et al., 1998). Even when process issues in managing supply chain partnerships have been explored in the literature, efforts have not been comprehensive.Forming and managing supply chain partnerships is an example of complex organizational innovation and change management. Partnering firms not only adopt newer and innovative ways of working, but also embrace the various changes in organizational norms, skill-sets, infrastructure and strategy to make those new ways work. An organizational innovation process that includes the development of complementary business and human resources is important in drawing competitive advantage from an innovative organizational initiative such as setting up a supply chain partnership (Teece, 1992). Two broad approaches are commonly used in the literature for study of organizational behavior in general, and of innovation adoption in particular: variance theory and process theory (Mohr, 1982). In the variance theory approach, the investigator attempts to identify characteristics of the organization, the environment, or the factors that lead to organizational adoption of innovations (Dean, 1986). While variance theory excels at explaining variation in the magnitude of certain outcomes, it tends not to do so well when the outcomes are uncertain, as in the case of supply chain organization. By contrast, the process theory approach studies the events and behaviors occurring within an organization that is considering an innovation, while maintaining that the environment is dynamic and uncertain. It provides powerful explanations even when necessary causal agents cannot be demonstrated as sufficient for the outcomes to occur.We rely on the emergent process theory to develop our framework as it combines managerial goals and actions with external forces and chance, making it useful to practitioners. More specifically, we build our framework on a particular emergent process theory designed by Soh and Markus (1995) to explain how investments in organizational IS initiatives create (or fail to create) business value. Soh and Markus (1995) link three models that correspond to the phases of investment conversion, use, and ongoing operations to build their framework (Figure 1). Markus and Tanis (2000) further extend Soh and Markus's theory in the context of their work on enterprise system adoption by adding a pre-investment planning phase to the Soh and Markus model.\nThe framework: This section describes the proposed framework for supply chain partnership success. We first address the key question the framework is designed to answer: What is success in supply chain partnerships? Then the framework is developed, its phases are described, and critical management issues in these phases are discussed.Optimal partnership success\nConclusion and further research: The prime benefit of this study is that it provides valuable insight on key issues in managing supply chain partnerships. Optimal partnership success is conceptualized and a framework for approaching optimal success in four broad phases is developed. We believe that business organizations can considerably improve the realization of partnering benefits by focusing on the critical issues in the partnering process. Organizations cognizant of the critical issues in the various phases of supply chain partnerships can make systematic efforts to manage them better by providing training, incentives, leadership, and an overall environment that facilitates partnering and realization of partnering objectives. A natural extension of this study could be to explore empirically the critical issues we have identified, in greater detail. Given the wide variation in organizations due to size, products, and sectors, specific studies of supply chain partnerships, which compare partnerships along these dimensions, would also be valuable for understanding specific concerns. Empirical studies would also help to clarify the use of supply chain partnerships as a means to establish and sustain competitive advantage.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this research is to take an emergent process theory perspective and model the supply chain partnering process as a series of four linked models that correspond to the phases of the partnership lifecycle, from initiation to maturity/termination, and discuss the management issues in those phases critical for optimal success of partnerships. The framework developed in this paper provides a road-map to manage and optimize realization of partnership benefits.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The \"partnership formation to business value\" process is described as a series of four linked models that correspond to the phases of partnership lifecycle: foundation, implementation, shakedown, and onwards and upwards. The outcomes of one phase become starting conditions for the next. Thus, decisions and actions in a phase may subsequently increase or decrease the potential for optimal success.\nFindings: - Optimal partnership success is conceptualized and a framework for approaching optimal success in four broad phases is developed. It is believed that business organizations can considerably improve the realization of partnering benefits by focusing on the critical issues in the partnering process. Organizations cognizant of the critical issues in the various phases of supply chain partnerships can make systematic efforts to manage them better by providing training, incentives, leadership, and an overall environment that facilitates partnering and realization of partnering objectives.\nResearch limitations/implications: - A natural extension of this study could be to explore empirically the critical issues which have been identified, in greater detail. Given the wide variation in organizations due to size, products, and sectors, specific studies of supply chain partnerships, which compare partnerships along these dimensions, would also be valuable for understanding specific concerns. Empirical studies would also help to clarify the use of supply chain partnerships as a means to establish and sustain competitive advantage.\nPractical implications: - The framework developed in this paper provides a road-map to manage and optimize realization of partnership benefits.\nOriginality/value: - The prime benefit of this study is that it provides valuable insight on key issues in managing supply chain partnerships. Optimal partnership success is conceptualized and a framework for approaching optimal success in four broad phases is developed.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How can we make improvement happen?	[ "Service improvements", "Leadership", "Performance management", "National Health Service", "United Kingdom" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In every country I know of, the case for improvement in health services is easy to make. The UK NHS has improved in many important respects over the last decade (Leatherman and Sutherland, 2005). It not only bears comparison with health services in other countries (Davis, 2007), it even attracts admiration.\nThe case for improvement:: Yet I would argue that the case for further improvement in our health service is unarguably strong - in at least four respects:1. In every aspect of care we look at, we find an unjustifiably wide variation in the inputs, process and outcomes of care (NHS Institute, 2005).2. Care is not as safe for the patient as it could and should be (Carruthers and Philips, 2006).3. The cost of care is rising at an unsustainable rate and, arguably, we're reaching a point where investment in other areas of public policy would deliver greater health gains (Wanless, 2002).4. While, according to independent commentators (Coulter, 2006), patient experience has become better, there's still a great deal of room for improvement - something that's as true for the fundamentals of care such as pain relief, as it is for what some clinicians might perceive as the \"softer\" aspects of care.If these truths are accepted, then why isn't improvement happening at a faster rate? The aim here is to explore some of the key factors that trigger and drive improvement - not just in the NHS but in health care more widely - and to suggest what steps can be taken to speed it up. The paper will look too at some of the work the NHS Institute is doing to help the NHS innovate and improve.\nWhat drives improvement?: There are many reasons why improvement happens. Figure 1 shows just 11 that have a significant impact in the UK setting. The list could be longer. But what it does demonstrate is the mix of drivers - some coming at NHS organisations from the outside, others generated from within their own set-ups.Figure 2 maps these drivers onto a simple matrix showing whether they are internal, external, voluntary or compelled.Currently, there's an active debate about the dominance over the last few years of the performance management driver (Nicholson, 2006). In this approach to improvement, centrally-determined target levels for performance are identified and rigorously managed by the Department of Health. Their impact is felt across the whole system, from whole local health communities and organisations, down to individual clinical teams.However, a consensus has emerged that performance management targets should not be the dominant driver for future improvement. I welcome this shift, but would add two important riders:1. It would be a distortion of reality to imagine a past in which the NHS \"self-improved\" - achieving major reductions in areas like A&E waiting times before these targets were set. Most clinicians have welcomed, sometimes privately, the focus that targets have brought to priority areas of their work.2. There are times when an event or other circumstance reveals an urgent need for the service to change the way it does things in order to make care safer or better for patients.The reduced emphasis on direction from the centre is clearly right, but it has to leave open the necessary performance management arrangements so we can respond quickly and effectively in these comparatively rare circumstances. To do otherwise would be to deny our patients one of the benefits of our national system.\nThe commonalities of successful improvement: The wealth of literature about human behaviour and motivation (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002) tells us that where people feel a sense of control and responsibility for change, change is likely to be more successful. Of course, the need for services to be responsive and accountable means some elements of improvement activity will sometimes need to be externally driven.There's ongoing discussion about the balance between the different sorts of improvement drivers, but it's likely that all 11 of those mentioned here will remain important contributors in the business of improving health services for patients.And despite their differences, their power to drive effective improvement relies in each case on four crucial prerequisites, as shown here:Four prerequisites for successful improvement\nLeadership: Leaders set the whole context for improvement in their organisations. It's not my purpose here to explore the characteristics of successful leaders, or the relative merits of different leadership approaches. But if the leaders within an organisation do not believe in improvement and its importance in achieving their business goals, then improvement simply will not happen.For leaders to buy into improvement, they need to understand the principles behind it and the range of methods that can be used to achieve it - or at least to overcome inherent scepticism about change. And it's important to remember that leadership here refers to the ability to inspire others to a course of action, rather than someone with a particular role or position. Successful leaders coach, and are adept at communicating the case for change in ways that all of their organisation can relate to. Leaders lead from all levels of the organisation.Yet, just as important as the need for leaders to understand enough about the potential of improvement, is the need for practitioners of improvement to understand enough about the preoccupations and concerns of people in leadership roles.These two principles have informed the development of a range of interventions promoted by the NHS Institute as part of our responsibility for leadership development. They include the establishment of supported networks of CEOs who work with one another, with the Institute and with academic and consultancy partners to develop a transformational vision for their organisation based on an improvement philosophy.They have found that a crucial step in the process has been to translate that vision into a series of transformational stories which make the vision tangible for the many groups of stakeholders in their organisations. The clinical communities are seen as central to this process. The first network has committed to a shared goal - across ten organisations - to support one another over a year in improving patient experience, quality and efficiency in two major aspects of clinical care. This project is being independently evaluated.A second strand of our work to support leadership is to promote a greater understanding of the principles of improvement through the wide range of development programmes we deliver or commission for leaders in the NHS. These programmes support people in their early career and when they become Board members in NHS organisations.We are also working with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, alongside the General Medical Council and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB). Our shared aim is to establish a competency framework introducing all doctors to the principles of management and leadership, and acting as a reference point throughout their career journey. This long-overdue initiative will, over time, help strengthen the quality of dialogue between managers and clinicians. It should also provide a clearer career path for clinicians who want to become more involved as organisational leaders.\nPerformance and metrics: Don Berwick, President of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, has said: \"All improvement involves change but not all change is improvement\". This may be true, but the identification of appropriate metrics and the correct use of statistics in determining whether change is leading to improvement, is essential, yet still not widely understood in the UK.Part of our mission at the NHS Institute is to build understanding among clinicians, managers, policy makers and the public about the value of measurement and analysis. This is particularly important for research, for accountability and for assessing whether change is leading to improvement.For most clinicians, using measurement and analysis for research purposes is familiar territory. But less well understood in the clinical community is the use of measurement for accountability. This might entail, for instance, judging whether the performance of a team or an organisation is adequate compared to others. Many of the elements which are appropriate in terms of design and analysis in a research study cannot be used in these real world settings. For example, the use of randomisation or controlled studies, and issues about sample size, all have to be handled differently in reaching conclusions about accountability.Techniques have been devised or adapted for this circumstance, but they are not yet widely embraced in clinical circles (Walley et al., 2006). And, on too many occasions, policy makers and performance managers who design some of the measures used for accountability, are not themselves well versed in these techniques.Where measurement is used for gauging whether change is resulting in improvement - a wide range of approaches has been developed. Many of these have been drawn from tools used in industry to monitor quality, and have been adapted for health care settings. Techniques such as Statistical Process Control have become more common in the last decade (Hart and Hart, 2002), but are still unfamiliar to many clinicians. A basic understanding of these techniques is arguably as relevant to a practising clinician as an appreciation of measurement for research.At the NHS Institute, in partnership with academic departments, we have developed a range of programmes to introduce health professionals to these concepts. These include a range of practical and accessible Improvement Leader's Guides; training in clinical systems improvement; modules for incorporation into undergraduate programmes; and web-based tools giving advice on the use of measurement for improvement.\nThe right tools and processes: One of the NHS Institute's principal roles is to identify global leading practice in improvement and translate this for use in today's NHS.One example of this involves supporting the use of Lean Thinking in health care. Lean Thinking has its roots in the Toyota Production System and uses a systematic process to improve the patient's care and experience by identifying and eradicating different types of waste (Womack et al., 2007).At the NHS Institute, we are working with the clinical leaders and managers of key operating units within the service (for instance the ward, the operating theatre, the community hospital) to apply these principles within health care. The work has already led to substantial improvements in the time available for direct patient care (NHS Institute, 2007).In our work to develop a web-based tool to support improvements in access to hospital services, nearly 100 other improvement tools and processes were identified, together with guidance about which ones to use in different contexts.A further example of our work in this area is the \"Better Care, Better Value Indicators\" - a series of productivity benchmarks. First published in July 2006, the indicators give organisations a series of performance benchmarks in aspects of clinical care, prescribing and procurement, financial management and human resource management. Published within a few weeks of the end of each quarter, they enable organisations to track their performance alongside all other similar organisations in the NHS. A web tool allows users to choose and track more specific comparators, and to drill down within their organisation to a deeper level of detail.\nRelationships: Some important improvements involve changes in the behaviour or performance of an individual - for example in their use of evidence to support their decision-making, or in the way they communicate with patients. One of the roles of managers is to facilitate the optimum environment for the clinician-patient interactions upon which the quality of healthcare depends. This typically, involves improvement in the collective actions of teams of people. Often these teams will work across organisational boundaries; not just within the NHS, but between the NHS and its other partners - for example, local government or the private sector.The reality in today's NHS is that many of the relationships between organisations are codified in contracts and subcontracts. One of the challenges for the service, and for the authors of new policies, is to create contractual structures that provide the right framework of incentives for services to become better, more efficient and more patient-centred. Experience has shown us that this can be difficult to achieve. The process of identifying better ways to align incentives to service improvement is an important task, and a controversial one.One way that the Institute is trying to help address this is by laying the groundwork for a move towards a more \"normative\" approach to tariff setting. We have identified nine of the most common reasons for hospital admission in areas where there was evidence of substantial variation between Trusts in important aspects of care. Through structured observation by clinically-led teams in both high-performing and lower-performing Trusts, we have been able to identify the key components of the care pathways employed by high-performing organisations (NHS Institute, 2006). This allows a tariff to be developed for the relevant health care resource groups (HRGs) which is based not on average cost (as at present) but on the resource necessary to deliver high-quality, yet efficient care. In some instances the tariff can be split into separate elements, specifically to incentivise the delivery of care closer to the patient's home by removing the disincentive caused by the current payment by results system.Even where the misalignment of incentives has been addressed, the likelihood is that organisations serving the same population will need to co-operate in their efforts to improve services. It is sometimes a surprise to those who have worked mainly in the public sector that co-operation between competing organisations is an increasingly prominent feature in the private sector. The term \"co-opetition\" has been coined to describe such collaboration and a growing body of literature is being established as the features of successful co-opetition are being recognised (Nalebuff and Brandenburger, 1997).The NHS Institute will also work with managers and clinicians to ensure that the learning about co-operation between apparently competing organisations is gathered and shared.It's obvious to anyone who observes highly-effective teams - of which there are many examples in health care - that there is an abundance of energy, will and effort to achieve profound and lasting change. There is, however, scope for this energy to be more effectively harnessed to service improvement. In this respect, the Institute is currently developing a field guide to \"social movements\" which will help managers, clinicians and policy makers learn from the most successful examples of collective action and bring this to bear on their own efforts to improve health services.(All the tools and research developed by the NHS Institute and mentioned in this paper can be found at: www.institute.nhs.uk)\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the key factors that trigger and drive improvement in the NHS and in health care more widely, and to suggest what practical steps can be taken to speed it up.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper outlines the varied improvement drivers that impact on health care organisations today - establishing a basic understanding of the different motivating factors behind each. Building on this, the paper explores the shared attributes of successful health care improvement practice and highlights the processes and tools that are helping many frontline NHS organisations achieve faster and better improvement locally.\nFindings: - There are many reasons that trigger improvement efforts in the health service and most have a valid role to play. But underpinning them all are four fundamental skill and knowledge sets: leadership; performance and metrics; the right tools and processes; and relationships. One important way to unlock the potential for faster improvement in patient care is for organisations and individuals to understand the profound relevance of these four areas to their own improvement work, and to know about the tools and techniques that are proven to help.\nOriginality/value: - This paper helps address the broad and recognised need across the NHS and wider health service to build service improvement capacity, capability and will. It clarifies the priority areas where organisations, clinicians, health care professionals and improvers at all levels need to develop, and it offers practical steps to help ensure this happens.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Innovative methods for quality management in educational organizations	[ "Best practices", "Quality management", "Educational organizations", "Innovative and project technique", "Innovative methods", "Staff involvement and leadership" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The quality of education is one of the most topical issues today. A lot of different studies are dedicated to this issue, including European Training Foundation (ETF) projects and activities under the Russian Federal Program for Education Development. The result of this work is quality assurance models for education, focusing on one or another type of education (higher education, VET) or taking into account national context (Mozhaeva, 2014; Rashidi and Terekhova, 2014; Aniskina and Melnik, 2016; ESG, 2015; EQAVET, 2010). Thus, the quality assurance models for education are usually based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle or its equivalent, the Planning-Implementation-Evaluation-Review cycle as well as common quality management principles. In recent years, lean thinking is entering the sphere of education (Waterbury, 2015; Balzer et al., 2015). At the same time, the issues of use of the quality management principles in activities of and for managing an educational organization are still highly relevant.\nExpanding the \"quality spirit\" in educational organizations and the task of leadership development and staff involvement in management processes: The task to involve the whole team of an educational organization in active promotion and implementation of quality initiatives is very interesting, important and difficult. It is tightly connected to the task of creating a corporate spirit of the organization in general. The way to solve this task can be divided into two stages. The first stage is identifying the main problems impeding this process. The second stage includes development and implementation of specific methods and techniques promoting consolidation and creating commitment of the team as well as making everyone aware of his/her role in common work and explaining relations between each employee's contribution and the success of the whole organization.\nConcept of the IP technique of expanding the quality spirit: Pastukhov State Academy of Industrial Management (Pastukhov Academy) is a recognized Russian leader in the sphere of the quality of education. Pastukhov Academy constantly improves the mechanisms of implementation of effective management processes in its own daily work. Pastukhov Academy has achieved the greater results by using the unique IP technique. This technique is based on the innovative methodology developed in the 80s of the 20th century by the academy team under the guidance of professor Dudchenko (Dudchenko, 1989). Today the academy applies this technique for its activity in the sphere of quality management (Aniskina, 2009; Belkova, 2012) and in the process of internal problems resolution (Terekhova, 2014).\nIP technique for the development and implementation of QMS (IMS): The academy implements projects in the development, implementation and improvement of the organization's QMS during the training of their leaders and teachers with the use of the IP technique. Diagnostic and project innovative workshops are embedded in the process of development of the system. The leaders and key staff of educational organizations work together at these workshops. The structure of the QMS development according to the IP technique is presented in Figure 2.\nExperience of implementation of the IP technique for the involvement of Pastukhov Academy staff into the processes of management: Issues of implementation of the quality management principles in the own management practice of Pastukhov Academy are also of great importance for us, despite the rich experience of work with clients in this area. To demonstrate the success, we present the experience of an innovative workshop Development of Ideas for the \"Academy-2020 Strategy.\" This workshop contributed a lot to the creation and improvement of open and safe corporate culture of our organization, to the consolidation of the managing and teaching staff, as well as facilitated finding new ways and methods of effective activities, both in the field of education and of effective management.\nConclusion: The paper represents the IP technique of personnel training, designed for expanding the quality spirit in educational organizations, developing leadership and involving the staff in quality management. The main advantage of the technique is that it allows the organization to solve complex problems requiring the active participation of the staff in a short time. During the group work, the staff is getting aware that the tasks of their personal, professional and career development do not contradict with the development of the organization but, more importantly, actively contribute to this. The group work at the workshop allows the participants to demonstrate their creativity and leadership. The workshop often helps the participants to solve some of their personal problems. All this contributes greatly to the increasing performance of the whole organization.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present good practices of improving quality of educational services through use of innovative methods in order to involve staff in the processes of the organization's management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study of teachers' and management's perception of quality initiatives is used as a basis for analyzing main causes of inhibition of the quality initiatives. The authors formulate the issue of a low efficiency of quality management systems (QMS) and make conclusions about why it is important to expand the \"quality spirit\" among teachers and managers and why it is necessary to implement quality management principles (such as a leadership and staff involvement) in educational organizations.\nFindings: The innovation and project (IP) technique of training is proposed to solve the tasks of expanding the \"quality spirit,\" creating leadership and involving educational organization's staff in the quality management processes. The paper contains description and examples of use of the IP technique in order to create efficient management systems on the basis of leadership and involvement of managers and other staff in the processes of quality management. The authors formulate principles of innovative training and evaluate the effects of its use in the projects aimed at improvement of QMS.\nPractical implications: The paper presents the experience of usage of the main component of the technique - an innovative workshop - for development of the strategy of Pastukhov Academy, building a managing team and involving staff in quality assurance activities. The paper presents the practical value of the results achieved by the academy in the process of implementation of the IP technique for development of the managing team and their strategic self-identification, as well as for increasing the quality of educational services. The IP technique is used in the process of implementation of social responsibility standards.\nOriginality/value: The paper is valuable for educational organizations, which may use the IP technique that will result in providing a real effect on the QMS, improving the educational courses and a positive impact on improving the quality of life.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Information-rich, but time-poor: Exploring members of parliament's approaches to information by Chatman's "small world" conception	[ "Information research", "Information behaviour", "Information practices", "Information poverty", "Elite politicians", "Norwegian parliament" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The aim of this paper is to examine how Chatman's theories on life in the round, small worlds and information poverty can explain information seeking and the use of a socially, economically and politically resourceful group of decision makers: members of parliament (MPs). Chatman's work focused on information seeking and the use of diverse marginalised groups in society, such as retired women, janitors and women prisoners (Chatman, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1999). Her theories are applied also in less impoverished settings, such as university administration (Huotari and Chatman, 2001). We arrived at applying Chatman's work after initial inputs from Taylor's Information Use Environment (IUE) framework (Taylor, 1991), which he explicated by a focus on legislators. Both Chatman and Taylor may be seen as early examples of practice theoretical approaches that, in the past decade or so, have gained attention in information studies, much in line with the more general practice turn in social sciences. They emphasise a view of socially and culturally shared ways of acting in relation to information, where its needs, seeking and use are afforded and constrained by the conventions and values of the community (Bystrom et al., 2019).\n2. Elite politicians' information use environment and life in the round: As more aspects of societies are being subject to legislation, we expect the politicians to have sufficient knowledge in fields they are not educated in and cannot possibly be experts on (Taylor, 1991; Marcella et al., 1999). Despite their lack of formal knowledge, they have to make decisions, and select and judge the quality of information received from the government, from lobbyists, and all potentially interested stakeholders, as well as the endless content of the internet. For elite politicians \"information is not scarce; there is an infinite amount of potentially relevant information available to political actors. It is not so much a matter of whether politicians can be informed but rather how they can avoid information overload\" (Walgrave and Dejaeghere, 2017, p. 229). What makes the situation for elite politicians even more complex is that they are held publicly accountable, and they operate in an extremely competitive environment, not only between parties, but often for position and power within their own party (Walgrave and Dejaeghere, 2017).\n3. Previous research on elite politicians' information management: Research on parliamentarians demonstrates a work situation where they continually have to familiarise themselves with new aspects of society but where their attitude towards information acquisition is reactive most of the time. Orton et al. (2000) describes politicians' needs for information as \"incessant and relentless\", unpredictable and always changing. Similar to Taylor (1991), Marcella et al. (1999) describes how a partisan consideration based on the political ideology and beliefs determines what information is valuable in the political arena. This is supported by Watt (2010) who argues that bounded rationality theory is a plausible model for the work of MPs.\n4. Methods: Previous research on the information behaviour of parliamentarians has used both quantitative (Thapisa, 1996; Mostert and Ocholla, 2005; Marcella et al., 1999; Hossain et al., 2017) and qualitative methods (Orton et al., 2000; Marcella et al., 2007; Walgrave and Dejaeghere, 2017). The previous research all have in common rather low response rates (quantitative data) and a small number of participants (qualitative data), much due to the busy schedules of the target groups. In addition to that, elite politicians, such as MP receive multiple inquiries to participate in research projects, and have to decline many (Engelstad, 2010).\n5. Results according to Chatman's six proposals: There are multiple examples of utterances that clearly support that elite politicians indeed organise themselves in terms of a small world, i.e. \"a community of like-minded individuals who share co-ownership of social reality\" (Chatman, 1999, p. 213). We present our findings in relation to the six proposals revised after Chatman (1999):\n6. Discussion and conclusions: In this paper, we have analysed the interview material from eight informants from the opposition in the Norwegian parliament to find out how they relate to their information abundance when responding to government propositions. The analysis gives a glimpse into the MPs' views and practices related to information but it does not provide any causal or generalisable findings. However, it is worth noting that the statements made during the interviews are largely consistent with previous research on the subject. Through the analysis, we addressed two research questions:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse how elite politicians in opposition in the Norwegian parliament use information when responding to government propositions and investigate if Chatman's small world conception can explain the socially and economically highly privileged groups' approach to information.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The qualitative analysis of the data consisting of eight interviews with seven members of parliament (MPs) and one political advisor is based on a selective coding grounded to Chatman's six propositions on life in the round.\nFindings: The overall findings indicate that elite politicians' information practices concentrate in mastering the flow of information and admitting attention selectively, but on broad topics. Whereas MPs information practices within an intentional approach (i.e. to be used in political responses and debates) aligned with the small world idea, the nebulous approach (i.e. keeping updated on societal issues) breaks the boundaries of their \"small worlds\".\nOriginality/value: The study provides a glimpse into information practises of a little studied group, elite politicians. Moreover, it applies Chatman's conception of small world in a novel manner.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Self-verification striving and employee outcomes: The mediating effects of emotional labor of South Korean employees	[ "Job satisfaction", "Job performance", "Emotional labor", "Self-verification striving" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Although self-verification (i.e. the confirmation of oneself) is an important universal goal (Swann, 1983), recent research has demonstrated that individuals differ in the extent to which this motivation serves as a personal priority (Cable and Kay, 2012; Cable et al., 2013; Moore et al., 2017). Self-verification striving refers to a tendency to help others to see themselves as they do (Cable and Kay, 2012). This disposition benefits not only individuals, but also organizations via its impact on employee job performance, citizenship behavior and job satisfaction (Cable and Kay, 2012; Cable et al., 2013). Self-verification also enhances the cohesiveness and performance of teams (Swann et al., 2004). For example, research indicates that when people in small groups receive self-verifying feedback, their creative performance improves (Swann et al., 2003). Self-verification also promotes predictability in workgroups, leading to more comfortable social relations (Talaifar and Swann, 2017).\nLiterature review: Self-verification striving and employee outcomes\nResearch hypotheses: The direct effects of self-verification striving on job satisfaction and performance\nMethod: Participants and procedures\nResults: We performed confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) using AMOS 18.0 on the six key research variables (self-verification striving, expressing naturally felt emotions, deep acting, surface acting, job satisfaction and job performance). We made three-item parcels for the measures with more than three items using an item-to-construct-balance method to adequately evaluate our model at an appropriate parameter-to-sample-size ratio (Hair et al., 1995; Little et al., 2002). We examined the model fit using comparative fit index (CFI), root-mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) and chi-square statistics. The results show that the six-factor model fits the data well (kh2 [137, N = 145] = 258.39, kh2/df = 1.89, CFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.08; TLI = 0.90). The six-factor model fits the data better than either a five-factor model integrating self-verification striving and the expression of naturally felt emotion (kh2 [142, N = 145] = 314.57, kh2/df = 2.22, CFI = 0.88; RMSEA = 0.09; TLI = 0.86; chi-square difference test, kh2 [5, N = 145] = 56.18, p < 0.01) or a one-factor model (kh2 [152, N = 145] = 1157.14, kh2/df = 7.61, CFI = 0.31; RMSEA = 0.21; TLI = 0.22; chi-square difference test, kh2 [15, N = 145] = 898.75, p < 0.01). For the employee-reported variables (i.e. self-verification striving, expressing naturally felt emotions, deep acting, surface acting and job satisfaction), the CFA result shows that the five-factor model demonstrates good model fit (kh2 [94, N = 145] = 193.24, kh2/df = 2.06, CFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.08; TLI = 0.90) that is better than either a four-factor model combining self-verification striving and the expression of naturally felt emotion (kh2 [98, N = 145] = 248.44, kh2/df = 2.54, CFI = 0.88; RMSEA = 0.10; TLI = 0.85; chi-square difference test, kh2 [4, N = 145] = 55.2, p < 0.01] or a one-factor model (kh2 [104, N = 145] = 872.81, kh2/df = 8.39, CFI = 0.36; RMSEA = 0.23; TLI = 0.27; chi-square difference test, kh2 (10, N = 145) = 679.57, p < 0.01). Taken together, the CFA results provide good support for the distinctiveness of the variables used in this study.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test whether self-verification striving serves as an individual difference antecedent of emotional labor and explore whether various emotional labor tactics acted as mediating mechanisms through which self-verification striving relates to employee outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The sample used in this paper consisted of supervisor-subordinate dyads working in six hotels in South Korea and used multi-level analyses and the Monte Carlo method to test the research hypotheses presented in this paper.\nFindings: Self-verification striving was positively and directly related to job performance as well as two out of three forms of emotional labor (i.e. the expression of naturally felt emotions and deep acting). Self-verification striving also indirectly related to job satisfaction through the expression of naturally felt emotions and indirectly related to job performance through deep acting.\nPractical implications: The findings of this paper suggest that organizations should consider self-verification striving as an employment selection criterion and provide training programs to help their customer service employees engage in appropriate types of emotional labor.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first to explore the underlying mechanisms through which self-verification striving relates to employee outcomes. It also empirically bolsters the notion that expressing naturally felt emotions is an important means of authentic self-expression that positively contributes to job satisfaction. Further, the authors found that self-verification striving positively relates to job performance partially through deep acting. Moreover, they have shown that self-verification striving, as an individual differences variable, is an antecedent of different types of emotional labor.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Identity based marketing: a new balanced marketing paradigm	[ "Marketing strategy", "Brand identity", "Resources", "Brand image", "Competences" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the hierarchy of marketing (marketing as culture/paradigm, marketing as strategy, marketing as tactics), the marketing paradigm focuses on the demand side of the market: customers (Deshpande, 1999). Of course the paradigm has developed the last decades and recently Vargo and Lusch (2004) argue that the current marketing paradigm should emphasize customer relations and services. However, this may be seen as an elaboration of the customer focus. So, there does not seem to be a debate about whether the customer should be the primary focus of the marketing paradigm.However, such a debate does seem to exist about the issue of competitive strategy. Several authors have recognized the relatively limited role of marketing in the process of strategy formulation (Webster, 1992; Day, 1994; Srivastava et al., 1998). More specifically, authors contrast the (internal) resource based view (RBV) with the (external) marketing theory. Srivastava et al. (1998) integrate these views in frameworks for strategy formulation. Sharma (1999) also recognizes the importance of both an external focus rooted in market orientation and an internal focus on unique firm resources and capabilities, and he calls for a greater interdisciplinary approach in formulating competitive strategy.In this paper we propose to augment the marketing paradigm by adding the brand identity into this concept, thus making it more balanced in dealing with both demand and supply. Doing this meets a basic weakness of the marketing concept in that it lacks strategic content: it says nothing about how the firm should compete (Webster, 2005).First, we present a model describing the conceptual levels in marketing theory. Then, we discuss some relevant issues concerning branding, in order to relate branding to the resource based view. We introduce a new marketing paradigm. Then we discuss the managerial implications of the new paradigm and we propose a research agenda.\nCurrent hierarchy of marketing theory: Marketing can be interpreted in different ways (Webster, 1994, see Figure 1):* As an organizational culture (the marketing concept or paradigm): a set of values and beliefs that drives the organization to make a fundamental commitment to serving customers' needs as the path to sustained profitability.* As a strategy: defining target markets and positioning product offerings (STP: segmenting, targeting and positioning). The most common model for strategy development is the SWOT-analysis: matching internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats.* As tactics and activities: the day-to-day activities of the four marketing instruments: product development, pricing, distribution and communicationThese three meanings of marketing have been interpreted as a hierarchy in marketing theory. The top level (the marketing concept or marketing paradigm) defines the core content of marketing. The marketing paradigm should provide the heart of marketing thinking and should logically set out the relevant issues at lower levels. If, at lower levels, issues are introduced that do not logically lay in line of the marketing paradigm, there is a lack in consistency in marketing theory. In strategic terms, marketing as an organizational culture should provide norms for behavior within the organization (Deshpande and Webster, 1989). We will now analyze this relation.Marketing (or competitive) strategy deals with segmenting, targeting and (brand) positioning, raising the question of how to compete (Adcock, 2000). Strategy by definition matches the internal and external environment. This match is the core of the SWOT analysis.Looking at Figure 1, the question is, whether the marketing paradigm also reflects an internal and external orientation. This clearly is not the case. The focus of the marketing paradigm is on the external environment and especially the customer: customer centricity is the unique focus of marketing (Deshpande, 1999).The main theory regarding 'the supply side' is the resource based view (RBV) of the firm (Wernerfelt, 1984) which is strongly related to the focus on core competencies (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). Srivastava et al. (2001) noticed that marketing scholars have devoted remarkably little attention to applying RBV as a frame of reference in advancing marketing theory or in analyzing challenges in marketing practice. The authors try to bridge marketing and RBV by developing a framework for analysis of market-based resources.Looking at Figure 1 gives a clear explanation of the lack in interest of marketing scholars: the marketing paradigm focuses on the demand side (customers) thus leading to a strong attention to the external environment. While Srivastava et al. (1998) solve the gap between RBV and marketing by developing a process, another way of solving the gap between the marketing paradigm and marketing strategy is to evaluate the marketing paradigm and to wonder whether it is time to adjust the paradigm without broadening the concept too far.\nBridging the gap between marketing paradigm and strategy: Since the 1990 there is growing attention of marketing scholars to a concept which is in our view strongly related to RBV: brand identity (Aaker, 1991, 1995; Keller, 1993, 2003). Aaker defines brand identity as a unique set of brand associations that the company aspires to create or maintain. These associations are what the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers. The value proposition can involve functional, emotional and self-expressive benefits. Aaker's main guideline for building strong brands is the need of having such a brand identity. According to Keller (1993) the essence of branding is that companies should try to create (brands with) high name awareness and strong, favorable and unique brand associations. Two aspects are in our view important within these definitions: the scope of brand identity and the supply orientation.Branding is about any favorable association\nImplications and a research agenda: The adjusted marketing paradigm has important managerial and research implications. The key message is that firms and researchers should better realize what brands do with the human mind. An important managerial issue here is if and how the brand strategy should be changed when the brand manager is faced with changing customer needs. According to the \"traditional\" marketing paradigm changes in brand strategy are justified as there are need changes. But the adjusted marketing paradigm questions these strategic decisions if the changes in brand strategy are not consistent with the identity and the underlying resources. A risk of an unlimited listening to customers is that it might lead to a diffuse brand image and thus on the long term to difficulties in building relations. In marketing practice, the new paradigm also means that firms should keep in mind some basic branding guidelines such as offering clear and easy-to-understand products and communication messages. A recent and interesting case is the introduction of Coca Cola Zero, a zero calorie drink for men. The weakness of this product is the double and thus confusing image: low calorie (not relevant for men) but masculine as well. This is difficult to believe and difficult to understand and probably the main reason why it failed in the USA. A balance between brand and customer also means that the internal organization in a firm is such that that there are direct links between brand management, advertising management and for example customer managers.Balancing customer needs and brand identity does not mean that the chosen strategy will always be in the middle. It depends on the current situation (market trends, competition) whether the chosen strategy will be more oriented towards current customer needs or current company competences.For research, the adjusted marketing paradigm could lead to more attention to the human mind and to the relation between brand identity and customers (which is the heart of our new paradigm). First, more attention could be devoted to developing branding theory. Aaker (1991, 1995), Kapferer (1992) and Keller (1993, 2003) appear to be the pioneers in this field but there is still a lot of work to be done. In the latest edition of Kotler's Marketing Management Keller is co-author but branding is treated as a strategic issue and not as part of the marketing paradigm.Secondly, more empirical research could be devoted to the relation between brand image (associations) and customers. For example, there is still hardly empirical research about the relation between strengths and uniqueness of associations and performance measures such as brand loyalty. Another interesting aspect is the relation between the brand's image and the customer's self image. It is often assumed that customers seek brands that fit their own image (self congruity). There are some studies in this field (Sirgy, 1982; Sirgy et al., 1997; Helgeson and Supphellen, 2004) but with different results.Finally, branding research could benefit more from other disciplines. For example, one of the most cited papers in marketing science is the Aaker (1997) paper where Aaker developed and tested a brand personality scale. Later studies revealed that Aaker's scale was, although useable in practice, not strongly based on psychological theory (Azoulay and Kapferer, 2003). Branding research and theory could also benefit from literature about corporate reputation management (Dowling, 1994; Balmer, 2001).In conclusion, a more balanced marketing paradigm appealing to both the demand and supply side has important implications for marketing research and strategy. Incorporating the brand identity in the marketing paradigm also bridges the gap between marketing science and practice in that brand identity and positioning are, in addition to the customer, the core marketing issues in marketing practice.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to propose a fundamentally new extension of the marketing paradigm. This is theoretically and practically necessary since in the authors' view there is an insufficient balance between customer and brand thinking.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - While the marketing paradigm is focused on customers, marketing strategy focuses on both the demand and supply side of the market. The authors suggest bringing the paradigm and strategy more in line by adding the brand identity into a new, more balanced, marketing paradigm, called identity based marketing.\nFindings: - The brand identity can be considered the representative of the resource based view since identity will be based on competences and capabilities. Although branding is widely accepted as a marketing issue it has until now not been dealt with within the scope of the marketing paradigm.\nOriginality/value: - Adding branding to the highest level in the marketing theory hierarchy (marketing as concept/paradigm, strategy, and tactics), has important implications for marketing practice and leads to a research agenda with more emphasis on the relation between (changes in) brand identity and customer perceptions and needs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
"It's not like this here": teaching a Youth Lens in South Korea	[ "Positionality", "Critical literacy", "International education", "Affective responses", "Secondary literacy", "Youth lens" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: While teaching seniors at an international school in Seoul, I asked my students, the majority of whom identified as Korean, what they thought were common characteristics of teenagers [1] and who decides what those characteristics are. Their responses did not surprise me and were not dissimilar from what I would have written. Will [2] wrote, \"It's hard to generalize, but the most easy one would be 'rebellious.' I don't know who decides it.\" Jin added, \"Rebellious, uncontrollable, etc. This is usually decided by adults.\" Dillon wrote, \"Immaturity, being dramatic, having an obsession. Media tends to decide on this.\"\nTheoretical framework: a youth lens as critical literacy: A Youth Lens builds on critiques that adolescence is more a social construct than a biological process. The lens draws upon the work of Lesko (2012), who traces the concept of adolescence from its relatively recent conception around the turn of the 20th century to how it has become unquestionably ingrained into the modern psyche. Lesko questions the concept of \"'troubling teenagers' as stock characters in popular narratives, scientific discourses, and educational programs via endlessly repeated stories - clinical and anecdotal - of instability, emotionality, present-centeredness, and irresponsibility\" (p. 1). Building on this work, a Youth Lens suggests that \"we have been taught to believe that adolescence is a naturally occurring state, roughly between the ages of twelve and eighteen, and that adolescents are those who inhabit that category, and along with it specific characteristics\" (Sarigianides et al., 2017, pp. 1-2).\nCritical literacy: Supporting students to critically view \"canned or stereotypical representations of adolescents\" (Sarigianides et al., 2015, p. 13) emerges through the framework of critical literacy. Such framing aims to assist students to look for and question underlying ideologies that shape the world around them. Morrell (2005) defines critical literacy as \"literacies involving the consumption, production, and distribution of print and new media texts by, with, and on behalf of marginalized populations in the interests of naming, exposing, and destabilizing power relations; and promoting individual freedom and expression\" (p. 314). Locke (2007) advocates for an even more universal notion of agency through critical literacy wherein value is placed on \"encouraging language-users to see themselves as engaged in textual acts which are part of a wider set of discursive practices that actively produce and sustain patterns of dominance and subordination in the wider society and offer members of society prescribed ways of being particular sorts of people\" (9). More specifically, critical literacy aims to produce readers who are able to resist messages asking them, for example, to act, think, dress and spend in a way that best suits someone else's purpose.\nContext for curriculum: Sensory and DiAngelo (2017) describe positionality as \"the concept that our perspectives are based on our place in society [...] recogniz[ing] that where you stand in relation to others shapes what you can see and understand\" (p. 15). I describe my positionality to emphasize factors that may have shaped my understandings and to emphasize the importance of such reflections. I came to Korea having lived most of my life in South Dakota, and I identify as white, male and middle-class. Always wanting to know more about the world, I spent two years after college as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a rural Ukrainian Village. I taught English at a local school and lived with a Ukrainian family. After a couple of years teaching in the USA, my wife (a fellow Peace Corps volunteer) and I decided to continue our international experience in Korea.\nThe Youth Lens unit: I had been working to find ways to better help students during their 12th grade year to question the world around them, and I hoped a Youth Lens unit might help prepare students to see themselves as able to choose the extent to which they want to perform the various roles of a USA college student and to affirm that they did not have to make decisions they were uncomfortable with to fit in. I had tried to foster a critical perspective through politics and literature in the past, but I often found it challenging and time-consuming to build the context needed to analyze at a high level. I hoped the Youth Lens unit could draw on my students' experiences and require less context building time. Here the students could bring a critical eye to the way youth are represented in their direct surroundings and to the media they interact with. I also hoped that a Youth Lens would work well as a \"starter lens\" and allow us to build up to more intersectional analyses with class, race, and gender in future lens studies.\nResponses to the curriculum: The unit offered rich critical thinking experiences for the students, and they demonstrated visible growth throughout. For example, our discussions on adolescence as a social construct helped many students to begin recognizing and calling out other things such as SAT tests and the college admission process as social constructs. At the same time, students surprised me in how they seemed okay with or complicit in representations of youth I found troubling. I focus my recollection of this unit on three instances in which I was surprised by students' responses and my learning that resulted from the experience.\nOutcomes: I share these particular surprises from my unit not because they were my best teaching moments, but because they were the moments when I learned the most. Each of these surprises revealed a misconception I had about my own students. I learned that as a white, male teacher, I need to be more aware of when I am making assumptions based on my own experiences. I also need to be sure that my curriculum allows more opportunities for me to learn alongside students - providing students opportunities to shape the direction of studies through their own expertise, and providing me opportunities to listen and to learn from them. This shift away from traditional power dynamics and top-down learning models is at the core of the Youth Lens. Also surprising, these misconceptions came to light at the end of my third semester with many of these students, and I believe other teachers will be surprised at what a Youth Lens study might reveal about their understandings of their students and youth culture.\nNext steps: If - and I strongly believe we should - we are to extend scholarship on the Youth Lens, both in the classroom and as a pedagogical concept, I'd like to see more work on the intersection of youth and varied cultural identities. Just as adolescence varies as it intersects with race, status, culture and geography, teachers across the world will benefit from resources supporting them in bringing these intersections into their Youth Lens studies. Concepts like \"individual vs collective culture,\" and the extent to which a culture allows an adolescence at all could also be of particular interest.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to identify challenges in a first attempt at teaching the Youth Lens in a secondary English classroom in South Korea.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper includes the author's observations of a senior English class in an international school in South Korea.\nFindings: The author advocates that intersections of time, geography and culture have a significant influence that cannot be ignored when teaching about adolescence. Additionally, when bringing a Youth Lens into the classroom teachers need to be prepared to fully embrace its embedded questions of power between youth and adults.\nOriginality/value: This paper extends existing academic conversation on a Youth Lens to include both an international setting and instances in which the teacher is not of the majority demographic in the classroom.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Improving innovation performance through knowledge acquisition: the moderating role of employee retention and human resource management practices	[ "HRM", "Knowledge acquisition", "Innovation performance", "Open innovation", "Employees retention" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Early studies in the business management field suggest that knowledge is the most important resource for firms to compete and create unique advantages (Nonaka, 1994; Grant, 1996). So far, there has been an arduous debate on whether firms create knowledge internally or acquire it externally. Either way, firms have to create knowledge and leverage dispersed knowledge to increase competitiveness (Von Krogh, 1998; Argote and Ingram, 2000; Alavi and Leidner, 2001), to respond to changes of the competitive and technological environment (Dezi, 1996a; Teece, 2007). Consequently, firms increasingly have to heighten their internal knowledge management capacity to manage inward and outward flows of knowledge - thereby, exploiting and exploring external opportunities (Lichtenthaler and Lichtenthaler, 2009). These trends are led by the increasing globalization and changes in the social, economic and technological environment, which calls for new, dynamic and participative approaches to innovation (Siggelkow, 2001; Bresciani et al., 2016).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: 2.1 Knowledge acquisition and innovation performance\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Research sample and design\n4. Procedures and results: Descriptive statistics show that firms of the sample on average are small and medium enterprises (the average number of employees is 98.90), even though some larger firms are included in the sample, spend 10.038 per cent of total sales in R&D and they are rather innovative (32.78 per cent of the revenues comes from new products and services) (Table III).\n5. Discussion and conclusions: The paper aims to study the effects of knowledge acquisition on innovation performance and the moderating effect of HRM - in terms of HRM practices and employee retention - on the abovementioned relationship. Developing a conceptual model based on knowledge acquisition and HRM literature, three hypotheses have been developed and tested through OLS regression analysis on a sample of 129 firms.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to study the effects of knowledge acquisition on innovation performance and the moderating effects of human resource management (HRM), in terms of employee retention and HRM practices, on the above-mentioned relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A sample of 129 firms operating in a wide array of sectors has been used to gather data through a standardized questionnaire for testing the hypotheses through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models.\nFindings: The results indicate that knowledge acquisition positively affects innovation performance and that HRM moderates the relationship between knowledge acquisition and innovation performance.\nOriginality/value: With the increasing proclivity towards engaging in open innovation, firms are likely to face some tensions and opportunities leading to a shift in the management of human resources. This starts from the assumption that the knowledge base of the firm resides in the people who work for the firm and that some HRM factors can influence innovation within firms. Despite this, there is a lack of research investigating the link between knowledge acquisition, HRM and innovation performance under the open innovation lens. This paper intends to fill this gap and nurture future research by assessing whether knowledge acquisition influences innovation performance and whether HRM moderates such a relationship.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring young children's web searching and technoliteracy	[ "Australia", "Worldwide web", "Information searches", "Children (age groups)", "Information literacy", "Behaviour" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As the web continues to be used by increasing numbers of people worldwide, we are accumulating much scientific information about peoples' web searching (Spink and Jansen, 2004). We know that children use the internet, and interact with web search engines. Today's generation of children were born into a world of digital technology and the internet, leading some writers to describe them as the \"net generation\" (Tapscott, 1998) or \"digital natives\". Households with children are more likely than others to have internet access, with three-quarters of Australian households with children under the age of 15 with an internet connection (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). Studies show that children as young as three have the technical competency to use computers and the internet (Calvert et al., 2005). The use of the internet, and web search engines by young children is an important research area with implications for educators and web technology developers.However, despite the focus on the digital world of today's children, limited research has explored internet use by young children (Buckingham, 2000). Few studies have examined young children's technoliteracy and their interaction with web search engines. Little is known scientifically about how the internet impacts on the daily lives of young children. This paper presents findings from a study addressing the research gap in our understanding of young children's web searching. This interdisciplinary research draws on studies and approaches from early childhood education and information science. The study produced interesting and important findings that have formed the basis of further research. In advancing the knowledge and understanding of young children's web searching we hope to stimulate further research in this area.The next section of the paper reviews the previous research literature on children and the internet. The paper then provides the research questions, research design, and findings from the study.\nRelated studies: Children's web searching\nResearch objectives: The broad aim of our research is to:* investigate young children's web interactions as lived experience at home and in the classroom context;* increase fundamental knowledge of young children's web searching and information behaviour in their daily lives;* develop models for curriculum and research direction in web interaction and information behaviour for use in education contexts. the specific objective of the study reported in this paper is to:* explore young children's web searching in the preparatory year classroom context. We are conducting further studies in both the classroom and home context for young children's web interactions.\nResearch design: Data collection\nResults: Young children's web searching\nDiscussion: Our study produced important findings and insights into web searching by young children in a preparatory school context. Previous studies (Bilal, 1998; Bilal and Kirby, 2002) show older children preferred browsing and did limited querying. Our results show children who are four to five years old interact with web search engines by both browsing and creating web queries. The young children also created web queries in question format and reformulated their web queries. The findings of our exploratory study show that young children were sometimes performing complex web search interactions at the level of some adult web searchers. The young children also used some cognitive abilities such as relevance judgments, multitasking, successive searching, and collaborative behaviours, at the level of some adult web searchers.Our analysis showed that the young children were seeking information on complex information problems such as endangered species. In addition, the young children searched on multiple problems during a single search session or over multiple related sessions - successive searching. This information problem batching process included priority/ordering of information problems and was influenced by their level of personal interest and the classroom curriculum.Technoliteracy\nConclusion and further research: The findings reported in this paper provide significant insights into the web search behaviours of young children and form a strong basis for further studies. Young children do engage in complex web searches beyond keyword web queries, including more advanced cognitive abilities than previously thought. Their web search behaviours appear to be different from the behaviours of older children. Further comparative studies are needed to more fully develop models of children's web searching behaviour.We are conducting further studies of young children's web searching and information behaviours. Further research is critically needed to begin to fill out a more life-time view of how people's information behaviours develop and evolve. We are also currently conducting further analysis of the study results from a pedagogy perspective to determine implications for classroom practice.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to report findings from an exploratory study investigating the web interactions and technoliteracy of children in the early childhood years. Previous research has studied aspects of older children's technoliteracy and web searching; however, few studies have analyzed web search data from children younger than six years of age.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study explored the Google web searching and technoliteracy of young children who are enrolled in a \"preparatory classroom\" or kindergarten (the year before young children begin compulsory schooling in Queensland, Australia). Young children were video- and audio-taped while conducting Google web searches in the classroom. The data were qualitatively analysed to understand the young children's web search behaviour.\nFindings: - The findings show that young children engage in complex web searches, including keyword searching and browsing, query formulation and reformulation, relevance judgments, successive searches, information multitasking and collaborative behaviours. The study results provide significant initial insights into young children's web searching and technoliteracy.\nPractical implications: - The use of web search engines by young children is an important research area with implications for educators and web technologies developers.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first study of young children's interaction with a web search engine.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Performance measurement and intranets: a natural partnership	[ "Performance management", "Performance measures", "Strategic management", "Feedback", "Intranets" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: \"At Schwab, we have three possible ratings for employees. The bottom one is never assigned,\" says Maureen Hilts, Vice President of compensation at Charles Schwab & Co. The San Francisco-based discount broker has about 14,200 workers (Ruiz, 2006). That creates a disconnect between what managers write in performance reviews and the reality of how well, or poorly, employees do at helping the company achieve its goals, Stiffler says. He warns that not leveling with people about their performance cements an entitlement mentality. That hampers a company's ability to move forward with a performance management plan, let alone adopt a variable compensation structure in the future (Ruiz, 2006).\nFord and the big picture: Ford Motor Company's development of a luxury model in 1991 provides a good example of the pitfalls of a poor measurement system. Ford's product development team's measurement system, like so many other measurement systems, was a collection of isolated outcome measures that each department's function (styling, body engineering, power train, purchasing, and finance) had used for years. A typical controversy can help highlight the problem. It involved the development of a door handle, which was different from the one traditionally used by Ford. Each functional area viewed the issue from its own perspective. As such, each area made different assumptions about the relative importance of factors contributing to the handle's cost and competitive advantages.Naturally, team members from purchasing and finance thought the handle was too expensive. They felt this because, data they had were those metrics concerning the cost of manufacturing the handle and its warranty cost. Members from design and body engineering claimed that the handle's design was not any more complex than their other handles. They said there was no basis for assuming its warranty cost would be higher, so they felt the cost of manufacturing was the primary cost concern. They then produced a bid from a vendor that showed it would not be any more expensive to make. They also argued that purchasing and finance had not given enough weight to the importance of the handle's design to the car's overall design. Purchasing responded by claiming that handles made by other approved vendors had lower warranty costs than handles made by the vendor who had submitted the bid. A short shouting match ensued, then design and engineering gave up. The old handle remained.What was missing in this process was a common way of communicating critical information and concerns. No one ever asked about the critical outcome, one that should have been part of everyone's perspective. Rather than getting distracted by their own perspective, they should have first begun by trying to decide what measures related to the overall organizational mission critical strategies. The critical information in this case should have been \"Would the new handle increase the ability to compete in the marketplace?\"We will never know, but the new handle might have helped capture enough new savings to offset the higher warranty cost. The use of the old handle was not necessarily the best decision. In fact, reverting back to the old handle added at least one week to the development process (Meyer, 1994, p. 100). The Ford scenario is all too often typical of groups. Little success can come about until a group sits down, defines its vision and purpose, and figures out how to specifically track it. Measuring your critical common concerns is essential to reaching consensus and teamwork. It gives you a way to focus efforts, attitudes, and thinking on key strategic concerns and operational objectives.\nReal-time feedback: Senior management, much like the managers at Ford, usually informs you of what you should be doing. This, more often than not, includes platitudes about improving service, quality, or profits. There may be discussion about past constraints affecting the business, like performance or competitive needs. Expectations are discussed, departmental data are reviewed, budgets are projected, projects assessed, and goals and objectives cited. At best, all of this talk provides a target or destination, but actually getting there is another matter.The problem is that all this talk does not really help people in their daily work lives. What is needed is a way to link strategy to performance. Strategy, objectives, and tactics are fine, but nothing is going to happen at the operational level unless there is a link between what is desired and what is happening. This essential component is big picture feedback. You must have a way of comparing where you are at (reality) to where you need to be (strategy, objectives). Good performance measurement feedback, one that focuses on the big picture, can give group members insight and be a driving force behind creating new tactics to change direction. The more rapid the feedback and integrated the information, the more specific the measurement, the more relevant it can be to the group.Assess the effectiveness of your measurement and feedback by asking yourself the following questions about your big picture:* Is your group making consistent decisions?* Do group members have their priorities straight?* If faced with a critical decision, could they assess the tradeoffs and reach a consensus?* Would they make the right choice that supports their strategy, objectives, or mission?Any effective performance measurement system should provide critical real-time information so the group or organization can answer yes to these questions. Today's intranets have the potential to give you these answers but only if the group uses a performance measurement and feedback system that measures, tracks, and displays important processes and outcome measures.Intranet technology has a potential far beyond simply being used to store information. It can also help encourage coordinated actions and thinking because organizational members can continually see on their own desktop, at a glance, where the group's performance is at and knows what is needed to reach an objective. The intranet can be used to continually track what is going on and provide real-time feedback on the status of mission critical objectives. It can show employees the big picture in real-time.Intranets can help group members grasp the big picture in terms of performance in a rapid enough manner that they can change directions. It can also be used to provide continuous feedback on a daily or weekly basis so that behavior can be corrected. Current company internet technology can be used, along with supporting software, to display essential information so all can more easily grasp the big picture and see what is needed.Software solutions: enterprise performance management\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explain how the intranet can be used to improve performance measurement and management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper is a reflective in nature with a need tool to help managers manage.\nFindings: - The importance of measuring performance and setting standards is well known. A good performance measurement system helps groups, departments, or organizations communicate their current situation and future needs. Therefore, it is critical to measure the right things and to provide critical real-time information to decision makers. Today's intranets have the potential solve these issues.\nOriginality/value: - The paper offers insights into how intranets can aid performance measurement.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of leadership on trust, knowledge management, and organizational performance: A research model	[ "Knowledge management", "Leadership", "Organizational performance", "Trust" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: A large body of research has focused on the impact of trust on knowledge management and organizational performance (e.g. Politis, 2003; Lee and Choi, 2003; Choi et al., 2008; Paliszkiewicz and Koohang, 2013; Paliszkiewicz et al., 2014). These studies have documented a positive relationship among the three variables of trust, knowledge management and organizational performance. Paliszkiewicz et al. (2015) postulated that within organizations, effective leadership results in increased trust that brings about sound knowledge management and leads to successful organizational performance. There are many studies that have researched the positive impact of leadership on performance, teamwork and/or trust (e.g. Wang et al., 2014; McColl-Kennedy and Anderson, 2002; Lee et al., 2011; Schaubroeck et al., 2011). Additionally, Srivastava et al. (2006) investigated the roles of knowledge sharing and team efficacy in relation to empowering leadership and team performance. The authors concluded that empowering leadership was positively related to knowledge sharing and team efficacy that subsequently impacted positive team performance. The motivation to undertake the present study emerges from the need for research to include the element of leadership when studying trust, knowledge management and organizational performance. Our aim is to demonstrate whether effective leadership stands as the foundation of the elevated trust, the successful knowledge management processes and the enhanced organizational performance. Therefore, the primary goal of this study is to build a research model proposing that within organizations, effective leadership elevates trust among employees. Subsequently, the elevated trust among employees contributes to the successful implementation of the knowledge management processes. Accordingly, the successful knowledge management processes enhance organizational performance. Consistent with its goal, this paper is organized as follows. First, a review of the literature covers leadership and its characteristics, trust and its vital role among people within organizations, knowledge management definitions and its processes, and organizational performance and its indicators. Next, the research model is presented. The model builds six constructs or latent variables (LVs). Each LV contains several associated characteristics or indicators with their operational definitions. These are leadership: leading organization, leadership: leading people, leadership: leading self, trust, knowledge management and organizational performance. Afterward, we state the study's hypotheses based on the research model. The methodology follows the study's hypotheses and includes an explanation of the instrument, the population sample, study procedure and data analysis techniques used to test the hypotheses. Finally, results, discussion of findings and implications for future research complete the paper.\n2. Review of literature: 2.1 Leadership\n3. Purpose of the study and hypotheses development: The purpose of this study was to build a research model that examines the impact of leadership (leading organization, leading people and leading self) on trust, knowledge management and organizational performance. Figure 1 shows the research model. The model includes six constructs or LVs. These LVs are LO=leadership (leading organization), LP=leadership (leading people), LS=leadership (leading self), T=trust, KM=knowledge management and OP=organizational performance.\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Survey Instrument\n5. Results: 5.1 Establishing convergence validity\n6. Discussion: This study was undertaken to build a research model that included six constructs or LVs. The constructs were leadership (leading organization, leading people and leading self), trust, knowledge management and organizational performance. Through path analysis, the study endeavored to test five hypotheses. H1-H3 included three leadership constructs and the trust construct, stating that the effective leadership, i.e. leading organization, leading people and leading self (each separately) positively and significantly contributes to the elevated trust within organizations. H4 stated that the elevated trust within organizations positively and significantly contributes to the successful knowledge management processes. H5 stated that the successful knowledge management processes positively and significantly contribute to the enhanced organizational performance. The five hypotheses were tested using PLS path modeling technique.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build a research model that examines the impact of leadership on trust, knowledge management and organizational performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An instrument containing six constructs (leadership: leading organization; leadership: leading people; leadership: leading self, trust, knowledge management and organizational performance) was designed and administered to subjects from all levels of management in various organizations in nine regions of the USA. Collected data were analyzed using partial least squares path modeling to test the hypotheses.\nFindings: The study's findings revealed positive and significant linear connection among leadership (leading organization, leading people and leading self), trust, knowledge management and organizational performance.\nPractical implications: The findings imply that effective leadership (leading organization, leading people and leading self) contributes to elevated trust among people, promotes the successful implementation of knowledge management processes, and in turn enhances organizational performance. Therefore, leadership training and development must be a top strategic priority for any organization.\nOriginality/value: This study enriches the literature by demonstrating that effective leadership stands as the bedrock of the elevated trust, the successful knowledge management processes and the enhanced organizational performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of market orientation dimensions on multinational SBU's strategic performance: An empirical study	[ "International marketing", "Market orientation", "Centralization", "Market intelligence generation", "Resource flexibility", "Responsiveness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Intense competition, rapid technological change, shorter product life cycles, and fast-changing customer needs are characteristics of contemporary markets, and these market traits are magnified when a firm does business globally. Market orientation (MO) has been advocated and recognized as one of the most important strategic orientations in international markets (Cadogan et al., 1999; Cadogan, 2012). Based on a review of the MO literature, it has been argued that a firms' ability to respond quickly and effectively to fast-changing market conditions is the ultimate determinant of its competitive advantage (Chung, 2012; Murray et al., 2007; Sorensen, 2009). Many studies (e.g. Kirca et al., 2005) have treated MO as a composite construct, and explored its relationship with other variables. However, recent studies (e.g. Cadogan, 2012; Chung, 2012) indicate that we may overlook significant relationships by simply investigating MO at the composite level. These studies call for research exploring the effects of the individual MO dimensions on performance.\n2. Background: MO has been conceptualized from both the cultural and the behavioral perspectives (Homburg and Pflesser, 2000). The cultural perspective investigates organizational norms and values that encourage behaviors consistent with MO (Narver and Slater, 1990). The behavioral perspective focusses on organizational activities that are related to the behaviors of generation and dissemination of market intelligence as well as responsiveness to environmental change (e.g. Kohli and Jaworski, 1990). The cultural perspective emphasizes a set of customer-oriented beliefs, values, and market focus philosophies embedded in the firm, however, it has not been shown to directly impact the firm's performance. It is market-oriented behavior that has been shown to drive business success (Homburg and Pflesser, 2000). Therefore, research on the performance-related consequences of MO tends to focus on the behavioral perspective rather than cultural perspective (Cadogan et al., 2012). The present study scrutinizes subtleties of the relationships between the individual dimensions of MO and MNC SBU strategic performance. Therefore, we focus on the behavioral aspect of the construct of MO.\n3. Conceptual development: 3.1 Market intelligence generation and responsiveness\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Research design and sampling frame\n5. Results: Our approach to analyzing the data in this research followed the recommendations of Anderson and Gerbing (1988) in utilizing a two-step confirmatory approach. A measurement model was utilized to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of those constructs measured by reflective scales, while a structural path model was applied to test the proposed hypotheses. The two-step modeling procedure was used to eliminate the possibility of interpretational confounding, and to eliminate the possibility that a good fit on one dimension (structural or measurement) will compensate for a poor fit on the other dimension (Anderson and Gerbing, 1982). Multiple indicator measurement models were used for all reflective constructs to reduce potential ambiguity (Anderson and Gerbing, 1982), and since none of our constructs met the requirements for acceptable single-item measures (Bergkvist and Rossiter, 2007). To test for potential common method variance (CMV) bias we applied Harman's one-factor test to the data. Items for all four reflective constructs were subject to an exploratory factor analysis.\n6. Discussion: This study disaggregates the MO construct (Cadogan, 2012) to investigate the relationship between market intelligence generation and responsiveness, and how responsiveness mediates the effect of intelligence generation and resource flexibilities on a MNC SBU's strategic performance.\n7. Limitations and future research: Though this study provides new insight into the complexity of MO and the role of responsiveness, there are several limitations to the research described here. For example, the sample size of 126 may not have the statistical power necessary to generate more significant findings. One reviewer suggested that a potential moderated mediation relationship might exist with respect to resource flexibilities, responsiveness, and strategic performance. When tested, this relationship was not found to be significant in our sample. Future research may find significant results for this relationship with a larger sample, refined measures or some other technological advance (Table IV).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide new insights into the link between market orientation (MO) and strategic performance by disaggregating the MO construct. With a focus on responsiveness, a crucial element of MO, this research explores antecedents as well as outcomes in the strategic business units (SBUs) of MNCs. The decision-making structure of the firm was modeled as a moderator of the link between responsiveness and performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey data from upper level managers employed by 126 MNC SBUs representing 23 industries were collected.\nFindings: The key findings indicate that: responsiveness mediates the link between intelligence generation and strategic performance; responsiveness also mediates the link between resource flexibility and strategic performance; and the link between responsiveness and strategic performance is moderated by the SBU's decision-making structure (i.e. centralization).\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the conceptual precision of the composite construct MO, and also illustrates an avenue to increase strategic performance. Managerially, it provides managers with prescriptive suggestions for leveraging the value of the elements of MO with respect to the firm's decision-making structure.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating local vulnerability and organisational resilience to frequent flooding in Africa: the case of Northern Cameroon	[ "Vulnerability", "Disaster management", "Adaptive capacity" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Climate change is one of the greatest dangers facing humanity this century that deserves our immediate attention (Phil, 2018). There is discernible climate change induced increase in the frequency and intensity of floods in cities worldwide (Dobraszczyk, 2017; IPCC, 2014). Despite unprecedented breakthroughs in scientific and technological knowledge, damages/losses from frequent flooding are rising worldwide and are not so far countered sufficiently by adequate disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies (UNISDR, 2015). This is principally due to lack of adequate knowledge, weak understanding of vulnerabilities to hazards/disasters and unsatisfactory mitigation strategies (Twigg, 2009). Moreover, the impact of flooding is disproportionate in global terms, with developing countries hit the hardest (CRED/UNISDR, 2016). Hence, understanding the different dimensions of vulnerability and resilience to natural hazards remains a continual challenge (Menoni et al., 2012). As climate change causes the world to be progressively unsafe, it is imperative to apply future-oriented measures to identify the impacts of future disasters (Ardeshir and Katayoun, 2018).\n2. Conceptual basis: vulnerability, resilience and adaptive capacity within the context of natural hazards: In recent years, three terms are often used and associated repeatedly and often interchangeably with studies of flooding - namely, vulnerability, resilience and AC. Nevertheless, these three terms have become broad terminology lacking unified definitions (Wisner et al., 2012). It is thus appropriate to set out the conceptual landscape of this article and in particular the value of using Gallopin's conceptual framework as a way to link the three concepts.\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Case study: study areas in Northern Cameroon\n4. Research findings: Two vulnerability types - social and physical - as well as organisational resilience within Cameroon's DM framework (Figure 8) are important for analysis. They represent the focus of the \"capacity of response\" in the Cameroon case. Addressing these issues requires understanding of the hazards in northern Cameroon (frequent flooding) in addition to identifying opportunities for reducing community vulnerability within Cameroon's DM framework.\n5. Discussion and conclusions: This article has used Gallopin's (2006) vulnerability model to provide a reliable diagnosis of vulnerability and resilience to frequent flooding in northern Cameroon. Research findings have unveiled the outstanding physical vulnerability of the region and with it the high degree of sensitivity and exposure to hazards. Often cited were concerns over the location of weak houses in flood prone areas, and the fragile state of the hydraulic infrastructures. The findings also show the imprint of such extreme physical vulnerabilities on Gallopin's \"capacity to response\" when applied to Cameroon. Although the government blamed an inability to address the physical vulnerabilities due to limited financial resources (Saborio-Bejarano and Mora-Castro, 2012; World Bank, 2013), in reality, government's negligence, incompetence and corruption are to be blamed.\n6. Recommendations: The recommendations are based on the findings, analysis and discussions and focus on enhancing \"capacity of response\" via reducing vulnerabilities, managing resilience and enhancing AC. The following recommendations are based on addressing physical vulnerability:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate local vulnerability and organisational resilience including coping/adaptive capacity to climate risks, specifically frequent flooding in Northern Cameroon.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research is exploratory/deductive and draws upon qualitative methods, secondary and empirical techniques supplemented by semi-structured qualitative interviews with senior disaster managers. Secondary information sources, which include peer review articles, government reports/plans, newspaper articles and other grey literature, enhanced the analysis.\nFindings: The research findings have unveiled the physical and social vulnerability of Northern Cameroon to frequent flooding. Results also show that institutional performance for flood management in Cameroon is ineffective, and adaptive capacity is highly deficient. Cameroon's legislative framework for flood management is weak, and this exacerbates the poor implementation of structural and non-structural flood management measures. Results also indicate issues with relief, evacuation and foreign assistance in flood management. Recommendations that focus on enhancing capacity of response to frequent flooding via reducing vulnerabilities, managing resilience and enhancing adaptive capacity are provided.\nOriginality/value: Using Gallopin's (2006) model of vulnerability, this paper makes a distinct contribution by offering insights into the role of adaptive capacity in disaster management systems in developing (African) countries via an evaluation of vulnerabilities and organisational resilience to repeated flooding in Northern Cameroon.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Analysis of performance on a modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for the military	[ "Military", "Cognitive flexibility", "Non-perseverative errors", "Wargaming", "Wisconsin Card Sorting Test", "Working memory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The US Army published its operating concept which describes how the Army will operate at the strategic, operational and tactical level without knowing much about the future environment, location and enemy (USA Department of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, 2014). To accomplish this objective, the training for Army officers must focus on adaptive decision-making through realistic training in actual and virtual environments (USA Department of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, 2014). According to Army doctrine, a key conceptual component for Army leader's intellectual ability is mental agility. Mentally agile leaders can anticipate and adapt to a given situation to make the best decision (USA Department of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, 2012). For example, the type of operations executed in Iraq and Afghanistan required military leaders to daily assess the situation in their environment and make the necessary changes to their tactics for survival (Brown, 2007; Hartman, 2008; Mulbury, 2007). In psychology and neuroscience, this ability is known as cognitive flexibility and has been tested in multiple laboratory environments (Vartanian and Mandel, 2011). Although there are laboratory-based tests that measure cognitive flexibility, they are not directly applicable to military training needs (Perla, 1990). Thus, the purpose of this study was to:\nMethod: Participants\nMeasures: Demographic survey. Age, gender, service branch, rank and deployment experience were captured in the demographic survey.\nProcedures: The institution's IRB approved the study. Participants attended the laboratory individually for a single testing session. They first completed the approved consent form, then the demographic survey, Trails A and B and Digit Span tests. Participants then sat at a standard desk and completed the computerized map task as if they were informing, yet removed from, tactical operations from a military operations center. Finally, participants completed the post-task survey questionnaire.\nResults: Table I shows the summary statistics of the map task results. Performance on most measures is consistent with results from the original WCST including a sample of veterans of similar age to our participants (Shan et al., 2008; Shura et al., 2015). However, percentage of non-perseverative error was higher than that of previous studies (Shan et al., 2008): mean of 20.86 per cent (SD = 13.57 per cent).\nDiscussion: Military operations require leaders to have agile and adaptive decision-making skills. However, current military training typically does not focus on training cognitive functions necessary for optimal decision-making, such as cognitive flexibility. The purpose of this study was to create a military relevant measure of cognitive flexibility and to understand underlying mechanisms in variability in cognitive flexibility performance that could aid military decision-making training. Toward meeting these goals, we modified the WCST into the military relevant map task. Although adequate performance was met regarding percentage of correct responses and number of rules obtained, we were surprised by the high frequency of non-preservative errors compared to studies using the original WCST (Nelson, 1976; Ozonoff, 1995; Barcelo and Knight, 2002; Kado et al., 2012). The high frequency of non-perseverative errors cannot be explained by poor working memory or processing speed. Thus, this performance measure required a more detailed analysis.\nLimitations: This study had several limitations. First, the participants were a sample of convenience that consisted primarily of military officers attending the Naval Postgraduate School. Further studies should examine cognitive flexibility among a wider range of military personnel ranks and career fields. Second, we neither did use the original WCST to determine the initial perseverative tendencies of the participants nor did we ask subjects about their perseveration strategy on the post-task survey. Later, studies can use either the original WCST or a suitable alternative test, to determine the participant's perseverative tendencies and the post-task survey for the map task can capture the perseveration strategy used by the map task participants. Finally, research is needed to determine the specific relationship between expertise and cognitive flexibility with regards to military training. This is important because some studies have indicated that both experts and novices have a tendency toward cognitive entrenchment especially when faced with repetitive situations (Chi, 2006; Dane, 2010; Lewandowsky et al., 2007; Sternberg, 1996). In other words, experts and novices can have tendencies to follow certain patterns of thought with little to no interest in exploring alternatives when a new alternative could provide a better solution. It is not clear, however, that this conclusion applies to experts in general. Other research, for instance, shows that experts can overcome this bias with a greater level of experience (Bilalic et al., 2008; Rabinowitz, 1993). Research in this area would help to provide more insight in how to identify these tendencies and train military members on how to become more cognitively agile in new and dynamic environments.\nConclusion: In sum, adaptive decision-making ability, specifically cognitive flexibility, is an essential trait for military leaders to possess. This study was the first of its type to address this gap of knowledge by adapting the WCST, a well-known measure of cognitive flexibility, for a military context. We specifically focused on the set switching and set maintenance executive functions. The implications of this study are that:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Current Army doctrine stresses a need for military leaders to have the capability to make flexible and adaptive decisions based on a future unknown environment, location and enemy. To assess a military decision maker's ability in this context, this paper aims to modify the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test which assesses cognitive flexibility, into a military relevant map task. Thirty-four military officers from all service branches completed the map task.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The purpose of this study was to modify a current psychological task that measures cognitive flexibility into a military relevant task that includes the challenge of overcoming experiential bias, and understand underlying causes of individual variability in the decision-making and cognitive flexibility behavior of active duty military officers on this task.\nFindings: Results indicated that non-perseverative errors were a strong predictor of cognitive flexibility performance on the map task. Decomposition of non-perseverative error into efficient errors and random errors revealed that participants who did not complete the map task changed their sorting strategy too soon within a series, resulting in a high quantity of random errors.\nOriginality/value: This study serves as the first step in customizing cognitive psychological tests for a military purpose and understanding why some military participants show poor cognitive flexibility.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The relation of socio-ecological factors to adolescents' health-related behaviour: A literature review	[ "Behaviour", "Health", "School", "Adolescent", "Inequality", "Social class and gender" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Adolescents' health-related behaviour has raised serious concerns. Health behaviours have become more complicated and connected to socio-ecological factors such as daily life relationships, economic resources and possibilities provided by family, peers, school and the neighbourhood. These factors play an important role in adolescent health (Mackenbach et al., 2008; Viner et al., 2012).\nMethods: We gathered previous scientific research to provide an integrated overview of the current state of knowledge. Our review was conducted systematically in phases, following the systematic review process described by Hawker et al. (2002). We planned all phases to minimise errors and ensure reproducibility.\nResults: Most of the studies were from Europe (n=58) and America (n=23). The rest were from Australia (n=4), New Zealand (n=1), Africa (n=1) and Asia (n=3). The overwhelming majority (n=87) used quantitative methods, but the selection also included three (3) qualitative articles and one (1) mixed-method study. Quantitative research used cross-sectional (n=77) or longitudinal (n=13) study designs. The studies included various types of health-related behaviour or outcomes and some publications related to more than one type. Articles discussed four different types of adolescent health-related behaviours and outcomes, namely, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity and eating behaviour. We present these themes below in detail based on the separately conducted content analysis. In conclusion, these analyses have been written on narrative synthesis.\nDiscussion: This review of a systematically selected set of studies allows us to draw tentative conclusions but has not produced a clear picture of the role of socio-ecological inequality in health-related behaviour in adolescence. It is clear that ecological, material and social circumstances relate to adolescents' health-related behaviours, but, as expected, the picture is not complete and there are some inconsistencies in the available evidence. Nonetheless, our analysis indicated that there was considerable scientific interest in adolescent health-related behaviours and health inequality.\nConclusions: The findings suggest that adolescents' health-related behaviour is related to family background. However peer group motivation has also a significant impact, particularly on the issue of smoking habits. Our review discovered three important results. First, family background and peers' smoking strongly influenced smoking among adolescents. Smoking prevention programmes in schools with close collaboration with families are, therefore, all the more important. Second, unhealthy behaviour including smoking, irregular eating habits and sedentary lifestyle were more common in lower social class families. On view of these findings, it is important to take into account socio-ecological factors when school health education is developed and implemented. Health education should be effective in influencing attitudes among adolescents' health and health-related issues. After all, the promotion of health factors in schools offers an opportunity for close co-operation between home and school offering equality in health and a growing possibility in preventing less fortunate health problems later in life. Lastly, girls were found to be more vulnerable to socio-ecological disparities than boys. Therefore, particular attention should be placed on girls whilst developing and implementing health promotion strategies and policies in schools.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe adolescents' health-related behaviours from a socio-ecological perspective. Socio-ecological factors have been widely shown to be related to health behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and diet) in adolescence and to affect health. The review integrates evidence with socio-ecological factors (social relationships, family, peers, schooling and environment).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data were collected from electronic databases and by manual search consisting of articles (n=90) published during 2002-2014. The selected articles were analysed using inductive content analysis and narrative synthesis.\nFindings: The findings suggest that there was a complex set of relations connected to adolescent health behaviours, also encompassing socio-ecological factors. The authors tentatively conclude that socio-ecological circumstances influence adolescents' health-related behaviour, but that this review does not provide the full picture. There seemed to be certain key factors with a relation to behavioural outcomes that might increase health inequality among adolescents.\nPractical implications: School health education is an important pathway for interventions to reduce unhealthy behaviours among adolescents including those related to socio-ecological factors.\nOriginality/value: Some socio-ecological factors were strongly related to health behaviours in adolescence, which may indicate an important pathway to current and future health. This paper may help schoolteachers, nurses and other school staff to understand the relationships between socio-ecological factors and health-related behaviours, which may be useful in developing health education to reduce health disparities during adolescence.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Women customers in pubs: still a business opportunity	[ "Pubs", "Brewing", "History", "Women", "Customers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Barry Davis (1981, p. 2) a former architect for a major brewing company, believed that pubs exist for the \"social drinking\" and \"other purposes, such as eating or entertainment\" were incidental. However, many pubs, especially those in town and city centres have offered food for centuries. It could be possible to claim that \"the role of a public house is to provide some form of drink, food or entertainment or any combination of the three\" (Mansukhani, 1985, p. 5). In a study of the pubs of Bolton in 1938, Mass Observation (1970, p. 108) concluded that \"no 'typical' pub exists\". The Errol Report on Liquor Licensing (1972) agreed as \"it is impossible to generalise about the public house. Everyone has his own ideal image. For some, the term conjured up a vision of an old country pub, a city discotheque or a dockland bar.... They tend to reflect the social tastes and requirements of a particular neighbourhood and the extent to which people are prepared to pay for these\". The report noted \"a general trend towards public houses with an increasing number of facilities for refreshments and leisure\". In other words, the public house was adapting to the needs of its customers. Another change lies in the clientele. At the beginning of the 20th century, most pubs were drinking dens for male workers from both skilled and unskilled occupations (often referred to as \"the working class\"). A 100 years later, they catered for a wide range of customers, with many specialising in food, or entertainment, or even families. Some working class women did frequent pubs in 1900; by 2000, most women could claim to be at least occasional visitors. The opportunity remains to increase female usage.\nWomen customers up to 1939: London's The People of the Abyss (1903) was set in the East end of London, where the working class lived. Poor living conditions drove many to the pub, with drink and drunkenness, a common feature. Mass Observation (1970, p. 17) noted that in Bolton in 1938, \"more people spend more time in public houses than they do in any other buildings except private houses and workplaces\". These pubs were frequented by regular groups of drinkers, who probably lived locally and used whichever room most satisfied their needs. Male customers would predominate and youngsters would not be common. The main purpose of a pub was for men to meet, talk and drink beer. In Bolton, only 16 per cent of customers were female. Indeed, many people held an \"image of a pub as a dingy, male-dominated drinking den\" (Knowles and Egan, 2002).The interior of the pub offered indications about the gender of the clientele. Richardson and Eberlein (1925, p. 25) described the furnishings and organisation of a typical outlet, which would have several rooms, each designed for a different type of drinker. The vault, also known as the \"sawdust parlour\", saloon, smoke room, or the public bar, was often reserved for men only. It usually offered minimal seating, such as fixed wooden benches along the walls and a stone floor. The tap room was regularly used as a games room, so it had tables and stools as well as benches. The lounge (as it was known in the bigger and better pubs) or parlour (as it was often called in the smaller pubs) was sometimes referred to as \"the best room\", \"the music room\", the bar parlour, the concert room or the snug. It attracted the female customers. Beer was a penny a pint more expensive here. It would be better decorated than the other rooms and have features such as a fireplace and mantelpiece, with a mirror and pictures on the walls. Benches, stools, tables and even chairs would be available. It might have a wooden blocked floor and a piano for entertainment. Some pubs would even have a small room, or \"snug\" which was exclusively for women.Married women were most likely to be seen in pubs on a Saturday. The Mass Observation (1970, p. 143) study of Bolton also recorded that the male customers would be better dressed on that night when they would often arrive with their partners. The men would traditionally retire to the bar to talk to their male friends, leaving the women in lounge. They would pay for the woman's drinks, joining her later (Mass Observation, 1970, pp. 143-7). Pubs were not comfortable places, and this would have discouraged many potential female customers. The National Secretary of the Catering Section of the Transport and General Workers' Union described the conditions in Bolton pubs as \"deplorable in the old houses, being overcrowded, badly ventilated, verminous\" (Mass Observation, 1970, p. 53). The toilets were usually primitive affairs, often across a yard, and they seldom boasted even a wash basin.In order to attract trade, some breweries had begun to improve their houses in the hope of attracting more female customers. Between 1922 and 1930, PS21 million was spent on 20,000 pubs (Gourvish and Wilson, 1994). These pubs \"laid emphasis on such things as serving meals, providing gardens, encouraging wives to come with their husbands, selling soft drinks as well as alcohol and generally being suitable places for a respectable family outing in the new family car. They were often very large and were built with big car parks out of the town centres\" (Girouard, 1984, p. 220). They often reflected Tudor or Georgian styles, and attempted to move away from the traditional all-male tradition of \"vertical drinking\". The depression slowed down this development, and it was ended by the outbreak of war.1945-2000\nConclusion: The changes in the licensing laws and other legal developments in the licensed trade, together with other social phenomena, have ensured greater equality for women, both as customers and as managers. In this dynamic environment there are improved changes in facilities deemed more suitable for female customers although there is still some way to go as far as the experience is concerned. Products in the alcohol and non-alcohol range have been developed which move away from the stereotypical beer outlet. Post-war demographics indicate that women comprise a large and significant sector of the potential market. In recent years, many outlets have made a conscious effort to attract female customers. For example, catering has expanded and improved, and most pubs now offer menus that could attract the figure conscious and the gourmet, as opposed to the more traditional \"chips with everything\". Family pubs and entertainment will be attractive to many customers, and thus might attract more female customers. Indeed, there are more female licensees, who might create atmospheres which attract female customers. However, there is still scope to provide and manage a better service experience for women. The increase of women in charge and their impact on the trade will be an important factor in examining the changing nature of the licensed house experience and operation both now and in the future. There is still a potential to identify, develop and effect an experience which positively fulfils the needs of female customers. Successful completion of this taps a valuable niche market, which, at present, is underdeveloped. From the research factors emerge to assist in achieving this aim:* Ensure that female customers feel safe on the premises.* Recruit an appropriate balance of staff to assist in this process.* Train staff to appreciate the sensitivities of female customers.* Provide a sympathetic environment that is none threatening with seats, clean tables and toilets.* Allow a clear serving point at the bar where female customers will not be deterred from ordering drinks or provide some form of service.* Promote events which are not perceived as a male preserve, e.g. the pub quiz, mixed teams etc.* Develop, where possible, parents and tots groups with play areas for children.* Maintain a product range which is attractive to women.* Be forceful regarding the behaviour and attitude of male customers.* Embrace the female customers as part of the pub clientele rather than as a tolerated segregated minority.To achieve some or all of these would meet strategic business objectives of all the stakeholders. In particular licensees need to appreciate the total scope of equal opportunities for all their customers in the service industries under the Human Rights Act and subsequent legislation. To ignore this would decrease the customer base and could have legal implications as well if the conduct of the licensee amounts to discrimination. Furthermore accommodating female customers is seen to be socially acceptable, desirable and responsible business activity as the licensed trade continues into the 21st century.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aim of this paper was to outline the changes in the 20th century public house, where the simultaneous development of pub products and facilities and a changing environment have encouraged a growth of the female customer.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - There has been a heavy use of secondary sources drawn from the whole of the period studied. This has been augmented by discussions with licensees, retired licensees and older pub customers, to collect their reflections on the industry.\nFindings: - The public house of 60 years ago had a largely male, working class beer drinking clientele. Over the years, it has become accessible to women and children, the hungry and those seeking entertainment. These changes have been effected by the owners, introducing new products and altering the premises, licensees seeking to attract trade, government legislation and external factors. This paper attempts to identify the changes and their causes, with particular reference to the female customer.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The work reports the changes in the industry and examines some of the causes. Further work could examine such causes more carefully, and could include regional studies for comparison purposes.\nPractical implications: - The paper demonstrates the extent of change, and suggests that further women-friendly moves could be welcomed; it further suggests some strategies to develop the female customer base.\nOriginality/value: - The topic could be of interest to the general reader as well as practitioners and students of the hospitality industry. It suggests that pubs can become even more women-friendly, which could represent a business opportunity to some practitioners.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Owned-by and made-in cues: Cognitive and affective dimensions of country of origin effect in immigrant markets	[ "Country of origin", "Immigrant", "Cognitive", "Affective", "Made in", "Owned by" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The business landscape around the world has transformed dramatically, thanks to forces that result in and from globalization (Steenkamp and de Jong, 2010). Globalizing forces such as immigration and the internet routinely expose consumers around the world to a plethora of intercultural, cross-cultural and transcultural consumption situations (Aichner, 2014). In this culturally complex and symbolically congested marketplace, managers often draw on country of origin (COO) cues to differentiate their brands. In fact, COO is, arguably, of greater relevance and importance in today's global consumer culture (Papadopoulos et al., 2018), defined as the entrenchment of the principles of consumer culture (i.e. the organization of consumer life around market principles) in most places around the world in globalizing and creolizing ways (see Arnould, 2019). Although the COO literature asserts that consumers prefer products associated with developed countries, a growing body of research suggests that these preferences are not always as straightforward as previously suggested (Grier et al., 2006; Nguyena and Nguyen, 2014).\nConceptual development: COO effect\nMethod and analysis: Design and instrument\nAnalyses and results: Given the use of established scales in this study, the underlying structure was checked using CFA (see Table II). Two CFA models were tested, one with the country image specified as three first-order latent variables, and the other linking those three variables to a second-order country image construct. Although each of these models showed a good fit to the data, the latter was superior (CFI=0.95, RMSEA=0.067, PNFI=0.76, PCFI=0.78). Convergent validity of the scales was satisfied as coefficients of items were higher than twice their standard errors; standardized factor loadings were all above 0.70; and AVEs were all above 0.50. Discriminant validity was also satisfactory as each AVE was greater than the square of the corresponding inter-factor correlations (see Table II; Fornell and Larcker, 1981). The manipulation of the cognitive dimension of COO was confirmed using country image ratings. Respondents attributed significantly greater country image (i.e. political, economic and technological development) to Germany (M=6.58) and the USA (M=6.63) than China (M=2.83) and Mexico (M=2.05; p in all four contrasts<0.001). The affective dimension of COO, which was manipulated via the first-generation Mexican American status, was checked using three indirect measures and one direct measure presented respectively as follows: first, all of the 261 respondents who moved past the screenings and identity checks reported Mexico as their place of birth, and the USA as their primary country of residence. Second, years lived in the home country (Mexico) ranged from 11 to 32, with a mean of 19 years; and years lived in the host country (USA) ranged from 10 to 31, with a mean of 22 years. Third, the most recent visit to Mexico was made \"within the last five years\" and lasted between 2 days and 32 days. Last, and most importantly, all respondents strongly identified with Mexico (M=5.87) and the USA (M=5.61), but not with Germany (M=1.47) or China (M=1.22; p in all four contrasts<0.001). Since the first three of these measures (indirect measures) were consistent with the latter (direct) measure, the manipulation of the affective dimension of COO was deemed successful.\nDiscussion: This study extends the body of work (e.g. Shoham et al., 2017; Cleveland and Bartsch, 2018; Stottinger and Penz., 2018) that revisits marketing concepts while recognizing the dynamism and multiplicity of consumer identity. More specifically, it extends the nascent literature that bridges the gulf between the conventional COO research and the increasingly multicultural nature of the marketplace (e.g. Visbal et al., 2017; El Banna et al., 2018; Papadopoulos, 2018). Our conceptual development disentangles the cognitive and affective dimensions of the COO effect. By juxtaposing situations where immigrants' home and/or host countries are involved in the COO cues against situations where they are not, this study explicates how the affective dimension may produce a positive impact that matches that of the cognitive dimension and how the impact of the two dimensions may combine to exert an even stronger, synergistic influence on immigrants.\nTheoretical implications: Consumer identity has been viewed as a unidimensional and homogenous entity in traditional COO research, a fact that hinders the pertinence of that literature to the increasingly multicultural composition of twenty-first century societies (Klein et al., 1998; Mihailovich, 2006; Penaloza, 1994). Our findings are a call to go beyond such static conceptualizations of consumer identity, embrace marketplace multiculturalism, and recognize that consumer identity, today, is far more malleable and transitory than previously thought. Similarly, Cleveland and Bartsch (2018) recommend that scholars shift away from dichotomous conceptualizations of local vs global consumption and instead shed light on consumer behavior as it unfolds routinely in today's global consumer culture. These calls are being answered by an emerging stream of research that examines immigrant, or otherwise multicultural, consumers. For example, Papadopoulos et al. (2017) examine Egyptian Canadians and reveal the ways in which immigrants simultaneously integrate products from their home and host countries in a continual process of constructing and displaying their unique identities. Moreover, recognizing the preoccupation of the literature with the upward pattern of migration (consumers who move from developing to developed countries), Zolfagharian et al. (2017) investigate COO with regard to different patterns of migration.\nManagerial implications: Our findings have multiple practical implications for managers. First and foremost, managers whose understanding is shaped primarily by the conventional theories and findings of the COO literature are encouraged to revisit their knowledge base in the context of multicultural and plural societies of the twenty-first century (Steenkamp and de Jong, 2010). Although the conventional COO literature draws managers' attention to such notions as country image and consumer ethnocentrism, our findings join other global consumer culture studies that highlight the need to embrace the ethnic, immigrant, bicultural and multicultural facets of contemporary society (Camarota, 2012; Suro and Passel, 2003). These studies demonstrate how immigrants differ from monocultural consumers who, to this date, make up the overwhelming majority of study subjects in the COO literature. Therefore, a first crucial step is for managers to remain mindful of the context-specificity of prior COO findings and pursue the nascent stream of COO research whose concepts and designs are congruent with today's global consumer culture.\nLimitations and future research: Two of the limitations of this study pertain to sampling. First, our Mexican American respondents were recruited using convenience sampling. Future research should corroborate our results using samples that are more representative of target populations. Second, Mexican Americans represent an upward migration pattern, i.e. migration from a developing to a developed country. Migration pattern is an important dimension to consider when researchers determine the contextual underpinnings of their empirical studies. The findings from the context of upward migration should be compared across other migration patterns, including downward (from a developed to a developing country) and lateral (between two developed or two developing countries). Doing so will not only extend the existing knowledge about the COO effect, but also deepen our understanding of immigrants and their acculturation experiences (Luedicke, 2015; Shoham et al., 2017).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the cognitive and affective dimensions of COO and the owned-by/made-in cue combinations in first-generation immigrant markets.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The cognitive and affective dimensions were manipulated in a scenario-based experiment administered on 261 Mexican Americans in three product categories.\nFindings: The cognitive and affective dimensions each have a distinct impact. When the two dimensions combine, the effect is stronger within the specialty product category, followed by the shopping product category, and, to a lesser extent, in the convenience product category.\nResearch limitations/implications: The cognitive dimension was represented by the country's degree of political, economic and technological development, whereas the affective dimension was traced by examining immigrants who identify with the emotional and symbolic meanings associated with countries involved in the country of origin (COO) message.\nPractical implications: Managers should pursue emerging COO research whose concepts and designs are congruent with today's global consumer culture. The authors find support for the stand-alone effects of made-in and owned-by COO cues, as well as the effects of the cognitive and affective dimensions of COO. When COO messages combine both made-in and owned-by cues, the cognitive and affective dimensions may work synergistically, depending on the product category.\nOriginality/value: This study adds to the nascent literature that recognizes the multiplicity of consumer identities, and bridges the gulf between the conventional COO research and the increasingly multicultural nature of the marketplace.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Open kitchen vs closed kitchen: Does kitchen design affect customers' causal attributions of the blame for service failures?	[ "Service failure", "Mediation", "Attribution", "Circumstantial cue", "Open kitchen" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Restaurants resort to a diverse array of strategic actions to cope with service failures. Service failures, the perceived gravity of which ranges from the trivial (e.g. short delay) to the serious (e.g. food poisoning) (Namkung and Jang, 2010; Palmer et al., 2000), can result in serious negative consequences, such as customer dissatisfaction and discontinuing patronage (Ha and Jang, 2009). Restaurants are thus eager to prevent service failures and pacify dissatisfied customers who experience service failures. For example, restaurants can meticulously monitor service delivery procedures to prevent critical service failures. If a service failure occurs, an immediate apology, sometimes coupled with monetary compensation, can be used as a service recovery action (Mattila, 1999; Smith et al., 1999).\nLiterature review: Service failures in restaurants\nMethodology: This study adopted a 2 (cause of service failure: easily observable vs difficult-to-observe) x 2 (kitchen design: open vs closed) between-subject experiment to analyze customers' attributions and responses (Rashid et al., 2016). Furthermore, the mediation effect of attribution on the relationships between the interaction of service failure and kitchen type and customers' responses was examined using regression and Sobel tests (Baron and Kenny, 1986; Sobel, 1982). All assumptions of the statistical analysis were satisfied.\nResults: Profile\nDiscussion and conclusions: Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to investigate, when a service failure occurs, whether circumstantial cues could be used to encourage more positive responses by customers toward restaurants through the mediation of causal attribution.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A 2 (cause of service failure: easily observable vs difficult-to-observe) x 2 (kitchen design: open vs closed) between-subject experiment is used to analyze customers' causal attributions of service failures and resultant responses.\nFindings: When a service failure whose cause is easy to identify occurs, customers at open-kitchen restaurants show more negative responses than those at closed-kitchen restaurants because they are likely to attribute the responsibility to the restaurant. Attribution is confirmed to mediate the relationship between the interaction of service failure by kitchen design and customers' responses.\nPractical implications: Diverse circumstantial cues should be actively used to encourage more positive responses by customers. The mediating role of causal attribution should be considered in managing customers' responses toward service failures.\nOriginality/value: This study finds that circumstantial cues could be useful in dealing with service failures in restaurants by confirming the mediating role of causal attribution.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Inquiry into corporate brand alignment: a dialectical analysis and directions for future research	[ "Alignment", "Systematic literature review", "Corporate brand", "Corporate identity", "Dialectical analysis" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this issue.\nIntroduction: Wherever there is movement, wherever there is life, wherever anything is carried into effect in the actual world, there Dialectic is at work. It is also the soul of all knowledge which is truly scientific.\nMethodology: To identify and rigorously systematize the studies assessing corporate brand alignment, an SLR based on reproducible steps that allow the linking of future research to questions and concerns posed by the past has been considered suitable (Cook, 1997; Thorpe et al., 2005; Tranfield et al., 2003). According to Tranfield et al. (2003), the review process followed a three-stage (i.e. planning, conducting and reporting) procedure (Figure 1). Articles retrieved from the SLR provided a rigorous and systematized theoretical basis for the dialectical analysis on corporate brand alignment.\nDescriptive analysis: To provide a clear framework of the evidence base, the descriptive reporting of the 59 identified articles has been organized into two sections: publication activity, and research methods and settings.\nDialectical analysis: Before digging into the dialectical analysis, a clear understanding of the concept of corporate brand and its related constructs is an essential premise to manage the present framework. Firstly, it is important to note that corporate brands differ from product brands. Whilst a product brand focuses on the product and is customer oriented, the corporate brand entails the whole corporation and has to deal with a multiplicity of stakeholders (Balmer and Gray, 2003; Hatch and Schultz, 2003). As such, values tied to a product brand result from consumer research, whereas corporate brand values are closely related to a company's identity and culture (de Chernatony, 2002; Urde, 2003). Consequently, the management of corporate brand is more complex than product management and has a strategic, rather than functional, intent (Knox and Bickerton, 2003; Hatch and Schultz, 2003). For these reasons, corporate brands should be managed, coordinated and controlled by the Chief Executive Officer (Balmer and Gray, 2003; Hatch and Schultz, 2003). Another key aspect related to corporate brand is the corporate identity construct, which lacks a universally accepted definition (Balmer and Soenen, 1999; Melewar et al., 2005) contributing to determine the \"fog\" that characterizes identity studies (Balmer, 2001). Nevertheless, in general, corporate identity has been defined as \"what the organization is\" (Balmer, 2011, p. 1,344), conceiving it as the identity of the firm and strongly related to the company's vision and strategy (Abratt, 1989; Balmer and Soenen, 1999). According to Balmer (2008, p. 894), a corporate brand is \"a distinct identity type\" and performs as an aggregate of espoused values embodied in an organization's corporate identity (Balmer, 2009; Balmer et al., 2009). Thus, there is a strong and bilateral relationship between a corporate brand and its corporate identity (Balmer, 2012). In this context, also of note, is the identity-based view of the corporate brand where the corporate brand identity can be defined as \"a distillation of key corporate identity attributes\" (Balmer, 2009, p. 16).\nDiscussion: This study revealed two key approaches that guided opposite streams of research: \"aligned\" and \"separated\". Scholars in favour of the former sustained that corporate brand success arises when its elements are aligned. Consequently, corporate brand alignment has been conceptualized as a strategic process that requires a continuous and diagnostic gap analysis to verify consistency and coherency between internal and external elements of the corporate brand. Concordantly, Knox and Bickerton (2003, p. 998) defined the corporate brand as the \"visual, verbal expression of an organization's unique and aligned model\" (italicized words have been added to emphasize the concept). Qualitative research was regarded as particularly suitable during the nascent phase of this research area, generating rich explorative insights (Eisenhardt, 1989; Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007; Siggelkow, 2007). In particular, case studies provided a relevant development of corporate brand alignment theory, confirming that corporate brand elements or identity facets should not be managed in isolation but carefully \"orchestrated\" (Balmer and Thompson, 2009; Balmer et al., 2009; Hatch and Schultz, 2003; Schultz and Hatch, 2003), especially for complex situations, such as multiple ownership of the corporate brand, or organizational changes (Balmer et al., 2009; Balmer, 2012; Hatch and Schultz, 2003; Lee, 2013; Merrilees and Miller, 2008).\nConclusions and directions for future research: Guided by the aim of inquiring into conventional and controversial perspectives on corporate branding, this paper provides a dialectical view of the academics' and practitioners' thinking based on 59 retrieved articles from the SLR. In combining the SLR methodology with the Hegelian dialectical analysis, the study offers a rigorous yet progressive framework focused on corporate brand alignment, making two main theoretical contributions: it first exploits the extant literature on corporate brand alignment, and then explores new ways to successfully manage a corporate brand.\nLimitations: The dialectical analysis was based on articles retrieved from an SLR that included only published and peer-reviewed journal articles written in English from the EBSCO and WOS databases. Future research may investigate non-English literature and include additional databases to contribute to this academic field. Furthermore, this research was also limited to the terms used for the search. Nevertheless, although the rigidity of the mechanistic search might have been restricted to the retrieval of publications, the use of the snowball technique may have reduced this limitation and helped in the identification of additional relevant papers.\nManagerial implications: In addition to contributing to the scientific debate, the present study also contributed to the knowledge of practitioners. In fact, the findings suggest that to successfully manage corporate brands, there is no single best way and that the choice among the three alternative approaches should derive from a thorough analysis of corporate brand meanings, stakeholders and contexts. Thus, in favouring a given corporate brand management approach, managers should carefully analyse corporate brand meanings, contexts and stakeholder groups and check if their management of the corporate brand fits these dimensions. Furthermore, they should not only adhere to the chosen model (i.e. aligned, separated and mixed) but also continuously analyse and monitor the development of the corporate brand meanings, stakeholders and contexts. In fact, these constructs might evolve and change over time, determining a potential risk for static models. Therefore, managers are also encouraged to be ready to modify the corporate brand model when the previous one no longer fits the contingent demands of corporate brand meanings, stakeholders and contexts.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of the study is to inquire into and to provide an integrated framework of academics' and practitioners' conversations on corporate brand alignment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review (with no time restrictions) was used to identify relevant journal publications from the years 2000 to 2013. Based on the retrieved articles, the Hegelian dialectic triad of \"thesis, antithesis and synthesis\" was used to inquire into conventional thinking on corporate brand management (i.e. through corporate brand alignment).\nFindings: The final sample of 59 articles brought to light a theory of corporate brand alignment, its recent contradictions and critiques and scholars' attempts to unify them into an integrated framework. Three main perspectives emerged, suggesting that corporate brand could be managed through aligned (i.e. thesis), separated (i.e. antithesis) or mixed approaches (i.e. synthesis).\nResearch limitations/implications: This research considers only English peer-reviewed journal articles retrieved from the EBSCO and WOS databases.\nOriginality/value: This work proposes a contingency approach to corporate brand management, suggesting that there is no single best way of managing a corporate brand: aligned, separated and mixed approaches can be equally successful. Despite the choice of model (which arises from the analysis of the corporate brand meanings, stakeholders and contexts), three transversal corporate brand management imperatives emerged: the delivery of the corporate brand promise, the co-construction of corporate brand meanings and the recognition of the dynamic nature of corporate brands.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Factors influencing Iranian consumers' attitudes toward fast-food consumption	[ "Fast-food Restaurants", "Consumer", "Attitude Surveys", "Isfahan", "CFA", "Convenience food" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Eating patterns worldwide have changed completely, including food choices and preparation (Drewnowski and Specter, 2004). One of these alterations in food consumption patterns is an increase in desire for fast-food consumption (Holmboe-Ottesen, 2000). Fast-food has been defined as a \"general term used for a limited menu of foods that lend themselves to production-line techniques; suppliers tend to specialize in products such as pizzas, hamburgers, chicken, or sandwiches\" (Cimadon et al., 2010). Western fast-food tends to be energy-dense and nutrient poor, which can undermine appetite regulation and may lead to \"passive over-consumption\" (Whitton et al., 2014). This increase in consumption of food-away-from-home may have a profound impact on consumers' health (Kim et al., 2013).\n2. Research method: 2.1 Participants\n3. Results: Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and AMOS (version 20). The data were initially analyzed by SPSS to produce descriptive statistics and the frequency for all variables. With a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the accuracy of measurement model was tested. Finally, correlation and regression analyses were applied to determine which constructs were capable for predicting the attitudes of consumers toward fast-food. The results are described forthcoming.\n4. Discussion and conclusion: Fast-food consumption is one of the manifestations of poor eating patterns. According to the literature review, attitude toward fast-food consumption is one of the main affecting factors in fast-food consumption behavior. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the main affecting factors on attitudes of consumers toward fast-food in Isfahan city, Iran. The results of this study revealed that subjective norms have no influence on the attitudes of the respondents toward fast-food consumption. This result contradicts the findings of Sharifirad et al. (2013), who conducted research in Isfahan among high school students in 2011, which suggested that subjective norms have an indirect effect on fast-food consumption, as well as those of Stok et al. (2015), which found that predicting eating behavior can be accomplished by subjective norm measurement. The results of this study lead to the conclusion that consumers do not, in fact, rely on their subjective norms when evaluating fast-food consumption. Consumers, instead, rely more on trust and health consciousness. Thus, consumers seek out what they believe to be trustworthy fast-food restaurants that they trust will not result in foodborne illness.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Eating patterns around the world have changed considerably, including food choices and preparation. One of these alterations in food consumption patterns is an increase in desire for fast-food consumption, which has been associated with poor diet quality. In order to analyze consumers' food consumption behaviors, it is necessary to account for psychological factors (e.g. attitudes) that shape behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore influencing factors on the attitudes of consumers in Isfahan City toward fast-food consumption, so as to understand why consumers use fast-food despite widespread knowledge of the negative health consequences.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The predominant paradigm of the present study was quantitative, in that it was a correlational survey. The population of this study consisted of consumers who lived in Isfahan city in June 2015. A total sample of 350 people was selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview with the consumers using a researcher-made questionnaire. Analysis was conducted using SPSS (V20) and AMOS (V20) software and a set of correlation and differential tests.\nFindings: The results revealed that \"health consciousness\" and \"trust\" are the main effective factors on the attitudes of the respondents. The results also revealed that the elder and married respondents have more positive attitudes toward fast-food consumption.\nOriginality/value: It is worth mentioning that fast-food has become an important part of the Iranian diet. These findings have both academic and policy implications. The results showed that the need for much more consumer education regarding fast-food and mass media could effectively be used. Further, the government should support and subsidize fast-food restaurants so that they may produce healthier food options.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Organizational culture as a moderator between affective commitment and job satisfaction: Empirical evidence from Indian public sector enterprises	[ "India", "Organizational culture", "Employees", "Job satisfaction", "Affective commitment", "Central public sector enterprises" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: One of the biggest challenges for the organizations is getting work done from employees. There is a willingness of the employees to exert a lot of effort in the organization's activities and to be a part of the organization (Mowday et al., 1982). Employees tend to develop organizational commitment when they witness their managers exhibiting commitment toward the organization. Affective commitment is known to be the one of the most significant factors among both top performing companies and companies with average performance (Grossi et al., 2015). Employees and work groups who are strongly committed toward their organization have high morale and are highly satisfied with their job (Cohen, 2015; Mowday et al., 1982).\n2. Theoretical background and literature review: Organizations or firms that are (wholly or partially) owned and controlled by the state (government) are referred to as public sector undertakings (PSUs) or SOEs or central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) in India. In a PSU, majority (51 percent or more) of the paid up share capital is held by central government or by any state government or partly by the central governments and partly by one or more state governments (Public Sector Undertakings in India, 2017). The rationale of PSUs is rapid economic development, reduction of concentration of economic powers, balanced regional development, generating employment opportunities, import-substitution, export-promotion and resource-mobilization. Government orders for PSUs generally aim at betterment of the society (Peng et al., 2016). Arms and ammunition, defence equipments, defence aircrafts, warships, atomic energy, railways transport, heavy metals, aircraft, ships, petroleum, coal, natural gas and power generation come under PSUs in India.\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Results: Data were entered into SPSS for analyses. The data were subjected to advanced statistical analyses in WarpPLS. Table II presents the mean and standard deviation for all the variables. The table also presents composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted values which are needed to establish convergent and discriminant validity of all variables. The table contains correlation among the variables with square root of average variance extracted shown on diagonals. Correlation analysis was employed to examine the relationship among affective commitment, job satisfaction, supportive culture, bureaucratic culture and innovative culture.\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Testing H1\n6. Conclusion and limitations: 6.1 Conclusion\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of organizational culture in affective commitment and job satisfaction relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Responses were collected from 712 employees working in nine different Indian central public sector enterprises /state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by using a questionnaire-based survey. Theoretical analysis is based on social exchange theory and managerial grid theory. Data were analyzed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The establishment of organizational culture as a moderator in Indian organizations is unique. This study has utilized data from employees working in different departments of organizations to provide unbiased responses. The results demonstrate that impact of affective commitment on employees' job satisfaction is moderated by supportive and innovative cultures. Additionally, this research also proves that bureaucratic culture does not play a crucial role in moderating the relationship between organizational commitment and employees' job satisfaction.\nResearch limitations/implications: Results are relevant to top-level and middle-level management in which people are involved in the governance of the organization, both directly and indirectly. There should be fixed working hours and optimum time management. Due to growing pressure, few employees who have personal obligations toward their families, such as nursing mothers and stressed individuals, should be provided with flexible working hours. In this way, culture can become supportive to cater to different needs of employees.\nOriginality/value: Till date, organizational culture as moderator has received very less attention in India. The establishment of organizational culture as a moderator in Indian SOEs is unique. The results add to the growing literature of commitment from non-western context as this study is based on Indian samples. This study has utilized data from employees working in different departments of organizations to provide unbiased responses.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring the effects of ERP systems on organizational performance: Evidence from Finnish companies	[ "Manufacturing resource planning", "Communication technologies", "Organizational performance", "Organizational change", "Finland" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Despite the large investments, the benefits of the IT spending could not be found in the firm-level output in the early 1990s studies. The late 1990s studies showed evidence of positive IT returns in firms which restructured the organization to take advantage of the new technology (Hitt and Brynjolfsson, 1996; Brynjolfsson and Hitt, 1996, 2000; Stratopoulos and Dehning, 2000). Thus, the latest research efforts strive to understand \"when and why there is a payoff\" (Dehning and Richardson, 2002, Rickardsson and Kraemmergaard, 2006).Dehning and Richardson (2002) put forward a framework that captures five analysis paths of the relation between IT and firm performance. The first and most analyzed link is the direct relation between IT and firm performance. The second, less analyzed link provides insights into the relation between IT and business process (BP) measures such as gross margin, profit margin, turnover ratios, inventory turnover, customer service, quality, and efficiency. The third path analyzes how these process measures combine to determine overall firm performance.Brynjolfsson and Hitt (1998) observe that the IT payoffs are contingent, therefore they encourage the research of factors that leverage the impact of IT on firm performance. Thus, Dehning and Richardson's (2002) framework comprises two more paths that show that contextual factors (e.g. industry, size, financial health, IT intensity) may affect the IT impact on both BPs and overall firm performance.However, the above-mentioned framework points at the scarcity of studies on the changes in BPs caused by IT investments, and the effect of those process changes on organizational performance in the post-implementation stage. Such studies would provide a deeper understanding into the dynamics of the pre-, during- and post-implementation activities.In addition, the measurement of IT investments can be improved. The previous studies have used single approaches to evaluate the IT investment, whether as IT spending, IT type (ERP systems or electronic commerce), or IT management (the level of ability within an organization or successful users of IT). Instead, the triangulation of the IT measures in order to investigate their combined effect on firm performance would represent a contribution to the field. An example of IT measures triangulation is the study of the relation between IT spending and firm performance when the company invests in a certain type of IT.Furthermore, Arnold argues that while the IT payoffs are expected, little attention is directed towards understanding how organizations are affected when investing in IT and how the benefits are realized at inter-organizational level. A triangulation method that combines case studies research, surveys and cross-sectional field studies is suggested in order to enable theory development across organizations.The present study explores the BP changes that occur in companies with different motivations for their ERP implementation projects and with different degrees of success in their ERP implementation experience. In addition, the effects of the resulting BP changes on organizational performance are explored.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The next section reviews the literature concerning the motivations, the success measures for ERP implementations, and the ERP generated BP changes as factors leading to the materialization of the ERP benefits in organizations. The following section introduces the multiple-case study method. The \"Findings\" section presents interview evidence leading to the observation of nine interrelationships between the motivations for ERP implementations and the perceived ERP benefits. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and suggestions for future research.\nLiterature review: Motivations for implementing an ERP\nMethodology: Nordic countries are particularly useful for conducting case studies due to the openness, trust and goodwill that business people show for research. This paper is based on a multiple-case study of eight Finnish companies that were selected from the sample used in Velcu (2005). The companies were contacted by phone and given a research project description. The companies that agreed to be part of the project were interviewed from February to June 2006. The applied snowballing technique enabled different access levels in each of the eight companies. Whereas in five companies, the researcher interviewed only one project manager or chief financial officer (CFO), in the remaining three companies, the researcher had deeper access to two, three and, respectively, four interviewees. Thus, a total of 14 interviews were made.The semi-structured interviews were based on an interview guide, which is presented in Appendix 1. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The analyzing process began at the interviewing stage, and continued with transcription and content analysis. The content analysis adopted the cross-case strategy where the answers from different interviewees were grouped together around the central topics of this study (Patton, 1990). Then, the observations were derived by identifying common codes across cases concerning the motivations for implementing ERP, the success measures of the ERP implementation project, the BP changes mentioned by interviewees, and the perceived ERP benefits.The use of Chand et al.'s (2005) ERP scorecard as a framework for identifying the ERP benefits mentioned during interviews avoids the \"drowning in data\" experience with respect to the evidence collected (Humphrey and Lee, 2004, p. 237).The companies are at different implementation phases and vary in size and industry. They are presented in the chronological order of the interviews. The first interviewed company (designated \"Company 1\"), a mid-size company, one of the leading food manufacturers in Finland, implemented the Movex system from 2003 to 2005. The second company (Company 2), the subsidiary of an American company, and one of the world's leading distributors of electronic products, implemented the tailor-made system, RamBase, in 2002, after merging with another company already using this system. The third company (Company 3), a large international stainless steel and technology organization based in Finland, started implementing SAP at the corporate office level in 2001. Implementation is still taking place in different subsidiaries. The fourth company (Company 4) is a small-size recruitment company, in the development stage of its in-house ERP system since 2002. The fifth company (Company 5), a mid-size distributor of spare parts for manufacturers, implemented the Solagem system from 2000 till the beginning of 2003. The sixth company (Company 6), a mid-size industrial company, implemented the ERP system in 2000. The seventh company (Company 7), a mid-size manufacturer, implemented the Movex system from 2000 till 2003. The eighth company (designated \"Company 8\"), a mid-size structural engineering company, implemented PARM software in 2003.\nFindings: The findings reported in this section are based on the interviewees' perceptions regarding the motivations for the ERP implementation, the success of the ERP implementation project, the BP changes, and the actual benefits achieved. In Appendix 2, one can see the main interview results.Motivation for ERP implementations\nFindings discussion: The eight case companies had different implementation scales and experiences, and ranged in their ERP life cycle stages, from the project phase to the fifth year of post-implementation in the onward and upward phase. Five companies stated a technologically-led justification for their ERP implementation, whereas another three case companies mentioned business-driven implementations.The case companies had more or less successful ERP projects, contingent on their abilities to complete the project on time and within budget, and to involve critical factors for the success of the implementation (e.g. top management support, BPR, effective project management, user involvement, education and training, vendor support, and change management). The attitude of end-users towards the new system was a key aspect of the success of the ERP implementation, since ERP systems typically start generating benefits when the system utilization improves. This confirms Park et al.'s (2007) findings that a users' ability to understand ERP knowledge influences the ERP performance.Some similarities and differences were observed in how the case companies coordinated their motivations for implementing their system with the BP changes, and the ERP benefits perceived in the post-ERP implementation stage (Figure 1).Both technologically- and business-led companies perceived the same BP changes: automated and streamlined BP, and modified work processes such as decentralized decision making and improved work assignments.Both company groups perceived shorter process cycle times and improved process transparency as internal efficiency benefits. However, the improved service time of accounting tasks was a distinct benefit reported by the technologically-led case companies, whereas the business-led companies reported economies of scale.The increased accuracy of customer invoices and improved customer service were the common perceived customer benefits by both company groups. However, Company 2, with a business-led motivation perceived its faster response to the business change as a different category of customer benefits.For the technologically-driven companies, other improved efficiency benefits were the main perceived financial benefits. For the business-led companies, the main perceived financial benefits were the lower headcount costs and selling, general and administrative costs. Both groups of companies perceived the capability to calculate more accurate selling prices as an internal efficiency benefit that maintains profit margins and profitability.\nConclusions and future research: The purpose of this study was to explore what BP changes happen in companies implementing ERP systems with different motivations and implementation experiences. Additionally, the study explores the impact of the respective process changes on organizational performance. The results provide a perspective into the interrelationships between ERP motivations and the benefits of ERP. However, this paper does not offer an exhaustive account of how ERP systems influence BP that ultimately affect performance. This is due to the analytical framework, which provides the lenses through which the interview-based data is interpreted, but which focuses the analysis, interpretation and reporting of the multiple-cases (Patton, 1990). The quality and reliability of the observations made are enhanced by providing relevant quotations extracted from the transcribed interviews.Furthermore, the validation of this qualitative analysis is enhanced by applying the methods triangulation. Thus, the nine observations drawn from the interview data will be tested in a future quantitative study. Alignment between ERP and business strategy emerged as a new dimension in this analysis and is proposed as a variable, which contributes to the success of ERP projects. Observations 2, 3, 4 and 5 offer a perspective into how successful ERP implementations - either business or technologically justified - lead to BP changes, which then result in perceived internal efficiency benefits. Observations 6, 7, 8 and 9 relate to the link between successful ERP implementations - either business or technologically justified - and internal efficiency benefits, which then reflects in perceived customer benefits and financial benefits. These benefits of ERP are obtained at the automate and informate stages. There were no perceived benefits at the transformate level due to the fact that the case companies have not reached that stage in their system use.These findings are characterized by a lack of generalisability to settings in other industries or countries. However, the multiple-case study format has the advantage of enabling a better understanding of the BP, companies implementing ERP experience in their natural settings. The implementation and performance of ERP systems differs between countries, industry sectors, business types and system types, whereas the reasons for implementing ERP are similar. Future case studies may thus be undertaken in different settings to understand the particulars of the interrelationships between reasons for implementing ERP systems and the realized ERP benefits.One trend in ERP systems consists in the integration of external parties into the system, for example customer relationship management. Hence, one future research path on ERP benefits should focus on intra-organizational relationships, and on how companies can maximize their ERP benefits as a result of integrating their ERP system with the ERP systems of the suppliers and customers within the same supply chain. Then, considering O'Leary (2004) findings that the financial benefits are constant across industries and that the non-financial benefits vary from one industry to another, future research should analyze the non-financial ERP benefits across different industry supply chains.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Previous research showed that there are payoffs from IT investments, but the question is when and why such payoffs occur. This paper aims to adopt an \"inside the black-box\" approach to the analysis of economic benefits of ERP systems by examining what business process (BP) changes take place in companies that have different motives for implementing ERP systems. This explorative study seeks to further examine the influence of these BP changes on organizational performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In Spring 2006, 14 semi-structured interviews were made in mid-sized Finnish companies that use an ERP system. An ERP scorecard framework was applied to assess the perceived benefits of ERP.\nFindings: - Companies that have a technologically-led motivation perceive \"improved service time in accounting tasks\" as an internal efficiency benefit, \"faster response to business change\" as customer benefits, and financial benefits in terms of other improved efficiencies. Companies that have a business-led motivation perceive \"economies of scale\" as an internal efficiency benefit, and financial benefits in terms of \"lower headcount costs\" and \"lower selling, general and administrative costs.\" Both groups of companies report BP changes in terms of \"reassignment of financial management of business cases.\"\nResearch limitations/implications: - The balanced-scorecard approach offers a systematic analysis of the ERP effects in organizations, but it limits the interpretation of the interview data. The small number of ERP implementations studied means that the results are not directly generalizable, but they point out interesting avenues for future research.\nPractical implications: - The insights in the paper about the relationship between how ERP projects are motivated and how benefits are perceived may be helpful to organizations that implement ERP systems. The findings support the importance of continued monitoring of ERP systems to leverage their effects in maximizing benefits for the implementing organizations.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides new insights into the interrelationships between the motivations for implementing ERP systems and the perceived ERP benefits.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of service quality and customer satisfaction on customer loyalty: The mediation of perceived value of services, corporate image, and corporate reputation	[ "Service quality", "Banking industry", "Customer loyalty", "Customer satisfaction", "Corporate image and reputation", "Perceived value of services" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Corporate brands tend to be more important in the banking industry than in manufacturing as banks lack a tangible product whose qualities can be directly observed. Moreover, in countries that are well-integrated into the global economy, banks often face stiff competition from both domestic and foreign rivals, forcing them to offer services to set themselves apart from the rest. In this respect, building a solid corporate image with a strong corporate reputation is particularly important for banks, as this is believed to significantly help to develop loyalty among bank customers. Positive perceptions of the way a company often improves customer faithfulness indeed and financial service companies are very well aware that the creation/development of a good corporate image and maintenance of a strong corporate reputation will render a sustainable competitive advantage. Thus, strong corporate image and corporate reputation are important assets for a bank (Gray and Balmer, 1998), in which customers have a wide range of choices to select among.\nTheoretical background and hypotheses development: The foundation for a business focused on establishing and preserving strong customer loyalty is the key to business success (Bergeron, 2002) and has resonated with business performance and sustainability (Hasiri and Afghanpour, 2016; Leninkumar, 2017; Ofori et al., 2017; Zietsman et al., 2019). Lam et al. (2004) identified customer loyalty as repeated buyers of a business and recommenders of the business to other customers. To ensure customer loyalty, diverse banking service models have exposed the key antecedents that affect customer loyalty (Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998; Ehigie, 2006; Parahoo, 2012; Seiler et al., 2013; Osman et al., 2015; Zameer et al., 2015; Bapat, 2017; Makanyeza and Chikazhe, 2017; Omoregie et al., 2019; Boonlertvanich, 2019). In a fiercely competitive environment, understanding these antecedents provides banking service managers to improve organizations' financial performance by retaining their existing customers while attracting new customers (Boonlertvanich, 2019). Therefore, the nature and drivers of customer loyalty to bank services have been drawing attention in the field of services marketing by practitioners and researchers (Keisidou et al., 2013; Ofori et al., 2017; Omoregie et al., 2019). Moreover, some studies have demonstrated that the cost of acquiring a new customer is five times more costly than retaining an existing customer and 50 to 100 times more costly to retrieve a lost customer (Ofori et al., 2017; Boonlertvanich, 2019; Zietsman et al., 2019). Therefore, managing customer attrition is the biggest challenge for businesses that can be obviated by understanding the needs of their customers to decrease defection rates and aim to build a relationship around those needs to support long-term customer loyalty.\nThe relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and their effect of on perceived value: In services marketing literature, it is assumed that the customer can evaluate the service performance, and then the result is compared with the expectations that are before purchase or consumption. Customer satisfaction is the consumers' overall evaluation based on their overall experience. Likewise, Kotler and Keller (2013, p. 110) identified customer satisfaction as \"a person's feeling of pleasure or disappointment which resulted from comparing a product's perceived performance or outcome against his or her expectations\" (as suggested in Narteh, 2018). The present literature proposes that service quality is determined by the difference between customer expectations of a business's performance and the evaluation of the actual product/service received (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Taylor and Baker (1994) accepted that satisfaction and service quality act jointly on intentions and suggested that the higher perceived service quality and customer satisfaction levels are, the higher purchase intentions will become. The focus in most models of customer valuations of banking services has been on comparative ratiocinate of expectations vs perceived performance resulting in the two major valuative ratiocinates of service quality and customer satisfaction (Murphy, 1996; Smith, 1992). Moreover, prior studies have often presumed a direct relationship between service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction (Ladhari et al., 2011; Priluck and Lala, 2009; Narteh, 2018). Thus, both perceived service quality and customer satisfaction have been frequently used and measured (Lewis and Mitchell, 1990; Smith, 1992; Lewis, 1993) in the banking services area. In line with the literature review, it is hypothesized that there is a relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality:\nThe mediating role of perceived value and the relationship between corporate image and corporate reputation: Corporate image and corporate reputation are external perceptions of the company. Image is the company's portrait made in the mind of consumers, whereas reputation is the degree (or the lack) of confidence in a company's ability to meet customers' expectations on a certain attribute. A favorable image is viewed as a critical aspect of a company's ability to maintain its market position, as image and reputation have been related to core aspects of organizational success such as customer patronage. Corporate image is a process through which internal and external stakeholders perceive the organization's identity or image that establishes a brand's reputation in the mind of its internal and external stakeholders (Herstein et al., 2008). Thus, corporate image is a hierarchical reticulum of the range of the meanings that are exposed in the minds of its internal and external stakeholders. It can mainly be originated by the technical quality that the customer perceives the service experience and also originated by functional quality comprising the manners how the services are delivered (Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998). Minkiewicz et al. (2011) claimed that corporate image is the result of the people's feelings, beliefs, experiences, thoughts, impressions and knowledge that people have about the organization. The corporate image serves as a bridge between the individual image of the organization and the consumer response toward the company. Zameer et al. (2015) claimed that corporate image positively related to the customers' perceived value. Additionally, Minkiewicz et al. (2011) asserted that corporate image positively related to the customers' perceived value.\nThe mediating role of corporate image and corporate reputation on customer loyalty: Andreassen and Lindestad (1998) argued that corporate image - part of reputation - is an antecedent to customer loyalty. Later, it was concluded that reputation may be loyalty's strongest driver (Andreassen, 1994, Ryan et al., 1999). The recognition of this relationship in this study encouraged the investigation considering these two constructs both have an impact on customer loyalty. Thus, the study investigates the impact of corporate image and corporate on customer loyalty in financial institutions. In line with the theory of cognitive psychology (Folkes, 1988; Weiner, 1980, 1985a, b), we expect that a service company's reputation, as well as its image (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998), will function as a filter in the perception of quality, satisfaction, perceived value, and as a judgment to the decision process when consumers choose where to purchase services.\nMethodology: To investigate the hypotheses that are stated earlier, a questionnaire was designed and conducted among regular customers in different branches of a major domestic bank in Izmir to capture different customer profiles. The list of customers, who have diverse and recent transactions, was obtained from the bank's customer database, therefore representing an appropriate population to sample from. Customers were informed that their participation was strictly voluntary.\nAnalysis and results: Before testing our hypotheses, we first evaluated our data set to see if common method variance exists. Afterwards, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to validate the factors. Then, we obtained reliability scores of the factors. Consequently, we evaluated average variance extraction and composite reliability of each scale. To test our hypotheses, we estimated six structural equation models and interpreted them.\nDiscussions and conclusion: As a result of the analyses, it is found that both customer satisfaction and customer perceptions of service quality are important and indistinguishable predictors of loyalty. Moreover, the study shows that customer satisfaction and service quality has a direct effect on perceived value, corporate image and corporate reputation and customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction and service quality help to explain the likelihood that customers will repurchase the service. According to this finding, bank managers should ensure that performance levels on all components of the bank meet customer expectations. Moreover, the increased competition provides customers with a wider selection of financial institutions. Therefore, for a financial institution to attract and retain customers in the long-term, understanding a customer's specific needs sends a powerful signal to the customers like the quality and satisfaction of the service delivered to customers. Careful screening of sales personnel can help to ensure a good job fit that will contribute to financial institutions positioning via friendly and courteous staff that contribute to customer loyalty. Thus, customer satisfaction is an indicator of the company's past, current and future performance, and there is ample evidence for its positive effect on loyalty in traditional services. Satisfying customer needs by delivering superior service quality is claimed to be an equally important contributor to customer loyalty. Many researchers revealed that customer satisfaction is the key to success and make the emphatic statement that a satisfied customer is a repeat customer.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of customer satisfaction, service quality, the perceived value of services, corporate image and corporate reputation on customer loyalty and their relationship in the Turkish banking industry. Mediation effects of the perceived value and corporate image and reputation are also studied. Understanding the relationships between the determinants of customer loyalty toward the bank helps management to use corporate image and reputation more effectively in its strategy, thus enhancing the institution's position in the minds of consumers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A model is proposed to explore the relationships of service quality and customer satisfaction with a perceived value and their effect on transforming the corporate image and corporate reputation into the form of customer loyalty toward the bank. A survey is designed within this framework and SEM analysis is conducted in order to study the nature of relationships between variables of interest hypothesized to affect customer behavior and customer loyalty. Mediation tests for perceived value and corporate image and reputation are also conducted.\nFindings: The findings of the survey indicate that corporate image and corporate reputation can be used as a common marketing benchmark to measure a bank's performance. The results demonstrated that customers perceive quality and satisfaction effects loyalty through perceived value, image and reputation.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study was conducted in Izmir, the third biggest city of Turkey. The sample is composed of regular customers, and the sample size is enough for the study but more studies are needed to generalize the results.\nPractical implications: The results provide information to bank managers to effectively assist them to offer appropriate customer service levels sustaining satisfaction, quality and value to the customers within the transactions.\nOriginality/value: The paper studies the determinants of customer loyalty in the Turkish banking industry and considers the effects of corporate image and corporate reputation as measured by customer satisfaction, service quality and perceived value, on customer loyalty toward banks in Turkey. This model is not studied in bank marketing in Turkey and also in the banking literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impacts of product design changes on supply chain risk: a case study	[ "Product design", "Risk management", "Supply chain management", "China", "Automotive industry" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Supply chain risk management has emerged as an important source of competitive advantage and an effective method of reducing vulnerability in a supply chain. Along with the fast growing trends of globalization and outsourcing (Kremic et al., 2006), and the increasing pace of offshore manufacturing (Kumar et al., 2009) in developing countries such as China, India, and Brazil; the field of supply chain risk has attracted more and more attention from both practitioners and researchers. There are broad literature concerning on risk issues in supply chain, particularly in a global supply chain (Harland et al., 2003; Barry, 2004; Christopher and Lee, 2004; Manuj and Mentzer, 2008), risk of outsourcing (Lonsdale, 1999; Kremic et al., 2006; Tsai et al., 2008), and risk of offshore manufacturing (Warburton and Stratton, 2002).There are different types of supply chains matching different types of products (Fisher, 1997). A most interesting and emerging issue is that product design is not only a value adding activity (Porter, 1985), but also a potential source of differentiation from competitors (Walsh et al., 1988). However, the impact of product design on supply chain has largely been ignored (Khan et al., 2008; Khan and Creazza, 2009). Likewise, the impact of product design change on supply chain risk has also been ignored. Especially in fast-changing markets in which customer requirements change very quickly, supply chain managers need not only to concentrate on product design, but also to devote time into managing risks arising from quick responses to customers' changing requirements. However, empirical studies of the impact of product design change on supply chain risk are still scarce, especially in the special-purpose vehicle (SPV) industry.SPV is a vehicle incorporating a special chassis and designed to meet specialized requirements; examples include watering truck, sanitation truck, oil tank truck, aerial working truck, loading crane truck, fire truck, garbage truck, bulk cement truck, demolition truck, and so on. The Chinese SPV industry has developed very quickly in the last decade. According to statistics from the SPV Branch of the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers (CAAM SPV Branch, 2010), the total annual production in 2000 was 0.18 million SPVs, which comprised 26.94 percent of total truck production. The total annual production in 2009 increased to 1.65 million, which reached 55.68 percent of total truck production. Other developed countries such as the USA, Japan, and EU countries have experienced similar rates of development in the SPV industry.When the open-market strategy launched in the 1980s, the Chinese SPV industry has quickly become involved in a wave of globalization and outsourcing. However, it is still a developing industry in China, and a number of risks have emerged due to the increasing number of global customers outsourcing their production activities to China. Furthermore, customers frequently or urgently require changes to their product designs even after their orders have been put into production by the SPV manufacturer, which makes the product structure more complex. As a complex product as the passage car is, the product complexity affects the business unit profitability (Closs et al., 2008). As a result, Chinese SPV manufacturers, as suppliers in such a global supply chain, find that they are continuously struggling with supply shortages, unstable production, delivery delay, and even the disruption of the entire supply chain. Meanwhile, 30 percent customers cannot have their product requirements satisfied on time (CAAM SPV Branch, 2010). Within the scenario of product design change, the SPV supply chain is very fragile. Hence, the main task of supply chain managers of both Chinese SPV manufacturers and global customers in this scenario is to manage supply chain risks in order to keep the whole supply chain operating smoothly and to build a resilient global supply chain.In light of these gaps, this paper conducts an empirical study on the Chinese SPV industry, and aims to identify the supply chain risk caused by customer design changes. For the purpose of better understanding the impact of design change on supply chain risks, we focus on the following two specific research questions:RQ1. Why do certain supply chain risks occur following design change requests from customers?RQ2. How do customer design changes affect supply chain risk?\nConceptual research framework: Managing risk requires better understanding of the risks (Hallikas et al., 2004; Faisal et al., 2006), and at the heart of supply chain risk management is the activity of identifying the risk (White, 1995; Sinha et al., 2004; Waters, 2007; Rao and Goldsby, 2009). Thus, this paper focuses on identifying the supply chain risk originating from design change requirements.Much of the interest in supply chain risk is focused on the issues of supply/purchasing (Zsidisin et al., 2000; Sinha et al., 2004; Levary, 2007; Blackhurst et al., 2008), production/manufacturing (Katayama et al., 1999; Warburton and Stratton, 2002), planning/information (Finch, 2004; Poba-Nzaou et al., 2008), and delivery/distribution (Cavinato, 2004; Tsai et al., 2008). However, there are few papers addressing risk issues from the perspective of product design change, particular in the SPV industry, which motivates this research.According to Waters (2007), supply chain risk can be separated into three categories: internal risk, risk within the supply chain, and risk in the external environment. The internal risks originate directly from inside operations of the company and its management decisions and practices on R&D, plan, production, information (Waters, 2007), and organization structure. The latter two risks are both outside of the company; hence, this paper defines them as external risk, which includes risk within the supply chain (both from the customer and supplier (Waters, 2007)), and risk from the macro-environment affecting the whole supply chain. Because the SPV industry is substantially affected by government legislation, this paper mainly focuses on the policy risk for external risks.The conceptual research framework is shown in Figure 1.This paper mainly concerns the internal and external supply chain risks due to product design change. The dimensions of internal risk include R&D, production, plan, information, and organization structure. The dimensions of external risk consist of policy, supply, and delivery.\nMethodology: (1) Case study\nFindings: (1) General supply chain process mapping\nDiscussions: According to the empirical case study and following the conceptual framework, the findings reveal that the supply chain risks originate from two dimensions in the context of product design change, which are external (supply, policy, and delivery) and internal (R&D, production, plan, information, and organization). These risks are critical problems faced by the SPV manufacturer under the scenario of product design change. The risks and their correspondent causes are summarized into a cause-effect diagram (Figure 4), or described as a fishbone diagram, or Ishikawa (1985) diagram, which is helpful in showing the relationships as a set of fish bones between risks and their respective causes.Internal risk dimensions\nConclusion: Theoretical contribution\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The main purpose of this paper is to address the impact of product design changes on supply chain risk, and to identify the supply chain risk dimensions in the Chinese special-purpose vehicle (SPV) industry in the context of product design change.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Case study methodology is adopted to describe the current situation of supply chain risk management in the Chinese SPV industry. Data are mainly collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews, and a cause-effect diagram is used to identify and summarize the internal and external risk dimensions of supply chain risk.\nFindings: - This paper identifies both the internal and external supply chain risk from the perspective of the focal manufacturer in the SPV supply chain. At the level of the external supply chain, customer-required design change normally leads to risk in supply, delivery, and policy. Internally for the manufacturer, the risk dimensions are R&D, production, planning, information, and organization. All of these risk dimensions have their respective causes.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The risk identification of product design change in this paper is only meant to lay a foundation; further case studies should focus on the best practices and approaches of risk management and extend them to other industries.\nPractical implications: - The current identification of the risk dimensions and their respective causes will help both practitioners and researchers to better understand supply chain risk in the context of product design change. The identified risk dimensions and cause-effect diagram provide practitioners with a risk framework and useful tools to recognize and identify their potential supply chain risks.\nOriginality/value: - This paper shows the \"big picture\" of supply chain risk from product design changes in the Chinese SPV industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
UK elected representatives and their weblogs: first impressions	[ "Internet", "Worldwide web", "Politics" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Use of the internet by political players is now a well documented and researched topic. Studies have covered use of the web by MPs, political parties, trade unions, government departments and online activists. However, the net is not a static phenomenon and as new internet ideas come to the fore, there is renewed impetus to re-examine the subject. Weblogs are a relatively recent development in the online political arena but are certainly worthy of further research.\nAims, objectives and scope: The purpose of this article is to evaluate weblogs that are maintained by elected representatives: to review the work done on MPs' web sites and see if common criticisms exist, and to ascertain how far weblogs go to rectifying these faults. This is very much a \"first impressions\" study as politicians with weblogs are few and far between. For this reason, all UK elected representatives with blogs will be included in the analysis, though this inevitably means there is no party balance and the sample size is too small to draw definitive conclusions. In terms of scope, all of the sample are Westminster MPs with the exception of Peter Black, Assembly Member for South Wales West.\nDefinitions and history: There are some technical definitions available on the net:Weblogs provide a series of annotated links to items such as news stories, and often include personal rants. They are maintained by one person, most commonly someone who is involved in Web design or some other tech-related field. Weblogs are usually updated on a daily basis and always reflect the style and attitude of the author (Battey, 1999).This might have been true in the embryonic days of blogging, but now blogs are less the preserve of technical staff and are more mainstream. A better and more open definition is offered by The Guardian:A weblog is, literally, a \"log\" of the web - a diary-style site, in which the author (a weblogger, or \"blogger\") links to other web pages he or she finds interesting (Perrone, 2004).In terms of definitions in the literature, Blood is on the ball:... a weblog is a coffeehouse conversation in text, with references as required (Blood, 2002, p. 1).As Blood states and most commentators agree:... weblogs are hard to describe but easy to recognise (Blood, 2002, p. 1).Jorg Barger takes the credit for coining the term \"weblog\" back in 1997. His robotwisdom web site was his passion for two solid years and covered his daily thoughts on a wide variety of issues. However, in reality blogging has been around in some shape or form for much longer. Tim Berners Lee, the father of the internet, listed new web sites on a dynamic web page at CERN (http://info.cern.ch/) in the early days of the net. In fact, in this formative period, most homepages consisted of favourite links with a little additional information. Arguably, a modern day blog consists of a link to an item of news with some personal commentary or observations.So, Barger invented the term weblog but blogs have come a long way in only a few years. How did they make the transition from friend of the techie to tool of the elected representative? As with most internet fads, most of the early developments occurred in the US and have been mirrored across the world. Back in 2000 The New York Times was speculating that blogs would be \"the next big thing\" as everyone has something of the amateur publisher and newshound about them:The concept is simple enough. Create a Web page. Update it regularly with brief personal reflections or witty commentary, sprinkled with links to other pages. Put new entries at the top of the page, pushing older ones down. Voila, you've got yourself a weblog.\nLiterature review: The purpose of this literature review is two-fold:1. to introduce some general works on weblogs and blogging; and2. to examine the literature on MPs' efforts on the net thus far.Sadly, very little has been written specifically about blogging politicians. There are, however, a few general works on blogs that provide useful background reading on the topic, often with definitions. One such is The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog by Rebecca Blood (2002). Written as a guide to creating a blog, the first two chapters contain a useful history of blogs and reasons to blog, Blood covers the early days on the net when homepages consisted of lists of links/bookmark files and notes on how the net has gone full circle and weblogs are largely a reincarnation of these lists - a move away from the corporate and commercial middle ages of the web. To her, Mosaic's \"What's new\"? page was ostensibly the first blog. Thus, she also disputes that Barger had the first blog, though she does agree that he deserves credit for coining the term. Blood also describes how blogs moved away from the domain of the techie and became more universal: the development of simple blogging software like Blogger ensured that this could happen.There is an interesting section on newsblogs. Usually commentators have suggested that newsblogs are a new and different form of journalism that bring out the amateur news hack in everyone, but Blood disagrees. She argues that newsblogs supplement and work alongside traditional news media by filtering and reporting news. She praises the growth of personal diaries and eyewitness accounts (such as those that sprung up after 9/11) but overall sees blogs as being a new way of distributing and collecting the news rather than a new source of news itself.Overall, Blood's book is most appreciated for the definitions it contains: it is great for clarifying why blogs are different to online journals and more than just online diaries. It also clearly establishes how blogs are different to \"normal\" web pages and what we should look for in a blog. For Blood, \"the appeal of each weblog is grounded thoroughly in the personality of its writer: his interests, his opinions, and his personal mix of links and commentary\" (Blood, 2002, p. 6), and \"the weblog, updated regularly, is designed to be visited again and again\" (Blood, 2002, p. 9).The Political Mapping of Cyberspace (Crampton, 2003) is a very philosophical look at cyberspace in general with many references to Foucault and Heidegger, but he does make a few pertinent suggestions about blogging, particularly to do with bloggers forming communities and blogging as a form of resistance: \"some blogs are deliberately oppositional, designed to promote political discourse which bypasses the traditional media outlets in a more democratic manner\" (Crampton, 2003, p. 106). Crampton makes no overt reference to politicians in this context, choosing instead to concentrate on newsblogs. A missed opportunity - if only political blogs had received as much coverage in the literature of newsblogs.Although little has been written about political blogs, much has been written about MPs on the internet. A quick run through some of these articles shows an uncanny amount of common ground in terms of common criticisms, particularly in terms of the lack of true interaction and the sterile/dry nature of pages that rely heavily on party-produced copy.The Institute of Economic Affairs undertook an analysis of MPs' web sites in 2000 and branded them \"inept\", \"flaccid\" and \"bland\". It continued:The researchers say they uncovered an array of poorly conceived pages that conveyed little of an MP's personality and failed to inform constituents about what their MP thought and did.\nMethodology: Bearing in mind the criticisms of MPs' web sites mentioned in the literature, simple criteria for evaluating the blogs were drawn up. The criteria were divided into two parts, one being a snapshot analysis and the other the longer term view covering currency and activity of the blog. The first part covered the design, content and general impressions of the blog:* What range of issues does it cover? Obviously local issues are of concern to constituents but national issues should be covered too - what does your MP think about Iraq/tuition fees for example? Can you see easily where youe MP stands on a current major issue (e.g. hunting)?* Does it foster two-way interaction and debate or is it all one-way traffic, what might be termed the blag/blog balance. Do the debates stick to meaningful subjects?* Can you see evidence of personality coming through - your MP as a human being, not just part of the party machine? The use of links to other sites also suggests personality. Is the content original or does it emanate from party or constituency press rooms?The second criteria covered the currency and activity levels of the blog over a three-week period. Sites were monitored on a weekly basis and the following data collected:* date of the most recent blog;* number of blogs over each weekly period;* number of blogs that received comments; and* total number of comments received each week.The next step was to draw up a list of MPs with weblogs. The e-savvy Guardian had already done most of the groundwork here, but there were a few additional candidates available on www.w4mp.com - the portal for recruiting researchers for MPs and the Economic and Social Research Council at Salford University (see www.esri.salford.ac.uk/ESRCResearchproject/links.php#blog). This resource proved to be updated more often so was the main source of bloggers. The number of MPs with blogs at the moment is so small that it was possible to include all of them in the analysis. They are (with constituency and party affiliation):* Austin Mitchell MP (Grimsby, Lab; www.austinmitchell.org/index.php);* Clive Solely MP (Ealing, Acton and Shepherds Bush, Lab; http://clivesoleymp.typepad.com/);* Richard Allan MP (Sheffield Hallam, Lib Dem; www.richardallan.org.uk/);* Shaun Woodward MP (St Helens South, Lab; www.shaunwoodward.com/);* Tom Watson MP (West Bromwich East, Lab; www.tom-watson.co.uk/);* Boris Johnson MP (Henley, Con; www.boris-johnson.com);* Sandra Gidley MP (Romsey Lib Dem; http://romseyredhead.blogspot.com.pitt.idm.oclc.org); and* Peter Black AM (South Wales West, Lib Dem; http://peterblack.blogspot.com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/).As yet, there are no bloggings MSPs.The first snapshot analysis was conducted on October 15, but by the second, a week later, Sandra Gidley had set up a blog. It was decided that this should be included as the sample size was so small.There are numerous proxy blogs that have been set up for MPs. These are run by bloggers on behalf of MPs and usually cover what the MP has been doing, where he/she has visited and spoken, etc. However, these seem to be a move in the wrong direction as they remove the personal element that is crucial to a blog: it won't be the MPs' personality shining through or reflected in the choice of links. It's really more a form of online stalking. See www.perfect.co.uk/2004/09/boris-and-the-political-weblog-movement for a list. For this reason, proxy blogs are not included in the scope of this study.\nResults: Currency and activity\nConclusions: So, what is our overall impression of weblogs as a medium for MPs engaging their constituents? Although the sample size is small and MPs' weblogs are still in their infancy, there are promising signs. In terms of activity, most of our MPs are regular bloggers, some adding to their blogs every day. In particular, Sandra Gidley and Peter Black are prolific bloggers. With the exception of Austin Mitchell, our entire sample maintains regular contact with the blogosphere. In terms of attracting responses, the picture is more mixed. Our two most prolific bloggers (Gidley and Black) receive some of the lowest response rates; other bloggers have almost a 100 per cent response rate to their messages. Perhaps this disparity is to do with the age of the blogs, or perhaps constituents want to be kept informed but not continually updated. The frivolous nature of a minority of the blogs might be responsible, but Boris Johnson's bout of flu did receive over 40 comments, mainly about the relative merits of whisky and Lemsip - not taken together, hopefully.Whether any of our sample engages in real two-way debate is also open to interpretation. It appears that some make little or no effort to refer back to messages received and Sandra Gidley even admits to preferring to e-mail if people have genuine concerns. Both Clive Soley and Richard Allan are more geared up to posting responses, if not to individuals to aggregated postings on the same issue. It seems that weblogs are currently largely a top-down form of communication, though most of our sample appear to be grateful for comments received. In other senses, weblogs have bridged the gap between representative and constituents in that they make it easier to see what your MP has been doing recently, on the local, national and Parliamentary stage. This brings us to the balance of the content. The majority of the blogs we analysed only covered national or international issues - Shaun Woodward and Sandra Gidley being the exceptions here, though Peter Black does give local issues a reasonable amount of coverage. It would be interesting to ascertain what issues constituents would like to see covered in weblogs. What is clear across our sample is that party machineries have no input to the blogs - individuality and personality shine through almost without exception. There are no links to party press releases or initiatives and even the party conferences received only limited coverage. This is in stark contrast to MPs' web sites which have become staid and dull - what will be interesting to see is whether, like MPs' web sites, the party machines do take over once the band wagon is rolling and start to impose some rules on content and style.Perhaps Tom Watson was right when he claimed that weblogs would be the main method of communication for politicians within ten years. Research by the Economic and Social Research Council in 2002 indicated that the internet was the preferred means of political engagement for young adults:30 per cent of young people aged 15-24 say they engage in online political activity, compared to 10 per cent who had participated in more traditional politics. The Internet also wins out for those aged 25-34, with 28 per cent participating online, compared to 18 per cent offline (Ward, 2002).Bearing in mind that only 40 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted in the 2001 General Election, any additional means of engaging this age group in the political process should be encouraged.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To examine the weblogs written by members of UK legislatures and to determine whether such weblogs address commonly cited criticisms of MPs' web sites and serve to bridge the gap between representative and constituent.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Examination of the literature on MPs' web sites to draw up a list of common criticisms. Construction of evaluation criteria to analyse the blogs in terms of content, currency, design, interactivity and evidence of personality both as a snapshot and over a longer period.\nFindings: - That weblogs are, on the whole, kept up to date and show promising levels of activity. Blogs enable constituents to see with what their MPs have been involved (on both the local and the Parliamentary stages) and to see what areas of policy particularly interest their MP. Personality of the MPs is apparent on most of the blogs, which are less party-oriented than many MPs' web sites. Although the gap between representatives and constituents may have been bridged to an extent, blogging is still largely a top-down form of communication - even though people do submit relevant and pertinent comments to the blogs, proper two-way debate is rarely seen and comments are not always acknowledged or answered.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Based on a small number of blogs covering the UK only.\nPractical implications: - Provides simple evaluation criteria that could be applied to blogs in other areas.\nOriginality/value: - Provides a useful first structured analysis of weblogs written by elected representatives, on which further work can be undertaken once the sample size has increased and existing blogs are more established.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Developing internal crisis communication: New roles and practices of communication professionals	[ "Crisis management", "Internal communications", "Communication professionals", "Communication roles", "Internal crisis communication" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This article aims to explore and develop the roles and practices of communication professionals in internal crisis communication. In recent decades, crisis management and crisis communication research have developed into strong research fields, but so far the internal aspect has remarkably been neglected. An internal crisis communication perspective focuses on the need for information, communication and sense-making among managers and employees during the acute phase of a crisis, and also on the intrinsic role of communication in crisis preparedness, anticipation and learning within an organisation (cf. Weick and Sutcliffe, 2007). We now see an increasing interest in internal communication among scholars (e.g. Gilpin and Murphy, 2008; Mazzei, 2010; Taylor, 2010; Frandsen and Johansen, 2011; Johansen et al., 2012; Mazzei et al., 2012), but there is a great need for more research in order to develop the field of crisis communication further (Taylor, 2010). One aspect of crisis communication that is neglected is the role and practices of communication professionals. There has been extensive focus in the literature on crisis managers and their ambitions to handle and solve crises (see Coombs et al., 2010; Gilpin and Murphy, 2010), but we need additional knowledge about the specific role and practices of communication managers and other communication professionals. Several researchers (e.g. Falkheimer and Heide, 2006; Reber and Berger, 2006; Bowen, 2009; Falkheimer and Heide, 2010) have stressed that crisis management is a field where the communication profession can show its main value and influence critical processes. One distinct example was given during the tsunami catastrophe in Southeast Asia in 2004. With 20,000 Swedish tourists in Thailand, the communication manager of one of the biggest travel agencies in Sweden achieved status as a national heroine in just a few days. Thus, provided that the communicators do their job well, a crisis can actually enhance the value and status of their profession. At the same time, public relations or communication management is often conceived as being equivalent to media management and information dissemination after a crisis has occurred (Pearson and Mitroff, 1993; Littlefield et al., 2010), which tends to reduce the communication profession to something reactive and tactical. Thus, even if communication professionals are seen as an indispensable resource in crisis management, it is still an open question as to whether they influence strategic issues and if they have any legitimacy in internal crisis communication.\nTheoretical framework: We will first present a brief overview of different understandings of crises and the role of internal crisis communication. We make the assumption that the basic understanding of what a crisis is, how it is constituted, how communication and crises are linked to each other, etc., will colour the roles and practices of communication professionals within an organisation. In the second part of the theoretical framework, we introduce some basic concepts from theory of communicator roles and discuss how different understandings of crises may be linked to different ideas of communication professionals.\nMethod: The findings presented in this article are part of a larger case study at a Swedish university hospital that focuses on various aspects of internal crisis communication. In order to collect rich and nuanced material, we have used several methods (interviews, observations and document analysis). We have analysed the empirical material from an interpretive approach, implying that meanings, beliefs and understandings were put in the centre rather than \"objective\" facts (cf. Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2011).\nFindings: From the findings in our study, we first present UH - the organisational context the communication professionals operate within - and the predominating crisis conception. We then focus on the position in the organisation structure, the legitimacy and the role of communication professionals. We then discuss the channels and content in internal crisis communication. Finally we focus on operational and tactical aspects versus strategic aspects of internal crisis communication.\nDiscussion: It is often argued that crises are situations when the influence and value of communication professionals becomes evident. But does this necessarily mean that crises are situations when communication professionals practise managerial roles and work strategically? Our study indicates that this is not the case - especially when it comes to internal communication. The role of the communication professionals studied is primarily focused on information distribution through the intranet, even though they are also involved in strategic managerial work during the acute stage of the crisis. Communication professionals are first and foremost called for once the crisis has already occurred, which can be seen as a \"communication on demand\" approach, limiting a strategic orientation.\nImplications for communication professionals and future studies: We would finally like to present some implications for practice as well as research. Starting with practice, the study shows that there are some important prerequisites for fulfilling a strategic role as a communication professional:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The article has two major purposes. The first purpose is to examine the roles and practices of communication professionals in relation to internal aspects of crisis communication. The second is to suggest new roles and practices for communication professionals that will enable a strategic approach to internal crisis communication. This article is based on empirical material from a larger three-year research project that focuses on internal crisis communication at a university hospital (UH) in Sweden.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This article is based on empirical material from a larger, three-year research project that focuses on internal crisis communication at a university hospital (UH). For the purpose of this article the authors have mainly analysed transcripts of 24 semi-structured interviews that lasted 1-1.5 hours each. The authors chose to interview both communication professionals and other key persons/crisis managers in order to have the role and practices of communication professionals elucidated not only from the perspective of communication professionals themselves.\nFindings: A conclusion from the case study is that communication professionals have a rather limited role in internal crisis communication. Their role is primarily focused on information distribution through the intranet, even though they are also involved in strategic managerial work during the acute stage of the crisis. The communication professionals are first and foremost called for once the crisis has already occurred, which can be seen as a \"communication on demand\" approach, which limits a strategic orientation. In this paper some new roles and practices for communication professionals are suggested, which involve a strategic approach and cover all the stages of crisis.\nResearch limitations/implications: Future research needs to go deeper into the practices and processes of these roles.\nPractical implications: Important prerequisites for fulfilling a strategic role as a communication professional are membership of the board, diversified communication roles, a developed managerial role, being closer to core operations, and legitimacy.\nOriginality/value: The absence of a strategic crisis management thinking and discourse in organisations delimits communication professionals to a technical role rather than a managerial and strategic role. Taking internal crisis communication seriously and adopting a broader view of crises will raise new demands on communication professionals, which go beyond the operational and tactical roles in the acute phase of a crisis.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Fostering employee innovation: leveraging your "ground level" creative capital	[ "Innovation", "Empowerment", "Listening", "Creative thinking" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nFostering employee innovation: Faced with dire economic circumstances plaguing the current competitive landscape, organizations are under more pressure that ever to innovate if they wish to survive. Contrary to some opinions, it is not always the members of the corporate research and development department or members of top management teams who are the innovative geniuses of an organization. On the contrary, it is just as likely that ideas originate with employees located closer to the bottom of the organizational pyramid; the \"front-line troops\" who, directly impacted by the problem and intimately familiar with concomitant dynamics, are coming up with creative solutions, and then applying those solutions to resolve problems or pursue opportunities. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance and value of leveraging the creative capital residing within employees to elicit collective organizational innovation.Consider the ubiquitous Post-It Notes marketed by 3-M Corporation. An employee was faced with the task of determining if there was a use for an adhesive that, while sticky, was very weak in its stickiness. Under normal circumstances this might have been a product with no obvious use, thus destined for the trash bin of failed product ideas. However, during church choir practice the 3M employee observed that choir members complained because their place markers would not stay in their hymn books. Applied to paper, the adhesive proved a perfect solution for keeping page markers in place.In yet another example, despite the existence of its own research and development kitchens and the use of professional chefs to help develop new products, two of the most successful sandwiches McDonald's Corporation ever placed in its stores were the Big Mac and the Filet O' Fish sandwiches. Both were developed by franchisees looking to improve sales at their particular stores. In these two examples, a corporate willingness to consider ideas generated outside the top management ranks resulted in significant, long-term profits for these organizations.It is worth noting that such ground-level creativity and innovation does not occur solely for products and manufacturing organizations. Indeed, operational level employees can also serve as valuable sources of creative developments in service or other related pursuits.In 1994, IBM had the official broadcast rights to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. An IBM programmer discovered that Sun Microsystems was intercepting the raw footage and making it available on the internet under the Sun brand. Although he was not required to do anything, the programmer alerted IBM marketing management to the problem. Asked to meet with the management team, he argued the advantages of the internet and how using it effectively could benefit IBM. Working with a member of a strategy task force, the two formed an underground alliance of internet savvy users who, by sharing technical expertise, helped IBM become an effective participant in the internet. By using this \"grass roots\" movement of internet enthusiasts, he was able to obtain funding that led to IBM's first ever display at a world-wide convention on the internet in 1995. This was IBM's first step into the internet age and paved the way for the position it holds today (Hamel, 2000). Again, an innovative response to a problem arose not from the top, but from lower level employees. Having established the potential value of including operational level employees in the innovative process, some suggestions for enhancing this employee inclusion are summarized below.\nTop management support for employee participation in the innovation process: In some organizations, top management may be too far removed from the \"front lines\" to be effective innovators. This is particularly true in large organizations where top management often receives information after the fact. Indeed, top management may not be engaged at the direct point of interaction between the employee and the product, or the employee and the customer, or the employee and the tool or task. Consequently senior managers may be unaware of the multiplicity of issues or constraints that impact the ability of the employee to perform requisite tasks, make a quality product, or satisfy a customer. In these organizations, it is imperative that top management actively communicate with employees regarding salient issues to enhance their own awareness, while also providing support and empowerment for employees to enact meritorious innovation.It is also important to note that edicts from top management to \"Make it so\" do not mean that the organization will automatically be a workplace wherein busy employees will be engaged in their tasks and looking for opportunities to innovate. Innovative workplaces arise through the efforts of \"innovative\" top managers striving to create an environment characterized by a reciprocal flow of trust that will further facilitate the act of innovative empowerment. This empowerment is not the form of empowerment that is, so typically, given lip service (thus, turning the concept into an empty buzzword), but an active empowerment. Active empowerment embraces true employee participation by encouraging employees to become fully engaged in the innovation process. This full engagement, in turn, allows employees to discover aspects about the organization's internal and external environments. This learning, then, may serve as an effective conduit to more targeted or strategic input from employees related to future innovation. Fostering participation through active empowerment includes five principles:1. Share accurate information - top managers should strive to communicate the true status of the organization, including both challenges as well as strategic opportunities. Having this accurate information will help employees see the importance of being innovative. Sharing this information will also promote an environment of organizational learning, where employees become more familiar with competitive issues and challenges facing the organization.2. Active listening - demonstrate a desire and willingness to listen (and not just via a suggestion box) to employees. This not only reflects integrity on the part of leaders, but also serves as a powerful force in bolstering the confidence, promoting knowledge creation, and fostering the self-efficacy of individuals. This active listening should include top management asking employees how things can be made or done better. Simply stated, if employees are not contributing to decision-making, they are being underutilized. However, it is important to note that employees may not fully contribute or engage in this process if they fear possible reprisal.3. Encourage employees to take risks and support them doing so - when employees take risks and come up with ideas that can be successfully innovated, organizations may want to have in place: a reward system that generously recognizes an employee's contribution (one such reward system is a gain-sharing plan), and plans for publically acknowledging the employee's contribution. A public pat on the back from senior management, communicated via corporate media not only shows the organization's appreciation for the employee's efforts, but sends a strong signal of what the organization values.4. Use failure as a learning tool - while mistakes from negligence should never be rewarded, the failure resulting from an attempt to create new products or services, or to resolve problems in existing ones should never be treated punitively. Conversely, these incidents should be used as an opportunity to learn. An organizational culture that acknowledges the freedom to fail without fear of punishment, and enables trust and collaboration from top to bottom will yield an open and truly empowered environment.5. Foster mutual trust - trust involves a willingness to be vulnerable. Top management has been perfectly willing to expect employees to trust them and the organization, but too often, has been reluctant to trust the employees. Employees have learned not to trust management. Indeed, talk of empowerment by management has bred cynicism when that talk was accompanied by downsizing, pay freezes or cuts, and increased workloads in an already stressful environment. Instead of innovative thinking on the part of employees, actions such as these may result in a collective feeling amongst employees that the organization does not care about them. This, in turn, can lead to collective apathy.\nConclusion: Future success of many organizations is predicated upon the ability of these entities to innovate. Consequently, those organizations that are most innovative may be the most likely to gain long-term competitive advantages. Organizational efforts to foster innovation may be enhanced by considering the creative capital and ideas that reside with ground-level employees. It is only at the front lines, the factory floor, or the store floor, where employees directly interact with the product, the service, and the customer, that recognition of problems and opportunities can occur. Organizations that value and place trust in employees and that provide a supportive environment, will be the organizations that succeed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to argue for the importance of allowing operational or ground level employees to participate in the process of organizational innovation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper looks at various examples of employee innovation. It suggests five ways of enacting active empowerment of employees.\nFindings: - Participation of operational or ground level employees in the innovation process can be facilitated through active empowerment. Active empowerment can be fostered through sharing accurate information, active listening, encouraging employees to take risks, using failure as a learning tool, and fostering mutual trust.\nPractical implications: - Organizations can enhance the overall innovation process by empowering employees to participate in the process. This approach leverages creative resources that may, otherwise, remain untapped.\nSocial implications: - Leveraging employee innovation through active empowerment will not only enhance the overall organization, but will also encourage employee learning, thus collectively contributing to the workforce within society.\nOriginality/value: - A discussion on the importance of allowing employees to participate in the process of innovation lead to the identification of five suggestions for enacting active empowerment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A rubric for describing competences in the areas of circuitry, computation, and crafting after a course using e-textiles	[ "Assessment", "Arduino", "E-textiles", "Electronic textiles", "Lilypad", "Maker movement" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For several decades, the idea of having students work through the process of creating new digital artifacts has been seen as a powerful approach for supporting learning. Seymour Papert (1980) published his seminal book, Mindstorms, advocating a vision of the child as simultaneous builder of public digital artifacts and knowledge of mathematics and computing. Under the umbrella of constructionism, this vision of children as computational learners and producers has been extended in a number of software development environments (e.g. Resnick et al., 2009).\nLiterature review: Research on learning with e-textiles is still emerging. An early qualitative study on e-textiles asserted that completing e-textiles projects helped students develop competences in circuitry, computing, and crafting: the three areas where students often encountered difficulties (Kafai et al., 2014). Those three areas were inherently intertwined. For instance, sewing conductive material results in learning beyond traditional circuitry knowledge because it involves sewing circuit topologies with uninsulated thread where ill-placed threads can create short circuits. Programming sewable LED behavior further requires different considerations than standard event-based programming in a screen-based programming environment because one must consider the physical layout of the circuits and the varying numerical ranges of hand-crafted sensors. However, the findings from Kafai et al., were only suggestive. Degrees of learning in circuitry, computing, and crafting had not been articulated nor specified.\nInstructional context: This instructional context was a new university level educational technology tool course described in Fields and Lee (2016). Open to both graduate and undergraduate students at a large public university in the Western USA. The enrollment for the course was 20 (12 undergraduate students, eight graduate students. Over the semester, students completed a series of five semi-structured mini-projects which exposed them to a range of capabilities and possibilities with e-textiles. These included making a bracelet that would light up when worn, a fabric object that could sense and respond to human touch, another fabric object that could respond to some other environmental change (such as stretching or bending of material), a video game controller using unconventional materials, and a five-note \"piano\" out of soft materials (see Buechley and Qiu, 2013, for the fabric piano). Finally, each student proposed and completed their own final e-textile project, such as an interactive skirt that lit up when the wearer would spin.\nMethods: Given the modest size of the course's enrollment and the authors' interest in exploring the range of student ideas that would be elicited given commercial objects that differed substantially from what they had encountered in the course, a qualitative research approach was taken. While much of the existing research on learning with e-textiles was qualitative, transfer of knowledge to new contexts had not been studied. Therefore, we needed to develop a clearer specification of what were appropriate targets for student learning and identify how students' ideas in a new task context would be expressed. This was also an opportunity for us to determine which interview tasks could be more fruitful for informing the design of future quantitative assessments.\nRubric development: The rubric we developed was informed by an iterative analysis of the interview data. Analysis was completed in three phases. In the first phase, the first author and a student assistant conducted a pass of grounded open-coding (Charmaz, 2006) across all interviews categorizing all of the students' explanations for how the toys worked (or could be made to work, as was the case for the stuffed elephant). The second analytical phase involved reviewing and organizing the codes into emergent themes, which incidentally turned out to map onto the three content spheres described above (crafting, circuitry, and computation). This was done by the first author prior to awareness of the same proposed content scheme from Kafai et al. (2014) and incidentally identified by the second author. This convergence in critical content spheres was suggestive of validity of those content areas as being primary intertwined ones where knowledge would change.\nIllustrating change in students: One key output of this study was the development of a rubric for students' circuitry, computation, and crafting knowledge as applied to how they reason about the design of practical objects. One should not take this rubric for granted. E-textiles knowledge, both as it exists prior to instruction or after a designed learning activity, has not been mapped out in depth. At best, researchers have studied and/or designed assessments to measure learning in simple and parallel circuitry (Peppler and Glosson, 2013) or with computational circuitry and basic conditional coding (Litts et al., 2017; Kafai et al., 2014) with students who have completed at most a single full computational circuitry project similar to the first computational project in the e-textiles university course described here. The students featured in this paper completed four additional projects beyond any other study of e-textiles that we are aware of. Further, no prior study that we know of has sought to capture expertise in crafting as it relates to e-textiles, yet we found that it was a key component of students' ability to predict or map out the design for how an electronic toy can work. This may be because of the lack of academic status given to handcrafts (see Rose, 2004). By capturing three interrelated areas of e-textiles expertise development in a rubric-scoreable manner, this study breaks new ground in understanding e-textiles expertise in breadth and depth of learning.\nChange in circuitry knowledge: To illustrate what change in circuitry knowledge looked like within the data, we draw from interviews with McKell. McKell was an undergraduate who had almost no prior experience in crafting, circuitry or computing. A communications major, she came to the course with an interest in digital media and enrolled in the course in order to complete a required minor. During her pre-interview, McKell generated some non-normative explanations for how the toys worked. Of particular interest here is the one she provided for the interactive rabbit after she activated it and it began making music and lights flashed in its ears:MCKELL: Yeah, there is probably like wires that come up from his belly. The switch would be in his belly [...] when you squeeze it, it pushes the power to go on and the power goes up through the wires and into the lights in the ears [...] You have to push it to - to make the energy go out.\nChange in computational knowledge: To illustrate change in computational knowledge, we present an excerpt from Danica. A nontraditional undergraduate student studying art who was quite knowledgeable about craftwork across physical media due to her major, Danica could produce sophisticated craft solutions in response to our questions. She also was married to an electrical engineering student and had previously gained a lot of familiarity with circuitry informally. Thus she scored at the highest levels in the pre-interviews for crafting and circuitry (level 4). However, computational knowledge, in the form of articulating procedures and algorithms was new for her. There was no mention of these topics in her initial explanation of how to work the elephant. When asked to draw a picture, she created the drawing in Figure 3(a). This figure looks more like a circuit diagram than any other student's drawing in the pre-interviews and even includes a resistor and some conventions for showing positive and negative connections. However, when she was asked about programming, she remained vague and said somehow toys that had programming had some instructions to make them work the way that they did.\nChange in crafting knowledge: As stated above, one especially compelling feature of electronic textiles is the connections that they provide to craft culture. Crafting can take a number of forms but has been robust enough and so central to cultures that crafted artifacts become important exhibit pieces in museums, and in some countries, there are large chain stores and companies dedicated exclusively to the distribution of crafting products (e.g. Michael's in the USA). However, craft knowledge is often passed down informally, such as through family and in extracurricular activities during one's childhood (e.g. Fields and King, 2014). Courses related to craftwork do not typically maintain a major presence in the computing and technology curriculum, particularly in the USA where the current study took place. Still, by virtue of the technologies used and the course design, some students who had little to no explicit craft experience were able to show improvement in that area as well. Some studies with youth who worked with e-textiles have included self-reports from students that among their most noteworthy accomplishments was their relative improvement in sewing capability (e.g. Searle and Kafai, 2015). However, no e-textiles study to date has offered a systematic way to characterize change in crafting knowledge.\nDiscussion: E-textiles present an emerging opportunity for educational technologists to study learning by making. To make a functional e-textiles project, one must consider the kinds of materials used, the techniques of connecting them (e.g. sewing), the physical layout (topology) of the circuits, and the coding of sensors in relation to user interaction with the resultant fabric artifact. Although prior studies documented significant learning in pre-post tests of basic circuitry and simple reading of code, our study delves more deeply into the degree of competence change in a semester-long e-textiles university course. In particular, the rubric and analysis we developed attends to crafting, an area that while acknowledged as important (Kafai et al., 2014; Searle and Kafai, 2015), was entirely missing from any previous attempts at assessment, and to novel tasks that were outside of the users' direct experience in that they analyzed interactive toys that used different technology and were commercially produced rather than replicas of what students had already encountered in instruction. Thus our rubric provides a detailed way to begin to map learning in different areas of e-textile design than those examined before.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In light of growing interest in the maker movement and electronic textiles (e-textiles) as an educational technology, the purpose of this paper is to characterize competence change in undergraduate students who participated in a semester-length course that used e-textiles.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This qualitative and exploratory research study used semi-structured pre- and post-interviews with undergraduate students (N=7) thinking aloud through novel tasks in order to understand their learning from a semester-long course involving e-textiles. This design was intended to elicit student thinking with commercial toys that differed from the types of projects they had completed in their course. A coding scheme was developed and organized into an analytical rubric to map depth of understanding in the three spheres of circuitry, computation, and crafting. Select cases of pre-post change were identified to illustrate growth in specific content spheres.\nFindings: Students' ability to reason through novel tasks showed growth in each sphere, provided that the student did not begin with a full level of sophistication in a particular area during the pre-interview. Although students may not reach normative or expert-like competence, there are demonstrable indications of growth for each of the dimensions.\nOriginality/value: As e-textiles are increasingly turned to educationally, the creation and presentation of a rubric for describing competence in three spheres, especially the previously understudied area of crafting knowledge in e-textiles, is itself a useful contribution to the field. This is also an extension of e-textiles learning research into undergraduate instruction, an as-yet understudied setting for maker education.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Identity deception detection: requirements and a model	[ "Cyber-security", "Twitter", "Social media", "Big data", "Fake identities", "Identity deception" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Social media platforms (SMPs) are used for various purposes in the daily lives of individuals and companies alike. These purposes include among others online social networking, blogging, wikis, media sharing, online reviews, news groups, microblogging and geo-location services (McCay-Peet and Quan-Haase, 2017). In 2017, Facebook announced reaching their 2 billionth active online identity (Constine, 2017). An online identity is an individual or company who logged into the Facebook platform in the past 30 days (Facebook, 2018). Facebook continues to report a 10 per cent year on year growth in the total number of active users (Facebook, 2018). This growth has not only connected many individuals with each other but also permitted many capabilities proposing to improve society at large. These capabilities include, among others, finding long lost family members given up at birth (Samuels, 2018) and tracking natural disasters (Chun et al., 2014).\n2. Background and related work: Many examples of cyber threats that have materialised in real-life incidents can be found on SMPs. A literature study, as illustrated in Table I, revealed threats like identity theft, trolling, flaming, identity deception, cyber stalking, cyber bullying, grooming and phishing. Take for example the case where a 23-year-old British woman was jailed for grooming a 13-year-old boy via Facebook and later physically abusing the boy (Association, 2017). In another example, two teenagers were arrested for the cyber bullying of another teenager, which potentially resulted in her death (Dearen, 2018). These examples illustrate that cyber threats delivered through SMPs can target humans in particular, whereas in the past, cyber threats were more likely to be directed at hardware devices and infrastructure (Chandramouli, 2011). Those past attacks required great skill from malicious individuals, whereas cyber criminals now use SMPs to exploit the vulnerabilities of the typical user. For example, it is nowadays possible to bully another individual anonymously and at very low risk to the attacker (Peddinti et al., 2017).\n3. Establishing the requirements: The following are the requirements for discovering machine learning models for automated IDD. These requirements are based on the literature discussed in the previous section as well as the research results presented in this paper:\n4. High-level design of a prototype for the automated assistance of identity deception detection on social media platforms: The proposed prototype aims to validate initial ideas (Drasch et al., 2015), implement requirements, allow for experimentation (Fallman, 2003) and furthers collaboration with the industry and/or fellow academics (Gundecha and Liu, 2012; Fallman, 2003).\n5. Experimental results: Identity attributes from Twitter accounts were mined, using a Java API (Yamamoto, 2018) together with Apache Flume (Apache, 2018) during 2016. Apache Flume was able to import volumes of data whilst ignoring non-English-speaking accounts. A total of 606 914 240 tweets were gathered for this research from Twitter. This equates to 200GB of data consisting out of the account profiles of 223,796 Twitter users. In total, 53,091 of the Twitter accounts were discarded at this point, using rules from the research of Cresci et al. (2015) that identifies non-human or bot accounts. The contents of the tweets were ignored as the prototype requires only those attributes describing the identity of the user. An additional 15,000 deceptive human accounts were generated using two random human data generator APIs (Armstrong and Hunt, 2017; Keen, 2017). These fabricated examples of deceptive accounts each had one or more identity attributes not representative of the truth. For example, the location would be a place different from their indicated GPS location. The Pearson's chi-square test of independence (Kothari, 2004) proofed that the fabricated examples were representative of the population. It is expected that the original gathered corpus also includes deceptive accounts. However, deceptive accounts are in the minority and should therefore not have an effect on the results (Halevy et al., 2014).\n6. Discussion of results: For this paper, the Accuracy, F1-score and ROC-AUC (area under the receiver operator curve) was considered to assist in the evaluation of the models. The F1-score and AUC metrics are often used in research detecting spam and bot accounts to determine the effectiveness of the machine learning models (Ferrara et al., 2016; Fire et al., 2014b; Xiao et al., 2015). Although 10-fold cross-validation was used to train the models, it is known that the F1-score suffers (Menardi and Torelli, 2014; Jeni et al., 2013) in skewed distributions. More recently, the PR-AUC (Precision-Recall Curve) has been recommended as an alternative to ROC-AUC (Saito and Rehmsmeier, 2017; Davis and Goadrich, 2006).\n7. Conclusion and future work: Requirements that can be useful for the discovery of IDD models are described in this paper. The paper shows that there are multiple attributes, or metadata entities, currently available on SMPs that could be used to detect identity deception by humans. It is also shown that data belonging to these attributes could be easily gathered enabling automated human IDD. An experimental prototype shows how supervised machine learning models can be discovered that best assist in the task of automatically detecting identity deception. Future work will focus on increasing the accuracy of the machine learning models. One way of achieving this will be to introduce engineered features such as \"age-determined-from-profile-image\".\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to describe requirements for a model that can assist in identity deception detection (IDD) on social media platforms (SMPs). The model that was discovered demonstrates the usefulness of the requirements. The aim of the model is to identify humans lying about their identity on SMPs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The requirements of a model for IDD will be determined through a literature study combined with a study that identifies currently available identity related metadata on SMPs. This metadata refers to the attributes that describe a user account on an SMP. The aim is to restrict IDD to be only based on these types of attributes, as opposed to or combined with the contents of a single or multiple communications.\nFindings: Data science experiments were conducted and in particular supervised machine learning models were discovered that indeed detects identity deception on SMPs with an area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (ROC-AUC) of 75.5 per cent.\nOriginality/value: SMPs allow any user to easily communicate with their friends or the general public at large. People can now be targeted at great scale, most often for malicious purposes. The reality is that many of these cyber-attacks involve some form of identity deception, where the attackers lie about who they are. Much focus to date has been on the identification of non-human deceptive accounts. This paper focuses on deceptive human accounts that target vulnerable individuals on SMPs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Influence of transportation infrastructure on the relationship between institutions and economic performance	[ "Business location decisions", "Institutional theory", "Factor-mobility theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Within a country or an economy, an institution is established according to a wide range of institutional factors such as capital, information and materials. Movements of these institutional factors are observed across an economy, and the efficient movements of these factors in an economy are often assumed to occur without question. In the literature related to institutions, it is generally accepted that the influence of transport is well established. However, although the flows of institutional attributes in an economy are multidirectional, the relationship between transport and institutions has yet to be thoroughly examined and verified by empirical research.\n2. Literature review: The foundation of our research framework comprises two elements: institutional theory and factor-mobility theory. Institutional theory is an economic concept that aims to explain the organization of numerous attributes in an economy. Various studies, as discussed below, have been conducted to analyze economic performance in terms of the possible effect of different institutions. During the past two decades, institutional theory has emerged as a powerful explanation to account for the influence of internal institutions on organizational decision-making and outcomes.\n3. Research model and hypotheses: 3.1 Development of hypotheses\n4. Data and analysis: 4.1 Data collection\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Theoretical contributions\n6. Conclusions: Our investigation into institutional attributes and transportation infrastructure contributes to the analytical and methodological aspects of research in the field of institutional theory. In the absence of a widely accepted way of measuring institutions, we defined institutions empirically in terms of three attributes, namely:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to analyse the observation that the economics of many countries have boomed after the input of substantial investments into physical and social infrastructures.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A structural equation model is formulated to examine the effect of transportation infrastructure on the relationship between institutions and gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC). This study further differentiates between developed and developing economies.\nFindings: The study identifies the different roles of transportation infrastructure in mediating the relationship between institutions and average income in these two types of economy. Institutions and transportation infrastructure positively influence GDPPC, whereas institutions positively influence transportation infrastructure. In addition, the results found indirect influence of institutions on GDPPC via transportation infrastructure.\nOriginality/value: This study provides new insights into international business studies based on institutional theory and factor-mobility theory.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The puzzles and paradoxes of human need: an introduction	[ "Poverty", "Social economics", "Equal opportunities", "India", "Bhutan" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The masthead of this journal says that we are to study the ways in which economic systems can meet human needs, and to philosophise about the results. We expand this on our web site:The social economist emphasizes \"needs\" and, unlike the mainstream economist, distinguishes them from \"wants\". The social economist also emphasizes the need to advance the well-being of the community and looks askew at the doctrine of self-interest. In this regard the social economist is not loath to advocate government intervention should social policy ever be formulated that would appear to advance the self-interest of a select few. In such circumstances, the social economist will not only advocate but will welcome government intervention. Moreover, the social economist is not perturbed by the expression Wertfrei. With their humanistic approach to socio-economic problems, social economists emphasize ethical values. The economy exists for the well-being of the individual person. In this economy the philosopher has an important role to play.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - It is difficult to get an adequate account of human needs but there are known needs which, for hundreds of millions of people, are not met. Can the present economic system meet them? Can any economic system meet them? Is simple economic growth the answer? The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the questions, emphasizing the problems and paradoxes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper looks at India where poverty is rampant despite recent gains, and at Bhutan which ranks low in economic production but quite high on the \"happiness scales\". It also looks at questions of the relation of economic inequality to social problems, citing recent studies.\nFindings: - The paper focuses on how well the world's economic systems address, or fail to address, human needs.\nOriginality/value: - This paper is written by a philosopher and writer on social economics (and Editor of International Journal of Social Economics (IJSE )) who works in a variety of fields: metaphysics and its epistemological relations, the theory of the history of philosophy (focusing on the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries), and moral, social, and economic philosophy and their relations to culture and religion. The paper then introduces the papers in this special issue of the IJSE devoted to human needs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Development of psychological capital in an academic-based leadership education program	[ "Leadership development", "Leadership", "Psychological capital", "Positive organizational behaviour", "Positive psychology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Much has been written regarding the tumultuous work environment of the past several decades. Current economic conditions have given way to greater employment instability. Organizations are eliminating non-productive functions and are often reshuffling, retraining or laying off staff and as a result many careers have become fractured.\nPsyCap review: PsyCap is defined as:\nLeadership education: It is well-documented that there has been vast number of leadership education programs that were created over the past several decades (Riggio et al., 2003). Colleges and universities structurally house leadership education programs in a variety of contexts, such as colleges of business, arts and sciences, professional studies, education, human services and in divisions of student affairs (Brungardt et al., 2006). The emerging field of leadership studies draws upon scholars from academic fields such as political science, sociology, psychology, business, education, public administration, management among others (Riggio et al., 2003).\nHypothesis: Leadership education programs may provide a viable pathway for individuals to develop PsyCap capacities. The current exploratory study strives to gauge the impact of an academic-based leadership education program on students' PsyCap capacities.\nMethods: Data collection procedures\nInstrumentation: Self-efficacy\nResults: Initial evaluation of the data included calculation of means and standard deviations for the overall sample and for responses from each of the three modes of delivery of the leadership program (see Table I). Additionally, Cronbach's a-coefficients and a correlational analysis were conducted for the overall sample. The a-coefficients were strong, ranging from 0.640 to 0.898, however, the dimensions of the PsyCap were all highly interrelated (p\nDiscussion: This study explored the impact of an academic-based leadership education program on the development of PsyCap. The data revealed some interesting patterns and insights. Analysis of the overall sample indicated statistically significant differences between responses taken at the entry-point (Time 1) and mid-point (Time 2), as well as between the mid-point (Time 2) and the end-point (Time 3) of the leadership education program along each of the PsyCap dimensions. However, significance was not detected between Time 1 and Time 3.\nLimitations: As a part of the overall discussion of the impact of this research, it is important to note and discuss some of the limitations of this study. Perhaps the most important limitation is the methodological lack of individual tracking for longitudinal comparison for each participant. The current study only analyzed overall means of participants from each of the three data collection points. Further research ought to use matched data to examine-specific individual growth and development along the PsyCap dimensions.\nImplications for research: Beyond addressing the limitations of the present study, there are several implications for future research that examines the potential impact of leadership education and PsyCap. There is a growing body of research investigating antecedents of PsyCap. For instance, research indicated that workplace support facilitates PsyCap development among employees (Liu, 2013), however comparatively little is known about the actual process by which perceptions of workplace support translate into increased PsyCap.\nImplications for practice: While the present study provides partial, preliminary support that individuals' PsyCap can be enhanced through an academic-based leadership program, there remains practical implications for both higher education and organizations. First, academic departments may more intentionally design their undergraduate programs to address soft skill development, particularly related to the PsyCap capacities. Given the analysis of the presented data indicated a substantial improvement in PsyCap immediately upon the completion of a service-learning course whereby students deploy the knowledge and skills in a real-life context, perhaps a pedagogical approach that incorporates service-learning opportunities may offer viable pathways in providing students with confidence and resiliency in meeting life's challenges. Further, beyond simple departmental-level redesign of academic programs, higher education institutions could reframe college/university-wide stated learning outcomes to be more consistent with PsyCap capacities and align general education curricula accordingly.\nConclusion: Overall, this study sought to develop the connection between the construct of PsyCap and leadership education. The present study extended support for the malleability of PsyCap and offered preliminary support for the impact academic-based leadership education programs have on the development of PsyCap, however the data indicated that individuals' may potentially regress in their perceptions of their PsyCap capacities. Clearly further research is required to confirm the effect of leadership education on students' PsyCap capacities. Additionally, research examining this impact that applies various methods is needed not only to understand the direct effect of leadership development intervention on PsyCap, but also to demonstrate the lasting effects.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of an academic-based, leadership education program on the development of psychological capital (PsyCap).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from students at the entry-point (Time 1), mid-point (Time 2) and end-point (Time 3) of the leadership program, across all modes of delivery. Statistical analysis was performed to determine changes in psychological capacity.\nFindings: Results indicated PsyCap capacities (self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency) may be impacted through leadership training and that online delivery appeared to have the greatest impact on student PsyCap development.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper concludes with a discussion of limitations and future directions of research that are needed. Limitations include non-individual tracking, and a somewhat small sample size in one of the samples. Implications include further research into a potential response shift bias among participants, research regarding the impact of educational modality and student maturity and self-awareness.\nPractical implications: The paper describes implications for practitioners in higher education, as well as more broadly for educators who are attempting to develop positive psychological capacities in their students.\nOriginality/value: This paper expands upon a developing field in positive organizational psychology by focussing on development within leadership education.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Inconsistencies in the behavioural effects of consumer ethnocentrism: The role of brand, product category and country of origin	[ "Country of origin", "Consumer ethnocentrism", "Global brands", "Product category" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The economic downturn in Europe, the USA, and many developing countries has heightened the need to protect local jobs and economies. The economic crisis has revived consumers' ethnocentric tendencies at the expense of foreign products. Consequently, consumer ethnocentrism (CET), a concept Shimp and Sharma introduced in 1987 to explain the biased preference for domestic products at the expense of foreign alternatives, has become more relevant than ever before. Indeed, protectionist measures seem to be on the rise, as countries try to shield their industries from foreign competition (Chaffin, 2012). CET is a predisposition and encompasses strong moral elements, in that consumers perceive purchasing domestic products as their moral duty to their country (Shimp and Sharma, 1987). Extant research confirms that increases in perceived threat, such as any economic crisis, can result in heightened levels of CET (Festervand and Sokoya, 1994; Lee et al., 2003; Olsen et al., 1993; Sharma et al., 1995; Witkowski, 1998). In the same vein, relevant research views CET as a deeply rooted, tenacious type of non-tariff barrier (Shimp and Sharma, 1987) that may defy economic policy and trading agreements. A key question that remains unanswered, however, is whether all foreign products suffer equally from exacerbated CET or whether some products suffer more than others. The same question in reverse applies to domestic products - do all domestic products benefit equally from CET?\nLiterature review: CET conceptualisation\nHypotheses development: Consistency of CET across products\nMethodology: Data were collected using consumer panels in the USA. We launched an online survey and received 555 completed questionnaires, 468 of which were usable after screening out cases with excessive missing data and non-US respondents. In the sample, 43.3 per cent were women, 26 per cent had a graduate degree, and the average age was between ages 20 and 44 years (Table I).\nFindings: The QIC and the corrected QIC criteria indicated that the independent correlation matrix structure provides the best fit, and therefore we used that structure for the model. The results provide support for H1; with regards to domestic bias, the interaction between product category and the CETSCALE is statistically significant (Table II). An examination of the repeated logistic regression parameters in Table III reveals that CETSCALE interacts with washing machines, cell phones, laptops, and clothing but not with coffee (a low-cost convenience item used as a reference category). A strong direct effect of product category has been found, which indicates high variation in the purchase of domestic brands across product categories. Figure 1 plots the predicted mean responses for the different products at different levels of CET. As the figure shows, the probability of purchasing a domestic brand increases with the level of CET for washing machines, laptops, and cell phones. CET does not exert any effects on lower-price items, such as beer, coffee, shoes, and clothing; conversely, CETSCALE effects are evident in most of the higher-cost items. These findings provide partial support for H1a, though two of the products (i.e. cars and cameras) are not influenced by CET. The findings do not provide support for H1b; increases in the CET do not affect the purchase of domestic brands for publicly used categories, such as cars, shoes, and clothing.\nDiscussion: The findings provide several valuable insights into the scarcely researched area of the behavioural consequences of CET. This paper is the first to explore the effects in a non-experimental setting through a series of reported brand purchases. In particular, we examined four moderators of the relationship between CET and reported brand purchases: products' economic cost level, product visibility, globalness of the brand, and cultural similarity of the brand's COO.\nConclusion, implications, and limitations: This study explores the issue of CET's inconsistent predictions of purchasing behaviour in an extensive set of product categories (ten product categories) involving 432 brands and 22 different countries of origin. Our study contributes to existing literature on CET and COO by adopting an innovative methodological approach that investigates actual brand purchases. This research also constitutes a more systematic effort to explain variations in the behavioural effects of CET because it investigates four different factors: COO, branding, and product visibility and product cost.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite the well-established impact of consumer ethnocentrism (CET) on purchase intentions, extant literature offers limited evidence on actual purchase behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to address the gap by investigating the factors underlying variations in CET behaviour using reported brand purchases. Product category, product cost and visibility, brand and country of origin (COO) of purchased products are investigated for their impact on the differences in the behavioural effects of CET.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study uses survey data collected in the USA from a sample of 468 consumers. Self-reported brand purchases are used and involve ten product categories, 432 brands, and 22 countries of origin. Logistic regressions for repeated measures are used to test the hypotheses formulated.\nFindings: The results confirm that product category is an important determinant of the behavioural effects of CET. CET also has a significant impact on purchases of the most expensive product categories rather than frequently purchased convenient items. Contrary to existing empirical evidence, cultural similarity does not mitigate the negative effects of CET and product visibility does not strengthen the behavioural effect of CET.\nPractical implications: The study results should enhance managers' understanding of the determinants of ethnocentric behaviour. The results caution managers about the value of self-reported measures and indicate that product features other than COO may be more effective in mitigating the negative effects of CET.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to extant literature on CET and COO by investigating, for the first time, the problem of inconsistent predictions of purchase behaviour in the context of foreign vs domestic brands. For this purpose, the study adopted a novel methodological approach to investigate actual brand purchases.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Intra-organisational injustice in the construction industry	[ "Australia", "People", "Fairness", "Human resource management", "Justice", "Organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There is extensive evidence to show high levels of injustice exist towards those who work in the construction industry around the world. See, for example, the diverse contributions to Murray and Dainty's (2009) and Dainty and Loosemore's (2013) edited explorations of human resource management practices and corporate social responsibility in the construction industry. These bring together a powerful body of empirical and theoretical research which exposes many forms of intra-organisational injustice in the construction industry (poor safety, discrimination, gender inequality, corruption, intimidation and bullying) and an enterprise culture which positions people in a broader performative agenda, primarily driven by profits rather than their individual and collective welfare. Subcontracting, workforce casualisation, contingent labour, migrant workers and the search for \"flexible\" business models are just some of the many mechanisms which position people as a dispensable resource to be dismissed and reemployed in response to the cyclical nature of the construction market. The increasingly hollowed-out nature of construction firms and the \"invisible worker\" reveal the \"harsh reality\" of working in the construction industry for many marginalised and disadvantaged groups. And it is argued that many construction management researchers have inadvertently supported and promoted the asymmetrical power relations that generate such injustice by uncritically promoting the benefits of the rationalist management practices which support them. Governments are implicated too, hiding and distorting the realities of working in the industry and further entrenching existing power relations, despite rhetorical initiatives which on-the-surface create seemingly good intentions to improve conditions for all those who work in the industry.\nTheories of organisational justice: Rawls' (1999) formative theory of justice argued that the concept of justice is grounded in the two principles of liberty and equality. The liberty principle argues that every person has certain basic rights and freedoms and the equality principle asserts that these should be open to any person regardless of background, ethnicity or gender. While the origins of justice research were focused on the operation and implementation of the law and the treatment and sentencing of wrongdoers in wider society, research into the effects of \"organisational justice\" have been proliferating in recent years, both in relation to employee-supervisor relations but also employee-organisational relations (Matlala, 2011). The value of this work is the revelation that that workers anthropomorphise the organisations that employ them, treating them as social actors in their own right. As Matlala (2011, p. 28) states, \"employees generally expect their workplace experiences to be fair and judge their relationships with the organisations they serve using justice as a fundamental base\".\nMethod: In using the above theoretical insights to explore the extent of injustice in the construction industry and what forms it takes, an anonymous online survey was undertaken of 135 consultants, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers from across the Australian construction supply chain. An online survey was used to access a large number of respondents across a highly geographically spread industry. It was anonymous because of the potentially sensitive nature of the subject matter and because of possible respondent perceptions of potential repercussions in reporting unfair treatment in their organisations. The importance of minimising these possible biases was emphasised by the political context in which this research took place where recent media reports in the Australian press had recently suggested that whistle-blowers were rarely rewarded for their actions and often lose their jobs as a result of communicating their concerns. In an attempt to reduce informant bias and random human reporting error, survey questions were structured in a very straightforward manner relating respondents to the factual situations at their current workplace rather than their past opinions. Furthermore, an instructional page was included to remind respondents to answer individual questions based on their factual situations at the current workplace (following the techniques of Huber and Power, 1985). To make the survey easy to use, all questions were closed-ended and answered by clicking a pre-determined response from a provided list, rather than through manual inputs to open-ended questions. This ensured that issues such as transposition errors would not occur and it also minimised the significance of any statistical outliers in the responses. A notable criticism and drawback of this closed-ended design is that the quantitative data collected may lack potential \"richness\" and insight. For this reason, an open-ended question was included at the end of the questionnaire, prompting the respondents to elaborate on any of the themes found within the survey.\nData analysis: We undertook three statistical tests: exploratory factor analysis (i.e. EFA); Kruskal-Wallis test; and Mann-Whitney test. The EFA was conducted (Table II) to examine the dimensionality of intra-organisational justice in construction workplace. Three guidelines, suggested by Nunnally (1978), were used to assess the convergent reliability and validity of measurement items within their respective dimensions: factor loading must be at least 0.60; Cronbach's a coefficient must be at least 0.70; and cross-factor loadings must be less or equal to 0.40. To complement the EFA findings, the Relative Prevalence Indexing (RPI) method was also adopted to facilitate the relative comparisons of measurement items within respective dimensions and to provide further insights about the existence of justice in construction workplaces. In this study, the RPI method, which is also known as the normalisation method, was chosen over the arithmetic average method because the former is able to derive relative indices within the range of 0-1 for each item and therefore enable researchers to undertake relative comparisons of items. This is an outcome that could be not achieved by directly comparing the arithmetic average of each items considering that items could have different maximum mean values (Holt, 1997). Equation 1 shows the formula for calculating the RPI of each item:\nDiscussion of results: The EFA findings and the RPI of respective measurement items are summarised in Table III. One of the most salient findings here is that the degrees of workplace injustice in construction are not as excessive as those being reported in previous studies, as reflected by the RPIs of each item ranging from 0.57 to 0.84. This is reinforced by the qualitative findings summarised in Table IV where only 25 out of the 135 respondents responded with unfair treatments. Furthermore, we found that intra-organisational justice could be categorised along four dimensions (instead of those three proposed by the literature) upon the removal of five inconsistent measurement items - F16 and F19 had factor loading of less than 0.60; and F17, F21 and F25 had cross-factor loading of greater than 0.40 on two dimensions. The removal of these five inconsistent measurement items have improved the convergent reliability of their respective dimensions, as denoted by the increase in the Cronbach's a values of dimensions 2 (from 0.911 to 0.933) and 4 (from 0.918 to 0.290). Furthermore, the findings reveal that: the four dimensions collectively account for 79.334 per cent of the total variances explained; and the overall Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of 0.928 is obtained. All these indicate that the sample size of this study is adequate, and that there is a high degree of internal reliability within respective dimensions.\nConclusions: The aim of this paper was to use theories of organisational justice to explore the extent of perceived injustice in the industry, how this varies across the construction workforce and what forms it takes. Using theories of organisational justice, a survey of 135 senior professionals from across the construction supply chain in Australia shows that the main form of perceived intra-organisational justice in the Australian construction industry are procedural (RPI 0.59) and distributive (RPI 0.62) in nature, rather than interactional (RPI 0.78 and 0.71). The emphasis on procedural injustice (performance evaluation, consultation, consistency of decision making, appeal and culture) and distributive justice (relative rewards relating to education, stress, responsibilities, performance and effort) indicate that the main form of injustice felt by our respondents appear to be \"man-made\". In other words, intra-organisational injustice is more a product of contracts, procedures and practices than of the interpersonal relationships of our respondents with their peers and supervisors (freedom of expression, voice, freedom of association, respect, dignity and sensitivity). Also, despite a significant literature around the \"harsh realities\" of working in the construction industry, it appears that there was no real sense of high levels of perceived injustice in our sample (as reflected by the RPIs of each item ranging from 0.57 to 0.84 and our qualitative findings summarised in Table IV where only 18 per cent of respondents provided examples of unfair treatment). This divergence between people's perceptions and researchers' evidence of injustice is an important issue that needs further investigation. It may be explained by the institutionalisation of injustice in the industry which has created a habituation effect, where people do not recognise injustice because it is normalised in every day behaviour. It was also interesting to note that there were no significant differences in perceived injustice between men and women in our sample, again contradicting the emerging literature around gender equality in the construction industry. Overall, the overall level of perceived injustice was quite low and most respondents perceived their overall rewards in work were fair when compared to the amount of training and education to the experience they have had. Perhaps the most interesting finding was the perceived injustice experienced by our middle managers. Middle managers consistently felt less justly treated than their senior or junior counterparts particularly in terms of their rewards and how they were consulted about company decisions. In contrast, those at the top of the industry's hierarchy felt most justly treated.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Increasing workforce casualisation, under representation of women and other minority groups, racial discrimination, corruption and poor safety are just some of the documented examples of intra-organisational injustice in the industry. Typically these issues are problematised separately using different theoretical frameworks, yet at the most fundamental behavioural level they have a common cause which lies in the \"unjust\" treatment of one person by another. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the conceptual understanding of these hitherto separated but conceptually linked problems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A survey 135 consultants, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers from across the Australian construction supply chain.\nFindings: Surprisingly despite widespread academic concerns about injustice in the construction industry, there are not significant concerns within the industry community. Contrary to much research about the poor culture of the construction industry, the results indicate that the relatively low levels of perceived injustice are institutional rather than cultural. The research also highlights the plight of middle management, which appear to consistently suffer the highest levels of injustice across all its theoretical categories.\nResearch limitations/implications: Sample size and Australian focus.\nPractical implications: Informs organisational policies to reduce injustice in the construction industry.\nSocial implications: By reducing injustice, this research will improve the fairness of business practices in the construction industry.\nOriginality/value: Application of justice theories to conceptualise unfair construction practices.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Retail companies' internationalization behavior and the 2008 crisis	[ "Crisis", "Company behavior", "Retail internationalization", "Retail strategy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Most companies still experience the global financial crisis as a severe shock. The worldwide economic downturn has affected almost all economic sectors since 2008, providing companies around the globe with challenges and drawbacks. Despite this, research offers limited explanations on how to handle anomalous events (referred to as crises). Some authors highlight better management as a survival mechanism (e.g. Champion, 1999; Goad, 1999), while others adopt a resource-based perspective to identify organizational capabilities to help firms manage their way out of an economic crisis (Day, 1994; Dickson, 1992; Grewal and Tansuhaj, 2001). One literature stream focuses on innovation as a contributing factor to company survival in an economic crisis (Naidoo, 2010), while another has suggested following an internationalization strategy to overcome negative economic impacts (Alexander, 1995; Evans et al., 2008; Hutchinson et al., 2007; Pellegrini, 1994).\nThe context: retail internationalization: Internationalization has played a key role in retail companies' strategy for more than 30 years. Internationalization strategies refocused when former communist countries entered the worldwide market. Transition economies' development has been a new retail company investment focus since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Retail companies invest in the BRIC countries and in new markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and other developing economies in the Middle and Far East (leading to a per person per capita growths in these countries) in order to maintain growth.\nThe four theoretical underpinnings: In the current crisis, an internationalization strategy promises fruitful results. While the recession is still ongoing in Europe, transition economies such as China, Brazil, and India, which initially reduced their growth rate, have recovered quickly and their GDPs are growing strongly. Ultimately, internationalization seems to be the key for companies recovering from environmental disturbances: they can shift their revenues and profits to less affected countries.\nMethod: Research design\nFindings: The unaffectedness underpinning (P1)\nDiscussion: The main findings of our study show that retailers' international development accelerated after the crisis, especially in terms of the number of companies active in the international arena. However, the number of actions per company decreased after the crisis, indicating a more cautious attitude and a more thoughtful evaluation of international opportunities, the directions of the moves, and the international development strategy.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to challenge earlier recommendations and explanations regarding companies' behaviour after an economic shock and analyses worldwide retail companies' internationalization processes before and after the 2008 crisis.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Drawing on information published between 2003 and 2012, the authors focus on the 2008 crisis and analyse 1,500 different internationalization moves by 109 companies from 26 countries.\nFindings: The analyses confirm that the pace of retail internationalization increased after the 2008 crisis, that these companies had mainly moved into countries with newly developing economies, and that the entry modes ranged from high-cost entry modes and low-cost strategies.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides an initial indication of retailers' actual internationalization behaviour in the period considered. Such material has not been available previously as international retailing research has primarily focused on theoretical assumptions. By focusing on the current financial crisis, the authors highlight the problem that researchers investigating various company behaviours face when comparing these to the theoretical expectations. By using a worldwide, multisectorial, and longitudinal retailing sample to illustrate the internationalization process, the authors not only generalize companies' internationalization behaviour, but also challenge earlier recommendations and explanations regarding their behaviour after an economic shock.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A case-based reasoning system for fault detection and isolation: a case study on complex gearboxes	[ "Artificial intelligence", "Case-based reasoning", "Intelligent maintenance", "Fault detection and isolation", "Maintenance decision support system" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: It is quite natural and obvious that when machinery is operated continuously, degradation of its components is inevitable leading to the development of faults and/or ultimately complete breakdown of the system. Moreover, when these machinery are operated in real-time industrial environment under dynamic loading conditions, they degrade more rapidly than working under normal loading conditions, and faults/failures occur more frequently than before (Kumar and Chaturvedi, 2011). Upon severe degradation and occurrence of faults, it becomes necessary to accurately detect, diagnose and arrest faults at the earliest possible opportunity to avoid a complete cessation of function-ability of the system and losses thereof.\n2. Problem background: A typical integrated steel processing plant contains several sections such as coke-oven plant, sinter plant, blast furnace, steel melt shop and continuous casting, light and medium merchant mill (LMMM), wire rod mill, etc. These sections are sequentially arranged and iron ore is gradually processed through these sections and converted into finished steel products. Generally, after the continuous casting section, LMMM and wire rod mill sections are located, where shaped billets and rods are produced from red-hot cast blooms. Final shape and size are obtained by the compressive forces imparted by the rollers to the red-hot cast blooms. These rollers are the integral part of rolling stand and several rolling stands are arranged sequentially for horizontal and vertical compression of the cast blooms. Torque from DC induction motors are delivered to these rollers at a reduced speed by heavy, complex and large-sized gearboxes. Basically, these motor shafts are rotated at very high speed ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 rpm. A motor shaft is connected with the input shaft of the gearbox through a flexible coupling with each rolling stand. In the present context, there are a total of seven gearboxes arranged sequentially.\n3. Related works: Gearbox fault detection and diagnosis can be carried out mainly by following two ways, namely, analyzing vibration or other indicators such as motor current signature and deducing inferences directly from them, and building a database by storing the analysis and different features of previously captured vibration or other fault signals that are extracted and stored in the database. Then, these features are compared with new case and based on the highest similarity of patterns, solutions are provided. When it is not possible to develop a robust model for a complex system to carry FDI process, soft computing and AI techniques are often being utilized to handle the situation wherein extracted features are compared with the already stored past cases (Das et al., 2012).\n4. Working principle of CBR methodology: CBR has emerged in late 1990s and its basic idea is coupled with AI and human cognitive process. Since then, it has been considered as a powerful and intelligent decision-making tool which is able to proficiently handle imprecise, uncertain and ill-structured decision-making problems (Kolodner, 1992).\n5. Proposed CBR system for FDI of large-scale machinery: A self-explanatory procedural flow chart of our proposed methodology is shown in Figure 4. However, it is noteworthy that the selection of HIs with relevant and respective symptoms, identification of operating and environmental parameters impacting the occurrence of faults and to structure them with prior fault cases (refer Figure 5) entail judicious thinking, judgment and experts' interference before a fructified FDI tasks of the CBR system to build. The ensuing subsection elaborates our proposal.\n6. Case study: FDI and proper maintenance actions suggestions of a large-scale gearbox of steel plant: In order to demonstrate the applicability of CBR methodology for the decision-making regarding the FDI, a case study of a large-scale gearbox of steel rolling mill is presented here with a GUI built in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 running on a desktop with Intel(r) Dual Core processor, CPU G4400 @3.30 GHz, 4.00 GB RAM with Windows(r) 10 as OS.\n7. Conclusion and future scope: In this paper, a generalized framework for FDI of large-scale industrial machinery, by taking a large gearbox as a case, using the data fusion technique in combination with CBR methodology has been proposed. The proposed CBR system can aid inexperienced engineers to easily detect and isolate the faults without in-depth knowledge of various vibration signal processing techniques and system structure. The complications of analyzing complex and noisy vibration signals have been eliminated by measuring it simply in time domain through portable accelerometers. Moreover, time-domain analysis is still commonly performed by analyst in industries to detect several faults of gearbox such as imbalance or tooth crack (Rafiee et al., 2007). The proposed approach has not relied just on single vibration signals, but considered other HIs as well along with environmental parameters for carrying out such complex decision-making task during an FDI process. In the proposed CBR system hamming distance has been utilized for measuring the similarity along with the principle of k-NN. The system has presumed an equal weightage to each of the HIs as detailed inter-relationship among them might not be predicted at the earlier stage. After detecting and isolating the faults, the possible recommended actions such as corrective and preventive measures have also been suggested by the system to the engineers for facilitating the decision making. From reliability point of view, solution provided by this CBR system is totally dependent on the volume of the CB. As the volume of CB is increased, more accurate solution could be rendered to the current problem(s).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Usually, the machinery in process plants is exposed to harsh and uncontrolled environmental conditions. Even after taking different types of preventive measures to detect and isolate the faults at the earliest possible opportunity becomes a complex decision-making process that often requires experts' opinions and judicious decisions. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to detect, isolate and to suggest appropriate maintenance tasks for large-scale complex machinery (i.e. gearboxes of steel processing plant) in a simplified and structured manner by utilizing the prior fault histories available with the organization in conjunction with case-based reasoning (CBR) approach. It is also demonstrated that the proposed framework can easily be implemented by using today's graphical user interface enabled tools such as Microsoft Visual Basic and similar.\nDesign/methodology/approach: CBR, an amalgamated domain of artificial intelligence and human cognitive process, has been applied to carry out the task of fault detection and isolation (FDI).\nFindings: The equipment failure history and actions taken along with the pertinent health indicators are sufficient to detect and isolate the existing fault(s) and to suggest proper maintenance actions to minimize associated losses. The complex decision-making process of maintaining such equipment can exploit the principle of CBR and overcome the limitations of the techniques such as artificial neural networks and expert systems. The proposed CBR-based framework is able to provide inference with minimum or even with some missing information to take appropriate actions. This proposed framework would alleviate from the frequent requirement of expert's interventions and in-depth knowledge of various analysis techniques expected to be known to process engineers.\nOriginality/value: The CBR approach has demonstrated its usefulness in many areas of practical applications. The authors perceive its application potentiality to FDI with suggested maintenance actions to alleviate an end-user from the frequent requirement of an expert for diagnosis or inference. The proposed framework can serve as a useful tool/aid to the process engineers to detect and isolate the fault of large-scale complex machinery with suggested actions in a simplified way.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Integrated Reporting: Insights, gaps and an agenda for future research	[ "Sustainability reporting", "Integrated reporting", "IIRC" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Social and environmental reporting has a long history (Hogner, 1982; Guthrie and Parker, 1989; Buhr, 2007). Initially this reporting took place predominantly through disclosures within corporate annual (financial) reports. Over the past two decades, however, social and environmental disclosures have increasingly been made in separate stand-alone reports in addition to a variety of other media such as web sites (Cho et al., 2009). These stand-alone social and environmental reports have become more complex (and long) as a greater range of issues has been disclosed to meet the supposed information needs of a range of stakeholders. More recently, possibly in response to the increased complexity and length of stand-alone reports, there have been moves to recombine some social and environmental disclosures with financial disclosures in single reports. In contrast to earlier social and environmental disclosures made within annual reports, where the social and environmental information was not integrated with the financial information, these recent moves have sought to integrate social, environmental, financial and governance information (Dey and Burns, 2010; Hopwood et al., 2010). The resulting practices have come to be known as integrated reporting.\n2. Antecedents of integrating reporting: The last 20 years have seen considerable development in academic literature on accounting and accountability systems for the combined management and reporting of financial and non-financial performance. Academics and practitioners have analysed the interaction between managements' strategic propositions, organisational control systems and performance measurement and reporting systems (Parker, 2012). Among several proposals advanced by scholars within the accounting, management and governance domains (Nixon and Burns, 2012; Giovannoni and Maraghini, 2013), four frameworks that have emerged are: the Balanced Scorecard, the Triple Bottom Line, Sustainability Reporting and Integrated Reporting.\n3. Pioneers of integrated reporting: In this section we briefly explain the pioneering work in two integrated reporting initiatives - those of Novo Nordisk and the South African King Commission.\n4. Regulatory developments around integrated reporting: In contrast to the national focus of South Africa's Integrated Reporting Committee, the IIRC was established with a global remit. The IIRC has developed as a quasi-regulatory body attempting to ensure a broad universal adoption of integrated reporting though the creation of a globally accepted integrated reporting framework. The IIRC's integrated reporting framework aims to bring together financial, environmental, social and governance information in a clear, concise, consistent and comparable format (IIRC, 2013b, c, d).\n5. Recent developments in integrated reporting policies and practices: In this section, illustrations of recent developments in integrated reporting practice in a selection of countries will be used to demonstrate some of the ways in which integrated reporting, especially under the auspices of the IIRC, is gaining traction. The IIRC only published its first complete framework for integrated reporting in late 2013, so at the time of writing this paper it is too early for many organisations to have published IIRC compliant integrated reports. However, there are over 100 organisations that are part of the IIRC pilot programme for reporters. This pilot programme's aim is to provide members of the programme with: \"the opportunity to discuss and challenge developing technical material, test its application and share learning and experiences\" (IIRC, 2014b). These organisations are working on developing and sharing \"best practice\" in compiling integrated reports drawn up under the IIRC's framework. Although many of these organisations, have not yet published such an integrated report, several will have prototype reports (or elements of such reports) that are not yet considered ready for external publication. There is also a pilot programme investor network, focusing on \"providing constructive feedback on emerging reporting from the Pilot Programme Business Network\" (IIRC, 2014b). The focus of this \"users of integrated reporting pilot network\" is investors, reinforcing the development of the IIRC's version of integrated reporting to meet the needs of providers of financial capital.\n6. Integrated reporting research findings: Given the developments in integrated reporting, there is a dearth of research papers in this area. However, Dey and Burns (2010) examined the Novo Nordisk pioneering experience with integrated reporting (as discussed earlier in this paper). A few papers have also discussed integrated reporting's connections with other accounting issues, such as an XBRL taxonomy for integrated reporting (Gonzalbez and Rodriguez, 2012), an opportunity for Australian NGOs (Adams and Simnett, 2011), and the accounting curriculum implications of integrated reporting (Owen, 2013). There are several short articles that introduce and/or outline aspects of integrated reporting without contributing substantive new academic insights.\n7. A research agenda to address unanswered integrated reporting questions: The way integrated reporting is now conceptualised in 2014, with a strategic focus on future actions and plans focusing specifically value creation, stands in stark contrast with the original 2010 foci on stakeholders (other than shareholders) and accountability for the impacts of corporate activities. This shift means that the target audience for the integrated reporting is now substantively different from that of sustainability reports. While sustainability reporting aims at providing social, environmental and economic information to a wide range of stakeholders, integrated reporting now seeks to present information related to broad risk evaluation and potential future value growth thus appealing to capital providers and potential investors.\n8. Conclusion: The aim of this paper is to provide academics researching in the area of integrated reporting with a solid foundation upon which to build their research and to provide regulators and reporting organisations with insights to help inform further development of policy and practice. It has addressed this aim by tracing the antecedents to early developments of and current state-of-play of integrated reporting, including explaining the key insights from other papers in this special issue of AAAJ. It also sets out a comprehensive and challenging agenda for future research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to synthesise insights from accounting and accountability research into the rapidly emerging field of integrated reporting and proposes a comprehensive agenda for future research in this area. In so doing, it draws upon insights from other papers in this special issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal on the theme of integrated reporting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper draws upon and synthesises academic analysis and insights provided in the embryonic integrated reporting academic literature in conjunction with policy pronouncements.\nFindings: The paper shows that the rapid development of integrated reporting policy, and early developments of practice, present theoretical and empirical challenges because of the different ways in which integrated reporting is understood and enacted within institutions. It highlights many areas where further robust academic research is needed to guide developments in policy and practice.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper provide academics, regulators and reporting organisations with insights into issues and aspects of integrated reporting that need further development and need robust evidence to help inform improvements in policy and practice. A key limitation is that it draws upon a synthesis of the existing literature which is at quite an early stage of development - but provides scope for considerable further development.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides the growing number of academic researchers in this emerging area with a foundation and agenda upon which they can build their research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How leaders communicate their vulnerability: implications for trust building	[ "Trust", "Leadership", "Concern resolution", "Conversations", "Leadership behaviour", "Leadership practices" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The notion of vulnerability underlies relationships of trust. In their efforts to resolve barriers to improved educational outcomes, leaders require the trust of others - including teachers and parents. Establishing trust and building collaborative relationships is particularly challenging when leaders need to address concerns about others' behavior or performance (Sinnema et al., 2013). Dealing with such concerns requires leaders to have conversations with those involved, yet leaders generally struggle to have these kinds of conversations effectively (Le Fevre and Robinson, 2014; Cardno, 2007). Since the quality of such conversations is a powerful determinant of trust (Bryk and Schneider, 2002), understanding which specific interpersonal practices make difficult conversations more effective is important.\nMethod: The current research was situated in the context of a graduate educational leadership course in which leaders were taught to analyze their conversation behavior based on frameworks of interpersonal effectiveness (Argyris, 1978; Argyris and Schon, 1974). Leaders recorded real conversations they conducted with another person who they had a concern with.\nFindings: The findings are organized according to each research question. First, we present analyses of whether and how leaders described their possible contribution in the pre-conversation questionnaire. Second, we describe if and how leaders communicated their contribution, and thus their vulnerability in their later conversation. Finally, we describe potential reasons for leaders not disclosing their own contribution to the concern.\nDiscussion: The notion of vulnerability is important when thinking about how leaders can build more trusting relationships while resolving concerns that hinder equitable outcomes in schools. The current research examined if leaders exposed their own vulnerability in conversations aimed at resolving their concern with another person. Our findings indicate that most leaders identified their own contribution to the concern, when prompted prior to the conversation in which they sought to resolve it. Two-thirds of leaders indicated they had contributed by either not doing anything, by acting in ways that were inappropriate or insufficient to resolve the concern, or by not clearly communicating their concern in the past. Although unresolved concerns can impede quality teaching and learning, there is considerable evidence for such avoidance in educational contexts (Bridges, 1986; Bryk and Schneider, 2002). For example, Bryk and Schneider (2002) reported behavior patterns across schools and levels of administration where concerns were ignored, mishandled or left unresolved. Other research on leader's behavior in conversations has shown how leaders avoid dealing with difficult issues by inaction, moderating their views or being too lenient with the person involved (Le Fevre and Robinson, 2014; James and Vince, 2001).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The notion of vulnerability underlies relationships of trust. Trust between leaders and staff is needed to solve concerns that hinder equity and excellence in teaching and learning. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how leaders show vulnerability by disclosing own possible contributions to concerns they try to resolve.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data included transcripts of conversations held by 27 educational leaders about a concern with another staff and a questionnaire about the nature, causes and history of the concern. Questionnaire analysis identified if and how leaders described their own possible contribution prior to the conversation. Transcript analysis identified instances of leaders' contribution disclosure.\nFindings: Results indicate that while two-thirds of leaders identified an own contribution, when prompted prior to the conversation, one-third saw no own contribution. Leaders indicated contributing by not acting on the concern, by acting in ways inappropriate or insufficient to resolve the concern, or by not clearly communicating their concern in the past. Eight of the 27 leaders publicly disclosed their contribution in the actual conversation. In some conversations this disclosure prompted reciprocal disclosure of information about the concern and its causes by the other person, aiding a more effective concern resolution.\nOriginality/value: Through examining leaders' interpersonal behavior in difficult conversations, the importance of leaders' acknowledgments of own mistakes and communication of their own vulnerability is highlighted. A positive view of vulnerability is argued for, epistemic vulnerability, which manifests itself in the willingness to be honest and open to learning by accepting one's own fallibility.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A dynamic process of buyer-seller technology adoption	[ "Buyer‐seller relationships", "Technology led strategy", "Channel members", "Marketing models" ]	[ { "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: In today's knowledge-rich environments, network forms of buyer-seller relationships have become common practice (Achrol and Kotler, 1999). Establishing and maintaining a visible, efficient supply chain is an important competitive advantage (Bradley and Ghemawat, 2002). Accordingly, buyer-seller technologies that link an organisation with its suppliers, distributors, or customers are receiving more attention. For instance, electronic data interchange (EDI) is now widely used to enhance the information exchange across organisational boundaries throughout a supply chain. Recently, retailers such as Wal-Mart, Metro, and Tesco have required adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems by their major suppliers to improve supply chain efficiency and traceability of product flows (O'Connor, 2006; Sheffi, 2004). Buyer-seller technologies facilitate inter-firm co-ordination for the efficient movement of information and products across organisational boundaries (Johnston and Vitale, 1988; Weber, 2001).Given the importance of buyer-seller technologies in emerging supply chain networks, a better understanding of technology adoption behaviour is necessary for advancing inter-organisational marketing practice. Unlike technologies or products adopted by individuals, buyer-seller technologies involve multiple channel stakeholders for the adoption decision and successful implementation (e.g. Zablah et al., 2005). Channel stakeholders can utilise different collaboration strategies in adopting a new buyer-seller technology. For instance, although some manufacturers, such as Kimberly-Clark and P&G, are very active in co-operating with their customers in adopting RFID systems, many other manufacturers take a passive approach when investing in the new technology (Wong, 2005). Therefore, the understanding of collaboration between channel stakeholders is a critical part for advancing our knowledge about technology adoption between buyers and sellers.Despite extensive research on buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour (e.g. Chwelos et al., 2001; Iacovou et al., 1995; Premkumar and Ramamurthy, 1995; Son et al., 2005), we identify three important gaps yet to be examined. First, although buyer-seller technology adoption occurs between at least two organisations, most prior research examines buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour at the individual firm level (for exceptions, see Hart and Saunders, 1997; Walton and Miller, 1995). We contend that buyer-seller technology adoption should be examined from a dyadic or multi-dyadic perspective to adequately explain buyer-seller adoption behaviour throughout a supply chain network. Second, the process through which adoption occurs between channel stakeholders has to be examined (e.g. Chwelos et al., 2001). Given the network of channel stakeholders, we argue that the individual firm process of technology adoption needs to be extended to incorporate collaborations between channel stakeholders. Finally, from a social network perspective, all economic activities, including buyer-seller relations in a supply chain, are embedded in a larger social context (Granovetter, 1985). In addition to individual firm level factors, we suggest that ongoing business relationships in which buyer-seller interactions are embedded should be examined as factors that may affect buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour.We focus our discussion on two research questions:1. How does each stakeholder in a supply chain network decide to adopt a buyer-seller technology and what is the underlying process through which technology adoption occurs?2. How do ongoing business relationships influence buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour?To address the first question, we propose a process of buyer-seller technology adoption at the individual firm and dyadic levels. Specifically, we extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) by incorporating a social network perspective of buyer-seller relationships. By doing so, we conceptualise the buyer-seller technology adoption process involving multiple stakeholders (i.e. focal firm, competitors, and partners). For the second research question, to capture the impact of ongoing business relationships on buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour, we examine how network embeddedness and resource dependence influence buyer-seller adoption behaviour. In the next section, we review TAM and social network perspective on buyer-seller relationships to build a buyer-seller technology adoption process. Our conceptual framework is then presented, with corresponding propositions on buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour. Finally, we conclude with the implications of this study.\nTheoretical background: Technology acceptance model as an adoption process\nConceptual model and propositions: We conceptualise the buyer-seller technology adoption process at the individual firm and dyadic levels to capture the nature of buyer-seller interactions. Although each stakeholder has to decide its own internal policy on adopting a buyer-seller technology with its partner (which we call the \"individual firm process\" of adoption), the adoption itself occurs at the dyadic level between the two stakeholders (which we name the \"dyadic process\" of adoption). Figure 2 shows the multi-level characteristics of buyer-seller technology adoption. Although buyer-seller technology adoption can also occur among more than two stakeholders, we confine our discussion to dyadic adoption behaviour. While the individual firm process captures how each stakeholder forms its own behavioural intention to implement the buyer-seller technology with its partner, the dyadic process revolves around the interactions among related stakeholders in adopting the system-wide technology. Diffusion at the network level will emerge from the accumulation of dyadic adoption behaviours (see Figure 2).To better understand the individual firm and dyadic processes required to ensure the adoption of technologies across the supply chain network, we develop propositions that may be useful in guiding the empirical testing of the hypotheses that might confirm the proposed relationships. Figure 3 provides an overview of our conceptual framework that extends TAM to the dyadic level. Although each stakeholder forms its behavioural intention to adopt a new technology through an individual firm process of adoption, the adoption occurs following a dyadic process of adoption between stakeholders. In terms of ongoing business relationship factors that influence buyer-seller technology adoption, we investigate how structural and relational embeddedness and resource dependence influence the individual firm and dyadic processes of technology adoption.Individual firm process of adoption\nDiscussion and implications: Buyer-seller technologies provide channel stakeholders with an opportunity to improve the visibility and traceability of their supply chains. However, an important challenge is that the implementation of the new technologies involves interactions among multiple stakeholders. This study contributes to our understanding of adoption behaviour by multiple stakeholders in supply chain network. We extended the TAM framework by building on a social network perspective to identify the inter-organisational technology adoption process and key inter-organisational factors that better capture buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour. We believe that our efforts to identify the technology adoption process between channel stakeholders can be an important basis for future research on inter-organisational technology adoption behaviour.Our discussion on the buyer-seller technology adoption process needs to be extended longitudinally. In particular, early and late adoption might be driven by different forces. For instance, Westphal et al. (1997) show that early adopters of a new organisational practice are motivated more by technical or economic needs, whereas late adopters respond to the growing social legitimacy of the new practice as taken for granted. That is, while early adopters pursue the internal need for efficiency gains, late adopters try to comply with external conformity pressures. Similarly, our study implies that early adoption of a buyer-seller technology can be driven by the individual firm process of adoption, in which the perceived usefulness and absorptive capacity are important factors for forming behavioural intention to adopt a new technology. In contrast, late adoption may be driven more by competitive pressures from competitors and the influence of partners. This will provide a future research opportunity to examine which process drives the adoption of a buyer-seller technology at the different timing of technology adoption.Although we conceptualised that each adoption occurs at the dyadic level, the adoption also can be driven by other forces, such as a few dominant firms or government regulation. For instance, although RFID technology adoption in the consumer packaged goods industry is driven by a few large retailers such as Wal-Mart, the US government is trying to mandate the adoption of a RFID technology or compatible technologies in the drug industry to prevent counterfeit and fraudulent prescription drugs from entering the drug supply chain (Roberti, 2006). Research needs to be done to answer the following questions:1. How does the existence of dominant firms or government regulation driving technology adoption influence adoption behaviours of other channel stakeholders?2. In what conditions will firms be more cooperative in adopting a new technology with other stakeholders?It is an especially important issue when a new buyer-seller technology has strong positive network externalities, that is, when the technology can significantly improve social welfare beyond the technology adopters' welfare. For instance, industry-wide adoption of RFID systems can enhance the visibility and security of the supply chain, increasing the welfare of consumers, as well as that of channel stakeholders. In this case, should the government mandate the use of the new technology or leave it in the hands of individual firms? Further research on buyer-seller technology adoption behaviour can contribute to answering these questions.Finally, although this study focuses on examining how ongoing business relationships (i.e. network embeddedness and resource dependence in a supply chain network) affect technology adoption behaviour between buyers and sellers, The examination of the opposite direction will also provide a promising research opportunity. That is, how does the adoption of a new buyer-seller technology influence the existing buyer-seller relationships? Most research on the impact of buyer-seller technology adoption is focused on performance, such as process efficiency, cost savings, and competitive advantages (e.g. Robinson et al., 2005; Saeed et al., 2005; Siau, 2003). However, at the inter-personal level, Burkhardt and Brass (1990) show that different behaviours of employees in adopting a new technology within an organisation can change their network position in the interpersonal network structure and their power within the organisation. Similarly, at the organisational level, future research can examine how the adoption of a new technology by a firm changes the firm's network position and power in its supply chain network.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The objective of this paper is to propose a process through which channel stakeholders interact with one another to adopt a buyer-seller technology with the purpose of improving the efficiency of their supply chain. The paper seeks to examine how ongoing business relationships between channel stakeholders influence the process of buyer-seller technology adoption.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) to dyadic adoption behaviour by incorporating a social network perspective for buyer-seller relationships.\nFindings: - Buyer-seller technology adoption occurs at multiple levels throughout a supply chain network. Although each channel stakeholder forms its own behavioural intention to adopt a new enterprise technology, actual adoption occurs at the dyadic level between two channel stakeholders. Network embeddedness and resource dependence can influence the individual firm and dyadic processes of buyer-seller technology adoption.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The results of the study imply that successful implementation of a buyer-seller technology requires attention to the relationships between channel stakeholders as well as each channel stakeholder's internal needs and capability of adopting the technology.\nOriginality/value: - The paper offers a social network perspective of buyer-seller behaviour when adopting a new technology. The model provides a framework through which the impact of internal and relational factors on technology adoption behaviour can be examined systematically at the dyadic level of supply chain relationships.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The relationship between social capital and innovativeness climate in schools: The intermediary role of professional learning communities	[ "Teachers", "Schools", "Social capital", "Innovativeness climate", "Professional learning community" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Individuals maintain and develop their relationships in their lives and working environments via some values. Some of these values such as love, respect, honesty and sincerity correspond to the social capital (Cohen and Prusak, 2001). Social capital was widely discussed in sociology, politics and economics (Bourdieu, 2011; Fukuyama, 2005; Lin, 1999; Portes, 1998; Putnam, 2001; Woolcock and Narayan, 2000) and it was studied in relation to student success and school development in the context of educational studies (Calabrese, 2006; Coleman, 1988a, b; De Jong et al., 2016; Hanifan, 1916; Farr, 2004; Plagens, 2010, 2011; Woolcock and Narayan, 2000). Factors such as relationships that depend on collaboration, mutual trust, voluntariness and participation into decision-making processes are significant determiners in the development of schools and the realisation of the goals (Coleman, 1988a, b; Epstein, 2011). On the other hand, schools have a significant place in the lives of children and teenagers. The reason is children and teenagers spend a significant proportion of their time in schools. Accordingly, it may be argued that social capital has a decisive role on increasing student success and maintaining the relationships between people in a qualified way.\n2. Method: 2.1 Model\n3. Findings and results: The values of the average and standard deviation with regard to the variables of the study and the correlation between the variables were presented in Table I.\n4. Discussion: According to the findings in the study, there are direct and indirect relationships between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities. These relationships are in a positive way and they are statistically significant. To clarify, an increase in social capital increases innovativeness climate and the level of displaying professional learning community characteristics. In addition, in the model of this study, which aimed to explain the level of innovativeness climate in relation to the levels of social capital and professional learning communities according to the teachers' view, the independent variable, social capital, was observed to predict innovativeness climate. On the other hand, professional learning communities were found to have a mediating role in this model.\n5. Conclusion: In this study, the intermediary role of professional learning communities on the effect of social capital on innovativeness climate was analysed via teachers' views. In the literature no study studying the relationship between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities was found. Therefore, it can be put forward that there is a need for studies that analyse the effect of the roots of social capital on innovativeness culture to identify other variables that may potentially be relevant. In addition, this study may be a contribution to the literature by providing a study on the concepts of social capital and innovativeness climate, which were studied in the fields of social sciences extensively, in educational settings and this supports the field through theoretical and empirical studies. Revealing the relationship between social capital and innovativeness climate empirically may provide an outline of the information related to this phenomenon. However, especially in the study of social capital, the detailed analysis of social networks, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities through qualitative methods such as observation and interviews can contribute to the development of this model.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Professional learning communities that merge under the same goal in schools where social relationship networks are strong can contribute to creating an atmosphere which provides a basis for innovativeness. In this study the relationships between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities were examined through the views of teachers working at public schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data of this study, which utilised correlational survey model, were collected from 734 teachers who work in the Umraniye district of Istanbul, Turkey.\nFindings: The findings revealed that there is a positive and statistically significant correlation between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities. The results demonstrated that teachers' perceptions of social capital in schools affected their perceptions of innovativeness climate and that professional learning communities had an intermediary role in this relationship. These findings showed that the richness in social relationship networks provided a basis for the development of innovative teaching practices in schools and the professional learning environments created in schools contributed to this process.\nResearch limitations/implications: In this study, the intermediary role of professional learning communities on the effect of social capital on innovativeness climate was analysed via teachers' views. In the literature no study studying the relationship between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities was found.\nPractical implications: It can be put forward that there is a need for studies that analyse the effect of the roots of social capital on innovativeness culture to identify other variables that may potentially be relevant. In addition, this study may be a contribution to the literature by providing a study on the concepts of social capital and innovativeness climate, which were studied in the fields of social sciences extensively, in educational settings and this supports the field through theoretical and empirical studies.\nOriginality/value: This study demonstrated the effects of the concept of social capital on innovativeness climate which provides a basis for innovativeness in educational institutions. This topic is currently on the agenda of the OECD and World Bank. Moreover, this study aims to show the intermediary role of professional learning communities in the relationship between social capital and innovativeness climate.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Guest editorial: relationship marketing - past, present and future	[ "Relationship marketing", "Services marketing", "Service marketing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The rise of relationship marketing was closely linked to the growth of the service sector characterized by long-term customer relationships, focus on customer-firm interaction and customer participation in service outcomes. Consequently, researchers suggested that relationship marketing would represent a paradigm shift in marketing (Berry, 1983; Gronroos, 1994; Gummesson, 1997). Also, other factors, such as the established linkages between customer loyalty and profitability, as well as the technological improvements in identifying and tracking customers, contributed to the growing interest in relationship marketing (Berry, 1995; Chenet et al., 2010; Palmer et al., 2013; Sheth, 2002). Thus, relationship marketing represented a shift from transactional exchanges to relational ones (Dwyer et al., 1987; Morgan and Hunt, 1994) and from attracting customers to satisfying and maintaining them (Berry, 1995; Bitner, 1995) and, at times, ending relationships (Gronroos, 1994; Halinen and Tahtinen, 2002). Similarly, researchers became increasingly interested not only in those factors that led to exchanges but also in those that were maintaining relationships, such as relationship benefits (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002) relationship value (Ravald and Gronroos, 1996), trust and commitment (Morgan and Hunt, 1994).\nContributions in this special issue: As guest editors, we included articles with an original perspective and advanced thinking on relationship marketing. To present leading thought and practices on the topic, this special issue features five articles of the more than 50 originally submitted manuscripts. In addition, we invited well-renowned thought leaders who had contributed immensely to theory building and development within relationship marketing. This issue starts with their four thoughtful, forward-orientated contributions. While the discipline has become fragmented over the years, these relationship marketing scholars urge a new generation of marketing researchers to step forward and synthesize the divergent views and practices into an exhaustive theory of marketing.\nFuture research: The path forward for relationship marketing is, according to the contributions from our experts, twofold:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In a time when relationships have been recognized as an integral part of contemporary marketing theory and practice, what role can the sub-discipline of relationship marketing play? The aim with this special issue is to critically assess the state of relationship marketing and call for new ideas to take the field forward.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The editors had an open call for papers with an original perspective and advanced thinking on relationship marketing, resulting in 50 originally submitted manuscripts that were subjected to double-blind review. Of these, this issue presents five articles. In addition, the editors invited well-renowned thought leaders who have contributed to theory development within relationship marketing. This issue starts with their four thoughtful, forward-orientated contributions.\nFindings: Several thought-provoking reflections and research findings are presented that urge relationship marketing researchers to explore novel avenues for the future of this area. A prominent way forward may be looking for a common ground in relationship marketing thinking, assessing the extent to which the different literature streams add to marketing research and when they do not and testing/deploying the learnings in new settings.\nResearch limitations/implications: The special issue does not address all areas of relationship marketing research. Potential areas for future relationship marketing research are identified.\nOriginality/value: To assess existent knowledge of relationship marketing is needed to take the field forward.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reincorporations: a comparison between Greek and Cyprus law	[ "Company law", "Cyprus law and Greek law", "EU law", "Private international law", "Reincorporations", "Seat transfers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: This paper analyses the legal framework of reincorporations in Greek and Cyprus law. A reincorporation entails change of the law applicable to a company through a seat transfer. In a reincorporation, a company transfers its registered office or statutory seat from the jurisdiction, where it was registered to a new jurisdiction. The company must be deregistered from the old jurisdiction and reregistered to the new jurisdiction, which will constitute the applicable law from now on. During this process, the company retains its legal personality (i.e. recognition of its continued existence). Thus, reincorporation results in a seat transfer and subsequent change of the applicable law without liquidation of the company, which is a very costly and time-consuming process. The term redomiciliation has also been used as a synonym to indicate the transfer of a company's seat without interrupting its legal personality. There is no harmonisation at EU level on reincorporations, yet the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) provides some directions. Reincorporation to a more attractive business environment might be a better option in comparison with incorporation of a new company. When a company has some pending contracts, has specific creditors and customers, enjoys fame and a strong position in a certain market, has a specific balance of relations between management and shareholders or between majority and minority shareholders and wants to preserve the dynamics of the relations between various stakeholders, it could transfer its seat instead of establishing a new company.\n2. Private international law of companies in Greece and Cyprus: general observations: Greece is a real seat jurisdiction. It is worth mentioning that Greece is a civil law country. In Greek private international law, the law applicable to companies is based on Article 10 of the Greek Civil Code, which states that the legal capacity (capacity to be the subject of rights and duties[3]) of a legal person is determined by the law of its seat. Case law and theory interpreted Art. 10 of the Greek Civil Code as adopting the real seat theory. Toward this interpretation contributes Art. 64 of the Greek Civil Code; this states that the seat of a legal person is considered to be the place where its administration operates, if the incorporating act or the articles of association do not specify anything on this matter. While the prevailing interpretation in theory and in case law is clearly in favour of the real seat theory, there are a few dissenting opinions in case law and in theory[4]. According to Arts. 10 and 64 of the Greek Civil Code, \"seat\" means the situs of company's management, namely, the place where its management is really operating (sedes of the legal person) (Kotsiris, 2013, p. 214). Hence, the seat is defined as the place where the administration of the legal person operates (Kotsiris, 2013, p. 89).\n3. Reincorporations and subsequent change of applicable law in Greece: 3.1 Voluntary reincorporations\n4. Reincorporations and subsequent change of applicable law in Cyprus: 4.1 Introductory remarks\n5. A comparison between Greek law and Cyprus law: Cyprus has a quite detailed legal framework of voluntary inbound and outbound reincorporations. The Cyprus legal framework of reincorporations was designed very carefully to secure a smooth change of applicable law, the continuation of company's legal personality and the harmonious coordination of consents of the relevant registries and competent authorities. This contributes towards legal certainty. Detailed rules on reincorporations combat various obstacles to freedom of establishment:\n6. Compatibility of Greek and Cyprus provisions on seat transfers with EU law: It is worth examining Greek and Cyprus law on reincorporations in the light of the internal market rules, as reincorporations constitute an exercise of the EU fundamental freedom of establishment (Arts. 49-54 TFEU)[30]. Greek approaches to voluntary and involuntary seat transfers seem to be compatible with the findings of the CJEU in Cartesio[31]and VALE[32]. Greek provisions for outbound reincorporations seem to be compatible with freedom of establishment. The interpretation and the practice followed for inbound reincorporations in Greece also seem to be compatible with freedom of establishment. However, Greek case law did not have the chance until now to examine the compatibility of these approaches with the findings of the CJEU in Cartesio and VALE. Although Greek company law has special provisions for domestic conversions of companies, there are no provisions for cross-border conversions. Lack of special provisions for cross-border conversions might be problematic in the context of Cartesio and VALE. Cyprus adopts the incorporation theory and has a sophisticated legal framework of reincorporations. This approach seems to be compatible with the CJEU's case law on seat transfers. These arguments on the compatibility of Greek and Cyprus law are without prejudice to the fact that these national provisions were not scrutinised yet by the CJEU.\n7. Conclusion: This paper presented and discussed an underexplored but very important area of Greek and Cyprus law concerning reincorporations. Reincorporations in a jurisdiction adopting the real seat theory, like Greece, and in a jurisdiction adopting the incorporation theory, like Cyprus, present some differences. Cyprus has a detailed, sophisticated and flexible legal framework of reincorporations. While Greece has some special provisions for outbound reincorporations, there are no specific provisions for inbound reincorporations, Inbound reincorporations are possible under Greek law, but the absence of detailed provisions is against legal certainty. Cyprus law on reincorporations could be used as an example for Greek legislature. Possible introduction in Greece of detailed provisions on inbound reincorporations could follow the same pattern with Cyprus law. However, possible EU harmonisation of seat transfers is expected to have an immense impact on national provisions for reincorporations. If the 14th Company Law Directive on the cross-border transfer of a company's registered office is finally adopted, all Member States of the EU will acquire a solid legal framework of reincorporations. Hence, corporate mobility will be significantly enhanced with large-scale and material benefits for the internal market.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the legal framework of reincorporations and subsequent change of applicable law in Greece and Cyprus. A comparison between Greek Law and Cyprus Law is drawn. This paper highlights possible required reforms. Cyprus has a quite detailed legal framework of voluntary inbound and outbound reincorporations. While Greece has certain provisions on outbound reincorporations, it does not have any provisions on inbound reincorporations. The compatibility of these national provisions with internal market rules, as interpreted by the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), is discussed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper follows a comparative approach. After a careful analysis of each national legal framework, a comparison between Greek law and Cyprus law follows. This paper also follows an EU law approach.\nFindings: These two jurisdictions present some differences. Cyprus adopting the incorporation theory has a detailed, sophisticated and flexible legal framework of reincorporations. Although Greece adopting the real seat theory has some special provisions for outbound reincorporations, there are no specific provisions for inbound reincorporations. Inbound reincorporations are possible under Greek law, but the absence of detailed provisions is against legal certainty. Cyprus law on reincorporations could be used as an example for Greek legislature. However, possible EU harmonisation of seat transfers is expected to have an immense impact on national provisions for reincorporations.\nPractical implications: Reincorporations constitute a significant corporate restructuring technique with important practical implications on the economy. Apart from academics, this paper attracts the interest of lawyers, managers, accountants, officers of supervisory and regulatory bodies and policymakers engaged with reincorporations.\nOriginality/value: This is one of the few academic papers comparing Greek and Cyprus company law and private international law. It is the first paper that compares the Greek and Cyprus legal framework of reincorporations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating and prioritizing hospital service quality	[ "Healthcare", "TOPSIS", "Service quality", "Multi criteria decision making", "ELECTRE", "Copeland" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: When evaluating systems and looking for ways to improve service quality and for selecting the best option, it is important to consider economic, environmental, cultural and social circumstances. A major problem for healthcare managers and investors is: providing high-quality services; and increasing customer satisfaction. Multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) is a useful tool for decision making and about ranking and selecting several alternatives. The MCDM techniques have caught healthcare researchers' attention. Many decisions are required in healthcare, such as selecting the best medication, ranking hospitals and medical centers, evaluating performance and selecting the most suitable technology, for which various MCDM methods may be used. In this study, a hybrid MCDM approach to hospital service quality evaluation is introduced using new and comprehensive criteria. The proposed approach uses two problem-solving techniques to rank hospitals: technique for order of preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) and elimination and choice expressing reality (ELECTRE). Both need criteria weights as inputs. Our approach uses modified digital logic (MDL) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methods for calculating criteria weightings. Combining these techniques, four hybrid methods are obtained (MDL-TOPSIS, AHP-TOPSIS, AHP-ELECTRE and MDL-ELECTRE), each producing a different result. The Copeland method is then used to aggregate results obtained from the four methods. To demonstrate its utility, the proposed approach is applied to a real-life case study involving four Iranian public hospitals.\nLiterature review: Many healthcare studies use MCDM. Hatam and Tourani (2005), for example, studied MCDM techniques in hospital performance evaluation and compared the ratio analysis method with MCDM models. Hsu and Pan (2009) used a Monte Carlo AHP approach to prioritize dental quality criteria, which resulted in more confident dental clinic managers, significant cost savings and increased revenue. Shahbandar zadeh et al.'s (2010) method involves combining quality evaluation models using MCDM techniques, their research examined Iran hospitals. Dursun et al. (2011) studied healthcare waste management alternatives using a fuzzy decision-making system. Meanwhile, Kuo et al. (2012) combined fuzzy set theory and TOPSIS, using Healthcare Failure Mode and Effects Analysis methods for improving Taiwanese elderly patient outpatient services, this work was especially important in a country like Taiwan, struggling to cope with its aging population. Thokala and Duenas (2012) studied Health Technology Assessment decision-making criteria. Buyukozkan and Cifci (2012) presented a hybrid AHP-TOPSIS method based on an e-service in healthcare quality strategy analysis. Leili et al. (2012) evaluated service quality in Iranian health centers using fuzzy MCDM. Ajami and Ktabi (2012) used MCDM to evaluate hospital medical records. Zeng et al. (2013) adopted an improved VIKOR method for healthcare decision making to increase accuracy and validity. Diaby et al. (2013) performed a bibliometric analysis on MCDM in healthcare. Akdag et al. (2014) evaluated hospital service quality using fuzzy multi objective decision making. Chang (2014) evaluated hospital services using a fuzzy VKIOR method to apply a hybrid multi criteria technique for evaluating several hospitals. Kulak et al. (2015) used a new MCDM approach to examine medical imaging risk factors. Chui et al. (2015) identified heart failure using an electrocardiogram identifier based on MCDM. Ahmadi et al. (2015) employed organizational decision making using a hospital information system to study Malaysian public hospitals. Lupo (2016) formed a new fuzzy framework using AHP and fuzzy triangular numbers to evaluate healthcare service quality and presented a case study for evaluating Sicilian public hospitals. Islam et al. (2016) prioritized five quality dimensions in the SERVQUAL approach to healthcare using AHP. Ren et al. (2017) used weighted averaging operators and TOPSIS in a thermodynamic method using fuzzy theory to aid China's hierarchical medical system. Ravangard et al. (2017) adopted criteria to rank military hospital beds using fuzzy AHP. Yu et al. (2017) identified related criteria concerning drugs in treating asthmatic children and ranked medications using AHP. Wu et al. (2018) proposed a hesitant fuzzy linguistic projection model to assist hospital decision support systems to improve quality management.\nMethodology: Our main research question was:\nResults: To illustrate the proposed method and calculations, we evaluate and rank four Iranian public hospitals. Results for each step outlined above are presented below:\nDiscussion: RQ1a is answered in Step 1. The criteria for evaluating service quality were determined through existing literature and the opinions given by eight experts via in-depth interviews (Table IV). RQ1b is answered in Step 3. The alternatives in this study are shown in Table V; and the model was used to evaluate four hospitals as a pilot study. The second (decision matrix) questionnaire was used to determine hospital scores. Hospital scores for each criterion were obtained from questions answered by 385 hospital patients. The average answer for each question was considered in the decision matrix. Table VI illustrates the decision matrix. Step 4 answers RQ1c. After identifying the criteria and sub-criteria, weights (relative importance) are determined, using AHP and MDL methods; Table VII shows these weights. Data were collected using answers given by experts in the first questionnaire. Validity was also confirmed by the same experts. Questionnaire reliability was confirmed by consistency: 0.02. Consistency rate indicates the respondents' judgment consistency in different pairwise comparisons, which is acceptable when values are equal to or less than 0.1. Results indicate that using AHP, the sub-criteria \"hygiene and cleanliness,\" \"Short waiting time for services,\" \"medical equipment\" and \"medical competence\" were weighted as follows: 0.063, 0.047, 0.082 and 0.154; the highest scores for their sub-groups. Using MDL, the sub-criteria \"hygiene and cleanliness\" has a relative weight of 0.063, while relative weights for \"low waiting time for services,\" \"medical equipment quality\" and \"professional competence\" are 0.056, 0.076 and 0.111, respectively; these were the highest scores for their sub-groups. RQ1d is answered in Step 5. The criteria weights are defined as inputs for TOPSIS and ELECTRE. In this study, AHP and MDL methods are used as inputs for TOPSIS and ELECTRE, creating four hybrid methods - AHP-TOPSIS, AHP-ELECTRE, MDL-TOPSIS and MDL-ELECTRE. Results drawn from implementing these approaches are:\nConclusion and future research: Service quality evaluation and improvement are critical issues in all organizations, but even more so in hospitals, where people's lives are affected. In our study, a hybrid MCDM approach is proposed for hospital evaluations and rankings. First, the criteria for evaluating hospital service quality were identified: environmental quality, responsiveness, equipment, facilities and professional capability. Then, 16 sub-criteria were defined using a literature review and expert opinions, and their weights were calculated using AHP and MDL methods. Four Iranian public hospitals were considered as candidates for service quality assessment and the TOPSIS and ELECTRE methods were used to rank them. Criteria weights are considered as inputs in both TOPSIS and ELECTRE methods. Thus, four hybrid approaches (AHP-TOPSIS, AHP-ELECTRE, MDL-TOPSIS and MDL-ELECTRE) were used to rank the hospitals. These results were then aggregated using the Copeland method and the final rankings obtained.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Hospital evaluations create competition between healthcare providers. In this study, a multi criteria decision-making (MCDM) method is used to evaluate criteria that affect hospital service quality. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Criteria affecting hospital service quality are identified. Four Iranian public hospitals are evaluated using these criteria. Four hybrid methods, including modified digital logic-technique for order of preference by similarity to an ideal solution, analytical hierarchy process-technique for order of preference by similarity to an ideal solution, analytical hierarchy process-elimination and choice expressing reality and modified digital logic-elimination and choice expressing reality are used to evaluate hospital service quality. Results are aggregated using the Copeland method and final ranks are determined.\nFindings: The four main criteria for evaluating hospital service quality are: environment; responsiveness; equipment and facilities; and professional capability. Results suggest that professional capability is the most important criterion. The Copeland method, used to integrate four MCDM hybrid methods, provides the final hospital ranks.\nPractical implications: The criteria the authors identified and their weight help hospital managers to achieve comprehensive organizational growth and more efficient resource usage. Moreover, the decision matrix helps managers to identify their strengths and weaknesses.\nOriginality/value: New and comprehensive criteria are proposed for hospital quality assessments. Moreover, a new hybrid MCDM approach is used to achieve final hospital rankings.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer response to fake news about brands on social media: the effects of self-efficacy, media trust, and persuasion knowledge on brand trust	[ "Brand trust", "Social media", "Self-efficacy", "Persuasion knowledge", "Fake news" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In April 2016, the website \"News 4 KTLA\" reported that Coca-Cola was recalling its product Dasani water because of some clear parasites found in bottles distributed across the USA. Later, the news was revealed to be untrue and Coca-Cola issued its response regarding this hoax (Evon, 2016). Nevertheless, this misinformation was rapidly transmitted on social media, even after the news was identified as fake. Coca-Cola is not the only company that has been exposed to the threat of fake news. In a recent North American Communication Monitor report, more than 20 per cent of the 1,200 surveyed communication professionals indicated that fake news had impacted their organizational reputation (Reber et al., 2018). Among them, 80 per cent also noted that fake news was published and transmitted on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs (Reber et al., 2018).\nLiterature review: Defining fake news\nMethod: Research design and method\nResults: Prior to hypotheses testing, descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) were tested for each of the constructs and associated indicators (see Table I for complete results of descriptive statistics). To test the proposed model and hypotheses, the SEM approach was adopted using Mplus version 8.1. Following a two-stage process, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was first conducted to assess the robustness of the measurement, followed by a structural model to test the proposed hypotheses.\nDiscussion: This study examined the mechanism of how consumers process and respond to fake news about brands on social media and extended the applicability of the persuasion knowledge model to the realm of social media fake news. Specifically, we proposed and examined the antecedents and outcomes of persuasion knowledge toward a fake news post on Facebook about Coca-Cola's recall of Dasani water. Survey results showed support of the application of persuasion knowledge model in the context of fake news about brands on social media. Findings showed that self-efficacy and trust in Facebook were significant predictors of consumers' persuasion knowledge of the fake news Facebook post. Persuasion knowledge significantly influences consumers' perceived diagnosticity of the fake news and their subsequent brand trust. Furthermore, persuasion knowledge serves as the mediator of the effects from self-efficacy on perceived diagnosticity of the fake news and consumers' subsequent trust in Coca-Cola.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Drawing on theoretical insights from the persuasion knowledge model (PKM), this study aims to propose and test a model that maps out the antecedents, process and consequences to explain how consumers process and respond to fake news about brands on Facebook.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Contextualizing the fake news about Coca-Cola's recall of Dasani water, an online survey was conducted via Qualtrics with consumers in the USA (N = 468). Data were analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling.\nFindings: Results showed that self-efficacy and media trust significantly predicted consumers' persuasion knowledge of the fake news. Persuasion knowledge of the fake news significantly influenced consumers' perceived diagnosticity of the fake news and subsequent brand trust. Furthermore, persuasion knowledge of the fake news mediated the effects from self-efficacy on perceived diagnosticity of the fake news and brand trust, respectively.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the literature of brand management by examining how consumers process and respond to fake news about a brand. It also extends the persuasion knowledge model by applying it to the context of fake news about brands on social media, and incorporating antecedents (self-efficacy and media trust) and consequences (perceived diagnosticity and brand trust) of persuasion knowledge in this particular context. Practically, this study provides insights to key stakeholders of brands to better understand consumers' information processing of fake news about brands on social media.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Functional clothing for natural disaster survivors	[ "Disaster response", "Clothing aid", "Donated clothing", "Functional apparel", "Human-centred design", "Non-food items" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Disasters may be defined as unforeseen destructive events of man-made or natural origins that adversely impact the environment and displace and traumatize human beings. While there have been fewer reported casualties from natural disasters between 1975 and 2010, both the number of people affected and the occurrence of disasters have steadily increased (Centre for Research of the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 2014). Most aspects of emergency response planning have been enhanced over the years, however there is a lack of progress in the supply deployment of clothing. There is a real need for clothing that is climatically appropriate, culturally sensitive, and economically viable (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) 2005, 2007).\nBackground: Skeet (1977) defines three main phases of disaster response - rescue, relief, and rehabilitation - that supply the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, and shelter. Initial aid efforts are shaped by media and by donors' perceptions of need instead of the expressed requirements of survivors (IFRC, 2005). Aid relief includes donated garments from local and international organizations, and typically results in large quantities of inappropriate used clothing that clog up warehouses and roadsides and add to the waste already created by the disaster, as happened across South Asia after the tsunami (IFRC, 2005). Excess donated clothing arriving in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake found its way to roadside markets, and thus damaged the country's already fragile garment manufacturing economy with low prices (C. McAlister and A. Pringle, personal communication, 20 January 2011)[1]. Donated clothing may be unsuitable for the climate and, in some cases, culturally inappropriate. After the tsunami in Indonesia, clothing unbefitting for a conservative Muslim population in the provincial capital Banda Aceh was left unused at already congested airports (IFRC, 2005). Lack of proper garments, especially for women, may inhibit requests for help and thus impedes rehabilitation and full participation in community life (Nobel de Silva, 2005).\nDisaster relief: current protocols: Planning, response, and recovery are three phases of emergency management (Subramaniam et al., 2010). Response entails rescue, relief aid, and rehabilitation. Initially people are in danger, and may be trapped within wreckage; the priority is to rescue and provide first aid, water, and blankets (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, 2002). In terms of clothing, survivors often have only the clothes on their backs and the blankets that have been distributed. In 2005, the United Nations piloted a cluster approach to standardize, optimize, and coordinate international agencies' emergency responses. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee identified clusters for 11 main areas of emergency response but failed to include access to suitable clothing. The Sphere Project's (2011)\nTheoretical frameworks: A functional design process is based on the specific needs of the target consumer. Rouse (1991) suggests that people-centred design priorities enhance human abilities, help overcome human limitations, and foster user acceptance. Creating apparel that is human-centred falls within the domain of functional apparel design (Lamb and Kallal, 1992) which focuses on engineering garments to meet wearers' special needs by prioritizing comfort, mobility, and serviceability through the use of the functional, expressive, and aesthetic (FEA) consumer needs model for product development.\nPurpose of the study: This study investigated clothing needs of survivors during the relief phase of natural disasters in order to improve current aid protocol. Interpretive approaches focused on empathetically understanding the lived experience of participants with the goal of creating a design solution that improved post-disaster quality of life. The study generated information based on the needs expressed by the affected people and gathered data from relief workers and aid administrators to determine clothing requirements for disaster survivors. This research provides perspective to not-for-profit organizations that are involved in clothing procurement for disaster relief and benefits government emergency preparedness programmes as well as international humanitarian agencies by providing them with a clothing component for deployed emergency supplies.\nMethods: The study used a participatory design framework that prioritized the end user through needs analyses involving disaster survivors, relief volunteers, and aid administrators. The project followed two interconnected phases of inquiry: needs analysis and design development.\nData analysis: Data generated from interviews as well as focus group discussions with survivors were analysed in the following manner: indicators within the data (e.g. descriptions by the survivors; observations by the relief workers of actions and events) were coded into deductive and inductive categories and further into subcategories. Deductive coding incorporated data that were based on pre-existing concerns and observations. These included current relief aid protocols that were then further categorized into survival hampers, distribution systems, logistics, and speed of response. These themes were entered into a spreadsheet and analyzed. Data initially coded as inductive were classified into subcategories, such as functional, expressive, and aesthetic. The data in the subcategories were colour coded and entered into a Venn diagram as shown in Figure 1. Each circle represents an interview group (survivors, relief workers, and aid administrators). Prominent needs emerged in the overlapping areas of the Venn diagram. These needs, which form the basis of the design development, are represented in Table I.\nResults: Phase I: needs analysis\nDiscussion: Survival Plus is a multi-functional product that converts to a shawl, a blanket, a mat and an outerwear garment. When two or more units are zipped together, they can form a larger blanket and/or a shelter. It protects its wearer from wind, rain and confers protection in warm and cool weather. Along with its multitude of safety and visibility properties, it also incorporates several load bearing features like a bag, tool pockets and extra D-rings. It reduces the load on logistics due to its flat-packed, one-size-fits-all (adult) qualities. It is sustainable in its targeted response meaning less quantity is shipped thereby reducing carbon footprint.\nLimitations: An overarching limitation to the project was the fact that cultural clothing is different to every region. Survivors in Haiti and sub-Sahara may wear western attire when it arrives as clothing aid, however survivors in the Middle East and in East and South-East Asia may be culturally restricted from doing so. Therefore, the proposed design solution does not have a clothing connotation but rather an outerwear focus, serving to shelter survivors until a time when culturally appropriate clothing may be arranged domestically. Clothing functionality is different in every disaster situation. Survivors of forest fires and volcanoes may need flame retardant apparel and nonabrasive garments for those sustaining heat-related injuries. Even survivors of a tsunami and a flood have different needs. This is why the Survival Plus garment offers needed flexibility as it could be used in many disaster situations, and by merely changing the textile it could be made applicable to most situations including those of refugees and the homeless.\nFuture directions: Survival Plus is a garment that may be used by most government and nongovernment humanitarian agencies as part of their relief efforts. Although participants in field simulations have iteratively tested it, the prototype must be evaluated in a field trial in order to determine the effectiveness of the design solution within the disaster environment. The Survival Plus garment has been created to address the clothing needs of survivors in the intermediate or relief phase of disaster response. As it is an outerwear garment, it is culturally appropriate. In the long term, it may be feasible for governments to manufacture generic clothing for men, women, and children as part of their disaster mitigation and emergency preparedness strategies. Some of the more established international aid agencies operate regional offices all over the world. One of the participants of this study was employed by such an agency and it was reported that it manufactures small quantities of cultural clothing for inclusion in its aid efforts. It would be easier to exploit economies of scale if international humanitarian agencies were to group clothing aid in regional clusters based on similarity of dress. For example clothing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh is very similar and might be produced together. Similarly, clothing for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and some regions of China can be manufactured generically. If one country is afflicted, other countries in that cluster could rapidly deploy clothing aid. This is a far more sustainable proposition.\nConclusion: The goal of design within a human-centred framework is not only to describe and critique the relationship between survivors, first responders, and aid administrators but also to stipulate what it \"ought to be\" (Visvander, 1986, p. 126). As Pratt (1993) ascertains, \"how we know and what we know affects what we are able to do; knowing enables us\" (p. 95).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Natural disasters, occurring with increasing frequency are mobilizing humanitarian agencies to provide relief response. Current protocols that rely heavily on donated clothing as clothing aid are neither effective nor efficient. The purpose of this paper is to investigate survivors' clothing needs during the relief phase of a natural disaster in order that current protocol might be improved. The focus is on clothing use from the perspectives of survivors who will wear it, relief workers and aid agencies that will disperse it.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This qualitative study included needs analysis focus groups with survivors, interviews with relief aid workers and senior humanitarian agency administrators. All respondents were residents of and/or impacted by the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Questions focused on relief aid protocol, clothing needs and mandatory requirements for a design solution.\nFindings: Data gathered revealed a myriad of design priorities and participants emphasized that garments be culturally and climatically appropriate and universal in design. Based on these criteria, a prototype (named Survival Plus) was created using the Functional, Expressive and Aesthetic design framework as proposed by Lamb and Kallal (1992).\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research may be undertaken to field test proposed Survival Plus prototype to evaluate the design and subsequent findings be incorporated in its design.\nOriginality/value: Academic knowledge about this aspect of disaster management and response is scarce. This participatory study of clothing needs of survivors is of particular benefit to emergency preparedness initiatives and humanitarian aid providers in their delivery of clothing aid.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Extending the theory of planned behavior to understand consumers' intentions to visit green hotels in the Chinese context	[ "Environmental concern", "Green hotel", "Visit intention", "Perceived consumer effectiveness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Currently, with the improvement of living standards in China, more and more Chinese consumers are choosing to travel as their way to relax. As a result, the tourism and hospitality industry consumes vast amounts of natural resources and non-recyclable goods, while generating high levels of waste and carbon dioxide emissions (Jiang and Kim, 2015; Prud'homme et al., 2016; Tang et al., 2017). According to a report from the China Hotel Association (2015), on average, 10 per cent of the hotels' costs are for energy in the Chinese hotel industry, while the average level in the international hotel industry is only 6 per cent. In recent years, there has been an upward trend in the environmental concern of Chinese consumers owing to the efforts of governments. Consumers have gradually realized the seriousness of environmental degradation and so they are inclined to visit hotels that have environmentally friendly practices[1] (Berezan et al., 2013; Kim et al., 2017). These changes in consumer expectations have urged Chinese hoteliers to implement green behaviors in their daily operations. It is credible that the successful implementation of such policies results in a green hotel that meets Chinese consumers' environmental concerns, as well as responding to the criticism of existing hospitality industry practices and fulfilling the requirements of governments (Yu et al., 2017).\n2. Conceptual framework and research hypotheses: 2.1 The basic variables of theory of planned behavior and the visiting intention\n3. Methodological developments: 3.1 Sampling\n4. Data analysis and results: As shown in Table II, among the 324 participants, 147 participants (45.37 per cent) have heard about green hotels. Among the participants, 177 (54.63 per cent) were men and 147 (45.37 per cent) were women. Most of them were between 20 and 29 years old (70.99 per cent). Most respondents had earned an associate degree or a bachelor degree (52.47 per cent), and roughly one-third had a master degree or doctorate (34.88 per cent). These results are in line with a demographic report issued by the State Tourism Administration of China (2015). According to the report, Chinese citizens with high educational level and aged between 20 and 35 years old are the major travelers.\n5. Conclusions and implications: 5.1 Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore the intention of consumers to visit green hotels in China through the theory of planned behavior (TPB) extended by adding perceived consumer effectiveness and environmental concern.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The TPB model is used as the basic theoretical framework but is extended by adding two critical variables. Data is collected from 324 respondents by using a self-administered questionnaire survey and analyzed with the assistance of structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The empirical results show that perceived consumer effectiveness and environmental concern have positive effects on the attitude and the intention of consumers to visit green hotels, and that perceived consumer effectiveness has the largest effect. However, in China, the impact of environmental concern on the intention of consumers to visit green hotels is relatively limited, and the subjective norm has a strong effect. In addition, this research verifies the usefulness of the extended TPB model in understanding the intention of consumers in green hotels industry in China. This is evidenced by a comparison of the initial TPB model with the extended TPB model where the explanatory power has improved from 65 to 68 per cent.\nOriginality/value: This research contributes to TPB theory by addressing certain gaps in the literature regarding the intention of consumers to visit green hotels in China. Furthermore, considering the limitations of the TPB model, two pro-social variables, namely, perceived consumer effectiveness and environmental concern, are incorporated into the TPB model to better understand the intention of consumers to visit green hotels. Also, this research addresses the gap that studies on the role of perceived consumer effectiveness are limited in the tourism and hospitality management literature. The results indicate that perceived consumer effectiveness has the largest influence on the intention of consumers to visit green hotels.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Brand management and the challenge of authenticity	[ "Brand management", "Brand image" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Brands have always been commercial agents and brand managers take pride in their ability to meet the needs of their target market. However, these two desires are in conflict with the recent trend towards positioning brands as \"authentic,\" emphasising the timeless values desired by consumers while downplaying apparent commercial motives. The dual problem for the firm is in creating images of authenticity while dealing with the challenge that authenticity presents for brand management.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the challenges that the widespread desire for authenticity presents for brand managers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Provides a viewpoint essay.\nFindings: - Authenticity requires brand managers to downplay their overt marketing prowess and instead locate their brands within communities and sub-cultures. Brands should become members of communities and appeal to more timeless values, while also delivering to members' needs.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Studies of how brands develop images of authenticity are needed. Case histories drawing on multiple sources of data of brands are also needed. Research into how consumers define authenticity is required.\nPractical implications: - Brand managers must open up their brands to members of a community, downplay their overt marketing prowess, and appeal to the timeless values of that community. Brand managers should decouple and downplay their real business acumen in favour of appealing to social norms.\nOriginality/value: - Brand management models assume that brand marketers provide brands with meaning. This view is challenged, arguing that brand meaning is derived from the day-to-day interactions between the brand and subcultures. The article also challenges the view that marketers should necessarily appear proficient at what they do, instead calling for marketers to downplay their role in order to be more effective.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Factors influencing national rollout of quality improvement approaches to public hospitals in Tanzania	[ "Quality (assurance, improvement, structures, strategies, frameworks)", "Tanzania", "5S approach", "Gap between knowledge and practice", "National Rollout", "Public hospitals" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In general, provision of health care in resource constrained settings in developing countries, is generally considered to be of low quality. Many African countries have made the provision of quality health care a top priority (MoHSW, Tanzania, 2011; MoH, Uganda, 2011; MoMS and MoPH, Kenya, 2011). Developing countries often struggle with the complexity of insufficient human resource combined with inadequate access to necessary medicines and technologies (Epping-Jordan et al., 2004). Asian countries such as Laos and Cambodia have also been facing similar challenges in the provision of health care (Hanvoravongchai et al., 2012). Despite serious human and financial resource shortages, various Asian countries took action to improve the quality of health care using the 5S-KAIZEN-TQM approaches (Chaisiri, 2006; Kaluarachchi, 2009).\nRationale and aim of the study: There has been substantial literature on introducing quality improvement (QI) programs using the kaizen approaches or lean management in hospital settings; however, the majority of studies were conducted in developed countries such as the US or in Asian countries (Chaisiri, 2006; Stankovic, 2008; Bartel et al., 2009; Withanachchi et al., 2007). The quality of patient care in hospitals is firmly on the agendas of developed countries, but has been slower to gain traction in developing countries (Campbell et al., 2008). Studies in South Africa and Ghana using kaizen approach, reported improvement of clinical operations, work efficiency, reduction of waiting time and congestion (Isaacs and Hellenberg, 2009; Carter et al., 2012). However, there has been no study, to the authors' knowledge, conducted to look at the national rollout of QI approaches in public hospitals in Africa.\nMethods: Design\nResults: Testing of sample normality\nDiscussion: Policy makers, development partners and QI implementers in Tanzania and other developing countries have expressed a need to understand better the determinants of QI interventions. Our findings show some of the important attributes of effective rollout of QI intervention.\nConclusions: This study examined the national rollout experiences of a QI approach in public hospitals in African settings. The study revealed that although the training was effectively conducted to provide knowledge and skills on the 5S approach to top management of the hospitals, the implementation progress differed from hospital to hospital. Gaps between knowledge obtained from ToT and practices of 5S activities were observed. The following factors, influencing implementation of the 5S approach, were identified:\nAcknowledgements: Various people in Japan and Tanzania supported this study, and the authors appreciate their technical contribution. A series of interventions, such as trainings of trainers and consultation visits could not have happened without the national facilitators of the 5S-KAIZEN-TQM approaches. The authors also especially thank the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for funding a series of interventions on the national rollout of 5S-KAIZEN-TQM approaches, through the Human Resource for Health Development Project, in Tanzania. Lastly, the authors thank Dr Eric van Praag, Senior Regional Technical Advisor, FHI 360 Tanzania office for commenting the revised manuscript.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that influence the implementation of the rollout of the 5S approach in public hospitals in Tanzania, and share the way to scale this up for similar setting in developing countries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The effect size was calculated from pre- and post-assessment results of Training of Trainers (ToT) to examine the effectiveness of ToT. A questionnaire with 14 explanatory variables was developed and completed based on information collected during Consultation visits (CVs) and progress report meetings (PRMs). Then, data were analysed to identify the influencing factors in relation to outcome variables (CV average score).\nFindings: Among 14 explanatory variables, five explanatory variables showed statistical significant association with the CV average score. Those are: \"Feedback and information sharing,\" (p=0.031), \"Quality Improvement Team roles and responsibility\" (p=0.002), \"5S knowledge,\" \"Involvement and commitment,\" and \"5S guidelines use and availability,\" (p=0.000). When the explanatory variables were controlled by levels of hospitals; \"involvement and commitment\" was the only explanatory variable for national level hospitals. For regional referral hospitals, \"QIT roles and responsibility\" (p=0.02) and \"5S knowledge\" (p=0.03) were statistically significant. For district hospitals, \"involvement and commitment\" (p=0.01) and \"availability of guideline (p=0.001)\" were statistically significant.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study has the following limitations. The data were collected from existing reports and presentation materials only. There might be reporting bias, as PRM data is self-reported from the hospitals. Caution is therefore needed in extrapolating the study results to other settings. Despite these caveats, the findings will provide important insights for designing and implementing QI programs in Tanzania and in other African countries.\nOriginality/value: The authors' conceptual framework is based on the existing literature on the science of diffusion and scale up of innovation in the health sector. Few studies are known from resource constrain settings in Africa which assess the determinants of the process of nationwide scale-up of proven interventions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Forces influencing the speed of internationalisation: An exploratory Norwegian and Irish study	[ "Globalization", "SME", "International entrepreneurship", "Internationalization", "Born global", "Foreign market" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Since the early 1990s, the accelerated internationalisation of firms has attracted the attention of international business scholars, and several studies have attempted to explain why and how new firms internationalise (Zahra et al., 2004). Given their limited resource small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) differ from larger multinationals in the way they pursue international opportunities for whom exporting is generally the initial mode of entry into international markets (Johanson and Vahlne, 1990). Globalisation has meant that newly created SMEs often internationalise from the start (McDougall and Oviatt, 2000) despite the perceived added risks, influenced by network relationships (Coviello, 2006), technological innovations (Zahra et al., 2003) and innovative entrepreneurial behaviours (Weerawardena et al., 2007; Ramos et al., 2011). International entrepreneurship has become an emerging field of research giving the entrepreneur and the resource limited SME a central role in the internationalisation of economies. The results of such studies have changed the competitive environment of entrepreneurs, with large and small firms now competing in similar conditions (Ibrahim, 2004). This study explores the forces influencing the speed of internationalisation of SMEs and addresses a gap in literature exploring the enabling forces motivating forces and determining factors leading SMEs to accelerate their decision to internationalise.\nLiterature review: Internationalisation\nDiscussion: Based on the literature reviewed and the empirical findings, the significance of the forces (motivating, enabling, mediating and moderating forces) influencing the speed of internationalisation is discussed in terms of the key insights emanating from the study.\nConclusion: In exploring the enabling and motivating forces and determining factors leading SMEs to accelerate their decision to internationalise this exploratory research focused on four Norwegian and four Irish SMEs (based in export-oriented economies) and the findings suggest that in order to increase the speed of internationalisation, the four most significant elements are (in descending order of importance) initial entry; country scope and psychic distance, and finally commitment.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study applies Oviatt and McDougall's (2005) model of forces influencing the speed of internationalisation to small, export oriented enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the forces enabling, motivating, mediating and moderating internationalisation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the manner in which these forces manifest themselves in the market.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative research approach utilising eight case studies within Norway and Ireland was adopted in order to facilitate theory building required for this study.\nFindings: The findings demonstrate that four forces in particular are found to be strongly significant to the speed of internationalisation among the case SMEs: the enabling force of technology, the mediating force of entrepreneurial actor perceptions/owner-managers' global vision and the moderating forces of foreign market knowledge and tie strength in networks.\nPractical implications: The empirical evidence has several implications for managers and policy regarding influencing the speed of internationalisation process. The enabling force (technology) has implications for government in their support of the SME macro environment. The motivating force (competition) has implications for government, in understanding what motivates entrepreneurs to enter international markets. The two moderating forces (foreign market knowledge and network tie strength) have implications for managers and can be leveraged through product innovation, increased focus on intellectual property rights for better protection against copycats, and through active and deliberate international networking.\nOriginality/value: The paper suggests adjustments to Oviatt and McDougall's (2005) model, permitting researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of the complex reality of SME internationalisation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Elite status talks, but how loudly and why? Exploring elite CSR micro-politics	[ "Corporate social responsibility", "Aspirational corporate social responsibility", "Elite CSR performance", "Mimetic neo-institutionalization", "Societal productivity CSR" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: For at least 60 years, stakeholders have pressed businesses to \"pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society\" (Bowen, 1953, p. 6). This societal view of corporate social responsibility (CSR) emphasizes how dependent the concept is, in research and organizational performance, on stakeholders' contextualized, sensemaking expectations. CSR literature emphasizes how, through processes of micro-politics, communities deliberate which CSR performance standards legitimize corporate strategic management, operations and communication (Carroll et al., 2012; Ihlen et al., 2011; Crane and Glozer, 2016; Lee and Carroll, 2011). Arguably, organizations are less effective as they suffer the \"self-promoter's paradox,\" and more effective as they engage with stakeholders to formulate CSR standards with which to judge performance (Morsing and Schultz, 2006).\nLiterature review: Micro-political CSR battles address how organizations can increase societal productivity. Resource dependent organizations are societally authorized to operate for reward because they add value (moral and financial/pragmatic benefits) that exceeds the costs (financial and moral equity, such as health and safety) of their presence in communities. This societal productivity (power resource dependency) model of legitimacy challenges organizations to meet CSR standards that are evaluative (moral legitimacy) and cognitive/pragmatic (financial legitimacy) (Golant and Sillince, 2007; Suchman, 1995). Discussions of legitimacy define the right to operate for reward as business ethics (Sen and Cowley, 2013); minimal CSR standards serve as threshold criteria regarding the license to operate.\nMethodology: The authors chose case study methodology because of the inherent case nature of elite CSR, carefully selected cases' ability to demonstrate the socio-political value of argument by performance. According to Patton (2002), \"the case study should take the reader into the case situation and experience\" (p. 450). This qualitative method is good for applied research because it has the capacity to \"open up a world to a reader through rich, detailed, and concrete descriptions of people and places\" (p. 438). Case analyses illuminate the phenomena studied and critically guide efforts to draw interpretations and form conclusions about meanings and significance of details.\nResults: To examine RQ1, two elite CSR businesses were identified and evaluated, as were elite universities generically. Results, presented below indicate that elite organizations exist, can demonstrate their status, and the reward advantage of it. These results suggest that elite status can exert marketplace pressure to maximize moral and pragmatic CSR standards.\nDiscussion: Corporations present CSR legitimacy claims as a step toward building strategic economic and institutional operating environments. Such claims are value-laden wherein \"CSR and value representation concerns are not about whether values, but whose and what values, are represented in business decisions\" (Deetz, 2007, p. 269) and whether interpenetrating actions and expectations become institutionalized (Jepperson, 1991; Lammers and Barbour, 2006; O'Connor and Shumate, 2010; Phillips et al., 2004). They become codified, habituated and accepted textually as social contracts (Colyvas and Jonsson, 2011; Schultz and Wehmeier, 2010). They become mimetic (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983) as organizational leaderships copy and implement what they believe leads other organizations to succeed.\nLimitations and future research: As is the case with such studies, the conclusions are limited to two case studies and one institutional study. Cases can be selected because they prove the points that researchers want to make. So, more studies are needed, especially those that can focus on how one organization's success can (does?) inspire others to imitate an elite's aspiration. Research is needed to track elite organizations and investigate their success and influence. Not only is this a rationale for future research, but it is also likely to be an issue monitoring and strategic management exercise by organizational leaderships. Success should breed success and elites should press non-elites.\nConclusion: Elite CSR makes aspirational claims: celebrate the exceptional. Encourage the marginal to improve. Motivate the failing to leave the marketplace. Punish offenders who blatantly violate CSR norms and exploit society. Rather than seeing such efforts as a liability to resource management, as reactionary voices of CSR often argue, elite standards of normative CSR aspire for higher standards that increase benefits to organizations while lowering costs and raising benefits for communities. Elite CSR increases community resources (such as nutritious, healthy meat, sustainable energy efficiency and solutions to community problems).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the proactive role elite organizations play within-network corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance by determining whether organizations can be identified that serve as aspirational CSR role models. The assumption is that elite CSR performance inspires and challenges other in-network actors to raise their standards in order to be legitimate, and resource rewardable.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Three cases are discussed to exemplify elite CSR: historical: recognizing the value of embracing a trend in improved standards of meatpacking, Armour Meatpacking campaigned for sanitary meatpacking and implemented strategic change; global energy: Chevron Corporation conducts \"business in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, respecting the law and universal human rights to benefit the communities where we work\"; and non-profit: \"Elite\" universities' CSR standards attract bright faculty and students and build beneficial relationships with industry, government and peers.\nFindings: Elite institutions raise CSR standards by using issue trends to guide strategic change that can performatively demonstrate the societal value of proactive leadership that elevates standards and increases the reward value to communities and organizations that is achieved by adopting higher standards.\nResearch limitations/implications: Through micro-politics that increase CSR social productivity, elite CSR standards earn rewards for exemplary organizations and subsequently raise standards for in-network organizations to, in turn, achieve the license to operate.\nPractical implications: Discussions of CSR should consider the influences that establish CSR standards. To that end, this paper offers the explanatory power of a micro-political, societal productivity approach to CSR based on the pragmatic/moral resource dependency paradigm.\nSocial implications: The paper reasons that higher CSR standards result when NGO stakeholder critics and/or government agencies exert micro-political pressure. In response to such pressure, elite organizations, those that are or can meet those higher CSR standards, proactively demonstrate how higher CSR standards can accrue resources that benefit them and society. Elite CSR performance challenges other in-network actors to raise standards in order to be legitimate, that is resource rewardable.\nOriginality/value: Because elite organizations understand the reward advantage of higher levels of CSR, they proactively elevate the discuss of standards and advantages for achieving them, and penalties for falling short.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Investor attention for retail and institutional investors: a test on the real estate market	[ "Investor attention measures", "Retail funds", "Institutional funds", "Investors", "Retailing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Attention is a scarce cognitive resource (Kahneman, 1973) and investors' limited attention can affect asset pricing statics as well as dynamics (Peng and Xiong, 2006). The literature on investor attention proposes indirect measures based on market data and direct measures based on newspapers or web sites. Indirect measures are constructed on extreme returns (Barber and Odean, 2008), abnormal trading volume (Gervais et al., 2001), and price limits (Seasholes and Wu, 2007), while direct proxies are based on the analysis of news articles and headlines in financial and economic newspapers (Yuan, 2008).Da et al. (2011) were the first to propose a direct proxy of investor attention based on aggregate search frequency data from Google. Their measure is considered a valid proxy of investor attention only for retail investors, but there is no empirical evidence to support this assumption. A test of the degrees of usefulness of internet attention proxies could thus be carried out by applying the proxies to financial instruments reserved for one or another type of investor.Real estate funds represent the main indirect real estate investment vehicle for the European market and in some countries (e.g. Italy and Germany) managing companies can offer products to all investors or only to institutional investors (Morri and Lee, 2009). The role of institutionally reserved real estate funds in the European market is not a residual one with respect to other real estate investment vehicles because, in both the number of products offered and assets under management, they represent almost 42 percent of the overall real estate market (Scenari Immobiliari, 2010).Focusing on the Italian market, we test the different levels of usefulness of proxies for Google searches and news headlines for real estate funds available to retail investors with respect to those reserved for institutional investors. Considering data collected from Google Insights for search (hereinafter Google Insights) and Factiva for 2004-2011, we compare the measures of investor attention for Italian funds reserved for institutional investors with respect to other funds. The results obtained from Google measures are correlated with the number of news for both institutional and retail investors but the correlation is higher and more significant for institutional funds. Considering lagged relationships for institutional funds, an increase in the number of internet searches normally leads to an increase in the number of news articles; any new information available in the news therefore generally does not boost the knowledge of specialized real estate investors.This remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses the problem of collecting investment information in the asset management industry and determines the main drivers of increases and decreases in investor attention. Our empirical analysis in Sections 3.1 and 3.2 describes the sample and methodology, respectively, and Section 3.3 discusses the results from a comparison of different attention proxies for retail and institutional investors. Section 4 summarizes the main results and their business implications for real estate fund managers.\n2 Literature review: Investment choices are normally driven by individual attitudes, brands, and product features (Maheswaran and Meyers-Levy, 1990). Even if individual attitudes matter, brand and product characteristics are widely believed to significantly impact investor attention and market performance (Gupta, 1988).The main product features that can affect investor attention are a fund's past performance, size, and fees applied.Under the assumption of performance persistence, at least in the short term (Hendricks et al., 1993), a fund's past performance provides useful information for mutual fund investors (Goetzmann and Peles, 1997). Given high participation costs, investors use past performance to identify a small set of funds of interest for which information is then collected (Huang et al., 2007).Fund size is considered a measure of the fund's capital base and investors normally prefer bigger funds (Lenard et al., 2003). Because of the greater attention larger funds get from newspapers and other media, the cost of information collection for these funds is lower and their investor attention may be positively biased by media overexposure (Sirri and Tufano, 1998).Investors are more sensitive to salient, in-your-face fees, such as front-end loads and commissions, than operating expenses and normally a negative relation exists between the number of new subscriptions and front-end load fees (Barber et al., 2005). The market share is negatively related to the amount of expenses but there is no unique consensus on which types of expenses affect the investment selection process the most (Khorana and Servaes, 2012).Investors gather information on a product class of interest from both internal (e.g. memories from previous experience) and external (e.g. advertising, brochures, newspaper articles) sources. For mutual fund purchase decisions, impersonal sources include advertising, direct mail, and published fund performance statistics; informal interpersonal sources include family and friends; and formal interpersonal sources include fee-based advisors and commission-based advisors (Capon et al., 1996).Investor attention for different types of information source scan vary on the basis of the distribution channel used by the portfolio manager. Normally the more direct the distribution channel, the more relevant the information directly collected by the investor with respect to the advice of others (Alexander et al., 1998).The literature shows that the choice of information source is affected by the investor's financial literacy and in the mutual fund industry the more financially skilled investors use financial publications and/or prospect uses more frequently (Alexander et al., 1997). Institutional investors normally use more detailed information in the fund selection process and frequently available data may be integrated with fund managers' interviews (Del Guercio and Tkac, 2002). The investment strategies and fund flows are not comparable with those adopted by individual investors, however, due to the different sets of information used in the fund selection process (Keswani and Stolin, 2008).The standard assumption in the literature is that more sophisticated information is collected from newspapers and technical publications, while free data sources (such as found on the internet) are normally used by individual investors to identify the best investment opportunities (Da et al., 2011). This assumption implies that internet-based measures are less useful for measuring institutional investor attention, but no such empirical evidence exists.\n3 Empirical analysis: 3.1 Sample\n4 Conclusions: Investor attention measures based on either internet sources or articles published in specialized newspapers reveal different results when applied to retail funds and institutional funds. In addition, the investor attention proxy distributions are not strictly comparable. The correlation between different attention proxies is normally not significantly high but, regarding attention measures for specialized real estate investors, the correlation between measures is higher for institutional funds than for retail funds.Analyzing the lead-lag relationship between different investor attention proxies (internet searches and news articles), the results demonstrate that only for institutional funds is it possible to assume that Google searches impact positively on published news, while for retail funds no such relationship is identified. This result supports the hypothesis that the information content of news in the real estate sector is limited, especially considering funds reserved to institutional investors. The hypothesis assumed in the literature, that internet data are not useful for institutional investors, has not been empirically confirmed and, moreover, such data are among the drivers of information available in newspapers.Information disclosure is a key topic for AMCs because the quantity and quantity of information available can affect the demand (and thus the price) of financial products offered. Empirical evidence shows that, due to the high level of cognitive dissonance surrounding the choice of a mutual fund, information disclosure and advertising by the fund do not attract new customers but represent the main instrument for retaining existing customers (Goetzmann and Peles, 1997). Our results suggest that institutional investors should consider both channels of information - newspapers and the internet - to measure any positive or negative sign of investor attention to their products.Further research development must consider the different impact of information collected from the internet and from newspapers in explaining the performance achieved by funds and the increase/decrease in the demand of a financial instrument. Analysis based on different types of investments that are not closed-end funds such as the real estate funds considered here could reveal useful insights into the impact of types of information available on new subscriptions and withdrawals. A thorough analysis of news content might reveal differences in investor attention proxies for retail and institutional investors, such as the classification of positive and negative news (Tetlock, 2007).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The paper aims to investigate the relationship between different investor attention proxies for different types of funds (retail vs institutional ones) looking at a sample of real estate funds.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors collect data about searching frequency on Google and all the news published in Italian specialized newspapers for a set of real estate funds. Following the approach proposed by Da, Engelberg and Gao, the authors construct a set of attention proxies and they compare the ranking with some summary statistics and evaluate the causality relationship among them using a Granger causality test.\nFindings: - Results demonstrate that online search frequency is relevant for both institutional and retail funds and normally internet data are able to anticipate the news that will be published in the newspapers.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The analysis proposed is focused only on a small real estate market (Italy) where funds are specialized for the type of investor. A wider database can allow excluding that results achieved are biased by the specific features of the market analysed.\nPractical implications: - The role of internet proxies attention measures also for institutional investors demonstrate that the managing companies offering financial instruments reserved to institutional investors should consider both channels of information - newspapers and the internet - to measure any positive or negative sign of investor attention to their products.\nOriginality/value: - The article represents the first analysis of investor attention proxies on the real estate market and the first comparison of investor attention proxies for retail and institutional investors.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Business model design and firm performance: Evidence of interactive effects from a developing economy	[ "Performance", "Developing countries", "Albania", "Business model ambidexterity", "Business model efficiency", "Business model novelty" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The term \"business model\" (BM) has become widespread in both the academic and in the managerial world. The literature on BMs has grown steadily over the last few years (Massa et al., 2017). However, this growth has not seen a corresponding increase in quantitative empirical evidence. Indeed, even today, BM literature is dominated by conceptual papers and explorative approaches, especially in the form of case studies (Wirtz et al. 2016). Studies relying on \"clearly articulated research models that lay out the basic causal web-connecting antecedent, moderating, and mediating variables with the key construct and consequences\" (Foss and Saebi, 2017, p. 203) are absent.\nTheory and hypotheses development: BM: concept and approaches\nMethodology and methods: Research context and sample characteristics\nResults: Table II shows the correlations among the variables. As mentioned, the coefficients for the correlations between the two independent variables (design efficiency and design novelty) are significant and strong. In addition, respectively, age and size, and BMN and industry are moderately correlated. However, no multicollinearity-related issues are found as the statistics show that the variance inflation factor levels are acceptable (values are around 1).\nDiscussion: Theoretical contribution and research implications\nConclusions: The aim of our study was to deepen the complex relationship between BM design, BM ambidexterity and performance of the firm through an analysis of a sample of 107 firms based in Albania, a post-communist developing country. Our study responds to various calls in the BM literature to advance existing knowledge on complementarities and synergies between different business model designs. Furthermore, the study context provides a novel research arena to investigate the consequences of the adoption of different BM designs by firms.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on business model (BM) design by deepening the relationship between BM design themes and performance in a sample of firms based in a developing country. In particular, the authors deepen the relationship between business model novelty (BMN), business model efficiency (BME), the trade-off between novelty and efficiency - that the authors call BM ambidexterity - and performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data are drawn from a sample of 107 manufacturing and service firms based in a developing country (Albania). Hierarchical regression is used to assess the impact on firm performance from the two BM design themes and their interaction.\nFindings: The authors find novelty-centred BM design is significantly related to firm performance while efficiency-centred design has no direct effect on performance. However, the authors also find that BME positively moderates the relationship between BMN and firm performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The relationship between BM design and firm performance can be better understood if contextualised. In the paper, the authors find that different types of BM designs have different impacts on the performance of firms based in a developing economy. While novelty matters, quite surprisingly the authors find no support for efficiency. Additionally, the authors find the interaction between the two design themes (BM ambidexterity) to have a positive impact on firm performance.\nPractical implications: The surveyed firms based in a developing economy appear to benefit from novelty-centred BM designs. Efficiency-centred designs have a more ambiguous role: while efficiency alone seems not to pay off, an efficient BM design may facilitate the market exploitation of a novel design.\nOriginality/value: This study responds to a precise call for additional quantitative empirical studies on the relationship between BM and performance. The study also contributes to an emerging stream of research focused on BM ambidexterity.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring factors influencing online classes due to social distancing in COVID-19 pandemic: a business students perspective	[ "Education", "Business school", "Pandemic", "Covid-19", "Online classes", "Social distancing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The world is witnessing a unique kind of situation where education for all levels of study is being imparted through online classes using Internet. This COVID-19 pandemic enforced all forms of class paradigm to shift on-default to online mode of classes. The advent of this historic pandemic was so sudden and abrupt that it did not provide time to prepare for such a situation. The whole world willingly or unwillingly started teaching through online medium. This paper covers the students' perspective related to the online classes and the associated factors with it. Based on the review of literature, the conceptual model was developed depicting all the number of items associated to the constructs (Figure 1). Five factors were identified which have impact on the online classes, and through statistically testing using SMART PLS3 their specific impact were identified. The study is specific to the university students, but it can be generalized through students' community across the world as the students face similar problems and issues associated to online classes during COVID-19 pandemic.\nBackground: This COVID-19 is a new influenza strain of corona virus which was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019 (Sohrabi et al., 2020). This novel corona virus is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome, corona virus-2 (SARS CoV-2) (Sun et al., 2020). This is spreading from person to person by respiratory droplets, produced by sneezing and coughing. Most people have mild to moderate symptoms causing infections in nose, sinus and upper throat, while in some people this disease is causing severe complications like trouble in breathing, blood clotting, heart problems, serious viral and bacterial infections leading to their death (Rothan and Byrareddy, 2020; Sismondo, 2020; Velavan and Meyer, 2020).As this corona virus is new, the challenges are also new (Shereen et al., 2020). It is very disappointing to hear that gathering and working at one place like offices, malls, colleges, banks will escalate the spread of this disease, WHO has recommended social distancing (Hageman, 2020; Kannan et al., 2020; Sohrabi et al., 2020). Avoiding close contact leads to nearly total closure of schools, shops, malls, colleges, universities etc. All this give rise to sudden increase in online classes as only alternative to traditional classes.\nLiterature review: To study the impact of various factors on online classes, the literature has been divided into five constructs. These constructs have been identified through a thorough analysis of various researches published around the world. These identified factors are not limited to Saudi Arabia, rather the findings can be generalized across various countries.Attitude\nConceptual model: Based on the review of literature, a model has been proposed with five factors that are expected to have impact on the online mode classes conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing (Figure 1). In this model, attitude, curriculum, motivation, technology and training are independent factors, whereas online class is dependent factor.\nMethodology: Survey instrument and sample\nFindings: Figure 1 shows the conceptual model for the factors responsible for online classes and the five dependent variables. The path coefficients indicate the direct effect of a variable assumed to be a cause on another variable assumed to be an effect. In this model, all the five factors were subject to test their impact on the online classes.As this model is a formative model, the outer loadings were recorded. The beta values indicate the correlation between the indicator variables, and the latent construct was evaluated. The composite outer loadings for all indicators are in the acceptable range of 0.7 (Table 1), whereas, AVE was more than 0.5 which meant that all the measures of all the constructs in the model had a high level of convergent validity in the model. The individual item reliability showed the constructs and their items followed by the loadings in the model is at acceptable level. The skewness and kurtosis values corresponded to the items of the scale. The AVE ranged from 0.715 to 0.911, the Cronbach a values range from 0.802 to 0.951 and the corresponding composite reliability ranged from 0.882 to 0.969. The outer loading of 0.70 and more was obtained for all the 15 items of the questionnaire (Table 2).The cross-loadings were checked using the Fornell-Larcker criterion to check the discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981), and HTMT ratios were calculated (Henseler et al., 2014a, b). According to the studies of Henseler et al. (2009) and Hair et al. (2011), the Fornell-Larcker criterion and the cross-loadings were checked for discriminant validity (Table 3). The diagonal elements show the square root of the average variance extracted. The off-diagonal elements show the correlations between the constructs. For this model, cross-loadings were checked. It was measured that the values of AVE should be greater than MSV. All values for the construct were greater than its vertical and horizontal values.Another criterion to check the discriminant validity through the values of heterotrait-monotrait Ratio (HTMT) was observed, and it was observed that the HTMT values for all the dimensions were less than 0.85 (Henseler et al., 2014); hence discriminant validity was present in the model (Table 4).Collinearity was checked for the constructs by validating VIF values, which should be less than five. All the VIF values of the constructs are less than five (Table 5). Therefore, it was concluded that the collinearity issue does not exist between the constructs. Hence, the independent constructs are not correlated.The bootstrapping procedure reports the significance of the path coefficient values (Figure 3). The result showed that the p-value for all five relations are significant (Table 6). It was also found that all three variables (attitude, motivation and training) have positive impact on online classes, whereas two variables (curriculum and technology) have negative impact on the online classes. All the factors have been found to be significant except technology which is found to have insignificant impact (p = 0.356) on online classes. The t-values of items of the constructs are very high which means that they all are significant and contribute in the respective constructs.Further, the R-square value for online classes is 0.949 which is considered to be very high (Figure 2). The f-square (effect size) shows that attitude, curriculum and technology have medium effect, whereas motivation and training have large effect size (Table 7).The root mean square residual (RMSR) was calculated to measure the mean absolute value of the covariance residuals, the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) based on transforming both the sample covariance matrix and the predicted covariance matrix into correlation matrices. The SRMR is defined as the difference between the observed correlation and the model implied correlation matrix. Thus, it allows assessing the average magnitude of the discrepancies between observed and expected correlations as an absolute measure of (model) fit criterion. The results of the blindfolding procedure with omission distance (D) value = 7, the Q2 values obtained is 0.781 which is more than zero (Table 8) which indicated that the path model's predictive relevance is high. Moreover, in this model, the value of SRMR is 0.098 which was considered as a good fit (Table 9). A value less than 0.10 is considered a good fit. Henseler et al. (2014) introduce the SRMR as a goodness of fit measure for PLS-SEM that can be used to avoid model misspecification.The RMS_theta is the root mean squared residual covariance matrix of the outer model residuals (Kroonenberg and Lohmoller, 1990; Ringle et al. 2015). This fit measure is only useful to assess purely reflective models because outer model residuals for formative measurement models are not meaningful. The RMS_theta assesses the degree to which the outer model residuals correlate. The measure should be close to zero to indicate good model fit because it would imply that the correlations between the outer model residuals are very small (close to zero). The RMS_theta builds on the outer model residuals, which are the differences between predicted indicator values and the observed indicator values. For predicting the indicator values, it is necessary in PLS-SEM to have the latent variables scores. However, PLSc-SEM assumes common factors, which are subject to factor indeterminacy and, thus, determinate latent variable scores do not exist. RMS_theta values below 0.12 indicate a well-fitting model, whereas higher values indicate a lack of fit (Henseler et al., 2014), and in this model, the value obtained is 0.079 which is below the desired value. Hence, this model fits well for this relocation of five factors for the online classes.\nDiscussions: The present study contributes to the understanding related to the factors associated to online classes due to COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, initially five factors were identified through the review of literature, and then their impact was studied. To find the impact of all the five constructs (Factors) through SMART-PLS3 software, path coefficients were evaluated. It was found that motivation (0.485) has the highest positive impact on online classes, whereas attitude (0.197) has the least positive impact. It is obvious that motivation plays a vital role in any teaching and learning practice (Alves et al., 2016; Akhtar and Khan, 2019). Motivation is important for all forms of services (Zia and Azam, 2013), customers need to be motivated to purchase services (Zia and Khan, 2018; Zia, 2019, 2020a; Zia and Hashmi, 2019). Similarly, students also need to get motivated to attend their classes online. But in this pandemic of COVID-19, where all have to observe social distancing due to which online classes have been arranged, students motivation is of utmost importance for the successful online classes. Path coefficient values for attitude shows that it has 19.7% impact on the online classes. This construct is having least positive impact among the five identified constructs may be because it has been observed that already students' attitude toward online activities for education and for some activities related to education is favorable. Students use online resources for homework, assignments, activities and other tasks related to their course of study. The other construct, training (0.409), scored a moderate value of path coefficient among the five constructs. This is because of the reason that it is second most important factor which can make the online classes successful. Training makes the students more familiarized to the new process of online classes and helps students to clarify any hassles and doubts during online classes.Curriculum and technology were found to have negative impact on online classes. As we all know that the shift of regular classes to the online mode of classes was sudden due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the curriculum was never developed to be taught through this medium of communication. Therefore, the delivery of this curriculum which was initially developed for regular classes become extremely difficult through online classes. It was observed that there were many topics in the curriculum that cannot be taught through online classes and hence need physical presence in the class. This further created another related problem of the technology adaptability. Sudden shift did not provide time to the students to get themselves familiarized to the new mode of teaching. Further, it was found that attitude, motivation and training have the significant positive impact, whereas curriculum has significant but negative impact, and last construct (factor) technology has insignificant and negative impact on online classes.To test the significance of the constructs on the dependent variable (online classes), bootstrapping was performed using SMART PLS3. The results of the hypothesis show that H1, H2, H3 and H5 were rejected and hypothesis H4 was accepted. This means that attitude, curriculum, motivation and training have a significant impact on online classes, whereas technology has negative and insignificant impact (Table 10) on online classes.\nConclusion: The results of the study have the significant implications for all the faculties and the teaching staff who are conducting online classes due to COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. These findings will help them to understand the students' behavior related to online classes. Further, the findings helps to understand the factors associated to online classes, and therefore they can be manipulated to make online classes more effective. Based on the analysis performed for the identification of factors associated with the impact on the online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, five constructs were identified (attitude, curriculum, motivation, technology and training). All the five constructs were found to have impact on the online classes. The level of impact from highest to the lowest is shown in Table 11.The finding reveals that the motivation is one factor that has almost 50% (approx...) impact on the performance of online classes. This is the major challenge for the faculties and the teaching staff members to motivate students to attend the classes. The concept of social distancing does not allow students even to have combined studies to discuss the topics which are not clear in the online classes (Dratcott, 2020). Therefore, all students have to be very much attentive and self-motivated to attend these online classes. There is a missing factor of vigil in the online classes. Faculties cannot understand the body language of the students while teaching and conducting the online classes. Moreover, this will results in more monotonous lectures. Therefore, based on the findings and the level of their impact, faculties and teaching staff should pay attention to the factors mentioned in Table 11 where these factors are mentioned showing the level of impact on online classes from highest to the lowest.Limitations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study explores the factors responsible for influencing online classes for business school during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also examines the level of influence of these factors on online classes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected online from 716 business school students using a questionnaire developed by the researcher. Smart PLS3 software was used to analyze the data.\nFindings: Attitude, curriculum, motivation, technology and training were found to have an impact on online classes. Three variables (attitude, motivation and training) have a positive impact on online classes, whereas two variables (curriculum and technology) have a negative impact on the online classes. All the factors have been found to be significant except technology which is found to have an insignificant impact (p = 0.356) on online classes.\nResearch limitations/implications: Only one university's students were surveyed.\nPractical implications: Outlines the factors which have a positive and significant impact on online classes during COVID-19 pandemic. This study can be generalized through a student's community across the world as the students face similar problems associated with online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.\nSocial implications: Suggest factors that can be considered while COVID-19 pandemic during social distancing to make online classes more effective and to reduce the impact of this pandemic.\nOriginality/value: No study has documented the factors associated to impact the online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Effects of personal dispositions, familiarity and consumption situation on Western brands' packaging	[ "Global packaging", "Localized packaging", "Western brands" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Packaging is an important criterion for consumer' choice of brands (Khan et al., 2017a, 2017b). Supermarket scans indicated that the majority Western brands are available in both global (English) and local language (Urdu, Chinese) packaging in Pakistan and China, respectively. This practice of having two different packaging types poses a practical problem and naturally raises a question: which one, and under what circumstances, is more effective for selling? Whilst there are other ways to localise a packaging, e.g. using shape (Krishna et al., 2017) or colour (Piqueras-Fiszman et al., 2012), anecdotal discussions with store managers revealed that localisation of packaging by Western brands primarily involves language only. This study investigates the conditions for the packaging preference in global versus local language.\nConceptual development: Packaging localisation and branding\nMethodology: To test the hypothesis based on the conceptual model presented in Figure A1 in Appendix 1, we pursued the following methodology.\nResults: Tables VI and II show the results for the above equations and hypotheses.\nDiscussion and implications: Faced with growth in consumption of global brands in non-Western market, majority international companies emphasise on their brands management (He and Wang, 2017; Wang et al., 2017). Despite this, the strategic theme on underlying factors for brand-related functions, including packaging preference is an under-research area. To uncover this loophole in the research area, this paper looked at effects of dispositions together with the brand-related factor, i.e. brand familiarity, in determining packaging choice.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Supermarket scans in the contextual non-Western markets (Pakistan and China) revealed that the majority Western consumer products are available in both global (English) and the vernacular language (Urdu, Chinese) packaging. The availability of two different packaging raises a question - which is more effective and under what situation. This study aims to address this question by investigating the roles of an internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality) and an external-oriented disposition (social consciousness) on packaging choice, under different consumption situations (conspicuous versus inconspicuous). The conceptual model tested concern for quality as a mediator on the influence of social consciousness on packaging choice, under the moderating effects of conspicuous versus inconspicuous consumption situation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Two in-store choice experiments were conducted in Pakistan and China. Shoppers who agreed to participate were first primed to either of the two conditions (conspicuous and inconspicuous). They were then shown two packaging types (global versus local language) on store shelves and asked to pick the preferred packaging. Finally, the participants completed a paper-based questionnaire containing the scale items and demographics variables.\nFindings: Participants with high social consciousness preferred the global (English) packaging. The interaction effect of social consciousness and consumption situation moderated the choice. Concern for quality mediated the influence of social consciousness on global packaging preference.\nOriginality/value: This study extends the research into packaging by considering the mediating relationship and conceptualisation between external-oriented personal antecedent (social consciousness) and internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality), under different consumption (conspicuous versus inconspicuous) situation. The findings will inform brand managers' packaging strategies in non-Western markets.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of technology in collaborative consumer communities	[ "Well-being", "Charities and non-profits", "Technology and service", "Collaborative economy", "Collaborative consumption", "Collaborative consumer community", "Digital tools", "Local exchange trading system", "Non-commercial services" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Digital technologies have led to the emergence of some high-profile platforms, which are regularly held up as working models, for the production and consumption of collaborative services (e.g. AirBnB, RideSharing and BlaBlaCar). There is a wealth of academic literature on the subject (Belk, 2014; Decrop, 2017; Ertz et al., 2016; Scaraboto, 2015) due to its theoretical (e.g. understanding new organisational and consumption structures) and managerial contributions (increasing and retaining a community of users, visibility, building trust, etc.). Interestingly, very little is known about local collaborative consumer communities, which are the original forms of these consumer networks. These organisations offer opportunities for individuals living in the same geographical area (neighbourhood, town, borough or county) to get in touch and exchange services between themselves. Generally, exchanges are moneyless, mediated by a scriptural \"currency\" based on the equivalence mechanism, in other words one hour given is equivalent to one hour received (Guillard, 2017). For example, one hour of DIY could be exchanged against one hour of guitar lessons. The exchanges are highly varied and can concern the home (e.g. shopping, walking the dog, decorating, gardening), transport (e.g. car sharing, bicycle maintenance), children (e.g. private tutoring, childcare), food (e.g. organic food, jams, recipes, food and health advice) or training (e.g. foreign language courses, piano lessons, cookery lessons). The movement first emerged in the 1990s, but the development of the internet and mobile apps has contributed to its rediscovery and evolution through various models combining the nature of the exchange, the type of exchange platform (physical or digital, managed by the members themselves), the nature of the commodity (services and/or knowledge, goods), the unit of account (local currency, time) and the nature of the membership (individuals, families and/or collectives).\n1. Theoretical background: The aim of this section is to clarify the notion of collaborative consumer community. To demonstrate the relevance of the research question, the notion is examined within the framework first of the collaborative consumption literature and then of the TSR literature.\n2. Method: A qualitative semi-structured interview method was used. This method was selected because it was well suited to responding to the study's general aim of understanding these communities' relationship with digital tools. This section presents the interviewees' characteristics and the data analysis method used (Meyrick, 2006).\n3. Findings: The results of the analyses are presented in Figure 1. They confirm that the use of digital tools was limited in the LETS studied. This can be explained in part by their philosophy that the face-to-face encounter should be at the heart of the organisation's life. This result was moderated to varying degrees by the personal characteristics of the LETS members, including their generation and anti-consumption ideology, and by the founder's personality and the management team's dynamism. The use of digital tools nevertheless appeared decisive in terms of the LETS' ability to fulfil their well-being potential because it prevented negative consequences such as membership fatigue (burnout, sense of obligation), lack of accessibility and difficulty integrating into the local ecosystem.\n4. Discussion: The general aim of this article was to gain a better understanding of local collaborative consumer communities. These communities have significant development potential because they are part of the movement towards a sustainable economy. By examining the role of technology in these organisations in relation to their well-being potential, this research has provided insights on two questions (What is the role of technology in providing service efficiency and effectiveness? In addition, what is the relationship between service sustainability, profitability and well-being?) that were identified as research priorities by the Journal of Services Marketing (Russell-Bennett and Rosenbaum, 2019).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: While some collaborative consumption activities are underpinned by commercial logics and dispositions, local collaborative consumer communities are organised around non-commercial values and driven by the desire to organise social relationships differently. These communities are based on the notions of a commons, sharing and reciprocity. However, because they make little use of digital tools (internet to coordinate the exchange of services, social media to communicate), they are not very visible to consumers. This paper aims to identify these non-commercial organisations' relationship to digital tools and determine how these organisations can generate individual and/or collective well-being.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study examined the case of the local exchange trading system (LETS), a local collaborative consumer community that practices a moneyless exchange of services. A qualitative study was conducted based on 23 in-depth interviews with LETS managers.\nFindings: Due to the communities' local roots and regular face-to-face meet-ups, there did not seem to be a pressing need to use an online platform to coordinate the exchange of services. However, the results showed that the use of digital tools increased these communities' well-being potential (e.g. development of social ties, solidarity and social equality) while reducing their negative effects (e.g. fatigue due to community involvement and difficulty integrating new members). They also introduce the notions of generation, founder's personality and management team's dynamism into the collaborative consumption literature.\nOriginality/value: It is important to focus on how these \"alternative\" markets function. Consumers use them but without abandoning more traditional markets. Understanding how they work improves the understanding of the competition they pose to traditional services and how the different ecosystems complement one another.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Re-examining the effect of service recovery: the moderating role of brand equity	[ "Brand equity; Service recovery", "Customer satisfaction", "Brands", "Service failures", "Taiwan" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Service recovery is a critical part of service management. Offset of service failures has been identified as one of the key strategies for retaining customers and achieving customer loyalty (Johnson et al., 2001). Consequently, the strategic implications associated with service recovery policies have become a critical issue for service firms (Stauss and Kriege, 1999). Service recovery strategies in responding to service failures have been discussed in literature. For example, Gronroos (2000) and Johnston and Mehra (2002) examined service recovery policies that involved actions taken by service providers in recovery service failures. Wirtz and Mattila (2004) indicate that recovery outcomes (e.g. compensation), procedures (e.g. speed of recovery) and interactional treatments (e.g. apology) have a joint effect on post-recovery satisfaction. Andreassen (2000) and Levesque and McDougall (2000) conclude that, both, what is done (e.g. restitution and compensation) and how it is done (i.e. employee interaction with the customer) influence customer perceptions of service recovery.It is not confirmed that brand equity has an advantageous or disadvantageous effect on customer reactions to service failures and recovery efforts. On one hand, related theories on the disconfirmation of expectation (e.g., Oliver, 1997; Niedrich et al., 2005) indicate that service firms with high brand equity might be expected to hamper service recovery efforts after a service failure episode because customers may come to expect more from a firm with high brand equity, and therefore be particularly disappointed when a service failure occurs. On the other hand, extant research on branding theory show that positive association derived from high equity brand may offset the negative impacts of service failure and enhance the effects of service recovery. For example, Keh and Lee (2006) and Keller (1998) indicate that successful brand-building strategies can lead to greater customer loyalty because of the accompanying array of positive associations that consumers attribute to strong brands. Research further indicates that the strong brand equity encourages greater customer loyalty and increases consumers' brand switching costs (e.g., Mcwilliams and Gerstner, 2006). In the context of service setting, previous literature has shown that excellent reputations provide service firms with a \"buffering effect\", insulating them from some of the negative consequence of failures (Hess, 2008). More importantly, branding theory suggests that the cache of positive association enjoyed by a high equity brand predisposes favorable responses to it (Keller, 1998).The purpose of this study is to examine how brand equity moderates the relationship between the three justice dimensions and post-recovery satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The current study hypothesizes that positive associations derived from the brand's equity may offset some of the negative effects of service failure and enhance the efforts of service recovery. A conceptual framework (see Figure 1) is proposed which includes that satisfaction, as a mediator, accounts for the relationship between service recovery attributes (distributive, procedural, and interactional justice) and post-recovery behavior (repatronage intentions and word-of-mouth behavior). More importantly, brand equity is used to serve as the moderator in the hypothesized research model. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: first, a review of the available literature on brand equity and service recovery is utilized to develop research hypotheses. Second, the hypotheses are tested against a field study in Taiwan by utilizing the nested structural equation modeling technique. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and their implications for service researchers and practices.\nConceptual background and hypotheses: The conceptual model for this study is presented in Figure 1. Consistent with previous work in services marketing (e.g., Maxham and Netemeyer, 2002; Wirtz and Mattila, 2004), three dimensions of perceived justice (i.e., distributive, procedural, and interactional justice) influence consumers' post-recovery satisfaction and behavioral intentions (repatronage intentions and word-of mouth behavior). As noted in Figure 1, (customer based) brand equity of a service firm is expected to moderate path relationship in the conceptual model. We begin by defining several concepts that are fundamental to this conceptual model.Service recovery and perceived justice\nMethod: Sample\nAnalytical results: Measurement model\nConclusions and implications: Service recovery is an important component of service management. It is widely recognized that effective service recovery strategies are essential to retain customer satisfaction and achieve customer loyalty. The goal of this study is to examine how brand equity moderates the relationship between the three justice dimensions and post-recovery satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Of the five hypotheses this study examined, three received support from a field study in Taiwan.Results of the current study show that brand equity moderates the relationship between distributive justice and post-recovery satisfaction. The moderating impacts of brand equity on the relationship between the two justice dimensions (procedural and interactional justice) and post-recovery satisfaction are not supported. Stated differently, this study suggests the important role played by brand equity on the relationship between distributive justice and post-recovery satisfaction; i.e., respondents with high brand equity are more satisfied with distributive justice than for those with low brand equity. But the effects of procedural and interactional justice on post-recovery satisfaction do not differ significantly across brand equity. One possible explanation for this unexpected finding may be that customers have easier access to information on outcomes (distributive justice) than procedural interactions (procedural and interactional justice) (Leventhal, 1980). As previously argued in the categorization and judgment assimilation research, customers often conserve cognitive energy by reapplying summary judgments (i.e., distributive justice) that are already stored in memory as associations, and the positive associations can provide a favorable benchmark toward which newly-formed judgments of performance are drawn. Consequently, higher levels of service brand equity may enhance post-recovery satisfaction by customers' interpretations of information on outcomes (distributive justice) and previously-generated positive judgments of high equity brand's performance. In addition, Patterson et al. (2006) have shown that customer evaluations of service recovery efforts are influenced by consumers' cultural value orientation. Since the data were received from a field study in Taiwan, this study is partly consistent with the findings of Patterson et al. (2006), who also found that distributive justice accounts for large impact in perceptions of post-recovery satisfaction in an Asian culture. As for the consequence of satisfaction with service recovery, results of this study further reveal that the impact of post-recovery satisfaction on repatronage intentions and word-of-mouth behavior is stronger for respondents with high brand equity than for those with low brand equity. The findings suggest that building brand equity is a means by which post-failure satisfaction and behavioral intentions may be enhanced.Service recovery strategies in responding to service failures are part of the critical tasks for service managers. Our findings offer new insight into service managers by suggesting that service firms can enhance the service recovery effects with brand-building strategies. Results from the field study found that strong brand equity provides an overall advantage over weak brands in increasing service recovery satisfaction and behavior intentions (repatronage intentions and word-of-mouth behavior). Furthermore, this study suggests that, among three dimensions of justices, distributive justice has the largest influence on customers' post-recovery satisfaction, particularly for the service organizations with high equity brand. Employee training programs should focus on the importance of the distributive dimension of fairness on customer satisfaction. In other words, frontline service providers need to be trained to handle customers' complaints and dissatisfaction immediately by providing distributive justice, such as offering discounts, refunds and compensations.This research contributes to the service marketing literature in at least two ways. First, our findings provide insight into the science of marketing by shedding light onto the role of brand equity in the effect of service recovery. The current study addresses a notable conclusion of the important role played by brand equity on handling service failure and enhancing post-failure satisfaction and behavioral intentions. This is the first study to completely compare the high brand equity with low brand equity in the relationship between the three justice dimensions and post-recovery satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Second, our study extends understanding of the service recovery effect among three dimensions of justices. Current views on the overall satisfaction with recovery efforts suggest distributive justice to be far and away the strongest predicator (e.g., Smith et al., 1999). Our investigation accounts for customers in Taiwan toward extending understanding of the recovery efforts among three dimensions of justices, and suggests that distributive justice has the largest influence on customers' post-recovery satisfaction, especially for the high equity brands.Similar to any empirical research, this study had some limitations. The research limitations were based on the nature of the data and sample characteristics. The data used in this study were collected in a single metropolitan area in Taiwan, and future research might be conducted in a variety of countries. Furthermore, some unsupported hypotheses (e.g., the effects of procedural justice and interactional justice on satisfaction with service recovery across brand equity) in this study highlight the need for qualitative studies to gain richer insights into how service firms deal with customers with high brand equity versus low brand equity.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of brand equity in handling service failure and examine the effects of brand equity on service recovery.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A conceptual framework is proposed which includes that satisfaction, as a mediator, accounts for the relationship between service recovery attributes (distributive, procedural, and interactional justice) and post-recovery behavior (repatronage intentions and word-of-mouth behavior). More importantly, brand equity is used to serve as the moderator in the hypothesized research model. Structural equation modeling techniques are applied to data collected from a field study in Taiwan to test the framework.\nFindings: - Results from the current field study found that strong brand equity provides an overall advantage over weak brands in increasing service recovery satisfaction and behavior intentions (repatronage intentions and word-of-mouth behavior).\nResearch limitations/implications: - The data used in this study were collected in a single metropolitan area in Taiwan. Future research might be conducted in a variety of countries.\nPractical implications: - Service recovery strategies in responding to service failures are part of the critical task for service managers. This paper suggests that building brand equity is a means by which post-failure satisfaction and behavioral intentions may be enhanced.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first study to completely compare the high brand equity with low brand equity in the effect of service recovery.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Satisfaction guaranteed? Enhanced impact of trainer competence for autonomous trainees	[ "Aptitude-treatment interaction", "Trainee autonomy", "Trainee satisfaction", "Trainer competence" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The American Society of Training and Development (2012) estimated that US companies spend over $150 billion annually in learning initiatives. However, many HR departments still face the challenge of justifying and defending these investments, in large part because their impacts on objectives like financial and operational performance, customer satisfaction, and turnover are often distal and indirect (Jiang et al., 2012; Rogg et al., 2001). In the spirit of informing training officers and planners of ways to get \"more bang for their buck,\" we investigate the interplay between trainer (instructor competence) and trainee (autonomy orientation) characteristics on trainees' affective responses (satisfaction with training). In doing so, our results suggest than an a priori understanding of their trainers and audience can be a useful, and perhaps relatively inexpensive, way to enhance training effectiveness.\nConceptual rationale: Main and additive effects\nResearch design: Participants and procedure\nResults: Table I presents the means, standard deviations, estimated reliabilities (i.e. Cronbach's a), and zero-order correlations. Consistent with our predictions, course satisfaction was correlated with trainees' perceptions of instructor competence (r=0.40, p<0.01) and with trainees' autonomy orientation (r=0.21, p<0.05). We relied primarily on ordinary least squares regression to test the predictions, with the controls entered in the first step, hypothesized main effects in the second step, and the interaction term in the final step (Aiken and West, 1991) (Table II).\nDiscussion: Based on our results, not only does instructor competence play a key role in trainees' satisfaction, but it is of even greater import for autonomy-oriented trainees. Our research has a number of practical implications for training professionals. To begin, even though we confirm that competent instructors are critical for trainee satisfaction, we did not find any significant additive effects for trainees' motivational orientations. Thus, as suggested by prior scholarship, practitioners should pay particularly close attention to the quality of trainers when implementing training programs. However, although trainee orientations did not additively explain variance in course satisfaction, our interaction analysis suggests that overlooking them altogether may be a costly error. Organizations need to be mindful of trainees' motivational orientations (e.g. when identifying high potential employees (Hi-Po's) for additional training). More realistically, both trainers and instructional designers can rely on priming techniques (e.g. Martocchio, 1994) to induce shorter-term motivational orientations during training. The results of the present study should be considered in the light of the limitations, including limited generalizability, an exclusive focus on trainee satisfaction as outcome, and a test of only one moderator.\nFuture research: Our study opens up a number of opportunities for future research. First, although we have shed light on situational and trainee factors contributing to trainee responses to instruction, examining the underlying dimensions of autonomy orientation were beyond the scope of the current research. It would be interesting, for instance, to examine whether our results hold to a greater extent for trainees with approaching (vs avoiding) forms of autonomous goals (Elliot and McGregor, 2001). A likewise partition can be operated on the outcome, in the light of research showing the presence of various forms of satisfaction (Ghosh et al., 2011). Second, despite providing insight on predictors of trainee satisfaction, we did not explicitly examine more distal aspects of instruction - such as learning, learning transfer, and application of acquired knowledge. Although various literatures support the linkage between positive reactions, such as satisfaction, to these higher level outcomes (e.g. Sitzmann et al., 2008), we encourage scholars and practitioners to continue to explore these relationships in light of the current findings. Finally, future work should examine the central relationships advanced here using different types work and non-work settings, instructional designs, and training approaches.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interplay between perceptions of instructor competence and trainees' motivational orientations (autonomy orientation) as predictor of trainee satisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Simulating a realistic training initiative, the paper examines survey responses from a sample (n=132) of students enrolled in an introductory business course at a large US university.\nFindings: Perceptions of instructor competence predict course satisfaction over and above trainees' motivational orientations. Further, trainee satisfaction is an interactive function of both instructor competence and trainee orientations, with instructor competence being more important for trainees with high autonomy.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results of the present study should be considered in the light of the limitations, including limited generalizability, an exclusive focus on trainee satisfaction as outcome, and a test of only one moderator.\nPractical implications: This study confirms the need for instructors to be knowledgeable, organized and prepared, and to establish rapport with their trainees in order to promote high levels of satisfaction with the instruction - even for trainees who are often assumed to naturally thrive in training (i.e. those high in autonomy).\nSocial implications: If extended to other contexts and settings, the results point out toward the need to consider multiple venues, including both trainer and trainee-based factors to increase trainees' course or program satisfaction. In a broader sense, aptitude-treatment (Cronbach, 1957) remains a valid perspective and needs to receive renewed attention.\nOriginality/value: The current literature suggests that positive course reactions (e.g. high trainee satisfaction) can enhance learning, learning transfer, and ultimately application of acquired knowledge and skill. This study provides support for the notion that trainee satisfaction is a function of both instructor competence and trainees' motivational orientations. Training professionals can enhance training outcomes by emphasizing trainer and trainee factors when designing initiatives. Related, trainee motivational orientations should not be viewed as a substitute for highly competent trainers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Information systems development: where does knowledge lie and how does learning occur?	[ "Information systems", "Learning", "Knowledge management", "Organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Organizational learning occurs when an organization intentionally implements processes to make knowledge in and outside the organization accessible to all organizational members to use in support of organizational objectives. Harnessing the potential of this organizational phenomenon in critical organizational tasks, particularly information systems development (ISD), offers an opportunity for maximizing their success.\nLearning during the ISD process: ISD defines the way in which an information system is conceived, analyzed, designed and implemented. Though a number of ways or approaches do exist, we summarize the ISD process as a pattern of tasks in four phases namely: problem definition, analysis, development, and implementation. Within an organization, these tasks are usually undertaken by a project team consisting of IS professionals - analyzing, developing, and implementing the IS; and users - communicating requirements, guiding specification, development and \"signing off\" the final system. In addition, the services of an external consultant may be engaged. Key stakeholders, whilst not direct members of the project team, have significant influence on the project, namely:* the sponsor - providing financial resources for the project;* the champion - opinion leader who can advocate for the project; and* the project owner - the final authority in respect to the use of the IS.The stages of the ISD process thus serve as a guide for these project participants to carry out the project.Problem definition\nTowards a dynamic learning process: Arguably, the review and maintenance stage within the implementation phase of the ISD process is proposed to serve as an opportunity for organizational learning since knowledge gained from lessons drawn from review can be valuable when the next system is developed. However, individuals as human beings make systematic errors when recalling information from history; especially with long time-spanning projects, and moreover, the project team may be tired and be in hurry to just sign off the project. Much knowledge may therefore be lost. The end of each phase rather provides results which can also be tested against the initial specifications, and in this way the progress towards the goal can be monitored.Learning during the process has the potential of generating more knowledge for the future, whilst maximizing the potential for the success of the ISD project, though it has cost implications on time and resources. It can be therefore be inferred that, within ISD projects, organizations can learn from experience in two ways; evaluation of the individual phases and evaluation of the project outcome as a whole. We do recommend that organizations seek to learn during the ISD process as well as learning from the project outcome.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to delineate a road map for development and learning in organizations using information systems as a key trigger.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This is a conceptual paper using arguments from the information systems development (ISD) literature.\nFindings: - The authors show that there are two knowledge sources, external and internal; and the interaction of these diverse knowledge sources is needed for the effective utilization of information systems as a development and learning tool in organizations.\nOriginality/value: - The authors recommend that organizations should seek to learn during ISD processes as well as learning from the project outcome.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]

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