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Learning to be a programmer in a complex organization: A case study on practice-based learning during the onboarding process at Google
|
[
"Search engines",
"Internet",
"Learning",
"Empowerment",
"Computer based learning"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Theoretical background and research approach: Learning in the workplace has a long tradition. For example, guilds during the Middle Ages organized formal apprenticeship programs. Modern organizations and researchers reclaim this tradition because of the emergence of the network society and its exploitation of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The network society depends to a new degree on organizational learning, knowledge management and knowledge-based services and production, as well as learning on the job.Onboarding programs facilitate socialization of new workers and \"get them up to speed\" (Lee, 2006; cited in Dai and DeMeuse, 2007). Van Maanen and Schein (1979) published the first widely recognized article that defined socialization as the process in which an individual acquires the attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge needed to successfully participate as a new organizational member. They discern six dimensions of organizational socialization tactics. In this article we examine the first two socialization processes:1. collective versus individual; and2. formal (more or less segregated from regular organizational members) versus informal.In the years following the Van Maanen and Schein publication, academics and other experts have endorsed onboarding. As a result, these programs have spread widely over the last few years (Dai and de Meuse, 2007).Next to productivity gains, retention of talent is one of the key incentives for enterprises to ensure smooth new hire integration (Ganzel, 1998; Hammonds, 2005; Hewitt Associates, 2003). Several research efforts have elaborated on how attitudes and beliefs that newcomers develop in the first weeks of their employment remain relatively stable, highlighting the importance of instilling positive attitudes toward learning and collaboration early on (Bauer and Green, 1994; Wanous, 1976).A survey of 800 enterprises in the USA reports that 90 percent of new employees make their decision whether to stay with the organization within the first six months (Aberdeen Group, 2006). Despite widespread agreement on the importance and return on investment[1] of onboarding, less than half of the employees surveyed by Taleo (2006) were satisfied with the onboarding practice at their new employer. This observation calls for more in depth research into the provision of meaningful socialization programs.\n2. Practice-based learning and socialization: Work-centered or practice-based learning research seeks to understand how to create organizational conditions that enable and motivate knowledge workers to engage in constantly emerging conversations about innovative and effective professional practices. Proponents of PBL find it more effective than classroom-based learning and other kinds of formal teaching methods because in PBL, learning happens in a meaningful context (Brown and Duguid, 1991).We adopt Brown's (2008) approach to practice-based learning (PBL). Analyzing the learning styles of current open source programmers, he writes:Participants are learning new techniques about software practice from watching the work of their peers, defending their own work and participating in community discussions about emergent problems. This peer-based learning process is about learning-to-be a practitioner rather than just learning about software. [...] Joining one of these communities entails first becoming a legitimate peripheral participant working on a small project improving or extending some piece of code and slowly building up a reputation from the work you do to moving into more central tasks and challenges in the community.For example, software engineers at the Frauenhofer Institute found in their review after eight years of training professional programmers that \"there is a great demand for examples and course material that makes use of information that can easily be integrated with routine work tasks and is not solely based on theory or from existing textbooks\" (Fraunhofer Institute, 2005).Learning experts like Thiagarajan (2008) recommend to: \"[c]onduct contextualised learning. Increase the effectiveness of learning and efficiency of transfer by creating a training environment that reflects the work situation as closely as possible\". In addition, \"[b]e authentic: Use authentic assessment for your final test, authentic activities for practice exercises, and authentic examples for illustrating content\".Enes (2005) reports that software engineers did not consider organized techniques, such as courses, efficient to acquire application-domain knowledge. So no matter how elaborate the orientation courses are, once on their own most employees learn how to solve a problem at hand informally from peers. Today most organizations consciously perceive only the tip of the iceberg of the kind of learning of which we are interested. Why? According to Boud and Middleton (2003), \"most of practice-based learning is regarded as part of the job and thereby rendered invisible\". This neglect is not due to disinterest, but rather to the complexity of dissecting/stratifying PBL within the \"messy, ill-structured nature of practice\" (Boud and Middleton, 2003). However as Pidd (1996, p. 40) reminds us: \"One of the greatest mistakes that can be made when dealing with a mess is to carve off part of the mess, treat it as a problem and then solve it as a puzzle - ignoring its links with other aspects of the mess\". Consequently, we adopt a holistic transdisciplinary approach (Monge and Contractor, 2003).\n3. Methodology: Our research investigates the following question by means of a case study of current practices at Google: how is practice-based learning incorporated in the onboarding process of new software engineers?We combine the following quantitative and qualitative techniques.3.1 Semi-structured interviews\n4. Review of the onboarding process: This section describes the Google onboarding process:* recruiting and pre-start preparation;* two-week face-to-face training and orientation;* online training;* mentoring program and Noogler support community;* on-the-job training; and* practice-based learning.4.1 Recruiting and pre-start preparation\n5. Analysis, insights, and data from the stakeholders: This section analyzes how the practices of Google new hires[3] and mentors align with current learning research methodologies, particularly practice-based learning.Note: We assume a complexity perspective (Wheatley, 2001) and distinguish between the organizational mindset (the soft, social and cognitive factors) and the formal organizational structure (\"Gestell\"; Senges, 2007). We found that this distinction matches the perceptions of stakeholders.5.1 Organizational mindset and structure\n6. Conclusions: Here we summarize our findings and reveal how Google uses online identity trainee programs, expectation management, and practice-based learning to indirectly support cognitive apprenticeship tools. In addition, we point out dormant potentials for further development.6.1 Online identity\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to analyse the effectiveness and impact of how Google currently trains its new software engineers (\"Nooglers\") to become productive in the software engineering community. The research focuses on the institutions and support for practice-based learning and cognitive apprenticeship in the Google environment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study uses a series of semi-structured interviews with 24 Google stakeholders. These interviews are complemented by observations, document analysis, and review of existing survey and statistical data.\nFindings: - It is found that Google offers a state-of-the-art onboarding program and benchmark qualities that provide legitimate peripheral participation. The research reveals how Google empowers programmers to \"feel at home\" using company coding practices, as well as maximizing peer-learning and collaborative practices. These practices reduce isolation, enhance collegiality, and increase employee morale and job satisfaction.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The case study describes the practices in one company.\nPractical implications: - The research documented in the paper can be used as a benchmark for other onboarding and practice-based learning set-ups.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first research that gives insights into the practice-based learning and onboarding practices at Google. The practices are assessed to be state-of-the-art and the insights therefore relevant for benchmarking exercises of other companies.\n",
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A more proactive approach to addressing gender-related employment disparities in the United States
|
[
"Gender",
"Equal opportunities",
"Sexual discrimination",
"Human resource management",
"United States of America"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction and background: Many years of equal employment opportunity (EEO) efforts by the US federal government have failed to remedy persistent gender-related employment disparities, and EEO progress may have plateaued (Tomaskovic-Devey et al., 2006). The median gender earnings ratio in the USA stands at 0.80, with full-time working women in 2007 earning 80 cents for every dollar earned by men (US Department of Labor, 2007). According to a leading text on gender and employment, discrimination explains at least part of the economy-wide gender earnings gap; other explanations include women working in fields, employers, and industries that pay less than those in which men work; women's lower levels of human capital; and fewer hours worked by women (Blau et al., 2006). Because in practice these explanations are so intertwined, there is no consensus on the size of and solutions for unexplained gender disparities in employment, despite substantial research on the topic (Weichselbaumer and Winter-Ebmer, 2006). However, a case can be made for identifying and addressing gender disparities regardless of the source, in order to ensure the economic security of working women (Rose and Hartmann, 2004) and to help promote efficiencies in the operations of US businesses (McAdams, 1995).Our paper proposes a comprehensive approach to identify persistent gender disparities in earnings and employment in the USA. This proposal is rooted in the principles of total quality management (TQM) and applies one of its primary tools, statistical process control (SPC) (Deming, 1986). The goal is to provide EEO enforcement agencies a tool with which they can more proactively and efficiently identify employers and industries for investigation, enforcement, and/or assistance. Although TQM theories typically focus on production processes, it makes sense to apply them in other settings (MacCarthy and Wasusri, 2002), including employer human resource management processes and EEO outcomes. With its focus on prevention and on the continuous improvement of processes, TQM is also an ideal perspective with which to tackle complex, less visible types of discrimination that may accumulate slowly over time, occur across multiple human resource management practices, or stem from subconsciously-held attitudes (Bendick, 2007; Graham et al., 2000; Reskin, 2000).Industry is a focal point of this paper since the employment processes of firms, and by extension, gender-related employment outcomes, are shaped substantially by industry norms, practices, and industries' economic and business environments (Baron and Bielby, 1980; Krueger and Summers, 1988). In other words, the industry in which a firm is situated is associated with both the size and the form of gender disparities (Gersen, 2007). In TQM terms, industry can be considered a \"common\" cause of gender disparities because all firms within an industry are affected similarly by characteristics that define that industry. Organizational research supports the contention that industry is a strong influence on the EEO performance of individual employers (Fields and Wolff, 1995; Short et al., 2007).We begin the paper with an introduction and application of TQM and SPC to the EEO enforcement context, followed by a discussion of the importance of industry setting to gender-related employment disparities. We then suggest new ways of identifying employers for systemic discrimination enforcement and other ideas for accelerated improvements to women's employment outcomes. As part of the latter we provide an empirical illustration with US Current Population Survey data. Finally, we generate policy recommendations for US EEO enforcement agencies and discuss implications for employers.\nA new theoretical lens: TQM, SPC, and EEO performance: Introduction to TQM and SPC\nApplying TQM to address employment disparities: an illustration: The proposed application of SPC by federal enforcement agencies involves the identification of special causes of within-industry EEO variation, in addition to conceptualizing industry-wide EEO outcomes as a form of common causes. The first step is the identification of employer outliers within industries. Having been fully explicated in Graham and Hotchkiss (2002), this step will be discussed only briefly. The second step, a comparison of industries, is the focus of this paper.The systemic gender disparity scorecard as a means to assess EEO performance\nDiscussion: Our paper presents a proactive, industry-based approach designed to complement existing public policies aimed at identifying and addressing gender disparities in employment in the US economy. We apply statistical process control concepts from the quality management literature (Deming, 1986; Shewhart, 1939) to the federal enforcement of EEO laws, for the purpose of accelerating EEO progress in a manner that is theoretically sound and potentially more resource efficient. The approach presented in this paper is motivated in part by past and current research that raises serious questions regarding the rationality and efficacy of the EEOC's and OFCCP's enforcement efforts (Heckman and Wolpin, 1976; Hirsh, 2008; Leonard, 1985), particularly given today's more complex forms of gender discrimination (Graham et al., 2000; Krieger and Fiske, 2006).With its focus on identifying true outliers, TQM and SPC encourage more formal methods of systemic discrimination charge development than that currently utilized by the EEOC and OFCCP. A potentially greater contribution of TQM theory to the EEO enforcement process, however, lies in its focus on \"common causes\" of EEO variation. TQM theories suggest that incorporating the concept of common causes into enforcement activities will enhance future EEO progress because common causes are key determinants of EEO outcomes.Employer-focused public policy recommendations\nCaveats and future research: There are two caveats to our paper that we would like to acknowledge. First, consistent with TQM and SPC, we assume that a substantial portion of gender disparities in the US result from common causes (Shewhart, 1939; Deming, 1986). Further conceptual work on common and special causes of variation in the EEO context is needed in order to guide future enforcement efforts. A second caveat is that we have considered industry in less complexity than its operation in actual employment processes. To be most effective, enforcement agencies and employers need to refine, or disaggregate broad industry categories. Moreover, methods for examining firms operating in multiple industries will need to be developed, and regional and relevant labor market factors will have to be added in to the equation.\nConclusion: The premise of our paper is that in order to effectively reduce gender-related employment disparities in the US economy, the employment processes of entire industries must change. The proactive public policy approach proposed in this paper has the potential to benefit a diverse group of stakeholders: agency personnel with limited enforcement resources, employers seeking to improve EEO practices or gain employment-related efficiencies, and of course, employees seeking non-discriminatory workplaces. We believe that this complement to existing EEO policies has the potential to facilitate progress in eradicating gender-related employment disparities in the USA.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to propose a proactive public policy approach to complement relatively reactive existing policies addressing gender-related employment disparities in the USA, and to provide an initial empirical illustration of the proposal.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper provides a conceptual application of theories of total quality management (TQM) to the topic of gender-related employment disparities, followed by an empirical illustration using US Current Population Survey data and a gender equal employment opportunity (EEO) scorecard.\nFindings: - Using the TQM framework, company outliers were conceptualized on the EEO scorecard as \"special\" causes of economy-wide equal employment variation and the industries in which companies are situated as \"common\" causes. The paper identifies two underperforming industries on gender-related employment outcomes: Mining and Construction, and Transportation, Communication and Utilities.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Further conceptual work on the application of TQM to gender disparities in employment is recommended. Also, the study considered broad industry categories; future research should refine these categories further.\nPractical implications: - It is recommended that US enforcement agencies incorporate industry considerations more explicitly into their activities. Employer insights may be beneficial to improving equal employment opportunity performance at the industry level.\nOriginality/value: - The application of TQM theory to the topic of gender-related employment disparities is a novel approach that may motivate new public policies.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Teaching business skills to women : Impact of business training on women's microenterprise owners in Vietnam
|
[
"Performance",
"Vietnam",
"Microcredit",
"Women entrepreneurs",
"Business training",
"Microenterprise"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The effectiveness of teaching business skills to microcredit clients is currently examined by development practitioners in the non-government organization (NGO) community and in academia. In line with the argument from Yunus (1999), financial constraints are thought to be the major causes of limiting the ability of the poor to escape poverty. Thus, the rationale behind microfinance is solely to provide a channel for credit and savings, with no attention given to improve the human capital of micro-entrepreneurs, particularly women (Yunus, 1999). Indeed, the microfinance literature typically treats human capital as an exogenous factor (an innate skill according Yunus) and focuses on financial constraints (Banerjee and Newman, 1993; Paulson and Townsend, 2004). By contrast, MkNelly et al. (1996) raised the question whether microfinance institutions should focus only on providing financial services or if they should integrate non-financial services into their programmes. Karlan and Valdivia (2011) found teaching business skills helps clients to improve business knowledge and increase client retention rates for the microfinance institution. However, they found no evidence that training improves business outcomes such as revenue, profits, or employment.\nLiterature review and hypotheses: Entrepreneurs\nThe survey methodology and data: Demographics of participants and characteristics of enterprises\nTests of hypotheses: In this section the hypotheses presented in the \"Literature review and hypotheses\" section are tested using the data described in the \"The survey methodology and data\" section. t-tests of differences between means, Crosstabs analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) are used to analyze the data. Our first hypothesis is:\nDiscussion: The findings in this paper are consistent with previous results in the literature. The results of the first hypothesis confirm that women business owners with training had higher performance than those not receiving training. This hypothesis supports the IFC's (1996) study that major barriers to future growth of women businesses would appear to be lack of basic business skills training.\nConclusions: Can business training help women business owners improve their performance? This study suggests that it can. This study contributes to the microlending and entrepreneur training literature by testing measures reported in the literature on a sample of women entrepreneurs in Vietnam. The authors demonstrate that microlending should be considered a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Microfinance institutions should not only address financial constraints, but they should also focus on the human capital aspects of development. The authors find that two components of business training, business skills and financial skills, are both needed, although they may act in different ways. Business skills were more important in improving the perceptions of entrepreneurs in general, while financial skills were important in increasing tolerance to risk, an important entrepreneurial dimension.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: There is currently a debate between NGOs and academia on the effectiveness of training microcredit recipients. One side suggests that merely supplying credit will stimulate entrepreneurial business. The other side proposes that training microcredit recipients in business skills will improve business performance and probably have other important effects. This study was undertaken with the cooperation Vietnam Women's Union and PeaceTrees Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of business training programmes for women microcredit recipients in rural areas of Vietnam.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a questionnaire administered to 120 women business owners in several communes in Quang Tri Province, data were collected in 2012 on their business training programmes, perceptions of their business performance, motivation, factors for success, and several other indicators.\nFindings: The findings suggest that business training can improve microenterprise performance and has a number of other positive results, such as increasing motivation, success, and perceptions of entrepreneurs.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research is limited by the nature of the sample and sample size. Future research should focus on women entrepreneurs in other parts of Vietnam, other developing countries, and on male entrepreneurs, to help understand differences between regions, countries, and gender.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides empirical evidence to support the argument that business training is effective in improving the performance of microenterprises.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Collaboration in the consulting industry: Analyzing differences in the professional use of social software
|
[
"Social Software",
"Knowledge management",
"Collaboration",
"Consulting",
"Digital workplace"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Hardly any technology has evolved as rapidly over the last couple of years as social software (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Social software comprises applications that are used to foster communication and collaboration among individuals, including social networking sites (SNS), wikis, blogs, microblogs and instant messengers. To grasp the idea of social software better, it is important to understand that the software itself is not social; rather, it enables its users to interact in a social way (Richter, 2010). Originally, two terms were coined: \"social media\" described open, internet-based platforms, whereas \"social software\" meant closed, intranet-based applications used within organizations. Currently, the two terms are often used synonymously, both in theory and in practice (Back et al., 2012; Richter et al., 2011b).\nTheoretical framework and hypotheses: With collaboration in the consulting industry, our research focusses on the professional use of social software. The adoption of technologies is closely linked to theories of technology acceptance, which is one of the most mature strands in information systems research (Lee et al., 2003). In the light of various shortcomings in acceptance models (cf. e.g. Benbasat and Barki, 2007; Silva, 2007; Straub and Burton-Jones, 2007), we chose the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technologies (UTAUT, Venkatesh et al., 2003). UTAUT provides a robust backbone for our partly exploratory research model. It features a broad theoretical foundation, and numerous studies confirm the potential of UTAUT to identify the drivers of the acceptance of technologies (Williams et al., 2012), thus addressing our RQ1. Moreover, its explanatory power outperforms previous models that are integrated within it, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior or the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Bradley, 2012). In addition, UTAUT has previously proved to be a valuable theoretical basis for social software studies (cf. e.g. Schondienst et al. (2011) for professional use or, e.g., Chen et al. (2012) for private use). In our research model, the adoption drivers performance expectancy (PE, the degree to which an individual expects that using social software will lead to increased work performance), effort expectancy (EE, the degree of ease associated with the use of social software), social influence (SI, the degree to which individuals think that other people expect them to use social software) and BI (the intention to use social software) are directly adopted from UTAUT. As moderating variables, gender, age and experience are applied, whereas the UTAUT moderator voluntariness is omitted, as it is inherent in the principle of social software (Koch and Richter, 2009).\nData collection and analysis: While existing items could be used for the left-hand side of the model, new scales had to be developed for the use categories on the right-hand side (cf. Figure 1). To develop these new scales, a two-step approach was followed. In a first step consisting of three iterations with 14 consultants, 42 items that had been identified from existing scales were reduced to a set of 30 items. Afterwards, the reliability and one-dimensionality of those 30 items were analyzed in a pretest. As a result, four or five items were selected for each construct. Because participants were asked to match the constructs with the items that explained them best, a reflective operationalization could be performed. To avoid erroneous specifications, all items were checked against the criteria set by Jarvis et al. (2003) and Fassott (2006). In Table III, the final items for each use category and their respective sources are displayed.\nResults: Direct and moderating effects\nDiscussion and implications: The present study is one of the first to analyze both acceptance and professional use categories of social software for consultants. The stakeholders in our research include scholars and practitioners alike. Although we pursued our study with end-users of social software in an organizational context, they do not represent the major stakeholder group for our results. In fact, organizations in knowledge-intensive industries - as well as suppliers and developers of social applications - will benefit most from our findings. Because knowledge work is likely to become even more important in the future (Davenport, 2011), the findings of this paper are of practical interest for many industries. For example, our results allow a focus on one or several of the specific use categories, and they thus incorporate specific requirements that can be implemented now in the development processes. This, in turn, allows the provision of social software solutions that are much more targeted, and helps avoid the occurrence of dysfunctional effects caused by flawed information system integration (Barjis et al., 2010). Additionally, understanding potential redundancies across the use categories can facilitate the design of more effective social software suites. In particular, they can be tailored to predefined user needs. Moreover, consultancies can benefit by deploying our framework to analyze the current strengths and weaknesses of an existing social software suite, and to develop a targeted social software strategy.\nLimitations and outlook: The present study is subject to some limitations. Data on both BI and actual use were collected at the same time, although actual use, chronologically and with regard to causality, takes place after one's intention to use is established (Benbasat and Barki, 2007). This limitation could only be corrected by performing two chronologically separate surveys, which is hardly practicable in most research settings (Bagozzi, 2007). Furthermore, external validity is restricted. An assessment of the representativeness of the sample is difficult, as data on the global population of consultants is limited. Using the German market for comparison, the sample data aligns, in most parameters, with the overall population. In addition, cultural differences could have influenced the sample, although no significant differences were found for the model's path coefficients regarding different geographical consulting focusses.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: By studying the drivers of social collaboration the purpose of this paper is to describe how, and for what job-related purposes, social software is employed in the digital workplace. Focussing on consultants, who are considered to be part of a knowledge-intensive and innovative industry, factors that may influence the adoption of professional social software are explored. In addition, insights about socio-demographic differences as well as distinct consulting segments and use categories are provided.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technologies (UTAUT) is the theoretical backbone of this research. The UTAUT model is expanded to fit the research goals, and the results from a quantitative study (n=341) are used to test the model.\nFindings: The results suggest that the adoption of social software is associated with the expectation that one's work performance will improve. There are significant differences regarding age and gender in the use of social software for job-related purposes.\nPractical implications: Using the results of the study, social software suites can be tailored to users' needs and preferences, which, in turn, may lead to higher levels of acceptance and intensity of use.\nOriginality/value: Social software is already widely adopted for private purposes, and it is being used more and more within the digital workplace, too. However, little research has been conducted into how, and for what job-related purposes, social software is employed, or into the potential drivers for its adoption. The stakeholders in the research include scholars and practitioners alike.\n",
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Operations management body of knowledge and its relevance to manufacturing and service organizations
|
[
"Services",
"Operations management",
"Manufacturing",
"Job ads"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: There has been a lot of discussion over the last few decades about the growth of the services sector--in terms of nations' GDP and people's occupations--compared to the manufacturing sector, which had dominated the business scenario since craftsmen gave way to the factories of the industrial revolution.\n2. The growth of the service sector: In the last few decades, companies in the tertiary sector of the economy, i.e. the service sector, have increased their relative share in job creation and economic importance.\n3. Shared knowledge of manufacturing operations and service operations management: A definition of services offered by Gadrey et al. (1995) treats service as an operation performed by a provider which aims at changing the customer's status, at the moment that the customer needs and with the customer's collaboration. According to these authors, the process ends up linking the result to the provider's knowledge structure. As it involves a transformation operation, the production of services can use tools, planning, and quality and control procedures originally devised and applied to manufacturing and industrial processes (Gadrey et al., 1995). As services are also produced through processes, their achievement can benefit from the know-how developed by manufacturing companies on the subject (Freire, 1998). The automation of processes ensures that, like manufacturers, service companies standardize what they deliver to the market, which is valued in several situations. According to Gallie (1991), there is a clear trend toward the standardization of non-manual work, which was formerly typical for manufacturing processes only. Service operations professionals are learning to think more and more about their processes in the same way as their counterparts in manufacturing operations.\n4. Methodological procedures: This study seeks to raise the practical importance for Brazilian manufacturing and service companies of the various operations management themes, trying to identify differences in their needs, based on the requirements described in job vacancy ads. Similar methodology has been applied by other researchers in other areas. Faria et al. (2015) collected information on professional placement websites in order to identify the market requirements for logistics professionals. Peleias et al. (2008) carried out the identification and analysis of the professional profile required by the labor market for Accounting Professionals in Sao Paulo, based on their evaluation of 2,560 job ads published in local newspapers. Azevedo and Gomes (2006) studied the labor market for information management professionals in the context of Brazilian companies in the country's North, Northeast and Midwest, by analyzing 578 job advertisements on the Catho website (www.catho.com.br). At the international level, Rieucau (2015) compared recruitment practices adopted by retailers in France and the UK, based on the analysis of the content of vacancy ads on websites. The sample consisted of 454 French company announcements and 329 advertisements from UK companies. Glazer and Hassin (2010) studied the effectiveness of job posting ads on websites. Choi and Rasmussen (2009) assessed the most important qualifications and skills required for the position of digital librarian by analyzing 363 job postings.\n5. Analysis of the results: The process of collecting and selecting job vacancies was performed according to the criteria already described in item 4.2 and resulted in obtaining 394 job vacancy ads for the five Brazilian regions, as shown in Table II.\n6. Conclusions: Starting with the objective of verifying the practical importance attributed to the themes of operations management by its practitioners, and seeking to understand how manufacturing and service organizations differ in this, we collected and analyzed 394 job postings by manufacturing and service companies.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the differences in importance assigned by manufacturing or service organizations to topics related to operations management and its attendant body of knowledge.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors did this by cataloguing and analyzing vacancy announcements related to operations management, presented by manufacturing and services companies in major Brazilian human resources websites.\nFindings: The results show that manufacturing companies primarily hire personnel with skills in routine process management, quality management, lean manufacturing, ergonomics and work organization. Service companies generally seek professionals with knowledge and experience in logistics, supply chain management and project management.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study presents some limitations that reduce the power of its conclusions. There is some degree of subjectivity in the interpretation of the contents of the analyzed ads. In order to reduce this problem, the authors who did the tabulation of data marked the situations for which there were some doubts about the classification, discussing them with the other author, until they reached a consensus on the best way to classify each one.\nOriginality/value: The discussion about the importance assigned by manufacturing and service companies to the topics of operations management is crucial for not only the results obtained, but also to stimulate the debate on topics that comprise or should comprise the body of knowledge of operations management, and the way they are incorporated into business practice. This provides an additional opportunity to reflect on the potential of operations management in supporting business managers now and in the future.\n",
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Insight from the horsemeat scandal: Exploring the consumers' opinion of tweets toward Tesco
|
[
"Social media",
"Crisis management",
"Food fraud incident",
"Twitter mining"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Using social media to manage relationships with customers has been a focus of much attention within industry (Agnihotri et al., 2012). According to Blackshaw and Nazzaro (2004), in the business context, \"social media is a variety of new sources of online information that are created, initiated, circulated and used by consumers intent on educating each other about products, brands, services, personalities, and issues\". Practitioners strive to identify ways in which social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, can be used to to increase the profitability (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). For example, through adopting social media, companies can communicate with their consumers for the purpose of sales and customer service (Safko, 2010), market promotion (Mangold and Faulds, 2009), and even product innovation (Berthon et al., 2012). In the tide of big data, the use of the social media data is also of interest within academia. For example, Bollen et al. (2011) use aggregated Twitter data to predict the changes in the stock market. Other researchers have tried to explore how social media can be employed as part of an effective risk communication strategy (Veil et al., 2011). Nevertheless, relatively few pieces of social media research have focused on public relations in product recall crises, in particular food quality and safety issues, which are extremely sensitive issues for the general public.\nLiterature review: In this section, this study reviews the relevant research in social media and the applications of TM. As an emerging research area, social media has attracted researchers from different disciplines, for instance, sociology (Veil et al., 2011; Hung, 2012; Jin et al., 2014), medicine (Cheston et al., 2013) and educational research (Tess, 2013). In this research, we only focus on business and crisis management, which of both relevant to our research topic - the Horsemeat Scandal. Moreover, SA and clustering analysis (CA), as two important TM techniques, are reviewed in this section as well.\nAnalysis: Data preparation\nDiscussion and managerial implication: From our words frequency findings, we see that \"Burger\" is the term with the highest frequency (n=1693). At the beginning of the horsemeat scandal, burgers of several supermarkets (such as Tesco, ALDI, LIDI and Iceland) were exposed to contain horse DNA (FSAI, 2013). So this can explain why the term of \"Burger\" has attracted much of the attention at the starting point of the horsemeat scandal. Moreover, the terms of \"LOL\" (i.e. laughing out loud) and \"Jokes\", as well as the references to Primark, HMV and the identification of the words \"neigh\" and \"stable\" reflect the fact that consumers' response to this issue may well be to make jokes, or perhaps to taunt the affected brands with the quality issues. However, there is a small proportion of extreme negative words that should not be ignored, such as \"F**k\"; \"S**t\" and \"Terrible\" (Hu and Liu, 2004). A possible implication of the word frequency analysis is that practitioners can quickly catch the major topic of the social media. Moreover, some characteristics of the potential topic could be predicted by the frequency analysis (O'Leary, 2011). For example, terms of \"Primark\", \"Leggings\", \"Hungry\", which are the important elements of our later CA were first identified in frequency analysis.\nConclusion: According to Elliot (2014), practitioners should learn the lessons of the horsemeat scandal to prioritise customer needs. Particularly, after the outbreak of horsemeat scandal, over half of the consumers would choose to talk with friends about their experience (Tse et al., 2014). To explore the opinions of consumers in their social network, we analysed 3,630 tweets expressing attitudes towards Tesco at the beginning of horsemeat scandal. Using a mixed TM approach, which comprises SA and CA, we generated some insights to the practitioners. We find that the word frequency analysis could quickly identify the characteristics of the potential topic, such as \"Burgers\", \"Primark\" and \"Hungry\". Based on the MDS method, we identified eight groups and proposed a new research approach to explore the potential customer groups. The results of the SA indicated the general sentiment of UK consumers towards Tesco in horsemeat scandal is negative because the average sentiment score is below zero. Moreover, this study also investigated the changes in tweets post frequencies and sentiment scores in a half-day manner. We found that the number of tweets posted in the afternoon is more than the tweets posted in the morning. Also, sentiments of tweets are lower in the afternoon compared with in the morning.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Social media has become an important part of daily interpersonal communication in contemporary society. The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitudes of UK consumers by identifying the hidden information in tweets, and provide a framework which can assist industry practitioners in managing social media data.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a large-scale dataset of tweets relating to the Horsemeat scandal of 2013, a comprehensive data analysis framework, which comprises multidimensional scaling and sentiment analysis, alongside other methods, was applied to explore customers' opinions.\nFindings: Making jokes in social media was a main trend in the tweets relating to Tesco during the Horsemeat scandal. Consumer sentiments were overall negative and burgers were the most mentioned product in the week-long period after the story broke. The posting of tweets was correlated with the timing of news coverage, which indicates that the traditional media is still crucial to public opinion formation.\nPractical implications: This paper presents a progressive tweet-mining framework that can serve as a tool for academia and practitioners in crisis management. The proposed framework indicates the significant importance of timely categorising the topics, identifying the sentiment of tweets and understanding the changes of consumer opinions over time in a crisis.\nOriginality/value: The research presented in this paper is one of the limited social media research to focus on a UK food fraud issue and adds to the limited body of literature investigating consumer social media use from the side of industry practitioners.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
"Everybody needs everyone": a case study of workplace learning after a downsize
|
[
"Workplace learning",
"Emotions",
"Layoff survivors",
"Downsizing",
"Dimensions of learning",
"Change management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Recently, the energy sector has experienced a downturn in pricing, which as a result has caused many changes throughout the organizations in this industry; one of these changes includes downsizing the organization (Kell, 2015). The purpose of downsizing is to increase profits by eliminating overhead costs and to improve efficiency within the organization (Hornstein, 2009). However, downsizing does not always improve the company's standing. Sometimes the negative impact of downsizing outweighs the intended positive outcomes. Hornstein (2009) argues:\nTheoretical framework: The theoretical framework that guided this study was Illeris' (2003) three dimensions of learning. Illeris (2003, p. 398) states that two basic processes interact in the process of learning, that is, \"[...] an external interaction process between the learner and his or her social, cultural or material environment, and an internal psychological process of acquisition and elaboration.\" He argues that for learning to take place, both processes must be involved. Beyond these two processes are three dimensions of learning, namely, cognition, emotion and environment, in which cognition and emotion are dependent on the interaction that occurs between the learner and their environment (Illeris, 2003). Cognition refers to the knowledge, skills and learning ability of an individual, whereas emotion refers to the mental energy, motivation or feelings one has.\nMethods: This study intended to fill a lack of research on how emotions impact layoff survivors' learning in an organization after downsizing. Because this phenomenon occurred within a bounded system and the researchers' goal was to provide insights into how emotions impact layoff survivors' learning, this qualitative study was conducted using case study (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016). The research site was an energy company located in Oklahoma City. This organization had experienced several downsizings over the past 10 years. More recently, a major restructuring of departments had occurred as a direct result of downsizing. At the time of this study, the organization had approximately 400 employees.\nFindings: While the two research questions that guided this study informed our interviews, three main themes reflected the participants' stories. The first theme found was \"resilience,\" where participants demonstrated getting right back to work after the layoffs and focusing on learning the new tasks in front of them. The second theme was \"loyalty,\" where most of the participants mentioned their new-found appreciation for their job, and their willingness to help and stay committed to the company. The third theme was \"moral support,\" in which participants described their relationships with their coworkers, how they strengthened throughout the experience, and how they had come to rely on each other more often because of the downsizing. Here, we discuss the three themes and include examples that reflect the participants' stories.\nDiscussion: Throughout the interviews, participants described the immediate emotions that set in when layoffs occurred, such as sadness and guilt, while also sharing the ways they continued to learn after the downsizing, which appeared to be dominated by social learning and impacted by their resiliency and loyalty. According to Noer (1993), these feelings demonstrate \"layoff survivor sickness\" that often results from going through a layoff experience. Some scholars argue that this layoff survivor sickness can negatively impact learning behaviors (Scherer and Tran, 2001; Vince, 2002); however, that did not appear to be the case in this study.\nConclusions: Although business decisions regarding downsizing and restructuring departments cannot be avoided, what can be changed is the way these situations are handled regarding the employees they are impacting and the learning that takes place within the workplace. More specifically, the emotional impact on learning after the layoffs was evident in the employees' response to the downsizing throughout this study. Their immediate willingness to empathize with one another and learn from each other was strongly indicated throughout the actions they took following the layoffs, such as reaching out to other departments, making sure people were cross-trained, and being supportive of everyone's learning. The empathetic emotion that resulted from the layoffs impacted the social learning that occurred after the downsizing, which seemed to help maintain the social networks for learning within the workplace.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to explore how employees' emotions after downsizing impact their learning that they partook in after the downsizing event.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodological approach was a qualitative case study. Nine employees, considered layoff survivors in a downsized organization, participated in semi-structured interviews. For data analysis, authors performed an initial, focused and axial coding.\nFindings: The findings highlight three themes: \"resilience,\" \"loyalty\" and \"moral support.\" These themes show the empathy that layoff survivors experienced and the impact the layoff had on their commitment to the organization, as well as the social learning that occurred after downsizing.\nPractical implications: Downsized organizations need to consider the emotions of employees who survive layoffs and how layoffs impact their behavior at work, particularly their learning behavior. Organizations need to understand how to positively impact layoff survivors' emotions to influence the survivors' willingness to learn and implement the changes within the organization. Providing outlets for survivors to network within the company, as well as meaningful opportunities, is one of the few ways of addressing employees' emotions and ensuring they will be encouraged to change with the organization.\nOriginality/value: Research that explores how emotions resulting from an organizational downsize impact employees' learning is minimal. Although much of the downsizing research does explore layoff survivors' experiences after a downsizing, it does not address the emotional factors or the learning experiences. This study seeks to fill this gap.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Analysis of South African universities and communities archives
|
[
"Universities",
"Community",
"Archives",
"Communities’ archives",
"Relations",
"National archives of South Africa"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The study aims to investigate the relations between South Africa (SA) universities and universities surrounding communities (USC) to preserve community history to serve the universities' mandate of teaching and scholarship and preservation of communities' history. Community engagement is one of the three founding principles along with teaching and research of the post-apartheid reconstruction of South African higher education system in the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997. Universities' communities relations provide a mechanism for re-examining the communities' purposes of universities and be a basis for institutional change. Preservation of communities' history plays a meaningful role in the teaching, learning and research. This is because USC possesses archives with cultural, political, historical and educational significance. Universities are to acknowledge having social accountability and civic responsibility to engage with the wider communities.\nProblem statement: The relations between universities and USC are under-theorized. Yet, universities have a role to play in the preservation of community history. These relations would also serve the universities' mandate to support their USC and support universities' teaching and scholarship.\nObjective of the study: To investigate the relations between SA universities and USC to preserve community histories and fulfilment of universities' mandate to support their local communities and support universities' teaching and scholarship.\nDefining universities' community archives/special collections/community history: Scholars come with a different definition of community archives. Rodrigues et al. (2014, p. 95) define community archives as ways of establishing and collecting disadvantages historical narrative that may challenge, supplement or complement the one constructed by dominant communities, organisations or individuals. Flinn (2010) stated that community archives may be seen as any collection or initiative that records and preserves the traces of any group or locality regardless of where those records are kept or preserved. The group of people may share the same ethnicity, religion, gender, occupation or other identifying factors instead of a collection of materials on a historical topic or a place (Williams, 2015). Froese-Stoddard (2014) defines community archives as collaborative processes of working with history. Boucher (2006) define a community archive as an archive managed by a community organization, which is not - for - profit and non - governmental. The collections of archival records that originate from the community (Newman, 2010). Community archives are collections of archival records that originate in a community- that is, a group of people who live in the same location or share other forms of community interest (Newman, 2010). Community-based archives are collecting materials long-overlooked by mainstream repositories (Caswell, 2017).\nCharacteristics of South Africa universities and community history: SA education system was characterised by the apartheid system under the national party, political party founded in 1914 and disbanded in 1997. The system of apartheid affected the nature of educational provision and order in SA because the education system was not linked to building relation with communities (Jansen, 2004). Challenge emerged in 1994 after the first democracy was to formulate an educational policy that would help change the legacy of the apartheid education system and which would result in the establishment of a higher education system to address the imperatives of transformative conditions such as community relations (Waghid, 2002). The founding policy on SA higher education after the apartheid is the report on the national commission on higher education - a framework for transformation (Jansen, 2004). After the end of apartheid, there was increasing pressure from communities on universities to bridge the gap between higher education and communities (Waghid, 2002). The Higher Education Act (1997) 101 of 1997 emphasises the establishment of a higher education system that responds to the needs of USC (Waghid, 2002). Besides the Higher Education Act 107 of 2007, there are other legislations, which emphasised the preservation of communities' history.\nEstablish need for research in South African context: In terms of the Higher Education Act 101 of 2007, teaching and research functions in SA universities need to expand to communities served by institutions (Waghid, 2002). The act stipulate the functions of universities as to teaching, learning and promote general culture in the community.\nTheoretical framework: This research is based on the principles of a community-centric framework. The community-centric framework is based on community interests, needs and well-being are central. Community records and materials are understood and valued in their originating context and not viewed by mainstream institutions (Caswell et al., 2016). The study conducted by Caswell et al. (2016) stated the greater need for research on emerging models for community - universities' relationship and other strategies that seek to sustain these archival projects beyond the capacities and lifespans of original founders.\nMethodology: The study adopts a multiple case study approach to discern the shared and divergent experience of community history. The multiple case study approach was viewed to be the most appropriate method to study the population because of the various universities' archivists and community leaders of USC interviewed.\nLiterature review: Literature was reviewed based on the theme or objectives of the study.\nRelationships to serve the universities' mandate to support universities surrounding communities: A relationship to position universities and USC as central location for communities' history has turned attention to the need to preserve communities' history that support societies (Sheffield, 2016). Universities are expected to develop a communities' strategies that broaden relationship with USC to preserve their histories (Osman and Hornsby, 2016). Archival scholars have called for on professional archivists to embrace community-centric values (Caswell, 2014). The relations between universities and USC can be built through advocacy, outreach programmes, technical assistance and expert testimony or legal advice and creating and supporting joint venues to present research, exchange perspectives and hosting and taking workshops (Schwab et al., 2014; Caswell et al., 2016). University policies require alignment with community relationship approaches in terms of academic culture (Page-Reeves et al., 2017). Wakimoto (2015) stated that there is a need for universities to form relationships with USC to preserve communities' history.\nRelations to support universities' teaching and scholarship: Scholarship means creating a climate in which academic and communities communicate with each other (Beaulieu et al., 2018). Scholarship is to be based on the need of USC (Colbeck and Wharton-Michael, 2006). The scholarship is focussed on integrating teaching, research and service (Cooper and Skipton, 2013). The review of literature led to define of engaged scholarship as academic posture, rooted in values of community relations that prompts universities, in their roles of teaching, research and service to community, to work in ways that will build mutually beneficial and reciprocal bridges between universities' activities and civil society (Beaulieu et al., 2018).\nData analysis: Data were analysed based on the objectives of the study.\nRelations to serve the universities' mandate to support the universities surrounding communities: The 20 participants (100 per cent) were asked if there were challenges they experience on building university and community relations (Table II). The majority of participants 11 (55 per cent) stated that lack of engagement policy was a challenge to various communities to preserve history. The reasons given for the lack of formal policies is the need for flexibilities in community relations initiatives. The 11 (55 per cent) participants indicated that they failed in the preservation and management of communities' history because of lack of strategies on the preservation of community history. In total, 11 (55 per cent) participants stated that the limited number of people were exposed to the management of community history. The 11 (55 per cent) participants lack of access to funding for preservation of communities archives. The nine (45 per cent) participants indicated that support is in the form of small monetary donations to sustain and keep their archives. Community archives are without adequate staffing and operational support. The nine (45 per cent) participants indicated that there was an attempt by universities to ignore the central role that local communities play in the preservation of communities history. The nine (45 per cent) participants acknowledged that they lacked archival skills and methodologies to manage all types of archives.\nRelations to support universities' teaching and scholarship: The 20 (100 per cent) participants were asked to answer yes or no as to whether communities' history plays any role on teaching and scholarship (Table IV). The majority of participates 14 (70 per cent) indicated that communities' history contributed to teaching and scholarship. Hence, six (30 per cent) participants indicated that communities' history do not play any role in teaching and scholarship. The study found that the university culture has thus generally discouraged academic engagement. Some of the participants were led to believe that relations on teaching and scholarship is not central to their roles.\nFindings: Findings were presented based on the objectives of the study.\nRelations to serve the universities mandate to support the universities surrounding communities: The research found that there was a lack of engagement policy between universities and communities to provide guidelines on the preservation of communities' history. This study found that even though the participants were aware of the legislations governing communities' archives such as the Higher Education Act 101 of 2007, National Archives and Records Service Act 43 of 1996, the majority had a low level of understanding of the legislation and its role. However, this misunderstanding can be corrected in the form of awareness on communities' history.\nRelations to support universities teaching and scholarship: The research found that engaged scholarship is a new academic paradigm that affect relations between universities and communities to manage all expectations related to the required information. The researcher found that universities working in isolation to communities have become outdated and relations between the two are essential.\nRecommendations: Based on the above findings the study recommends the following:\nConclusion: The results of this research will contribute to establishing solid relationships between universities and communities based on trust, accountability and transparency. It is important for university and community relations to be strengthened to preserve community history, improve teaching and research activities. Universities will be modelling a socially responsible behaviour. University community relations will serve the self-interest of the institution by garnering recognition from communities such as funders and community leaders and politicians. Universities and communities' relations are necessary because given that many universities and research projects are publicly funded as such universities have a duty to engage with societies to advance the preservation of local history. This process will require universities to develop an archive management programme to administer community records management. There should be an archives and records management programme to guide the management of records of all types.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study to investigate the relationships between South Africa (SA) universities and universities surrounding communities (USC) for preserving community histories and serve the universities' mandate to support their local communities and support universities' teaching and scholarship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study used a multiple case study approach through interviews. The population of the study comprised representatives from selected universities and their USC.\nFindings: The findings revealed a lack of effective relationships between universities and USC to preserve communities' histories. Hence, the communities' archives are tools for teaching and scholarship. Relations between universities and USC are to be built on trust. Accountability and transparency are to be considered by both parties.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research is limited to selected SA universities, namely, University of Venda, Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Pretoria and SA and USC. The findings are applicable to all SA universities and USC.\nPractical implications: The relationship between universities and USC has a practical impact on the National archives of South Africa (NARSSA) to collect communities archives because it is in conflict with the mandate of NARSSA. The National Archives' Act 43 of 1996 obliged NARSSA to collect and preserve communities' archives on behalf of societies.\nSocial implications: Lack of universities and USC can lead to the loss of communities histories or archives.\nOriginality/value: This paper appears to be the first to research the relationship between SA universities and USC.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Corporate social responsibility in luxury manufacturer supply chains: An exploratory investigation of a Scottish cashmere garment manufacturer
|
[
"Case study",
"Corporate social responsibility",
"Luxury brands",
"SME brand manufacturer"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The luxury fashion market represents an important and increasing sector of the worldwide retail industry (Husic and Cicic, 2009; Park et al., 2008). As a result of the changing structure of the luxury industry over recent years, the supply chains of luxury manufacturers have become more complex and global. Raw materials such as cashmere are sourced in remote and isolated locations such as Afghanistan, Iraq or the North-West region of China. The fashion design houses alluded to by Hollander (1970), which focused mainly upon the couture and ready to wear market, expanded their scale and scope and by the 1990s, many of these companies began to internationalise their businesses on a significant scale through the development of diffusion brands and segmentation of their markets into good, better and best segments within family brand identities (Fernie and Perry, 2011). As luxury consumers increasingly call for supply chain transparency (Sanderson, 2013), there is a need to understand how CSR is managed within this particular sector, given its unique characteristics of vertical integration and strong control of the supply network when compared to the mid-market sector. The aim of this paper is to understand how corporate social responsibility is embedded in the supply chain of a luxury garment producer. The paper is divided into three parts. The first section will discuss the literature relating to luxury supply chain management and corporate social responsibility, followed by an explanation of the methodology and finally a discussion of the findings.\nLiterature review: The producers of luxury cashmere garments are typically smaller businesses with very close and long-standing trading relationships throughout the whole of the supply chain from the base raw materials, through to the various manufacturing processes and then to the final garment production. The cashmere raw material is normally of the highest quality grade, with manufacturing processes connected to the very demanding technical requirements of luxury fashion so that the final production reflects the current innovative and novel fashion trends in design (Kapferer and Bastien, 2009). The extended nature of the supply chain and the management control and visibility in each stage of corporate social responsibility provides a unique and different context in which to explore luxury supply chain management. The combination of the various stages, with a common interest of serving all of the consumer\nCashmere supply chain management: The supply chain in the textiles industry is complex, generally with a large number of partners involved and a demand chain that is geographically relatively long. For instance, the process of producing a cashmere knitted top starts with fibre collection from goats in regions where there is a warm temperate climate, such as north-western China or Afghanistan, and finishes with final production in a country close to the point of sale, for example Scotland or Italy. The whole process, shown below in Figure 1, can take approximately eight months from cashmere fibre collection to the arrival of garments in the European retail store. The sales season is typically only eight to ten weeks.\nCorporate social responsibility: Corporate social responsibility is a growing area of concern in an increasingly globalised supply chains and refers to \"the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large\" (WBCSD, 1999, p. 3). With regard to the fashion industry, this can be further defined in terms of environmental responsibility, which mainly relates to the textile pipeline with issues of pollution and depletion of natural resources, and social responsibility which is more pertinent to the garment manufacturing function and covers issues of wages, working hours and working conditions. Arguably, the role of supply chain management is greater than any other organisational function in addressing social (and environmental) issues (Tate et al., 2010) and this justifies our approach of studying CSR implementation in luxury manufacturers from a supply chain perspective.\nMethodology: The qualitative approach has been chosen as an exploratory study strategy to investigate the meaning of the phenomenon of CSR in luxury garment supply chains. Eisenhardt (1989, p. 534) defined the exploratory case study as \"a research strategy which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings\". The study is an in-depth analysis of the corporate social responsibility phenomenon contextualised in the setting of the luxury fashion supply chain. The depth of understanding in the research is based on a detailed knowledge of the particular phenomenon and its nuances within the specific context (Stake, 1994). Qualitative research is suitable for exploring phenomena that are new, dynamic or complex, where relevant variables are not readily identified and where there is a lack of extant theories to explain the phenomena (Creswell, 2008), as well as for exploring well-known concepts in new contexts (Golicic et al., 2005). This research is studied in sufficient depth that the single exploratory study can provide the basis for a theoretical explanation of a general phenomenon.\nCashmere producer exploratory study: Using the supply chain analysis described above, significant evidence of CSR was found embedded in the supply process. There appeared to be well defined information flows and strong trading relationships in which trust had been developed over a number of years. However, many of the relationships were informal and unstructured, and in recent times there appeared to be a focus on cost considerations as a result of the challenging trading environment. These factors influenced the management of CSR in the supply chain and will be discussed further in the next sections.\nCompany history and background: Throughout the company\nCashmere company supply chain: Cashmere refers to the finest undercoat hairs of a breed of mountain goat primarily found in China and Mongolia, and has become the most popular and versatile of the rarer fibres. The company sources 60-70 per cent of the raw material (fibre) from China and Afghanistan with the remainder primarily bought from traders based in Italy. The inbound raw materials warehouse is based in the north of England. The sourced cashmere fibre is stored there before being processed into yarn in preparation for the knitting process. Yarn manufacture is mostly handled by a third-party company which also holds the dyeing recipes.\nCSR within manufacturing processes: The managing director noted an increasing trend as luxury brand customers seek visibility further up the supply chain to influence the ethical requirements and to get involved in purchasing fibres in order to reduce the impact of raw material cost increases. Key luxury brands such as Burberry, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes include ethical standards in supplier performance criteria. Burberry, for example, has a clear documented process for understanding CSR issues in the supply chain. Its ethical trading code of conduct is derived from the principles of the ETI Base Code, UN Fundamental Declaration of Human Rights and ILO Core Conventions, and includes requirements for working conditions and environmental protection (Burberry, 2012). Within the case study company, written operating procedures were not evident in the sourcing process but detailed knowledge of the supply process from the cashmere herdsmen, the wholesale and delivery process was gained from extensive personal experience over a long period by the managing director.\nBuying practices: When buying fibre, there is no buying manual for the buying team to follow. Most of the buying is principally the direct responsibility of the managing director and informed by his long experience in the sector:\nSupplier relationships: For raw material, the company uses the same quality-assured suppliers over a long period of time. These suppliers receive significant orders from the company of around US$10 to $15 million worth of fibre a year. The company has tried to use other fibre suppliers but was unable to get the same consistent quality. For example, an anecdote was recounted where a supplier sent the correct quality sample but failed to send the same quality in the shipment. Normally they allow 3 per cent of other wools in the cashmere but as the shipment had more than 7 per cent, it was returned. The company uses a local test lab that assesses the fibres against a number of standards but they do not have a formal review process for suppliers. However, the small number of suppliers provides for a very close working relationship and understanding of the exacting quality standards.\nCSR controls: The company has recently started an international development strategy programme, of which one element is sustainability as part of CSR. The company complies with the ETI base code, which promotes freedom of association, anti-discrimination, environment, health and safety and working time directives for workers worldwide.\nSummary: The cashmere producer is a small business manufacturing luxury garments in Scotland for an international client base and sourcing raw materials from China, Afghanistan and Iran. This company is typical of similar luxury producers for private labels which are historically small manufacturers producing small volumes of high value products. The company possesses all the virtues of a small business producing a highly technical product with close relationships with a small number of suppliers. The working procedures are essentially based on the technical conformity requirements for each operation and only recently have been formalised in a more structured company-wide approach.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a central part of the sourcing and supply activity in the textile industry. The role of supply chain management is fundamental to CSR implementation as it has become a key customer requirement and business driver. This research seeks to investigate how the luxury sector is addressing these demands through a single in-depth exploratory study of a Scottish based luxury own-brand and branded cashmere garment manufacturer.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper uses an exploratory approach through a single qualitative case study.\nFindings: Corporate social responsibility has become an increasingly important part of the luxury garment producer\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings of the paper are based on a single qualitative exploratory study and therefore analytic generalisations are possible from interpreting the results.\nPractical implications: The contribution of the paper is a greater understanding of CSR management in the work and information flows for a specialised international luxury manufacturing business throughout its geographically extended supply chain.\nOriginality/value: The contribution of the paper is a greater understanding of CSR management in the work and information flows for a specialised international luxury manufacturing business throughout its geographically extended supply chain.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Knowledge-sharing hostility and governance mechanisms: an empirical test
|
[
"Knowledge‐sharing behaviour",
"Knowledge‐sharing hostility",
"Governance mechanisms",
"Denmark",
"Knowledge transfer",
"Individual behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Background and motivation: Much of the existing literature on knowledge sharing views the success of knowledge-management initiatives as contingent on employees' positive attitudes and intentions to share knowledge, their willingness to do so, and their actual engagement in knowledge sharing as a positive, voluntary act (e.g. Davenport, 1997; Ipe, 2003). Indeed, due to the largely personal (Hislop, 2003) and tacit (Tsoukas, 1996) nature of knowledge, the process of sharing requires that the person who possesses the knowledge be positive about the act of sharing. From an organizational perspective, knowledge sharing can be viewed as a form of collective behavior (Van den Hooff and van Weenen, 2004; Spender and Scherer, 2007) in the sense that employees are assumed to be willing to forego their self-interest and contribute their individual knowledge to the common good. At the same time, even proponents of the notion of voluntary knowledge sharing recognize that people often treat knowledge as an intangible private asset and withhold knowledge instead of sharing it with others (Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Webster et al., 2008).From a social psychological perspective, knowledge sharing can be conceptualized as a process of social interaction that is similar to voluntary work behaviors, e.g. organizational citizenship behavior (Bolino, 1999). The willingness and motivation to share knowledge is regarded as a specific form of altruism (De Vries et al., 2006). Along the same logic knowledge sharing behavior implies a conscious act by an individual who participates in the knowledge exchange (Davenport, 1997; Ipe, 2003). When individuals perceive the knowledge they possess as a valuable asset, knowledge sharing becomes a process mediated by individuals' decisions about what knowledge will be shared, when to share and with who to share (Andrews and Delahaye, 2000).Skepticism about how willing individuals are to share knowledge and how positive they feel about doing so has been expressed by various researchers and practitioners. For example, Husted and Michailova (2002) studied individual reservations towards engaging in knowledge-sharing behaviors. They developed a conceptual model based on the argument that individual organizational members have well-justified reasons for not sharing the knowledge they possess, and for rejecting external knowledge. The authors labeled this phenomenon \"knowledge-sharing hostility\" and positioned the sender's behavior, the receiver's behavior, and the substance-related behavior on a continuum from mild to strong hostility.Although the concept of knowledge-sharing hostility has been well received theoretically (e.g. Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005; Sveiby, 2007; Willem and Scarbrough, 2006), the concept has only been tested empirically in a limited number of case studies. Michailova and Husted (2003), for example, conducted a qualitative study of knowledge-sharing hostility in Russian firms with western participation. They found that this phenomenon indeed exists, and that it is possible to differentiate between mild and strong knowledge-sharing hostility. However, so far there has not been a more robust empirical examination of the model. Most importantly, the knowledge management literature is in need for a detailed understanding of which organizational mechanisms can be used to manage situations in which knowledge-sharing hostility is apparent. The lack of examination of concrete mechanisms that can govern knowledge-sharing behavior has led to a situation where the concept of knowledge-sharing hostility, although theoretically attractive, has not been particularly applicable in management practice despite its initial great appeal to and resonance with executives and managers.This paper empirically examines the factors behind knowledge-sharing hostility as specified in Husted and Michailova's (2002) model - reasons for hoarding knowledge, reasons for rejecting knowledge, and attitudes towards mistakes - and their impact on knowledge-sharing behavior. The paper then further develops the model by drawing on the knowledge governance approach (KGA) in order to specify particular organizational governance mechanisms that can be utilized to manage situations characterized by knowledge-sharing hostility and to (re)examine how these mechanisms influence individual knowledge-sharing behavior.The contribution of the paper is two-fold. First, it responds to the clear need to examine individual characteristics related to withholding knowledge in organizations (Webster et al., 2008) and to conduct empirical research on the determinants of willingness (or lack thereof) to share knowledge (Gao and Riley, 2010). Second, by delineating specific organizational governance mechanisms that are critical for dealing with knowledge-sharing hostility, this research responds to the call for research aimed at explaining and detailing the mechanisms that mediate between instruments and outcomes (Coleman, 1990), and solving \"problems that lie in the intersection of organization and knowledge processes\" (Foss, 2007, p. 39).The remainder of the paper is structured in the following manner. In the next section, the authors briefly present Husted and Michailova's (2002) original model and explain how it is further developed in the paper. The authors then introduce the key ideas behind the KGA and the specification of two particular knowledge-governance mechanisms - transaction-based and commitment-based mechanisms - and examine the impact of these mechanisms on individuals' knowledge-sharing hostility in organizations. Then the refined model is tested using original survey data derived from 1,639 respondents in 15 organizations in Denmark. Finally, the authors present the findings, draw conclusions, and suggest avenues for further theoretical and empirical work in this emerging area of research.\n2. Knowledge-sharing hostility: 2.1 The original model\n3. Development of hypotheses: Husted and Michailova (2002) suggest that different levels of knowledge-sharing hostility (i.e. mild to strong) invite different organizational and managerial responses. In organizations with mild knowledge-sharing hostility, management can focus on encouraging and stimulating knowledge sharing. However, organizations characterized by strong knowledge-sharing hostility are predisposed to using \"forcing mechanisms\" such as clear instructions, hard incentives, or negative sanctions. In order to test these claims, this paper examines two particular clusters of mechanisms: commitment-based (as a way to encourage and stimulate knowledge-sharing behavior) and transaction-based (as a more tangible and explicit incentive to influence knowledge-sharing behavior). The paper links these two clusters of mechanisms to the antecedents of individuals' knowledge-sharing behaviors - knowledge hoarding, knowledge rejection, and attitudes towards sharing knowledge about mistakes.The view of knowledge sharing as a voluntary act has spawned a stream of research that maintains that sharing is best managed through the deployment of encouraging mechanisms and that the use of forcing management techniques should be the measure of last resort (Hsu, 2006). Governance mechanisms that stimulate knowledge sharing are based on the principles of communal governance, and they leverage an individual's sense of volunteerism and intrinsic motivation, where the desire to belong and share a sense of identity is central (Felin et al., 2009). Psychological mechanisms that mediate the relationship between these governance mechanisms and knowledge sharing include, among others, trust, loyalty, and commitment to the organization (Collins and Smith, 2006; Felin et al., 2009; Scott et al., 2005).One broad group of knowledge-governance mechanisms considered to be particularly effective in encouraging sharing behavior is commitment-based HR practices (Collins and Smith, 2006). These practices are based on the principle of long-term exchange relationships between employer and employee, and include acknowledgements, team-based training, and training and development programs. Other such mechanisms are opportunities for professional advancement and growth (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005), career advancement, and guaranteed employment in the organization (Byrne, 2001). Therefore the following set of hypotheses is proposed:H1a. The use of commitment-based mechanisms will weaken individuals' reasons for hoarding.H1b. The use of commitment-based mechanisms will weaken individuals' reasons for rejecting external knowledge.H1c. The use of commitment-based mechanisms will affect positively individuals' attitudes towards sharing knowledge about the mistakes they have made.However, the capacity of governance mechanisms to encourage knowledge sharing by leveraging employee commitment and loyalty to the organization is often diminished by the influence of various socio-psychological and economic factors. One reason for this is the changing nature of employment relationships, whereby loyalty and commitment no longer guarantee promotion or continued employment. In fact, current research reveals that organizational commitment - previously hailed as a major motivator of knowledge sharing - fails to live up to its name (Cabrera et al., 2006). Low levels of job security, slack in the labor market, and multiple outsourcing opportunities (Byrne, 2001), coupled with the trend towards organizational disaggregation manifested in temporary employment relationships, and the use of contingent and freelance workers (Felin et al., 2009) lead to more transaction-like relationships between employers and employees. These factors also increase the salience of market-based governance mechanisms in stimulating knowledge sharing.Such transaction-based mechanisms can motivate employees through, for instance, the provision of ownership rights and high-powered incentives (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005; Felin et al., 2009). These forms of governance underlie knowledge sharing in market-like organizational forms (i.e. partnerships; Felin et al., 2009) and project teams whose members participate in profit sharing (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005). When seen from the perspective of a self-interest-based cost-benefit analysis, individuals tend to be more willing to share knowledge when they are economically rewarded for doing so. As individuals typically have invested time and effort into gaining the knowledge they possess, and because sharing part of this knowledge is associated with costs in terms of time and effort, it is understandable that \"homo economicus\" wish to be rewarded for incurring this cost (Bartol and Srivastava, 2002; Chennamaneni, 2006).The literature on social dilemmas also supports the idea that the likelihood of individuals contributing to the public good for collective benefit is positively related to perceived rewards (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005). This view has been widely adopted in practice and is reflected in the fact that many knowledge management initiatives include pay-for-performance types of incentive mechanisms. This is particularly valid in organizations where the installed social norms encourage a clear link between rewards and knowledge-sharing behavior. For instance, organizational reward practices have been found to foster desired behaviors when organizational members are committed to achieving collective goals and are engaged in their organization (Ostroff and Bowen, 2000). On the basis of these arguments, the following three hypotheses are advanced:H2a. The use of transaction-based mechanisms will strengthen individuals' reasons for hoarding.H2b. The use of transaction-based mechanisms will strengthen individuals' reasons for rejecting external knowledge.H2c. The use of transaction-based mechanisms will affect negatively individuals' attitudes towards sharing knowledge about the mistakes they have made.\n4. Methods: 4.1 Research instrument\n5. Findings: The hypotheses are tested using a LISREL model that allows for the simultaneous formation of underlying constructs (the measurement model) and the testing of structural relationships among these constructs (the structural model).5.1 Validity and reliability of measures\n6. Concluding remarks: As individual decisions to share knowledge are contingent on a variety of factors, researchers understandably seek to identify these factors (e.g. individual characteristics, leadership styles, trust, organizational commitment) and understand how they can be manipulated to enhance the willingness to share knowledge. This paper addressed one specific approach to theorizing about this issue, which focuses on knowledge-sharing hostility.As defined by Husted and Michailova (2002), knowledge-sharing hostility is expressed in attitudes towards knowledge sharing and actual individual knowledge-sharing behavior. These authors suggest that knowledge-sharing hostility negatively affects individual knowledge-sharing behavior. Such hostility can be diagnosed by evaluating the reasons for knowledge hoarding and rejection of shared knowledge, and by detecting the dominant attitude towards mistakes in the organization. Husted and Michailova (2002) state that \"if knowledge sharing hostility is carefully assessed, managers can select appropriate means for breaking down knowledge sharing hostility in their organization and increase value creation through knowledge sharing\" (p. 65).The findings of the present study support this theorization by providing support for the argument that strong reasons for knowledge hoarding and rejection, together with a negative attitude towards mistakes, harm individual knowledge sharing. However, the further developed model goes significantly beyond previous efforts by not only considering the relationships among the three hostility dimensions and knowledge-sharing behavior, but by also delineating between two sets of knowledge-governance mechanisms - transaction-based and commitment-based mechanisms - that affect the reasons for knowledge hoarding and rejection, and attitudes towards mistakes. Hence, the model developed here is not only a response to the need to understand variations in the knowledge-sharing behaviors of individuals, but is also a response to practitioners' needs to manage organizational knowledge sharing.The comparison of the final model with alternative models including more direct effects of knowledge-governance mechanisms on individual knowledge-sharing behavior provides strong evidence that this relationship is mediated by the three dimensions of knowledge-sharing hostility. The present study finds that the use of transaction-based mechanisms promotes knowledge-sharing hostility by strengthening individuals' reasons for hoarding and rejecting external knowledge, and negatively affects individuals' attitudes towards sharing knowledge about mistakes. On the other hand, the use of commitment-based mechanisms diminishes knowledge-sharing hostility among individuals.The tests include several control variables. Consistently, the use of face-to-face communication and investments in a knowledge-sharing culture appear to be negatively related to knowledge-sharing hostility, while the strict nature of work processes (individual, hierarchical, and rule-based) contributes to knowledge sharing. The domination of IT over personalized organizational strategies to support knowledge sharing by making knowledge more accessible and trustworthy diminishes the reasons for rejecting knowledge.6.1 Implications and limitations\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims at further developing and empirically examining the concept of knowledge-sharing hostility. It seeks to analyze reasons for hoarding knowledge, reasons for rejecting external knowledge, and attitudes towards mistakes, as well as the influence of these factors on actual knowledge-sharing behavior. The paper aims to examine how two specific knowledge-governance mechanisms - commitment-based and transaction-based mechanisms - affect knowledge sharing\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors test the hypotheses on a sample of 1,639 respondents in 15 organizations in Denmark.\nFindings: - The authors find that the use of transaction-based mechanisms promotes knowledge-sharing hostility by strengthening individuals' reasons for hoarding and rejecting knowledge, and by negatively affecting individuals' attitudes towards sharing knowledge about mistakes. In contrast, the use of commitment-based mechanisms diminishes knowledge-sharing hostility among individuals.\nOriginality/value: - The contribution of the paper is two-fold. First, it responds to the clear need to examine individual characteristics related to withholding knowledge in organizations. Second, by delineating specific organizational governance mechanisms that are critical for dealing with knowledge-sharing hostility, the research responds to the call for research aimed at explaining and detailing problems that lie in the intersection of organization and knowledge processes.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Cross-cultural professional experiences of female expatriates: Finding success through agility, resilience, and essential relationships
|
[
"Women",
"Culture",
"Resilience",
"Coaching",
"Mentoring relationships",
"Expatriates adjustment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: International experiences have become more important for successful professional careers (Judge et al., 1995; Ng et al., 2005) and yet \"about the single most uncontroversial, incontrovertible statement to make about women in international management is that there are very few of them\" (Adler, 1994, p. 24). In the 1990s only about 10 percent of the global expatriate professional worker population were women (Adler, 1994), and in the 2000s this percentage grew to over 20 percent (Brookfield Global Relocation Services, 2016). Greater China (China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan) has increasingly become a host country to female expatriates (Owen et al., 2007) and according to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting (Welsh and Kersten, 2014) female professionals continue to be sent on international assignments. As the population of women working abroad increases, there is a dearth of research on what influences female expatriate success, specifically in Greater China (Bullough et al., 2017).\nAim of the research: The purpose of this research is to provide a deeper understanding of factors that lead to and support cross-cultural professional career success for female expatriates in Greater China. Specifically, this study focuses on female expatriates' perceptions of three types of success: cultural adaptation, professional and overall experience. These were defined as positive experiences and feelings of adjustment within the culture, feelings of success on the job in working with multicultural teams and within different cultural contexts, and overall success in the expatriate experience with an interest in staying on assignment or taking additional assignments.\nSignificance of this study: The challenges faced by expatriates as they focus on their mission of leading and working cross-culturally include socialization to the new environment (Mezias and Scandura, 2005), concerns related to career development (Crocitto et al., 2005) and dealing with culturally contingent follower expectations, such as the more dominant collectivist culture in eastern countries compared to more individualistic western cultures (Hofstede, 2001; House et al., 2004).\nResearch process: This study followed a three-phase sequential mixed methods exploratory research design with each phase informing the data collection and analysis of subsequent phases.\nFindings: Descriptive statistics and regression analysis as well as narrative interview, survey and focus group data were analyzed. Relevant findings emerged at each phase of the research process, and are reported by research question.\nDiscussion of findings: Professional female expatriates working in Greater China perceived that having multiple essential relationships, culture-specific resources, resilient characteristics and an informed view of self contributed to a successful expatriate experience. Based on these findings, a model of success factors for female expatriates working in Greater China was created (Figure 1).\nRecommendations to enhance cross-cultural professional success: The recommendations for expatriates looking to achieve cross-cultural professional success include: focus on building resilience, gain access to personal and professional resources, attend training and leadership development programs and connect with a mentor and/or coach.\nRecommendations for future research and limitations: Future research on expatriate success may incorporate questions on whether the expatriate volunteered or was required to take on the international assignment. Along with this, further testing of the characteristics that explain and define resilience could be conducted. The findings could be brought to expatriates in other host countries to determine whether the findings are similar or different across cultures. A closer look at the number of years individuals spend working internationally before their China experience may also be considered and the analysis could lead to additional insights about resiliency and success and prior exposure. Testing and reviewing cross-cultural comfort levels and how it is influenced by prior experiences working and living abroad may also expand on this study.\nConclusion: Based on the findings of this study, female expatriates are leveraging resources and networks to support their success as they are learning, growing and making a global impact. The experiences and stories offered by the participants may be leveraged to continue to work, study and succeed professionally across cultures. Offering unique and individualized support, programs and resources designed for the international workforce will lead to success through resilience, agility and essential relationships. The research findings offered valuable lessons from the respondents' experiences in managing the polarities of western cultural identities and eastern host cultures. It is notable that female expatriate perceived success is positively correlated with and can be mostly explained by two primary characteristics: resilience and an ability to receive support and opportunity to give support and develop others.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: In this world of global interconnectedness, women continue to develop cross-cultural careers and their experiences impact global scholarship and practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships, resources and characteristics that support female expatriate success, with specific focus on the role of mentor/coach relationships. The sample included 102 women from the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK working or formerly working in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This three phase sequential mixed-methods exploratory research study included 10 one-on-one semi-structured interviews, 102 survey respondents and 3 facilitated focus groups attended by nine professional women.\nFindings: This research offers evidence that resiliency-based characteristics must be cultivated and developed to support expatriate cross-cultural success. These characteristics can be cultivated through relying on multiple relationships, such as mentors, coaches, host country liaisons, expatriate colleagues, friends and family as well as by supporting and mentoring others. These characteristics can also be developed through specific cultural experiences, knowledge and skill building resources, as well as developing an informed view of self and identity clarity through reflective activities.\nOriginality/value: Based on the overall findings, a cross-cultural professional success model was designed and implications for scholarship, organizational effectiveness and cross-cultural leadership practice are presented.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
An examination of consumer price cue usage in US discount formats
|
[
"Consumer behaviour",
"Pricing",
"Discount stores",
"United States of America"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The saturation of discount merchants into the US retail landscape creates greater choice for consumers and tougher competition for rival formats that sell similar or identical goods and services. Discounters include retail formats that conform to the traditional discount format as well as those that conform to the newer supercenter format. As players in the discount sector expanded in terms of market coverage and supply chain power during the 1970s and 1980s, they were primarily recognized for selling low-cost goods to consumers driven primarily by the desire to pay low prices and the convenience of a large assortment (Brennan and Lundsten, 2000). In contrast, market leading discounters that dominate the US market today use tactics on both the demand and supply sides of the business to enhance performance (Duff, 2006). For example, the target corporation is recognized for its development and leverage of exclusive brands particularly in the apparel and home goods categories which exemplifies its success at appealing to customers using assortment rather than price alone to attract consumers (Embry, 2006).The purpose of the study is to identify, analyze and describe the dimensions of price that consumers currently act upon when purchasing in the discount store context. The guiding framework for the study is adopted from the collective work of Lichtenstein et al. (1990, 1993) which defines and measures dimensions of price that consumers commonly use as cues in the marketplace to infer both positive and negative attitudes toward products or services which ultimately encourage or deter purchase. We examine price cue influences by segmenting discount store shoppers in terms of their perception and usage of five distinct price cues: price consciousness, price-quality schema, prestige sensitivity, value consciousness and sale proneness. Price cue segments are further analyzed to examine differences in demographic characteristics to expand our understanding of the current discount format shopper and to, in turn, provide retailers insight into the multi-dimensionality of pricing behaviors within this growing retail sector.\nReview of literature: Discounters in the US market\nMethodology: Data collection\nResults: Sample characteristics\nConclusions: The four segments that emerged from the sample data exhibited different perceptions of price in terms of discount store shoppers' general attitude towards price as a market cue. The first segment represents consumers who indicate high levels of the price/quality schema, high levels of value consciousness, low levels of price consciousness, and relatively high levels of prestige sensitivity compared to the other three segments. Statistical tests indicate that the value conscious segment is relatively younger, high income, and more likely to patronize Target stores. The value conscious consumer appears to perceive price in both positive and negative roles, constantly weighing off costs and benefits and not afraid to pay higher prices. This consumer is most concerned with the price they pay versus the quality they receive. This segment did not indicate high levels of price consciousness, which suggests that they are clearly more focused upon reaping value from their discount shopping experience, rather than focusing upon achieving the lowest possible price.The second segment, the price cue insensitive group, indicates relatively low scores across all of the price cue dimensions. The price cue insensitive segment represents the oldest consumers within the sample who tend to fall more heavily into low, middle and upper-middle incomes compared to the other segments. The price cue insensitive group reflects more frequent patronage in Wal-Mart stores compared to Target stores.The prestige sensitive, sale prone segment represents the youngest consumer group among the sample. Statistical tests indicate that this segment is proportionately heavier in lower to middle incomes compared to the other segments. Like the value conscious segment, shoppers in the prestige sensitive/sale prone segment tended to patronize Target as their primary discount store. Consumers within this segment perceive price primarily in a positive role, reflected in their prestige sensitivity scores. Their indication of sale proneness which is a negative cue is likely fueled by their perception that higher original prices signal superior products.The fourth segment represents the largest and most price sensitive segment among the sample. The price sensitive segment indicates high levels of price consciousness and value consciousness and is also likely to be sale prone. Members of the price sensitive segment are the second oldest in the sample and are more likely to patronize Wal-Mart. Their incomes are the most normally distributed among the segments and do not appear to contribute to the association between income and price cue usage as strongly as the other three segments. Consumers in this group appear to be very price driven in their purchasing decision process within the discount context. They are neither prestige conscious nor employ the price/quality schema in their decision making. Members of this cluster indicate very high scores for value consciousness, again indicating that they consider low price as an important driver for purchasing in the discount context.\nDiscussion, implications and future research: The research demonstrates that discount shoppers among the two market leading chains, Wal-Mart and Target, use price as a market cue in distinct manners. Though a considerable segment of consumers emerged from the data (price sensitive segment, N=125) that reflect many of the typical price-related attitudes expected among shoppers in the channel, additional segments emerged that appear to be relatively more prestige oriented, sale prone and price/quality oriented. Within the segments, shoppers tend to use cues in both positive and negative roles indicating a level of complexity in terms of the impact of price within this environment that moves beyond simple lowest price seeking behaviors. We measured general price perceptions and related these perceptions to consumer choice and demographics in the discount sector. We did not control for the product type or product category that consumers were reflecting upon in their answers but rather their overall purchase. Future research into price-related behaviors within the discount format can benefit from controlling the purchasing situation (low versus medium/high involvement) and controlling price and product related variables (emphasizing sale, prestige, quality) to gain insight into the relative importance of price cues within this environment.Based upon the finding that consumers perceive dimensions of the price cue beyond those that deal primarily with low-cost seeking behaviors suggests that discounters in the US can likely benefit from differentiation strategies that theoretically increase profits and drive customer loyalty (Porter, 1985). Over the past few years, discounters have made efforts to differentiate in product categories including apparel and home accessories with mixed success (Bonamici, 2004; Duff, 2005; Kavilanz, 2006). Perhaps, discounter efforts are educating consumers to expect benefits from the discount shopping experience beyond the strictly utilitarian. From an operational standpoint, practitioners within the discount sector can benefit from acknowledging that their consumers perceive price in both positive and negative roles. They should identify and leverage situations in which consumers are more likely to engage in positive price cue perception such as shopping goods categories and those in which consumers are more likely to engage in negative price cue perception for example standardized products with low differentiation. Concurrently, differentiation within the discount sector creates competitive challenges for retail formats outside of the discount context that sell substitutable goods. Given the power that both Target and Wal-Mart wield in the domestic market, this threat should not be avoided by competitors.Examination of price cue operations in additional retail formats including specialty retailers, department stores, category specialists and value department stores would provide a fuller picture of the manner that price influences behavior across the industry. In addition, future research should focus upon narrow populations to minimize variability of perceptions based upon age and income.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - As retailers in the discount sector proliferate into US retail markets their presence poses competitive challenges for all types of formats that vie for the same target consumer. Practitioners and academics traditionally characterize the discount consumer as one who seeks low-cost goods and broad assortments. Yet, as US discounters have begun to differentiate their retail offerings, consumers appear to be responding to these initiatives, suggesting that they may seek value beyond low price in this context. The purpose of this paper is to identify the price cues used by consumers in the discount environment, segment these consumers based on their price cue usage, and describe the price segments in terms of store choice and demographics.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A telephone survey was used to gather a nation-wide sample of US discount format shoppers (n=354). Confirmatory factor analysis is used to evaluate the price cue measures and K-means cluster analysis is used to identify unique price cue segments. kh2, analysis of variance and descriptive statistics are used to describe the price cue segments.\nFindings: - Four shopper segments are identified with distinct operations of the price cue, suggesting that discount shoppers seek more than low price in the discount environment. Differences in segments in terms of store choice, income and age emerge from the data.\nOriginality/value: - The study provides understanding of the manner in which consumers perceive and act upon price, beyond low-price and value, in the discount sector. The results suggest that popular wisdom regarding price and the US discount shopper is oversimplified, which may portend even greater opportunity for discounters and threat to their intra-type competitors.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Acceptance X-bar chart considering the sample distribution of capability indices,
C
^
p
and
C
^
p
k
: A practical and economical approach
|
[
"Adaptive control chart",
"Monitoring capability",
"Practical application"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In a large number of companies, statistical process control (SPC) - Woodall (2017) use the term statistical process monitoring (SPM) - is a necessary element of the process control system, which comprises a set of statistical techniques that are used to monitor and improve production processes (Baker and Brobst, 1996; Graves et al., 1999; Jensen et al., 2006; Elg et al., 2008; Yu and Liu, 2012; Yang et al., 2012). The traditional Shewhart control chart (Shewhart, 1931, 1941) does not consider if a process has a high capability or not. It recommends stopping the process when there is an indication of special causes, in order to keep the production process at a stable variation level. However, there are cases in which it is not financially appropriate to intervene, even in the presence of special causes. When the benefits of stopping the process in the presence of special causes are lower than the costs, it may be considered an over-control (Montgomery, 2009; AIAG/ASQC, 1991).\n2. Background: 2.1 Acceptance chart\n3. X-bar control chart with Cp and Cpk indices: The objective of this section is to build the X-bar control chart design, which allows us to make economic decisions about the process. All processes can be classified according to the process capability index, which is used to predict the process performance in terms of meeting the product specification.\n4. ARL numerical analysis: The ARL has been used to calculate error type I by the following expression ARL=(1)/(a) for the in-control (IC) process state, where the AARL is an unconditional ARL value. The type I error allows analysis of the performance of the new chart design and it was possible to compare it to type I error of the traditional Shewhart control chart. The error type II (b) has the following expression via the unconditional ARL: ARL=(1)/(1-b).\n5. An illustrative example: We analyzed 25 samples of size 5 taken from a manufacturing process that produces parts used as car assembly components. The average is unknown and the standard deviation is known. The evaluated quality parameter was the external diameter of the samples, which had the specification of 14.50+-0.20 mm. Figure 4 shows the data histogram, where there was stability with the normal process probability distribution, thus, Cp/Cpk was estimated.\n6. Discussion: The main concern of this research was to suggest a practical solution to a typical trend in production management: to reach a low probability of stopping the process when it meets customer and project requirements (Montgomery, 2009). The studied literature highlighted the relevance of studies that adopted alternative measures to improve the capacity of generating better practical decisions. The alternative measures include the use of practical variables, such as the time to reset the process and the increase in production costs (Wan et al., 2018); the use of complementary and simplified statistics methods, such as: analysis of means for comparing means and variances in fixed-effects models (Jayalath and Ng, 2018); the use of PCI (Cp and Cpk) jointly with process control (Subramani and Balamurali, 2012) and the satisfaction of customer requirements, considering the capability indices (Oprime and Mendes, 2017).\n7. Conclusion: This study suggested a new procedure to calculate the CL of the X-bar chart, which allows economic decisions about the process to be made. By introducing a permissible average variation and defining three regions for statistical CL in the traditional X-bar control chart, a new design is proposed.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The traditional Shewhart control chart, the X-bar and R/S chart, cannot give support to decide when it is not economically feasible to stop the process in order to remove special causes. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a new control chart design - a modified acceptance control chart, which provides a supportive method for decision making in economic terms, especially when the process has high capability indices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors made a modeling expectation average run length (ARL), which incorporates the probability density function of the sampling distribution of Cpk, to compare and analyze the efficiency of the proposed design.\nFindings: This study suggested a new procedure to calculate the control limits (CL) of the X-bar chart, which allows economic decisions about the process to be made. By introducing a permissible average variation and defining three regions for statistical CL in the traditional X-bar control chart, a new design is proposed.\nOriginality/value: A framework is presented to help practitioners in the use of the proposed control chart. Two new parameters (Cp and Cpk) in addition to m and n were introduced in the expected ARL equation. The Cpk is a random variable and its probability function is known. Therefore, by using a preliminary sample of a process under control, the authors can test whether the process is capable or not.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Implementing innovative financial models in different cultures: A comparative analysis of China and Mexico
|
[
"China",
"Mexico",
"Bottom of the pyramid",
"Finance culture",
"Microcredits",
"Microfinance institutions (MFIs)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Financial innovation is a trending topic in today's globalized knowledge economy era. Financial markets are continuously innovating in order to keep the pace of accelerated global economic development. These can take the form of financial product innovations, or financial process innovations. However, the majority of the innovations are focused on reallocating risk, increasing liquidity, reducing agency costs, transaction costs, and taxes or circumventing regulatory constraints (Finnerty, 2001). Imperfections also stimulate financial innovation as it become the optimal responses to incomplete markets or asymmetric information (Tufano, 2003).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Financial innovation\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Data collection\n4. Results: The results show (see Table IV) that in 11 out of 13 statements, the responses are statistically significant, nine of them being at a level of 0.1 percent. As a result, we can conclude that the two sample groups from Shanghai and Mexico are different in their attitudes toward materialism and credit, this result supports H1.\n5. Modifications suggested in the Yunus model for implementation in China and Mexico: Financial innovation has been blamed for causing volatility and tax-avoidance, and ultimately benefiting only a few. However, innovative financial models like the Yunus model have deep social impact, giving the poorest access to credit. The Yunus model has been successfully implemented in Bangladesh, but before exporting the model to other countries, cultural differences should be considered in order to adapt the model if necessary. We analyzed two developing countries, China and Mexico, both with significant wealth inequality and where microcredits are important for those at the BOP. Both countries have many similarities, although some important differences also exist. These differences are behind our proposals for implementation of the model.\n6. Conclusions: Successful innovative financial models such as the Yunus model evolved in, and adapted to, a very specific cultural, political, and economic context. Innovative financial models successful in their country of origin need to be specifically adapted to other cultures by assessing cultural differences, although cultures sharing similar characteristics would require less adaptation of the model than cultures with more significant differences. In financial models, pragmatism, uncertainty avoidance, and indulgence are particularly important. In order to implement an innovative financial model successfully, cultural differences should be taken into account, it will help to forecast if the model can be easily taken up or whether major changes will be required.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present evidence about cultural differences between Mexico and China, and analyze their significance when implementing an innovative financial model. Specifically, the authors analyzed the case of the Yunus model (or Grameen model), originally developed in Bangladesh and further implemented in China and Mexico.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper uses a comparative quantity study to test the cultural difference which affects the innovative financial model implementation. A materialism and credit overuse value scale (Ponchio and Aranha, 2008; Richins, 2011; Roberts and Jones, 2001) is applied to analyze cultural differences with a sample of 250 people in each country.\nFindings: The results show that the survey responses are statistically significantly different in these two countries. The Mexican sample shows a greater affinity with luxury and bragging. The Chinese sample shows more responsibility toward credit. Recommendations for the implementation of the innovative financial model considering cultural differences are suggested.\nPractical implications: Based on the survey results, gender equality, greater caution with young borrowers, financial education programs, and strict liability agreements to ensure credit repayment, especially for Mexico, are suggested, with the aim of enabling microfinance institutions to increase the successful implementation of the Yunus model in China and Mexico.\nOriginality/value: There are few existing cultural comparisons between China and Mexico. Therefore, one of the relevant contributions of this work is to shed light on the cultural differences of these two important emerging economies for future research. Additionally, the authors applied a materialism and credit overuse value scale developed to assess consumer behavior as a proxy for culture. The results are relevant for further usage of this scale as a tool to help adapt innovative financial models for application in other cultures.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Formation of strategic networks under high uncertainty of a megaproject
|
[
"Case studies",
"Networks",
"Projects",
"Business-to-Business marketing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Strategic networks, i.e. intentionally created business networks characterized by reciprocity, distinct value creation logics and specific purposes (Gulati et al., 2000; Moller and Rajala, 2007), have always existed between cooperating and competing business actors. The smallest of the networks may be only triads, but the largest may involve dozens of members. Some strategic networks may be created for limited periods of a couple of months to develop a particular technology-based service (Heikkinen et al., 2007); others may be alliances intended to last for years or decades (Paquin and Howard-Grenville, 2013). An increase in the number of actors as well as the longevity of the network operations are likely to complicate network management, and to increase the uncertainty felt by all of the actors. We know that the further away an actor is from the hub of the network, the slower and the more limited the information transfer to it is, which again increases the uncertainty felt by the actor. In particular, many smaller companies are often potential second- or third-tier suppliers in large projects but possess inadequate resources and experience limited risk-taking capability required for project participation under circumstances of high uncertainty (McGrath and O'Toole, 2013). In this study, we examine strategic network formation carried out by second-tier actors under high uncertainty of megaprojects.\n2. Characteristics of business networks and their formation in a megaproject context: Organizations always become parts of larger business systems through dynamic social, economic and professional exchange relationships (Gulati et al., 2000; Hakansson and Snehota, 1989; Ritter et al., 2004). These networks consist of groups of nodes, i.e. network actors or positions occupied by them, that are interconnected by relationships and that are engaged in organized economic activities (Brass et al., 2004; Hakansson and Ford, 2002). Networks are loose or tight, depending on the depth, quantity and type of the relationships between the actors (Thorelli, 1986). Strategic networks are characterized by dense, reciprocal and long-term relationships, in which the actors share a value system that also defines their roles and responsibilities (Achrol, 1997; Achrol and Kotler, 1999). They can consist of vertical and horizontal inter-organizational ties between suppliers, customers, competitors and other entities that are both lasting and of strategic importance to network members (Gulati et al., 2000). Different strategic networks are based on different value creation logics, but all are guided by strategic intent (Moller and Rajala, 2007).\n3. Methodology: We adopted critical realism as an ontological basis for our research. Critical realism assumes there is an objective real world that is independent of our interpretations of it, but it also acknowledges that our understanding of the world is always subjective (Welch et al., 2011). Therefore, to understand the phenomenon under study, a researcher must interpret the subjective meanings constituting it, and do so in light of the intrinsic causal facilities of the involved objects and entities (Welch et al., 2011). By interpreting the subjective accounts of people involved in a social phenomenon, and by examining the contextual peculiarities, in light of the general understanding, deeper knowledge of the reality can be achieved.\n4. Results of the case analysis findings: 4.1 Developments and the uncertainties in the megaproject\n5. Conclusions and implications: 5.1 Theoretical contributions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the formation of strategic networks between second-tier actors in the context of a construction megaproject. The research question addressed is: How do second-tier strategic networks form in high uncertainty projects?\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative single-case study, which examines strategic network formation in the context of a nuclear power plant construction project. Focused interviews with parties involved or having an interest in the megaproject were used as the primary data collection method.\nFindings: The conditions for network formation in a megaproject context are specified with a focus on the determinants of uncertainty. A total of six second-tier network types with different formation conditions and potential roles in the project are characterized.\nResearch limitations/implications: Analyzing the prerequisites of strategic network formation and examining the characteristics of various networks (that are either planned, taking shape or existing between the companies) in this specific context creates a basis for further study of network formation over network levels.\nPractical implications: The formation of strategic networks is critical for many actors in the construction and related industries who are willing to participate in large projects. With the help of our findings, managers are able to define opportunities to orchestrate early phase network formation processes in uncertain circumstances, such as megaprojects.\nOriginality/value: The contribution of this paper lies in the close examination of strategic network formation from the second-tier actor perspective under circumstances of high uncertainty related to the early phases of megaprojects. Likewise, the illustration of different types of evolving nets in different phases of uncertain projects offers a contribution to the present discussion on strategic nets.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Images of responsible consumers: organizing the marketing of sustainability
|
[
"Consumer",
"Marketing",
"Practice theory",
"Marketing-as-practice",
"Sustainable",
"Qualitative method",
"Images"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There is a consensus among academics and practitioners that the marketing of sustainability is crucial for the success of sustainable retailing strategies and programs. The argument is that by marketing sustainable products and sustainability initiatives, retailers can construct customer value, build a favourable brand image, and increase demand for sustainable products (Anselmsson and Johansson, 2007; Cacho-Elizondo and Loussaief, 2010; Girod and Bryane, 2003; Jones et al., 2005b).\nMarketing-as-practice: a theoretical perspective: Practice theory is one of the theoretical resources used within the emergent field of marketing-as-practice (Skalen and Hackley, 2011) and has been used to analyse how marketing constructs markets (Araujo, 2007; Kjellberg and Helgesson, 2006, 2007), how value is formed and re-formed in and through service marketing/consumption practices (Echeverri and Skalen, 2011; Korkman, 2006), and to reconceptualise different forms of marketing work such as corporate branding (Jarventie-Thesleff et al., 2011). According to Schatzki, a practice approach involves analyses that \"develop an account of practices\" and/or \"treat the field of practices as the place to study the nature and transformation of their subject matter\" (Schatzki, 2001, p. 2).\nMethod and materials: an ethnographic study: The marketing of sustainable retailing is here explored through an ethnographic study of three Swedish retail chains: Ahlens, Boomerang, and Myrorna.\nMarketing sustainabilities: results and analysis: The three retailers - Ahlens, Boomerang, and Myrorna - and their marketing practices are described and analysed below. The analysis shows that, although the marketing activities carried out are similar, the way that sustainability is framed varies. These differences can be traced to varying images of consumers held by the organizations and reinforced through their marketing work. Guided by different ideas about the characteristics of an ideal responsible consumer, these retailers work to enable sustainable consumption in various ways. For the sake of clarity, the cases are presented and analysed sequentially.\nThe enactment of sustainabilities and images of responsible consumers as configuring agents: This analysis has demonstrated that retailers enact sustainability in various ways. While the activities carried out and the devices enlisted in the marketing work of these retailers are similar, the way sustainability is framed and presented as meaningful to consumers varies among the three cases. In each case, retail sustainability and sustainable consumption becomes something different. In each case, a specific set of problems is emphasized and a retailer-specific sustainability \"solution\" is offered.\nConclusions and contributions: How can this analysis contribute to the emergent field of sustainable retailing?\nManagerial implications: This analysis has several implications for retail practitioners.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain what organizes the marketing of retail sustainability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Theoretically, this paper takes a marketing-as-practice approach and makes use of practice theory to conceptualize the marketing of sustainability. Methodologically, an ethnographic study of three Swedish retail chains and their marketing work has been conducted. Interviews with management, observations made at the stores of these three retailers and various marketing texts and images produced by these retailers form the material analysed.\nFindings: This paper illustrates three different ways of marketing and enacting sustainability. It shows that sustainability is framed differently and, indeed, enacted differently in order to fit various ideas about who are the responsible consumers. The argument is that rather than consumer demand, supply pressure or media scandals, the marketing of sustainability is in each of the cases studied configured around a specific notion of the responsible consumer. What sustainability work is marketed, through which devices it is marketed, and how it is framed is guided by an idea of whom the retailers' responsible consumers are, what their lifestyles are, and what they will be interested in. Images of responsible consumers work as configuring agents around which retailing activities and devices are organized.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the marketing of sustainability and offers a new explanation about what it is that influences the various approach to sustainable marketing taken by retailers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Family-friendly work perceptions: a cross country analysis
|
[
"Gender",
"Entrepreneurialism",
"Equal opportunities",
"Women workers",
"Gender differences",
"Family-friendly organizations"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: \"The world is in the midst of the most dramatic transformation in the nature of work and family since the industrial revolution\" (Hill et al., 2004). Scholars have identified family and work issues as salient international research concerns (Allen, 2001; Bianchi and Milkie, 2010). These issues can be recognized by monikers such as work/life balance and family-friendly work (FFW) practices. Scholars have categorized the types of work-family policies as human resource policies designed to reduce the conflict between work and family as well as providing flexibility to employees including family-care, flexible work arrangements, leaves of absence, stress reduction programs and reduced work hours (Allen, 2001; Arthur, 2003; Arthur and Cook, 2004; Gupta et al., 2009). For simplicity, this paper uses the term FFW perceptions (FFWP) to mean worker attitudes about human resource policies within organizations concerned with three broad types of policies: those related to dependent care, those related to flexible work arrangements and reduced work hours (Arthur, 2003).\nGender role attitudes and family-friendly work perceptions: Societies with traditional gender role attitudes espouse to the division of labor in which women are the caregivers and men are the economic providers (Hofstede, 2001, Mueller, 2004). In contrast, non-traditional gender role attitudes, which do not specify a traditional gender-based division of labor, are indicative of societies with positive FFWP (Parboteeah et al., 2008). The dramatic changes in the workforce, including dual-career couples and working parents with young children, has given rise to the need for FFW practices so that both genders can meet their workplace and family responsibilities (Allen, 2001).\nCountry institutional profile and family-friendly work perceptions: The paper extends the employee perception research of Allen (2001) and considers FFWP from a country-level IP. The research focuses on the three pillars of institutional theory (Scott, 1995): cognitive, normative, and regulatory, and how they drive workplace perceptions of FFW practices. As a basis for considering the country-level factors, the paper draws from the country level profile, a theoretically sound concept that measures institutional country-level dimensions that affect organizations (Kostova, 1997; Kostova, 1999). \"The country-level effects on organizational and human behavior are central to the field of international management\" (Kostova, 1997). The paper uses the contextual pillars in the Kostova's (1997) country-profile framework, the cognitive element (shared knowledge in a society), the normative/cultural element (societal values and norms) and the regulatory element (society laws, rules and regulations), for measuring FFWP differences in countries. See Figure 1, a conceptual model.\nMethods: Sample\nResults: Multi-level country model\nDiscussion: From a multi-level viewpoint, this research is the first to comprehensively consider the cognitive, normative and regulatory country-level institutional factors' influences on FFWP. This research has implications for MNEs, international entrepreneurs and human resource managers in increasing the understanding of the effect of country-level institutional factors on FFWP. Theoretical contributions include evidence of the utility of the country IP (Kostova, 1999) to further test a comprehensive theoretical model that extends the previous institutional and national culture research (Parboteeah et al., 2008). The paper extends the research of institutional theory beyond the focus primarily on culture (Hofstede, 2001; House et al., 2004; Tsyganova and Shirokova, 2010; Verheul et al., 2005).\nManagerial implications: Consistent with the transformation of work and family, a long-term partnership was announced on February 1, 2011 between the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and the Family Work Institute (FWI) (2011). SHRM is a global human resource management association representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries. FWI is a \"nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that studies the changing workforce, family and community\". As a preeminent think-tank, FWI is known for being ahead of the curve, identifying emerging issues, and then conducting rigorous research that often challenges common wisdom, provides insight and knowledge. \"As an action-tank, [they] conduct numerous studies that put [their] research into action and then evaluate the results\". The key initiative of their partnership is addressing \"The way businesses and government view and support effective and flexible work places\" and has been singled out as \"what may be the most important issue facing the 21st century workplace\".\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: An international archival data set resulting from a survey of workers in 27 countries is studied, examining certain individual factors affecting family-friendly work perceptions (FFWP) beginning within the USA and, then, studying FFWP across a select group of six countries, specifically comparing the USA to Bulgaria, Denmark, Japan, Russia and South Africa.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper reviews studies on gender differences affecting FFWP, focusing on International Social Survey Programme Work Orientation III Survey 2005.\nFindings: The six-country comparative analysis shows differences: in the demographic factors in the effects of gender, age and marital status, and the work context factors of number of work hours and type of employer on FFWP; FFWP for those who are self-employed (entrepreneurs), government workers, those working for public companies and those working for private companies and self-employed (entrepreneurial) workers show greater appreciation for family-friendly work practices than those who are government workers and those working for public and private companies.\nResearch limitations/implications: Limitations of this research include the drawbacks of using secondary data such as the method of data collection, the quality of cross-national data and the fit between the manifest variable survey responses with the latent construct.\nPractical implications: Managers need to be aware of the importance of family-friendly work practices to their employee base. Failure to match the desired level of FFWP could lead to a less productive and unhappy workforce.\nSocial implications: Cultural effects were found in the results, indicating that demographics have differing effects across cultures, but workplace factors are constant across cultures.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides valuable information on gender differences across cultures.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Swedish politicians' view of obstacles when dealing with priority settings in health care
|
[
"Decision making",
"Interviews",
"Qualitative research",
"Prioritization",
"Healthcare politicians"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Healthcare priority setting occurs on every level of policy making in every healthcare system in the world (Ham, 1997). As Goddard et al. (2006) states, priority setting in healthcare is undoubtedly a complex phenomenon. It is important that priority settings are made transparently and equally, on the same grounds regardless of who is behind the decision. In Sweden healthcare priorities are set at various levels, partly by healthcare politicians and partly by physicians and other healthcare staff. However, politicians and physicians do not always share the same views about how priorities should be made and how healthcare costs should be financed (Werntoft and Edberg, 2009a, b). According to earlier studies, the confidence that older people (Werntoft et al., 2005) and physicians (Werntoft and Edberg, 2009a, b) have in healthcare politicians is weak. If those responsible for rationing fail to confront the dilemmas directly, public confidence in the legitimacy of their decisions and those charged with making them will be undermined (Ham and Coulter, 2001). In order to understand and entrust the politicians' ambitions it thus seems important to identify and describe their view of obstacles when dealing with healthcare priority settings.\nAim: The aim in this study was to identify and describe main obstacles for politicians when dealing with healthcare priority setting.\nMethod: Participants and data collection\nAnalysis: The purpose of the method used in this study was to gain information based on the participants' unique perspectives and grounded in the actual data (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). The text was analysed using an inductive approach, also described as conventional qualitative content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). The analysis was performed in several steps. At first the transcribed text was read and re-read independently by the two authors, to achieve immersion and gain a sense of the whole material. After discussing the impressions of the text a structure for the analysis was decided on. In the next step, meaning units, i.e. parts of the text such as sentences or utterances related to the aim of the study, were identified. The new text, composed of meaning units, was then reread and codes embracing the content of this text were identified. Codes of similar content were then grouped into meaningful clusters. This process was reflective, comparing the codes and the text and in discussion between the authors. In the last step the texts from the ten so called meaningful clusters were read and rearranged into four main categories (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005).\nResults: The politicians' reasoning about prioritization in healthcare was based on their own experience as well as on their perception of how prioritization ought to be done, and could be understood in four categories:\nDiscussion: The aim in this study was to identify and describe main obstacles for politicians when dealing with healthcare priority setting. All politicians in this study emphasized the importance of, and difficulties in mediating the political mission to the citizens not least because of the role media plays. This fact has been highlighted in earlier studies (Larsson, 2002; Van Aelst et al., 2008; Brants et al., 2010). Occasional irritation and contradictions between politicians and journalists seems to constantly occur, sometimes genuine but sometimes as \"a part of the game\" (Larsson, 2002). The relationship between media and politicians is, however, twofold: journalists need politicians' information and politicians need journalists for reaching out to the public or voters (Van Aelst et al., 2008). In Sweden there is the Freedom of Information Law, which gives journalists access to documents and freedom to reach administrative premises. Journalists can obtain most of the material they want, by virtue of this law (Larsson, 2002). Larsake Larsson, who himself is a journalist, interviewed 21 journalists and 19 politicians about their relationship and found, among other things, that norms were often set aside, especially among journalists, in order to achieve strategic goals (Larsson, 2002). Larsson meant that it is possible to imagine a journalist's drive to find a scoop and his unwillingness to admit that an article is written for personal reasons. However, both sides kept various strategies hidden from each other, for example, the politicians admitted that they leak information, but officials denied it. Leaks are part of the normal interaction between media and politic, according to Larsson (2002). Brants et al. (2010) described that media has three roles; to inform, to provide a platform for dialog among citizens and to have a control function and are seen as a socially responsible roles to play in a democracy. As watchdogs, journalists perform the role of solicitor for the citizens. Citizens do not have time, tools or publicity opportunities to control those they elected to power. Brants et al. (2010) concluded that it takes two to tango but they are unsure of who here leads the dance and call it a spiral of cynicism. Thus it seems to be a democratic part of the game that media plays a watchdog's role and that was, however, how the politicians in this study saw them. It could, however, be that important but unpleasant priority decisions do not take place because of the risk of being badly mediated and thereby run the risk of not be re-elected as politician, which in turn influence how effectively tax money are being used.\nConclusion: Aspects influencing politicians' decision making were the risk of taking unpleasant decisions as they thereby run the risk of being scrutinized by media which in turn could affect their possibility to be re-elected. This might influence how effectively tax money is being used. Another aspect influencing their decision making was the length of the budget and election periods, which sometimes prevented them from taking long-term decisions as the effects from, for example, health promotion programmes were not shown in the short-term perspective. Thus these decisions ought to be taken in a broad political agreement independently of political majority.\nMethodological considerations: The findings of this study have to be valued in the light of methodological aspects. One vital aspect in qualitative research is the quality of the data collected. One threat to this could be the participants' skills and experience in interview situations, giving general answers instead of arguments on a deeper level. However, promise of confidentiality in the study and the serious and thoughtful way the politicians argued in the interviews, decreased this threat. The interviews contained comprehensive narratives based on the politicians' unique perspective. Further, the sampling technique was structured to capture complexity and to maximize diversity of views and experiences concerning the topic (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). The participants thus represented a variation in age, gender, experience and political opinions. In order to strengthen the trustworthiness, both authors took part in the analysis, first independently and the together. Also quotes from the participants are presented to validate the findings.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe main obstacles for politicians when dealing with healthcare priority setting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study had an exploratory descriptive design based on interviews with 18 politicians from two different county councils in Sweden. The interviews were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis.\nFindings: The politicians highlighted the importance of, and difficulties in, communicate political missions; the politicians in this study saw the media as not always being fair watchdogs, implying that possibly important but unpopular prioritizing decisions were not made because of the risks of being badly reported and therefore not re-elected. Breaking up established structures in care practice is difficult and change takes time, partly because of existing higher level financing and rules and the system's traditional separation of facilities and services. Although the politicians highlighted their limited power to influence and control resource allocation they could give small and \"lower profile\", low-prioritized disciplines control of their own budgets and base payments on the results the disciplines accomplished.\nOriginality/value: This study highlights the difficulties that politicians experience, for example, having to take unpleasant decisions and thereby run the risk of being scrutinized by media, which in turn could influence how effectively tax money is being used.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The effect of social capital on exploratory and exploitative innovation: Modelling the mediating role of absorptive capability
|
[
"Social capital",
"Innovation",
"Exploitative innovation",
"Exploratory innovation",
"Absorptive capability"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The changing business environment characterised by uncertainty and intense competition requires firms to engage in both exploratory and exploitative innovation for sustained performance (He and Wong, 2004; Jansen et al., 2009). To achieve sustained performance firms may have to source for knowledge from both within as well as outside their boundaries. Social capital (SC) is deemed an invaluable asset for firms (Adler and Kwon, 2002; Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998). Consistent with the relational view (Dyer and Singh, 1998; Lavie, 2006) and the knowledge-based view (Grant, 1996; Spender, 1996), networks of relationships are inherent with knowledge resources and capabilities that can be sources of competitive advantage. Researchers have pointed out the role of SC in knowledge transfer (Inkpen and Tsang, 2005; Tsai, 2001) and the ability of firms to innovate (Cuevas-Rodriguez et al., 2014; Landry et al., 2002; Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998; Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005). Despite the relevance of SC, there is less systematic empirical evidence on the effects of different facets of SC on the strategic exploratory and exploitative innovative capabilities of firms. This is particularly so in less technology-intensive settings such as project-based construction contractor firms.\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: 2.1 SC\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Setting, sample and data collection\n4. Results: 4.1 Measurement model validation\n5. Discussion of findings: The study was to provide an insight into the relationship (direct and indirect) between SC facets and innovation categories in firms. It responds to calls for a better understanding of the links between different aspects of SC and innovation types (Cuevas-Rodriguez et al., 2014; Zheng, 2010). Based on relevant literature, hypotheses of direct and indirect effects of internal and external facets of SC on exploratory and exploitative innovation were tested, with AC as a mediating variable. The results of our study show direct and indirect routes by which construction contractor firms can improve their capability for exploratory and exploitative innovation through the use of knowledge resources accessed through relationships both within and beyond the boundaries of a firm. Specifically, the study reveals that both intra-firm and inter-firm relationships influence strategic exploitative innovation in construction contractor firms directly as well as indirectly through AC. These findings reinforce the notion that SC among members of an organisation or with external parties (through constant social interactions and cooperation) facilitate the refinement of existing technologies and solutions (Jansen et al., 2006; Kang et al., 2012). These findings are consistent with the relational view (Dyer and Singh, 1998) and knowledge-based view (Grant, 1996) and suggest that firms can develop competitive advantage from knowledge accessed through relationships. The link between ISC and exploitation corroborates the findings of some empirical studies that also found a positive relationship between ISC and exploitation in units (e.g. Jansen et al., 2006; Mura et al., 2014) but contrasts the findings of Lin et al. (2017) who found no significant effect of overall SC on exploitative innovation despite the differences in the operationalisation of SC.\n6. Implications for theory and practice: 6.1 Theoretical contribution and implications\n7. Limitations and future research directions: The study has highlighted the effects (direct and indirect) of internal and external SC on exploratory and exploitative innovation in construction contractor firms. Despite these findings, some limitations of the study are recognised, which provide avenues for future research. First, our research design is cross-sectional, where the responses are perceptual and self-reported. Despite the level of acceptance of such designs in innovation research, a longitudinal design with objective measures or archival data would help enhance our ability to make claims about causality.\n8. Conclusion: The increasing dynamism coupled with turbulent competition requires firms to engage in exploratory and exploitative innovation for sustained performance. Researchers, however, are yet to holistically uncover the direct and indirect influences of internal and external facets of SC on firm exploratory and exploitative innovation. Drawing on the relational and knowledge-based views and innovation, this study finds that both aspects of SC are necessary for exploratory and exploitative innovation. It contributes to better clarity with regards to how aspects of SC may affect exploratory and exploitative innovation directly or indirectly. This study is a significant step towards increasing understanding of the relationship between SC and innovation. It responds to calls for more research on the management of exploratory and exploitative innovation in firms, and how different resources affect exploration and exploitation. Not only does it provide nuance to the SC-innovation relationship but also reveals how firms can enhance innovative ability by developing their AC.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to advance new insights into how internal and external social capital (SC) facets influence exploratory and exploitative innovation directly, and indirectly through absorptive capability (AC), by drawing on the relational and knowledge-based views.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper empirically tests the developed model using 135 survey responses from managers in construction contractor firms. Data were factor analysed, and path estimates determined using partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses.\nFindings: The results reveal that each social capital (SC) facet has direct benefits for both exploratory and exploitative innovation. The findings also show a mix of full and partial mediation paths between the facets of SC and innovation types through AC.\nOriginality/value: Extant research linking SC facets with innovation categories is fragmented. Added to this fragmentation is the dearth of studies linking both intra-firm and inter-firm SC with exploratory and exploitative innovation in firms. This paper makes a novel contribution by testing a model of the direct and indirect links (through AC) between internal and external SC and both exploratory and exploitative innovation in the context of construction contractor firms. The findings show how both facets of SC are necessary for exploratory and exploitative innovation. It reveals the types of relationships and capabilities necessary for specific innovation objectives.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Future temporal focus in resilience research: when leader resilience provides a role model
|
[
"Employee resilience",
"Temporal focus",
"Leader resilience"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In modern work environment, frequent organizational changes and increased uncertainty require that employees learn to work effectively under enormous pressure, heavier work loadings and diverse environmental demands (Kuntz et al., 2016). To positively adapt during and following challenging events, the need for employee resilience has never been greater (Robertson et al., 2015). Resilience includes not merely the capabilities to bounce back from negative emotional experiences but also the capabilities to navigate to resources that enhance personal well-being (Sools and Mooren, 2012; Ungar and Lerner, 2008; Ungar and Liebenberg, 2009). For example, research has found that people with high resilience would proactively cultivate resources such as positive emotions, and use it to bounce back from adverse experiences (Tugade and Fredrickson, 2004). Previous research studies have shown that high resilience is associated to desired work behaviors and attitudes such as high performance, organizational citizen behaviors and commitment (see Robertson et al., 2015; Vanhove et al., 2016).\nThe relationship between leaders' resilience and subordinates' resilience: There has been growing interest in understanding employee resilience within organizational science (Britt et al., 2016). Over decades, resilience research has gone through several stages (see a review in Fleming and Ledogar, 2008). Early research focused on dispositional perspective of resilience, more recently research has departed from the dispositional view of resilience and recognized its malleable nature (Naswall et al., 2015). Given that different focus on resilience research, it has been most commonly defined as positive adaptation when facing adversity (Fleming and Ledogar, 2008). In line with contemporary resilience literature, this study proposes that \"employee resilience is demonstrated not only in response to crisis, but also as part of business-as-usual, and signifies the ability and motivation to capitalize on organizational resources.\" (Kuntz et al., 2017b, p. 419). Followed Kuntz and colleagues' (2017b) work, this study examined employee resilience as a behavioral construct, rather than an attitude or a disposition. And employee resilience is defined as an employee capability to utilize resources to positively adapt and thriving at work while facing challenging environment (Naswall et al., 2013, 2015).Some research studies indicated that leaders' behavior would be a factor worth investigating with regard to resilience (i.e. Harland et al., 2005). Leaders are in a unique position to demonstrate how challenging events are made sense of, interpreted and understood by their subordinates (Bartone, 2006). And leaders' resilient behaviors may directly influence their subordinates' behaviors. Based on social learning theory (Bandura and Walters, 1977), the primary theoretical mechanisms proposed for the resilience contagion process from leader to subordinate is social learning, observation and modeling (Story et al., 2013). Through actions and words, the high-resilience leaders lead by example, providing subordinates with a role model of the response to negative experiences (Bartone, 2006). Such modeling is include positive cognitions and behaviors such as setting and pursuing challenging goals, creative problem-solving, positive appraisals of situations and positive expectancies about future success (Story et al., 2013). Doing so enable leaders to demonstrate that adverse events provide some opportunities to learn and thrive (Bartone, 2006).Besides, a high-resilience leader also facilitates subordinates' ability to adjust in challenging situations. For example, through demonstration of how missions are planned, discussed, scheduled and executed, and also as to how mistakes and failures are fixed and interpreted (Bartone, 2006). Previous study also found that leaders' resilient behavior has a positive impact on subordinates' resilience (Harland et al., 2005). Even without direct interaction, leaders' resilience has a contagion effect on employees (Story et al., 2013). Specifically, if leaders' specific ability can complement their subordinates' needs on that specific situation, leaders may powerfully facilitate their subordinates' ability to perform in that domain (Wang et al., 2014). To sum up, we propose that resilient leaders proved subordinates with a role model, thus enhance subordinates' resilience through social learning process.H1. Leaders' resilience is positively related to subordinates' resilience.\nThe moderating role of future temporal focus: The importance of investigating temporal issues in organizational contexts has been recognized by a number of scholars (e.g. Ancona et al., 2001; Bluedorn, 2002; Bluedorn and Jaussi, 2008; Goodman et al., 2001; Seijts, 1998), especially in positive organizational behavior literature (Youssef and Luthans, 2007) and leaders-followers relationship (Bluedorn and Denhardt, 1988). Surprisingly, even though temporal research in organizational settings has been considered as crucial issues, only a few studies have investigated the impact of future-oriented cognition for work behavior and attitudes empirically (e.g. Foo et al., 2009; Shipp et al., 2009; Strobel et al., 2013).Future-oriented cognition, the ability to envision future events and states and to shape one's behavior accordingly, has been called \"one of the most adaptive capacities of the human mind\" (Szpunar et al., 2007, p. 642). This individual difference characteristic of the extent to which one devote attention to the future (Bluedorn, 2002; Nuttin, 1985; Shipp et al., 2009) has been termed future orientation (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999) or future temporal focus (Shipp et al., 2009). Future-oriented cognition has been shown to be related to a number of functional behaviors (e.g. industriousness, conscientiousness, planning and efficiency: Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999; goal-setting, motivation and achievement strivings: Karniol and Ross, 1996), positive organizational behaviors (e.g. Youssef and Luthans, 2007), as well as proactive work behaviors (e.g. Foo et al., 2009; Parker and Collins, 2010).Interestingly, while there are a few studies showing that future-oriented cognition is critical in relationship between leader and followers (e.g. Bluedorn and Jaussi, 2008), its moderating influence on such relationship has not been investigated so far. Thus, in the present article, we investigate leaders' future-oriented cognition or future temporal focus as a moderator on the proposed relationship between leader resilience and subordinate resilience. The reason is that resilient leaders' future temporal focus and the future-oriented environment they create can also influence the extent to which their subordinates devote attention to the future (Lord et al., 1999). Resilient leaders' ability to envision future events or states and their temporal perspective of how to react adverse events can have a moderating influence on the way their subordinates to perceive their resilient behaviors (Bluedorn and Jaussi, 2008). Resilient leaders can help subordinates to link current adverse events to long-term development, and \"create a cognitive bridge from self-views to possible selves\" (Lord et al., 1999, p. 183). Doing so enable resilient leaders shift their subordinates' attention of adverse events to the future, and increase subordinates' motivation, sustain them through current setbacks and create more positive affective responses (Lord et al., 1999). Therefore, we propose that the social learning effect of resilience between leaders and their subordinates would be stronger when the leaders hold future temporal focus. We draw a hypothesis as follows.H2. Future temporal focus moderates the leaders' resilience - subordinates' resilience relationship such that future temporal focus strengthens the positive relationship between leaders' resilience and subordinates' resilience.\nMethod: Participants and procedure\nResults: Descriptive and correlation analysis\nDiscussion: The results of this study contribute to our understanding of employee resilience in several ways. First, this study introduces temporal focus into resilience research, and verity the future temporal focus moderates the relationship between leaders' resilience and subordinates' resilience. Though temporal issue has been recommended that it should be intricately tied to the study of resilience, prior resilience research has typically only considered objective time, or clock time, in resilience study (e.g. Britt et al., 2016). The current study directly test future temporal focus, namely paying attention to the future, as a means that leaders can take to build employee resilience, by considering the interactive effect of leader resilience and future temporal focus.Second, contrary to previous studies (i.e. Bartone, 2006; Story et al., 2013), this study found there is no significant relationship between leaders' resilience and subordinates' resilience. That is, leaders' resilience only influence on subordinates' resilience when considering the future temporal focus. These findings have some implications in resilience research and resilience-building interventions. Based on social learning theory (Bandura and Walters, 1977), the resilience contagion process of leader to subordinate is social learning, observation and modeling (Story et al., 2013). However, we found that it only happens under certain conditions. That is, the context may play a critical role in this process. For example, Bartone (2006)' research was executed in military, which is a strong context with highly hierarchical structure. However, this study conducted on general workplace and direct leaders' level of resilience. Therefore, the dynamic between leader and followers may be different. There is a need for future research efforts to devote greater specificity while investigating resilience.Third, although we did not assume these relationships, we found that leaders' resilience is positive related to their three types of temporal focus. In addition, psychologists have suggested that a future temporal perspective guides most psychological processes (Holman and Silver, 1998). There is some empirical evidence showing that future temporal focus may be particularly crucial to cope effectively with adversity (Holman and Silver, 1998). However, according to our findings, only future temporal focus magnified the relationship between leaders' resilience and subordinates' resilience. A possible explanation is from Foo and colleagues' (2009) work. Their study implied that leaders should be able to integrate different time periods to become successful in pursuing goals. Thus, a leader with high future temporal focus may not neglect the current situation, as knowledge of the present may be required to determine how one can achieve the desired goal (Foo et al., 2009). Overall, this study adopts the perspective of intricate ties between resilience and future temporal focus and puts forth a functional view of future temporal focus on the impact of leader resilience by directly envisioning the future. As such, this research enriches the resilience literature by providing another approach to consider future temporal focus.Limitations and future research suggestions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Despite more and more researchers recommend that time-related issues should be considered into the resilience research, temporal issue is still largely neglected in empirical domain. The purpose of this study is to introduce the concept of future temporal focus, while investigating whether and when leader resilience contributes to subordinates' level of conveyed resilience.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey responses from a two-source field study involving 222 supervisor-subordinate dyads were collected. Regression-based moderation and bootstrapping analyses were adapted to analyze data and test hypotheses by using the PROCESS syntax in SPSS software.\nFindings: Results showed that there is no significant effect of leader resilience on subordinate resilience. However, consistent with hypotheses, leader's future temporal focus and resilience had a significant interactive effect on subordinate's resilience. That is, when leaders had higher level of future temporal focus, their resilience would be positively correlated with subordinate resilience.\nPractical implications: The findings of the study provide important practical insights into developing relevant training and intervention programs in organizations to cultivate employee resilience. These can also be strengthened by encouraging leaders' future-oriented cognition on work-related domains and leader-member exchange relationship.\nOriginality/value: Overall, this study introduced temporal focus into resilience theory by providing evidence of its impacts on employee behaviors, and emphasized the important role of future temporal focus of leader.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
A time and place for sustainability
|
[
"Organizations",
"Management development",
"Management development intervention",
"Sustainability",
"Facilitation",
"Corporate responsibility",
"Organizational change"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nOverview: This paper is a descriptive case that outlines the experiences of two consultants facilitating a development workshop for a small group of organisational managers around sustainability. It forms part of an investigation concerning a broader hypothesis that organisational characteristics, such as the dominance of masculine constructs, limits meaningful engagement with sustainability issues (Allister, 2004; Frye, 1983).\nInforming theory: Sustainability presents both challenges and opportunities for organisations and yet when presented, these are often overlooked or constrained by existing, and sometimes, deeply held opinion, reaction and pre-judgement. Organisations and individuals have a tendency towards confirmation bias, and analyse, select and reframe information in ways that suit their mental models (Senge, 1990). This leads to a narrow range of possible responses defined by those who tend to \"enact the world for others\" (Grint, 2005; Hatch, 1997). These characteristics provide one possible explanation for organisations' limited embrace of the full implications of sustainability. They infer that the result will be more of the same dressed as difference, leaving little room for opportunities to change. In other words, future approaches will be an extrapolation of the dominant frames of the past.With this in mind, the management development intervention described in this paper attempted to offer a new perspective and provide an open and challenging framework for managers that mitigated the constraints and biases of pre-judgement and other past tendencies. The aim was to open up and connect the leaders to a wider sense of personal and organisational potential, and expand their range of engagement options. The consultants designing the intervention worked with a variety of techniques to create an experience that aimed to foster new ways of understanding the issue of sustainability.\nBackground and rationale: In early 2010, the consultants' organisation (ODConsult) was approached by the leadership team of a shipping company (ShipCo) to discuss how they might address the issues presented by sustainability. ShipCo was a specialist in shipping bulk materials such as pulp and non-ferrous metals and were aware that their role in commissioning and managing ships created sustainability issues. They were keen to act. They identified there was a need to transform the mind-sets of company individuals and, based on this information, ODConsult set about designing a tailored workshop intervention that, it was believed, supported individual and organisational change.Based on the challenges presented, and the consultants' own experiences, ODConsult thought that the most effective way to support the inquiry process was to create a \"dialogic space\" for the organisation's managers, that would facilitate openness and creativity around the topic of sustainability (Wegerif, 2010). The consultants decided the intervention should include a space and process with enough safety and novelty for participants to co-create and develop a vision for ShipCo's sustainability strategy. It was thought that this could be enhanced by introducing information that challenged the leaders' existing cognitions, including associated framings, categories and worldviews. Davies and Harre (1990) explain this more extensively:A subject position incorporates both a conceptual repertoire and a location for persons within the structure of rights for those that use that repertoire. Once having taken up a particular position as one's own, a person inevitably sees the world from the vantage point of that position and in terms of the particular images, metaphors, storylines and concepts which are made relevant within the particular discursive practice in which they are positioned.Based on theory concerned with transformational sustainability education (e.g. Kuenkel, 2008; Doppelt, 2003; Stibbe, 2009) and the consultants' own experience, the following were considered fundamental design criteria and key success factors to this management development intervention:\nThe process and emergent results: Pre-programme\nConsultants' reflections on the experience: Discursive spaces and risk taking\nImmediate and long-term impact: The two-day intervention noticeably deepened participants' connections with and understanding of sustainability, and at the end they celebrated what had been a rare and rich exploration. Through this process of rich dialogue, play and relatively \"unbounded expression[1]\" (Gergen, 2009) they co-created what became a unique definition and approach to sustainability for the company, which they defined for themselves.In the years since this event, ShipCo has gone on to take a leading role in a global sector level initiative that seeks to redefine a sustainable future for shipping. They also promoted one of their most respected technical managers to the position of head of sustainability, reporting into and working directly alongside the executive team. The organisation is also involved in four ground breaking sustainability projects, including new approaches to ship financing that enable low carbon retrofits for old ships and the development of new streamlining and energy performance technologies. All of these have the potential to shift the entire shipping sector onto a more sustainable footing, and the origins of these activities can be traced back to this workshop.\nWider application: the need for time and place: Although the approaches described in this paper are broadly applicable, the design criteria and key success factors outlined at the beginning of the paper require a significant investment in both time and place. This investment is likely to be considered inappropriate, particularly for senior managers. In turn, we will explain why each is important.Obtaining sufficient time from the leadership team\nConclusions: This paper has outlined the framework of a successful management development intervention for sustainability. It has given insights into the design of the intervention and presented reflections on the success of each design criteria. What it tells us is that in order to really come to terms with sustainability challenges, leaders need to make time to step away from their daily routine and relocate to a different place where they can challenge their current cognitions, values and beliefs, and immerse themselves in a different perspective altogether. HR and L&D specialists need to continue to push for dialogue and emergence in supporting their managers to make sense of the complex yet critical issues of sustainability.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to describe a management development intervention, facilitated by two consultants, to support the leaders of a multinational organisation to make sense of sustainability through experiential dialogue and engagement. Participants from different communities and organisations convened to develop an open and challenging framework for discussion.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The two-day, off-site intervention focused on what it means to create sustainability for the business in the long term, with a particular emphasis on the responsibilities faced by the leaders and the organisation's value chain. The workshop was designed around the principles of sensitizing, re-visioning and transforming.\nFindings: - The intervention supported participants to discuss and engage with sustainability and allowed them to increase their understanding and vision, at both a personal and organisational level. Success factors included developing a solid contract between the consultant and client, the role of trust, sufficient time, open but goal-directed facilitation skills, location congruence and being away from usual routines.\nOriginality/value: - Management development interventions for sustainability need to take leaders away from their usual settings and relocate to a different place where they can challenge their current cognitions, values and beliefs. Human resource/Learning and development specialists need to continue to support their managers to make sense of the complex yet critical issues of sustainability.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Performance measurement: Examining the applicability of the existing body of knowledge to nonprofit organisations
|
[
"Nonprofit organizations",
"Performance measurement (quality)",
"Systems and control theory"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Nonprofit organisations are under pressure to demonstrate their achievements (Campbell, 2002; Hoefer, 2000; Moxham and Boaden, 2007; Wainwright, 2003). As a result, nonprofit performance measurement is receiving increasing academic and practitioner attention (Cairns et al., 2005; Paton, 2003; Poister, 2003). Academic literature tends to focus on the complexities of nonprofit performance measurement (Kym and Scaife, 2005; Little, 2005; Stone and Ostrower, 2007) and a number of practitioner guides to measuring performance have been developed (Collins et al., 2003; Connexions, 2001; Cupitt, 2005). The design of nonprofit performance measurement systems, however, has received limited attention (Dart, 2004). This is in contrast to the well-established body of knowledge that focuses on performance measurement in private and public sector organisations. This paper argues that the performance measurement body of knowledge, which predominantly focuses on the private and public sectors, can be used to inform the design of performance measurement systems in nonprofit organisations.The paper examines the systems used to evaluate the performance of nonprofit organisations. Agreement has not been reached as to what is meant by a nonprofit organisation (Vincent and Harrow, 2005). Nonprofits able to demonstrate that they provide \"public benefit\" can be granted charitable status and are classed as charities; although there is no clear framing of what \"public benefit\" means. Not all nonprofit organisations are charities. Collections of terms, which appear to be used interchangeably, are used to describe organisations operating as not-for-profit. The list includes: voluntary, third sector, civil society and social enterprise (Morris, 2000). As consensus has not been reached on terminology, and because not all organisations that operate as not-for-profit are registered as charities, this paper uses the term nonprofit to describe any organisation whose charter prohibits the distribution of profits to officers or members. Organisations operating under this charter clearly differ from organisations operating in the private sector; however, differences between public and nonprofit organisations are less clear. Like public sector agencies, nonprofit organisations provide services that are often overlooked by the private sector. When considering the provision of such services, public sector organisations respond to majority preferences, whereas nonprofits respond to the collective needs of groups with particular interests (Feiock and Andrew, 2006). The majority of nonprofit organisations rely on funding and donations to deliver their services so are often keen to sustain public trust and confidence in their work (Glynn and Murphy, 1996). Nonprofits must sustain this public confidence against a backdrop of funding insecurity, a requirement to measure intangible outcomes and a plethora of stakeholder requirements (Little, 2005; Moxham and Boaden, 2007; Poister, 2003). Such factors pose particular challenges to measuring performance.The nonprofit sector has been described as unique, indicating that its practices differ markedly from its private and public sector counterparts (Allison, 1979; Nutt and Backoff, 1992). This paper challenges this view in the context of performance measurement system design. In designing performance measurement systems, private and public sector literature advocates the consideration of relevance, integration, balance, strategy and improvement (Bititci et al., 2005; de Bruijn and van Helden, 2006; Franco-Santos et al., 2007; Johnsen, 2005; Radnor and McGuire, 2004). This study argues that this body of knowledge is applicable to the nonprofit sector. It highlights that whilst studies on performance measurement have predominantly focused on private and public sector organisations, the distinctive characteristics of nonprofit organisations do not prohibit the application of this body of knowledge to the nonprofit sector. The study poses the following research questions:RQ1. Why measure the performance of nonprofit organisations?RQ2. How are performance measurement criteria developed for nonprofit organisations?RQ3. How is the performance of nonprofit organisations evaluated?The paper commences by examining the literature on the drivers and mechanisms used to measure performance and focuses on the private, public and nonprofit sectors in turn. The research methodology and the findings are then presented. The implications of the findings for nonprofit performance measurement system design are discussed. The paper concludes by outlining the limitations of the research and highlights the implications for practitioners and academics.\nReview of literature: Why do organisations measure performance?\nResearch methodology: The literature review highlighted a requirement for nonprofits to demonstrate their achievement but a dearth of research examining nonprofit performance measurement systems. This study explored whether the well-established body of knowledge on private and public sector performance measurement could be used to inform the design of nonprofit measurement systems. It posed the following research questions:RQ1. Why measure the performance of nonprofit organisations?RQ2. How are performance measurement criteria developed for nonprofit organisations?RQ3. How is the performance of nonprofit organisations evaluated?A case study approach was chosen as the research method because the study aimed to gather rich data on why and how performance is currently measured in nonprofits. To do this, data on the drivers for performance measurement and the systems used to measure performance were required. The unit of analysis was the nonprofit organisation. Six UK-based nonprofit organisations were selected against the following criteria:* The nonprofit organisation was in receipt of external funds.* The nonprofit organisation was required to provide feedback on its performance.These criteria allowed data to be collected on the current measurement practices used internally by the nonprofit. Data on the measurement requirements that were placed on the nonprofit organisation by its external funders were also collected.A matched pair approach was taken to ensure adequate usable data were collected, to augment external validity and to help safeguard against observer bias (Voss et al., 2002). Nonprofit literature emphasises the diversity of the sector (McLaughlin, 2004; Poister, 2003; Wainwright, 2003). To ensure validity, it was important to consider a range of nonprofit organisations and the following were selected:* Two locally focused nonprofits labelled Local A and Local B. Both focused on delivering community-based projects to local beneficiaries.* Two nationally focused nonprofits. National A specialised in providing national learning disability, mental health and substance misuse services. National B provided practical and emotional support for witnesses attending court.* Two internationally focused nonprofits. International A and International B specialised in international development projects.Appendix 1 provides details of the six nonprofits that were examined.Each nonprofit organisation participated in an initial interview in which key external funders were identified. As four of the nonprofits were registered as charities, they were required to report on their performance to a national charity regulator. The performance measurement requirements of the regulator were included in the study. Six case studies were examined. Each consisted of a nonprofit organisation, its funders and, if applicable, its regulator. (See Appendix 2 for details of the organisations that were included in each case study).The exploratory nature of the study led to the use of interviews as the method for gathering data. The interview protocol was developed and pilot tested in four nonprofit organisations. The pilot study revealed that unstructured questions produced a wealth of rich data, much of which was unrelated to the study, and structured questions did not allow each respondent to elaborate on their response if so desired. In light of these findings, a semi-structured format was used (see Appendix 3 for details). A total of 24 managers from 18 organisations were interviewed. All of the interviews were recorded on audiotape and transcribed verbatim. Contemporaneous notes were added to the end of the transcription. In addition to the interviews, the annual reports of all the organisations and documentation associated with the monitoring and evaluation of funding, including the web sites of the nonprofit, funding and regulatory organisations, were examined to corroborate the transcribed data to ensure validity.Data analysis consisted of three stages:1. developing the \"story\" of performance measurement for each nonprofit organisation;2. grouping the data into themes and trends; and3. analysing similarities and differences regarding performance measurement across the six case studies.In the first stage of the data analysis, first-level coding was used to examine the interview transcripts, and flow charts were used to present the \"story\" of performance measurement for each nonprofit organisation (Miles and Huberman, 1994; Rein and Schon, 1977). The resulting performance measurement flow charts were validated by each nonprofit organisation. The second stage consisted of pattern coding the wealth of qualitative data into a smaller number of themes and trends (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The measurement criteria used by organisations to assess the performance of nonprofits was compiled and the processes used to evaluate performance were established. The third stage of the data analysis involved a cross-case, comparative analysis to compare the drivers for performance measurement, the measurement criteria that were developed and the evaluation systems that were used to assess the performance of the six nonprofit organisations; full details are described in the findings.\nFindings: Why measure the performance of nonprofit organisations?\nDiscussion: The literature review highlighted a dearth of studies examining the design of nonprofit performance measurement systems. Whilst the nonprofit sector has been described as unique, when compared to the private and public sectors (Allison, 1979; Nutt and Backoff, 1992), the literature review showed similar drivers for measuring performance across the private, public and nonprofit sectors. The private and public sector performance measurement literature stresses the importance of relevant, integrated, balanced, strategic and improvement-oriented performance measurement systems. The findings of the study are discussed within this framework in order to examine the applicability of the existing body of knowledge to nonprofit organisations.Relevant: nonprofit financial reporting is linked to public sector accountability\nConclusion: The aim of the paper was to examine performance measurement systems in nonprofit organisations in order to ascertain whether the existing body of knowledge was applicable to nonprofits. The paper documented how the performance of six nonprofit organisations was assessed by their funding and regulatory organisations and by the nonprofit itself. The literature highlighted a requirement for nonprofits to demonstrate their achievements, but provided scant evidence as to how this could be achieved in practice. The study found that the drivers for, and the assessment of, performance in nonprofits were similar to those identified in the private and public sector literature. The key difference was that the criteria used to measure nonprofit performance were seldom linked to performance improvement; this is contrary to the practices advocated in the private and public sector literature. The study identified resource intensive performance measurement practices and found evidence of performance measurement detracting from the core activities of nonprofit organisations.The study is not without its limitations. The locally focused nonprofits were not registered charities so, unlike the nationally and internationally focused nonprofits, they did not have to report on their performance to a national charity regulator. This added a variable that could have been standardised in the research design by selecting nonprofit organisations that had the same charitable status. In addition, the research could have been designed to select nonprofits from the same specific sector (for example, health or social services) to ensure a consistent context for performance measurement.The findings from the study have implications for practice. Whilst it is acknowledged that this study has examined a small sample of nonprofits, the detailed findings have identified potential weaknesses in the practice of measuring the performance of nonprofit organisations. The study shows how burgeoning stakeholder requirements can detract from the ability to use performance measurement as an improvement tool. Further work needs to be carried out to determine whether the findings from this study are common across the nonprofit sector, and an assessment of the viability of designing nonprofit performance measurement systems that support continuous improvement across stakeholder organisations is required.From an academic perspective, this study has indicated that private and public sector performance measurement system design principles are applicable to the nonprofit sector. Literature makes reference to the uniqueness of the nonprofit sector; however this study has highlighted the potential for shared learning across sectors. More research needs to focus on the criteria and processes that enable nonprofits to demonstrate their achievement, in order to preserve the valuable services offered by this sector.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: - Nonprofit performance measurement is receiving increasing academic and practitioner attention, but the design of nonprofit measurement systems has received limited consideration. This is in contrast to the well-established body of knowledge that focuses on performance measurement in private and public sector organisations. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether this body of knowledge can be used to inform the design of nonprofit performance measurement systems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A case study approach was taken to examine the performance measurement practices used in six nonprofit organisations and their associated funders and regulators. A total of 24 managers from 18 organisations took part in the study.\nFindings: - The study found underdeveloped and resource intensive performance measurement systems in the majority of organisations that were examined. The performance measurement literature from the private and public sectors advocates the development of relevant, balanced, integrated, strategic and improvement-oriented performance measurement systems; concepts that have received limited consideration in the nonprofit literature. This research found that performance measurement system design principles developed for the private and public sectors were applicable to the nonprofit sector.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Whilst a range of stakeholders was included in the research, further work is required to validate the applicability of the findings to the diverse nonprofit sector. Nevertheless, given the dearth of operations management focused research on nonprofit performance measurement systems this study makes a useful contribution.\nPractical implications: - The study presents empirical evidence of the myriad criteria and processes that are used to measure nonprofit performance. The paper shows that current measurement practice is detracting from the performance of nonprofit organisations.\nOriginality/value: - Despite the perceived uniqueness of the nonprofit sector, this paper shows that learning from the private and public sectors can be used to inform good practice in nonprofits. As relatively little research has been done in this area, the findings make a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Applied theatre in corporate training
|
[
"Corporate training",
"Leadership",
"Communication",
"Creativity",
"Team building",
"Emotion management",
"Drama",
"Theatre",
"Performance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In recent years, organizational psychologists, theatre companies, and drama therapists have built training programs for businesses (Gluck and Rubenstein, 2007). This article's argument is rooted in the metaphor of \"Organization as theatre\" (Bolman and Deal, 2008) and claims that \"applied theatre in corporate training (ATCT)\" is a new concept and methodology. ATCT is also practically referred to as \"arts-based training\" (Gibb, 2004) or \"arts-based method\" (Taylor and Ladkin, 2009). Corporate examples are improvisation techniques with service employees (Daly et al., 2009), and Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed as training and intervention for managers (Nissley et al., 2004).\nConceptualization of applied theatre in corporate training: Drama and theatre are not simply located in the aesthetic and artistic context (Sternberg, 1998). Courtney (1974) in his classic work, Play, Drama & Thought: The Intellectual Background to Drama in Education, defines \"educational drama\" as the ways in which youth or children use \"dramatic play for learning\". He also uses the phrase \"theatre based in dramatic play\" to describe the phenomenon that mature learners, above eighteen years old, use theatre to learn.Following this thinking, \"theater\" rather than \"drama\" is properly used to refer to the emerging field in business of what I call \"adults' play\". However, instead of \"educational theatre in business\", the name \"applied theatre in corporate training\" (ATCT) is better matched because it permits more open-ended application in various types of theatres-it lends itself to various locations such as conference rooms, hotels, and retreat centers and can be used for different groups such as CEOs, top managers, cross-department employees, and all staff. It includes \"the practice of theatre where it is least expected\" and it is \"created by people who would not usually make theatre\" (Thompson, 2006).As a method of experiential learning, ATCT is effective, collective, and approachable. Sternberg and Garcia (2000) point out by quoting research data that \"adult employees retain 15% of what they are told in a lecture, compared with 75% of material presented in an interactive, experiential way\". Characteristics of \"task-oriented\" training tools are found within the approach (Taylor, 2003), and the emphasis is on cooperative rather than competitive methods. In addition, \"the chance to express one's own personal style in activities increases both individual exposure in the groups and the sense of belonging\" (Blatner and Blatner, 1997).Pineau even stresses the unique power dynamic that occurs when \"the collaborative nature of performance blurs the boundaries between teachers and students\" (Pineau, 2005). Another major advantage of this role-playing approach for business people is that \"talking about situation[s] in terms of imbalance of role, unrealistic expectations about a role, avoidance of a role, role transition, and other themes are expressions that can explain many issues relatively simply\" (Blatner and Blatner, 1997). In the following, drawing upon my literature review in Western academia and my professional working experience as a training director in a Asian consulting firm that provides corporate training through theatre, I provide five management-related competencies that ATCT can facilitate.\nFive management-related competencies: Leadership\nDiscussion and conclusion: This article suggests that ATCT facilitates management-related knowledge, including leadership, communication, creativity, team building, and emotion management. This article calls for future research in how theatre-based training might benefit general employee development to avoid becoming just \"a powerful managerial tool\" (Nissley et al., 2004).One challenge to the effectiveness of ATCT is how to develop standards to ascertain the training program's efficacy and its level of transfer of training - the degree to which participants exhibit measurable behavior changes in the workplace.This article synthesizes research from multiple disciplines to develop an applied theatre in corporate training framework. It contributes to existing literature by describing practical techniques for practitioners and providing a preliminary avenue of inquiry into this new training methodology. In addition, this article categorizes five management competencies based on systematic literature review and professional experience for those who plan, choose, and evaluate corporate training methodology.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This article aims to be a synthesis among the latest learning and development books as well as academic journals across organizational behaviour, educational theatre, drama therapy, and performance studies. It pinpoints five management-related competencies that the new trend of applied theatre in corporate training can facilitate.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This briefing is prepared by an Asian practitioner-performer-scholar who identifies and distils knowledge in Western interdisciplinary contexts.\nFindings: - This article concludes that applied theatre can be a new concept and methodology for corporate training to enhance the main competencies in business settings - leadership, communication, creativity, team building, and emotion management. Practical implications - This study provides a conceptual foundation and practical language for human resource and training professionals as well as company directors who choose and evaluate training methodology.\nOriginality/value: - This briefing links theory with practice as well as connecting academia to industry. It saves busy businesspeople's and researchers' time to integrate multiple-fielded knowledge by presenting it in an insightful and single-minded format.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Religion, human capital and growth
|
[
"Education",
"Religion",
"Development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The complementarity between human and physical capital is a key aspect of the literature on economic growth as shown by Acemoglu in his contribution (Acemoglu, 1996). In this theoretical context, all the factors enhancing human capital accumulation trigger also the rise of physical capital. Among these factors religion may play an important role as it can directly affect education by transmitting values that foster educational achievements. As to the importance of religious values for economic growth, some scholars have extensively analysed the influence of religious beliefs on individual values and attitudes and thereby on social change and better economic performance. Specifically, Guiso et al. (2003) have empirically shown that on average religion, partly identified by the intensity of religious beliefs, leads to attitudes that underpin better functioning of institutions and markets; the latter is believed to stimulate higher productivity and growth. These attitudes are, for instance, higher generalized trust, trust in the government and the legal system, and rule-abiding behaviour. Barro and McCleary (2006) starting from the Weberian analysis have emphasized that religious beliefs by shaping specific values and traits such as honesty, work ethic and thrift may favour work effort and wealth accumulation and ultimately economic success. They illustrate the evidence based on a cross-country analysis that otherworldly beliefs about salvation foster economic growth. Other scholars have mainly focused their attention on the relationship between the share of population adherent to a particular religion and economic growth. In this respect, significant empirical examples are provided by Sala-i-Martin et al. (2004), who find a positive association between the fraction of Muslim and Buddhist and growth and by Noland (2005), who shows a positive influence of Buddhist and Christian population share on growth. In his contribution, Noland (2005) in particular stresses that the affiliation to Muslim religion does not represent an impediment to growth.\n2. The model: In this part we consider an economy with government exogenously setting the output quota to transfer to religious activities, and with workers and entrepreneurs choosing their investment in human and physical capital. As to labour market functioning and the behaviour of workers and entrepreneurs we follow Acemoglu (1996). After making their investments, workers and entrepreneurs randomly form a productive match in a non-competitive market where the Walrasian auctioneer is replaced by costly search. The output shares are decided through bargaining. More specifically, workers do not know the type of equipment and machinery of their future employers and entrepreneurs do not know the skills of their future employees. Accordingly each makes her investment decision on the base of expected returns.\n3. The role of religion in the decisions of investment in human and physical capital: Workers maximize their utility functions with respect to H\n4. Entrepreneurs' investments and the influence of different religious groups of workers: In this part we consider the case where entrepreneurs with the same preference for religion, are faced with workers who are religious to a different extent. This distinction is made in order to examine how the religious diversity of workers may affect their investments in human capital in correspondence to a government they consider as favourable to either secularism or religion. Workers' investment in human capital in turn influences the choice of homogeneous entrepreneurs to invest in physical capital. In particular, we analyse the case where entrepreneurs face two types of workers with different attitudes towards religion and the proportion q of workers is characterized by s\n5. Some historical evidence: In delineating the historical evidence relevant for our analytical purpose, it emerges that religious activities can be interpreted in different ways depending on the specificity of the religion and of the historical period considered. This is why we consider two different historical periods and religions. For instance, in the example of the Protestant Reformation, religious activities were mainly focused on reading sacred texts and literacy was believed to be fundamental for carrying out these activities as it enabled people to read religious texts. Accordingly when the rulers of the time promoted the shift of resources to religious activities by supporting the diffusion of schools, the religious group that put greater emphasis on education as a type of religious activity, invested more in human capital. The diffusion of education laid the foundations for the later development process. In the following example concerning the Iranian case, modernization policy drove the diffusion of secularism and raised society's awareness of the importance of education, which went along with industrialization and growth.\n6. Conclusions: Recent empirical evidence has widely supported the view that religion may foster economic growth by promoting beliefs that shape individual values and attitudes crucial for economic performance. In particular, some of these beliefs may lead to values and traits such as honesty, work ethic and thrift, which stimulate work effort and wealth accumulation while others may promote trust, which is essential to improve institutions and market-functioning underpinning growth. Nevertheless, another role for religion, rather neglected by empirical investigations and theoretical analysis, concerns the transmission of values that promote education, which in turn fosters physical capital accumulation and growth. This role represents an important issue in our theoretical contribution, where importantly it is analysed how secular or religious rulers may have a bearing on the diffusion of education by either giving support to religious denominations that encourage learning or by promoting secular education systems. Specifically, rulers may foster or hold up the diffusion and the increase of human capital by supporting or contrasting religion. When a religious denomination, for instance, puts a strong emphasis on values stimulating children's education, the rulers who back religion, may encourage the diffusion of education among the followers of that denomination. This occurred with the Protestant Reformation when local rulers following Protestantism decided to devote more resources to protestant religion by setting up schools. The consequence was the rise of the human capital of Protestants with respect to Catholics. Conversely secular rulers may face a religion that is considered an antagonistic force, opposing modernization and the diffusion of secular education like in Iran with the Pahlavi regime. In this period government policy weakened the power of Shi'ite clergy and developed a secular system of education, which raised the quota of the population with secular and higher education. In both historical examples the spreading of education complemented the growth of physical capital, which triggered the industrialization process and development.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how rulers by supporting religion influence the growth of human capital and physical capital.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors consider a model where the government, on the one hand, sets the output quota transferred to religious activities and workers and entrepreneurs, on the other, choose human and physical capital, which are complementary. The findings of the model are used to interpret some historical evidence.\nFindings: When a religious denomination puts a strong emphasis on children's education, the rulers who back religion, may encourage the diffusion of education among the followers of that denomination. Conversely secular rulers may face a religion that they consider a force opposing modernization and may develop a secular system promoting the diffusion of education. In both cases, the diffusion of education triggers the increase in physical capital and economic growth.\nOriginality/value: The contribution of the paper is to show how religion may be either a progressive force and promote education by contributing to economic growth or present a conservative dimension opposing the diffusion and rise of human capital.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Creating identification with brand communities on Twitter: The balance between need for affiliation and need for uniqueness
|
[
"Twitter",
"Brand community",
"Identification",
"Need for uniqueness",
"Communal-brand connection",
"Personal-brand connection"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: From a social behaviour perspective, the need for affiliation is a basic motivation underlying social relationships (Brewer, 2012; Slotter et al., 2014). Individuals have a fundamental, strong and pervasive motivation to form and maintain relationships (Baumeister, 2012; Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001). New technologies in general, and social network sites (SNSs) in particular, provide new avenues through which to form and maintain relationships with other individuals (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are being used by consumers to interact with other consumers, as well as with the brands they like, thus satisfying their need for affiliation. Taking advantage of the capabilities of brand communities and social media, several companies have begun using SNSs to support the creation and development of brand communities (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; Laroche et al., 2012).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: 2.1 Brand communities on SNSs\n3. Methodology: The study was developed based on brand communities created on Twitter. A high-involvement product category was selected because relationships with the brand are very likely to occur with high-involvement products (Fournier, 1998). High-involvement products are also very suitable for the research context. A high involvement can be seen as the ultimate motivation for consumers to join a brand community (Shang et al., 2006). As the level of product involvement the consumer has with the product increases, his/her engagement with the brand community will be higher (Wirtz et al., 2013). Moreover, the effects associated with ODT are more likely to emerge with respect to highly valued group membership (Brewer and Roccas, 2001). Therefore, we chose cameras as the product category for this study because they are considered to be a technological product with a high level of consumer involvement (Poiesz and De Bont, 1995).\n4. Results: 4.1 Sample characteristics\n5. Discussion: This paper aims to explain how individuals manage their competing needs for being affiliated and for being seen as distinctive and unique individuals when they are members of brand communities on Twitter. According to ODT, as group membership becomes more and more inclusive, the need for inclusion is satisfied but the need for differentiation is activated. However, as inclusion decreases, the differentiation need is reduced but the need for inclusion is activated (Brewer, 1991; Leonardelli et al., 2010). In agreement with ODT background, our model proposes that these needs should have different impacts on identification with the brand community.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Companies are now using social network sites (SNSs) within their marketing and brand-building activities. Twitter is the preferred SNS for creating brand communities, which offer companies many advantages. The purpose of this paper is to examine how individuals manage their competing needs for being affiliated (operationalized as personal and communal-brand connections) and for being seen as distinctive (operationalized as need for uniqueness (NFU)) when they are members of brand communities on Twitter. The authors have also analysed which type of brand community is able to achieve the balance between both needs, enhancing identification with the brand community.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 318 valid responses were collected from three camera brand communities on Twitter. Messages (\"tweets\") which included a link to an online questionnaire were sent to community members via Twitter. The authors examine the proposed model using structural equation modelling.\nFindings: The authors demonstrate that consumers can satisfy their need for affiliation in brand communities created in Twitter. However, consumers can only reach a balance between the need for affiliation and the need for distinctiveness in brand communities built around niche brands. In contrast, the two needs work in opposition to shape identification in brand communities of big brands.\nOriginality/value: Optimal distinctiveness theory is used as a theoretical background for proposing how the antecedents of identification with the brand community enhance brand loyalty, with reference to the conflict between the individual's needs for both distinctiveness and affiliation. Consumers' identification with the brand community is proposed as a mediator to achieve brand loyalty in brand communities. Consumers reach this balance in brand communities built around a niche brand, where individuals with high NFU feel a high identification with the brand community. For big brands, as consumers' NFU increases, their identification with the brand community and brand loyalty decreases.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
How great leaders avoid disaster: the value of contingency planning
|
[
"Contingency planning",
"Disasters",
"Leadership",
"Risk management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: A giant commercial airliner is just about ready to push from the gate, taxi out onto the runway, and make its long flight to a faraway destination. All the customers have boarded the fully booked flight, the fuel has been topped off, the flight attendants have secured the galley, the skies are clear and stable, and the air traffic along the planned route appears minimal. Should all the passengers and crew aboard feel safe and secure?\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to discuss how leaders can benefit from better contingency planning.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper is a viewpoint from an acclaimed organizational advisor and specialist in strategic planning.\nFindings: - The paper gives examples of good and bad contingency planning, and offers advice on how to put together a plan.\nPractical implications: - This paper will help managers develop and implement better strategic contingency plans.\nOriginality/value: - This paper will be very useful for practitioners wanting to learn about contingency planning, or considering whether to write a plan or not. It gives clear step-by-step instructions, and uses well-known examples from practice.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A psychometric validation of the happiness at workplace scale
|
[
"India",
"Culture",
"Knowledge workers",
"Instrument validation",
"Happiness at workplace",
"Shorter scale"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Work and family domains play a crucial role in an individual's life (French et al., 2018). On a day-to-day basis, a person usually spends most of the day at the work, maybe for earning a living, fame, satisfaction, identity, etc., thus spending a great share of their life at the workplace (Gavin and Mason, 2004; Meyers, 2007). Gavin and Mason (2004, p. 181) mentioned in their study, \"Work, at its core, is a search for 'daily meaning as well as daily bread.' so found author Studs Terkel in his classic 1972 book Working\". The supremacy of work in the Indian lifestyle can be well understood with the recent research outcomes generated by Swiss investment bank UBS. The bank marked two Indian cities in the top four cities of the world with the highest working hours a year. Branded as the financial capital of India republic, Mumbai grabbed the first place with 3,315 working hours per year, whereas New Delhi, the national capital of India, settled at 2,511 working hours per year (Moneycontrol.com, 2018). Whether it is work domain or family domain, happiness is considered as a high-priority goal of our lives (Diener, 2000).\n2. The need of the study: With greater recognition of the importance of positive organisational behaviour where strengths are focused and eventually developed, Seligman (2000) emphasised the need for a valid and reliable scale for understanding about human strengths, whereas Harrison et al. (2014) realised that the positive attitudes can be measured adequately using a higher order construct as a minimum three well-established and extensively tested paradigms. Responding to these calls, few researchers designed and validated the happiness at workplace scale (Salas-Vallina, Alegre and Fernandez, 2017; Salas-Vallina and Fernandez, 2017; Salas-Vallina, Lopez-Cabrales, Alegre and Fernandez, 2017).\n3. The conceptualisation of happiness at workplace: The concept of happiness at the workplace is derived from positive psychology that promotes focus towards solutions rather than criticising the problems. As clear from the term itself, it is associated with positive constructs such as pleasure, satisfaction, well-being and happiness, mostly concentrating on the positive aspects of human lives as compared to negative aspects. Positive psychology is defined as \"a science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions\" that aims to improve quality of life (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 5). The concept gained more popularity when the power of positivity in lives was identified and people felt interested in experiencing positive experiences in everyday circumstances.\n4. Research approach: 4.1 Participants and procedure\n5. Results: 5.1 Initial descriptive analysis\n6. Discussion and conclusion: The study is conducted with the objective of validation of S-HAW scale by Salas-Vallina and Alegre (2018) in the Indian context. On the recommendation of Fisher the measurement included job engagement, job satisfaction, along with affective organisational commitment dimensions, whereas a second-order factor structure was retained as per the suggestions by researchers (Harrison et al., 2014). The results acknowledged that the S-HAW measure has good construct validity based on empirical support for convergent and discriminant validity. The results confirm that the original scale by Salas-Vallina and Alegre (2018) is also a valid and reliable instrument in India.\n7. Managerial implications: Happiness at workplace has developed a well-acknowledged research domain in the Western world countries. Though happiness is a critical part of non-western societies, yet in terms of research, happiness, especially at the workplace, is still a relatively new domain outside the western nations. This is one of the reasons that very few studies are reported in the Indian context (Singh and Aggarwal, 2018). Thus, the study has the following implications for managers, and employees.\n8. Limitations and future scope for research: This study acknowledges some limitations as well that are needed to be addressed in future studies. First, the study has not translated the instrument in Hindi language. The written constitution of India Republic establishes the proclamation of Hindi as well as English as the official languages of the nation. Apart from the official language, English is widely spoken and understood as an integral part of the education curriculum and mode of instruction mostly all across the nation, whereas Hindi-speaking zones are relatively restricted (e.g. New Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc.). The popularity of English as compared to Hindi is well-recognised, in fact, there are Indian states where no Hindi but English and vernacular languages (e.g. Tamil) are entitled to be used even in Central government's official work. Hence, the English language measure was understandable to the respondents, and no need was felt to translate the measure (Rastogi et al., 2016). Second, the data were collected with the help of self-reported measures from a single source that enhances the chances of common method variance in the obtained data. Mentioning the issue of CMV in validation, Storm and Rothmann (2003) cited in their study (Schaufeli et al., 2002), \"in validation studies at least part of the common variance of the measures has to be attributed to method variance\" (p. 69). Third, the study included only 30 per cent of women, whereas 70 per cent of participants were male. The similar kind of male gender dominated studies is also witnessed in earlier studies in the Indian context (Rastogi et al., 2018, 2019). Hence, there is a need to use the more gender-balanced sample in future studies. Fourth, this study was conducted using the organisational perspective that focused only on the happiness of employees at work. In the future, more studies are required to prepare a measure to cater the happiness of employees beyond the workplace.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: With intention to promote growth of happiness literature in non-western settings and facilitate positive interventions at workplace, the purpose of this paper is to examine the psychometric properties and validate the short version of happiness at workplace (S-HAW) scale using knowledge workers' sample in the Indian context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The S-HAW scale was validated using data from 226 Indian knowledge workers from public and private sector organisations. The mixed-mode approach was used for collecting data, whereas factor structures, reliability and validity scores were also examined with the help of SPSS AMOS 21. The study included initial descriptive analysis, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.\nFindings: The results of the study discovered that psychometric properties of the S-HAW scale were similar to those of originally developed scale when applied in the Indian context. Hence, the higher-order structure was retained in Indian settings.\nOriginality/value: Despite the changes in work-related values and societal structures between Western and Asian nations, this study provides a significant contribution to empirically confirming that the different cultural scales can also show good fits in Collectivist cultures. The study can bridge the gap between Asian and Western nations with the uniform measure of HAW. Thus, more cross-cultural studies usually comparative in nature welcomed with S-HAW Indian version scale for knowledge workers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Perceived social support and work-family conflict: A comparison of Hispanic immigrants and non-immigrants
|
[
"Organizational support",
"Immigrants",
"Work-family conflict",
"Supervisor support",
"Hispanics",
"Work social support"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Due to an increase in dual-earner households, nontraditional gender roles, and an increase in the number of hours individuals work within each household, conflict between work and family has become a part of everyday life for millions of adults (Bond et al., 1998; Greenhaus et al., 2003). Conflict between the two domains has harmful effects on important work outcomes such as absenteeism, burnout, and performance (Amstad et al., 2011; Peeters, et al., 2005), family outcomes such as family satisfaction and marital quality (Michel et al., 2009; Voydanoff, 2004), and individual outcomes such as affective and physical well-being, depression, and substance abuse (Lapierre and Allen, 2006; Frone et al., 1996).\nTheoretical development and study hypotheses: Role theory provides a broad theoretical framework for understanding how perceived social support at work relates to work-family conflict and how these relationships can vary based on the cultural context. Role theory posits that life domains, such as work and family, are socially defined (Kahn et al., 1964; Katz and Kahn, 1978); thus role theory implies that work and family roles result from the expectations of others and what is believed to be appropriate behavior for a particular role (e.g. subordinate, spouse).\nMethod: Participants\nResults: Table I displays means, standard deviations, coefficient as, and correlations at the scale level for all variables analyzed in our models. All scales possessed adequate levels of reliability in the current sample (coefficient a ranged from 0.71 to 0.97). To test hypotheses regarding the total sample (i.e. H1-H3), a SEM was first specified with work-family conflict outcomes (WtoF and family-to-work) predicted by social support antecedents (organizational social support and supervisor social support), controlling for the aforementioned covariates. This model fit the data well (kh2=147.202, p=0.00; RMSEA=0.05; 90 percent confidence interval for RMSEA lower=0.04, upper=0.07, pclose=0.44; CFI=0.98; TLI=0.96; SRMR=0.04). However, before discussing the results for the specific structural parameters specified to test our hypotheses, it makes sense to first consider the relationships between the covariates, and the focal social support and work-family conflict variables under investigation here.\nDiscussion: The current study adds to an existing body of research by extending our understanding of the impact of perceived social support on the intersection of two important role domains (i.e. work and family) between immigrant and non-immigrant Hispanics. This represents a unique contribution to the literature on work-family conflict for Hispanics, which has typically focussed on cross-national comparisons or solely on immigrant experiences. Indeed, no published research that we could locate has attempted to separately examine the influence of perceived social support on work-family conflict between immigrant and non-immigrant Hispanics, making this the first study to address this issue.\nConclusion: The present study builds on research examining the work-family interface in the US Hispanic population (DelCampo et al., 2011a, b). In line with prior findings, we demonstrate that perceived social support at work is an important mechanism in the reduction of work-family and family-work conflict for both groups (e.g. Michel et al., 2010). However, we extend this research by identifying that various forms of social support affect immigrant and non-immigrant Hispanics differently. This is a timely and relevant contribution, considering the influx of immigrants into the US workforce (Mosisa, 2002). Organizations can readily take advantage of these findings to reduce the work-family and family-work conflict experienced in a multi-cultural work setting. Specifically, by adopting practices intended to provide a wide variety of support, organizations can help ensure that each employee is provided with the type of support that aligns with their particular cultural orientation. As the US workforce continues to move toward greater demographic diversity, such efforts are likely to increase in importance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Despite the abundance of research on work social support and work-family conflict, the generalizability of these relationships to immigrant and non-immigrant Hispanics is still unknown. Based on role and cultural theories, the purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical examination of these relationships within this growing yet understudied population.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey data were collected from a diverse sample of employed immigrant and non-immigrant Hispanics from a broad set of occupational groups within Miami, Florida (USA). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypotheses. Multi-group analyses were conducted to test for differences in model fit and parameter estimates between the immigrant and non-immigrant subgroups.\nFindings: The hypothesized model fit the data well, with a significant positive relationship between perceived organizational social support and perceived supervisor social support, a significant negative relationship between perceived organizational social support and work-to-family conflict, and a significant negative relationship between perceived supervisor social support and family-to-work conflict. Multi-group SEM, which offered acceptable model fit, suggests that perceived organizational social support is associated with reduced work-family conflict for immigrant but not for non-immigrant Hispanics, and perceived supervisor social support is associated with reduced work-family conflict for non-immigrant but not for immigrant Hispanics.\nResearch limitations/implications: Cross-sectional data do not allow for strong causal interpretations.\nPractical implications: Perceived work social support is an important indicator of work-family conflict for both immigrant and non-immigrant Hispanics, although specific relationships can differ based on immigration status.\nOriginality/value: Few studies have investigated differences in work-family conflict between non-immigrant and immigrant Hispanics.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Factors influencing career choice of tertiary students in Ghana: A comparison of science and business majors
|
[
"Ghana",
"Factor analysis",
"Academic major",
"Ashesi university college",
"Career choice",
"Tertiary education"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Theories such as the trait and factor theory (TFT), social cognitive choice theory (SCCT), theory of reasoned action (TRA) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) suggest that preference of careers is influenced by factors that are internal and/or external to the individual and interaction between the individual and other people around them. Prior studies have employed these theories to study the factors that influence choice of course major/career path among individuals and groups, mainly students, in varied contexts (Agarwala, 2008; Jackling and Keneley, 2009; Joshi and Kuhn, 2011; Ozbilgin et al., 2005; Wen et al., 2015).\nLiterature review: Theoretical perspectives on career choice\nAnalysis of results: Descriptive statistics\nConclusion: The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the factors that influence the career choices of students at the tertiary level. Against the backdrop that these factors are believed to be contextual in nature, this study explored the career choice factors within the Ghanaian context focussing on differences between science and business students. The paper explored the dimensionality of the career choice factors and also ascertained the degree of influence of these factors on students' career decisions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence Ghanaian tertiary students' career choices. The paper explores the dimensionality of the career choice factors within the Ghanaian context and also ascertains their degree of influence on students' career choices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study employs survey method of research and a set of questionnaire was used to examine the factors that influence students' career choices. A total of 354 undergraduate students from the Ashesi University College in Ghana participated in the study. Factor analysis was conducted on the career choice factors and differences in response between science and business students were ascertained by means of independent sample t-test.\nFindings: The findings of this study indicate that university students in Ghana place much premium on intrinsic value and employability/financial prospect in their career choice decisions than such factors as prestige and desired working conditions.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings of this study are relevant for policymakers and tertiary education providers interested in making the study of science an attractive option for university students in Ghana.\nOriginality/value: The findings of this paper highlight some of the underlining reasons for the unpopularity of the study of sciences among university students in Ghana.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Knowledge sharing: game and reasoned action perspectives
|
[
"Game theory",
"Knowledge sharing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The pace of technological change has accelerated to a level which is at the edge of human comprehension. Knowledge sharing (KS) has been identified as a major focus area for knowledge management and is also perceived to be the most essential process for knowledge management (Halawi et al., 2008). That is, KS plays an increasingly significant role in determining the outcomes of knowledge management (Apostolou et al., 2008/2009). However, a common knowledge-sharing problem exists in companies in that employees with knowledge are reluctant to share their knowledge. In order to solve this problem, Bent (2007) claims that knowledge is personal and this KS problem should focus on individual behavior instead of technology. Hendrix (2007) creates a KS environment that focused on behavior and learning instead of just technology required by employees and good performance. In this paper, a significant difference exists in the result findings between theory of reasoned action (TRA) and game theory (GT) in explaining individual KS behavior. GT assumes each player would analyze the opponents' decisions while TRA model does not. Based on this difference, the authors test and compare the accuracy of each model as a tool to analyze employees' decision-making process. In summary, it is necessary to focus on and understand individual KS behavior as a prerequisite for managers to formulate KS policies. There are two research objectives in our study. The first objective is to test and determine the accuracy of TRA and GT models in KS behavior analysis. The second objective is to test whether employees' decision-making process in KS behavior depend on their colleagues' decisions or choices.This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 is the literature review on the related concepts and theories. Section 3 proposes and explains the two KS models for testing individual KS. Section 4 sets out the methodology and analysis to be conducted in this study, which adopts an empirical study approach conducted on the data of three publicly listed high technology corporations in Taiwan. Section 5 presents the results of analysis. The final section presents our conclusions and suggestions for future study.\n2 Literature review: This research focuses on the individual within which lies the domain for tacit knowledge. The source of much organizational knowledge originates from individuals, or from tacit knowledge, and the individual's propensity to share knowledge will eventually determine the availability of organizational knowledge which is predominantly codified or documented knowledge (Hou et al., 2006). Ineffective KS is a widely encountered problem in practicing strategic knowledge management and a comprehensive understanding of individual KS behavior is necessary for formulating effective KS strategies. To understand individual KS behavior, two theories relevant to this study and commonly used are reviewed in this section.2.1 Concept of KS\n3 KS models: Two models, A and B, are proposed for analyzing and predicting individual KS behavior. In GT analysis, the authors assume that \"individual will analyze decision of others\" and in TRA analysis, individual KS behavior is driven by a set of salient beliefs similar to the notion of GT payoffs (Hanan and Khaled, 2007). Given these conditions, the hypothesis of an individual not considering the strategies of others is adopted in Model A. In contrast, we make the hypothesis that an individual will \"analyze the strategies of others under different situations\" in Model B. In order to extract and compare the differences between these two hypothetical situations, we assume the salient beliefs and factors influencing payoffs of these two models are the same.3.1 Model A\n4 Research methodology and analysis: 4.1 Sample selection and collection\n5 Results: This section presents the results of the predictive condition and accuracy of the underlying hypotheses in Models A and B. This section is divided into two parts:1. predictive condition and real intention; and2. accuracy of two models - base on the predictive intention.5.1 Predictive condition and real intention\n6 Conclusions and future study: 6.1 Conclusions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate knowledge sharing (KS) to characterize its behavior in companies based on the concepts of theory of reasoned action and game theory (GT).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper proposes two models: Model A: KS process is constructed by capturing personal psychological feelings; and Model B: KS process is not only constructed by personal psychological feelings but also takes into consideration other people's decisions. By comparing the two knowledge-sharing models' predictability performance, the authors are able to characterize the process of KS.\nFindings: - The results show that different companies require different models. On average, Model B with game concept has lower predictive accuracy than the Model A without game concept.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper provides practical implications for manager to frame effective KS policies and also suggests future studies to improve measurement.\nOriginality/value: - The values of this paper are: provide a methodology to determine whether individuals analyze decisions of others in making KS decisions; test the predictive ability of GT analysis in a KS modeling, and build a single-instance two-person game to characterize individuals' tacit KS behavior.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Inter-organizational trust in franchise relationships and the performance outcomes: The case of fast-food restaurants in Turkey
|
[
"Trust",
"Franchisor‐franchisee relationship",
"Trust‐performance outcomes",
"Fast‐food industry",
"Turkey",
"Fast foods",
"Customer satisfaction"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: While franchising has become increasingly popular as a strategy in various industries around the world, franchisors have to manage opportunities and challenges in their franchise systems (Croonen, 2010). Franchising provides opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to establish businesses in a variety of fields. In the restaurant sector, internationalization is becoming important for entrepreneurs as restaurants grow rapidly in number (Hua and Upneja, 2007; Hua and Templeton, 2010). Franchising drives growth and internationalization for fast-food restaurants. Franchisees are not guaranteed success when they enter into an agreement with the franchisor; nor are franchisors guaranteed ongoing success because they have developed a concept that has been accepted in the marketplace and has potential for expansion through the development of a franchise network. On the other hand, as stated by Croonen (2010, p. 191), \"strategic change in franchise systems is particularly challenging because franchisors have to persuade their franchisees to implement the proposed changes in their units and maintain their relationships\". Literature that focuses on change in other organizational contexts has argued that change recipients have to trust the initiator and leader of a change process as well as to consider the implementation process as fair to accept the changes (Croonen, 2010).Trust issues are the focal points within the franchisor/franchisee relationship. Under the condition of high trust, both parties work successfully; otherwise, low trust could destroy the franchising business. A new survey conducted on conflict management issues in franchising system has manifested a surprising level of distrust between franchisees and franchisor. Besides, 28 percent of the survey participants are claiming that their franchisors are not honest in their exchange relationship (Thomson, 2010). As a multi-dimensional concept that exists between two or more parties, trust determines the extent to which one party can rely on the words and works of the other.Most theorists agree that increased variety in exchange relations and the increased uncertainty and complexity in the business environment cannot be managed without the presence of inter-personal and/or inter-organizational trust (Sabel, 1990; Sako, 1992). Trust in a channel relationship is not only regarded as an important coordination mechanism (Bradach and Eccles, 1989), but also as a precondition for superior performance and competitive success (Sako, 1992; Zaheer et al., 1998). Zucker (1986, p. 56) argues that trust is \"vital for the maintenance of cooperation in society and necessary as grounds for even the most routine, everyday interactions\". Besides, Fukuyama (1995, p. 7) claims that \"a nation's ability to compete is conditioned by a single pervasive characteristic: the level of trust inherent in a society\".In this study, we examine performance outcomes of inter-organizational trust between franchisors and franchisees from the franchisee's point of view and the relationship between performance outcomes of inter-organizational trust and some variables such as the origin of the franchisor (national or international), the duration of relationship and the respondent's position (owner, manager or owner-manager) in the fast-food industry in Turkey. The context is unique for a couple of reasons. First, previous studies have generally focused on measuring the performance outcomes of trust in the manufacturing sectors of developed countries. However, due to social, economic, legislative and cultural differences, the results for a developed country may not be totally applicable to the context of a developing country (Wasti, 1998) such as Turkey. Second, numerous trust studies have been conducted between wholesalers and retailers in the pharmaceutical industry, but no study has inquired into the trust relationship in a service industry such as franchised fast-food restaurants in Turkey. Hence, this is the first study to address the performance outcomes of inter-organizational trust in franchisor and franchisee relationships in the fast-food industry in Turkey.\n2. The underlying conceptual framework: 2.1 Franchisor/franchisee relationships\n3. Hypotheses: Based on the literature indicating that important linkages (i.e. cooperation, satisfaction and transaction costs) exist between trust and performance outcomes, three hypotheses are developed in the next sections.3.1 Trust and cooperation\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Measurements\n5. Results: 5.1 Mean scores analysis of the statements\n6. Discussion and conclusion: For the past 20 years, trust has been a center stage concept in social sciences (Kramer and Tyler, 1996). In this study, the performance outcomes of inter-organizational trust between franchisor and franchisees in the fast-food industry in Turkey were investigated. The results show that trust is positively associated with cooperation and with satisfaction, and negatively associated with transaction costs. Yet, no significant relationship is observed between performance outcomes of inter-organizational trust and the origin of the franchisor (national or international), the duration of relationship and the respondent's position (owner, manager or owner-manager) except the duration of relationship and transaction costs. This finding between the duration of relationship and transaction costs implies that the longer the duration of relationship is, the lower the transaction costs are.Inter-organizational trust is found to be affecting exchange performance by increasing cooperation and satisfaction. These findings confirm the previous studies that found a positive relationship between inter-organizational trust and performance outcomes (Dyer and Chu, 2003; Zaheer et al., 1998). The results of the study also support the hypothesis that a negative relationship between trust and transaction cost exists and this finding confirms the findings of previous studies (Grover and Malhotra, 2003; Sengun, 2005). These findings indicate the importance of maintaining positive trust-based relationships between franchisors and franchisees.The positive relationship between trust and cooperation is important in franchisor and franchisee relationship. Cooperation between a franchisor and a franchisee involves planning, coordination, communication, and goal congruence. The more one party knows about the other party in terms of a repetitive and ongoing relationship, the more they trust each other. Therefore, trust brings about a synchronization of goals and objectives between the parties that eliminates divergence of interests (Sengun, 2005).The positive relationship between trust and satisfaction implies the anticipation of future interactions between the franchisor and the franchisee (Armstrong and Yee, 2001; Chiou et al., 2004). Satisfaction is considered as a direct performance measure in some studies (Artz, 1999; Claro et al., 2003; Zaheer et al., 1998). Therefore, the positive link between trust and satisfaction also implies a positive link between trust and increased performance. Satisfaction with the franchisor has positive effects on franchisee performance. Satisfied franchisees are likely to be more profitable than dissatisfied franchisees (Morrison, 1997). Dissatisfied franchisees often complain about poor relationship and financial return on their investment. Franchisees that show great performance and generate added revenue for the franchisor also contribute to retain a positive brand image. Satisfied and profitable franchisees are likely to flourish by opening new outlets and foster prospective franchisees to join the franchising system (Dickey et al., 2007).The lower transaction costs are peculiarly important for franchisees since these costs are an important item in the costs of a franchisee, and lowering such costs might provide the franchisee a competitive advantage vis-a-vis other franchisees. From a transaction cost analysis stance, the negative relationship between trust and transaction costs might allow for the loosening of governance mechanisms between a franchisor and a franchisee in a relational exchange (Sengun and Wasti, 2011). As stated by Dyer and Chu (2003) in the presence of high trust, the franchisor and the franchisee will spend less time and resources on monitoring to see if the other party is shirking or fulfilling the \"spirit\" of the agreement. If trust is high, each party will assume that the other party is acting in a confidence and will interpret behaviors more positively (Macneil, 1980; Sengun, 2005). Therefore, there will be increased compliance between the partners.The study thus contributes to theory by exploring the role of trust in cooperation and satisfaction, which are necessary for the long-term and successful relationship of a franchisor, and a franchisee in the fast-food industry.\n7. Implications: This study has important implications for both franchisors and franchisees in the fast-food industry in particular and in the other industries in general. Consistent with the literature, trust was found in this study to be strongly associated with positive performance outcomes such as higher cooperation, satisfaction and lower transaction costs (Dyer and Chu, 2003; Zaheer et al., 1998; Young and Wilkinson, 1989; Sengun, 2005). As trust has an important role in franchisor and franchisee relationships, franchisors should know that trust they have built among franchisees has significant relational payback. As explained by Dickey et al. (2007), franchisees who highly trust their franchisors are more likely to identify with the franchisor, less likely to engage in opportunistic behavior, more likely to cooperate, and more satisfied with the franchisor. Thence, franchisors should do their best to build trust with their franchisees. The higher the trust established between franchisor and franchisee is, the longer and healthier their relationship is.The results reveal that trust has important effects on franchisor/franchisee relationship and performance outcomes. As stated by Dickey et al. (2007, p. 276), \"an enhanced relationship may help preserve the franchisor's brand equity and improve financial performance\". Similarly, the effects of trust on franchisee cooperation and satisfaction are important indicators for the compliance and duration of the franchising agreement. Thence, franchisors should build trust among their franchisees, as they will lead to those kinds of attitudes and behaviors that will be crucial for their strategic decisions.These findings manifest the importance of maintaining positive trust-based relationships between the franchisor and the franchisee. Lower transaction costs are specifically important for a franchisee because these costs have an important effect on the profitability of a franchisee. Lowering such costs might provide the franchisee a competitive advantage vis-a-vis other franchisees.As the volume of shopping increases, the number of fast-food restaurants also increases in the food courts of shopping malls and shopping centers. In order to successfully operate a fast-food restaurant and gain competitive advantage, franchisees should pay attention to the mutual relationship of their prospective franchisors before contracting.7.1 Limitations of the study\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine performance outcomes of inter-organizational trust in franchisor and franchisee relationships in the fast-food industry in Turkey.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The survey was conducted in two major cities in Turkey: Ankara (the capital and second largest city in Turkey) and Eskisehir (a major city 200 kilometers to the West of Ankara). A total of 103 questionnaires were administered to franchisees located at shopping malls in both cities. A total of 87 usable questionnaires were received, yielding a response rate of 84 percent.\nFindings: - Trust is found to be positively related to cooperation and satisfaction, and negatively related to transaction costs. The duration of relationship is negatively related to transaction costs. Levels of trust, cooperation, satisfaction and transaction costs have not differed significantly on the basis of franchisor's origin or respondent's position.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This empirical study investigates only the perspective of franchisees in the dyadic relationship of franchisor-franchisee in one industry (fast-food) in two major cities of a country.\nOriginality/value: - The study contributes significantly to an overall understanding of the function of trust for successful franchise channel relationships, and is the first study to address performance outcomes and trust issues in the fast-food industry in Turkey.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Couple dynamics in family holidays decision-making process
|
[
"Decision-making process",
"Couple roles",
"Family holidays",
"Feasibility triangle",
"Influence of the couple"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Although the concept of family holidays is not always related to the provision of tourism services, this is a common alternative. In this case, many studies consider that it implies a set of purchasing decisions with the main goal being to spend some relaxing time together, in a place different from where the family normally lives (van Raaij, 1986; Nichols and Snepenger, 1988; Kang and Hsu, 2004, 2005; Fu et al., 2014).\n2. Literature review: As the early and most influential consumer behaviour models by Nicosia (1966), Engel et al. (1968) and Howard and Sheth (1969), it has been considered that decision-making is divided into several clearly distinct phases. Although these models were based on decisions related to the purchase of tangible and manufactured goods, they served as the starting point to explain the process for purchasing tourism services (Sirakaya and Woodside, 2005).\n3. Empirical work: 3.1 Purpose of the study\n4. Conclusions: Research on FHDM as a specific and differential product began with the work by Jenkins (1978). Nonetheless, in recent years, authors have neglected to study the roles and variables that influence the FHDM process, in spite of the important changes that have taken place both in the families and the tourism market, and the fact that they are still open issues. This is where this study aims to contribute to the academic literature, by providing, with updated data, a greater sample size than those in benchmark publications and analysing the views of both partners.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Family holiday decision-making (FHDM) is a process composed of several stages. This paper aims to describe two objectives: to identify at each stage the roles in couples, the main decision-maker in the case of family holidays; and to determine the most influential variables.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To identify the roles played by the partners, a frequency analysis has been conducted, which provides a graphic representation of the so-called feasibility triangles. The technique selected to identify the variables that explained the decision structure was binary logistic regression. In total, 375 useful dyads of questionnaires were received.\nFindings: Holidays follow a joint decision-making process in the initiation phase and in the final decision, while the search for information is carried out equally by either partner. The woman's work situation, the type of destination travelled to and the difference in education levels between them are the variables that best explain how couples decide on their family holidays.\nPractical implications: A better understanding of the FHDM process will help tourism companies to improve their marketing campaigns.\nOriginality/value: The characteristics of the sample composed of 375 couples whose members completed a questionnaire separately have allowed not have to rely on one response per household, which adds reliability to the results. This sample is higher than the one of many reference publications on the subject. Furthermore, this paper revealed differences between male and female perception.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Board of directors network centrality and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance
|
[
"Board network centrality",
"Social network analysis",
"Stakeholder management",
"ESG performance",
"Non-linear"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the digital and social media era where the speed and ease of connectivity are significantly faster, informal social and professional networks have become the essential part of corporate strategic operations (Collins and Clark, 2003; Zaheer and Bell, 2005). Extant studies have demonstrated that a firm's networks or often referred to a firm's \"social capital\" have been found to enhance innovation (Ahuja, 2000; Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998), knowledge transfer (Burt, 1992; 1997; Inkpen and Tsang, 2005; Koka and Prescott, 2002), intellectual capital (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998), and efficiency (Baker, 1990; Burt, 2000). Adler and Kwon (2002) define social capital as \"the goodwill (sympathy, trust, and forgiveness) that others have offered us is considered as a valuable resource\" (pg. 18). Furthermore, a firm's social capital is largely facilitated by their direct and indirect links to other firms through director interlocks. Empirical studies also find that a firm's networks built from its board of directors contribute to the boards' ability to make more effective strategic decisions (Carpenter and Westphal, 2001; Thorgren et al., 2010). Our study extends this research stream by focusing on the board of directors' networks and the relationship between board networks and firms' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance.\nLiterature review and hypotheses development: Board networks and corporate social performance\nResearch design: Data and sample\nSummary statistics and regression results: Descriptive statistics\nConclusions: Recent global financial crisis has made corporate social responsibility performance to become an increasingly critical aspect of firms' business strategic and stakeholder management. Firms are continuously receiving pressures from their stakeholders and must strategically address their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns in order to manage the pressures from various stakeholders. Therefore, this study examines the monitoring and advising roles of board of directors and investigates the impact of board networks on firms' ESG performance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Drawing from social capital, social network theory of stakeholder influence and stakeholder management, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between board network centrality and firms' environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using social network analysis, the authors construct five board network centrality, namely, degree centrality (the number of connections), closeness centrality (distance among firms), eigenvector centrality (the quality of connections), betweenness centrality (how often a firm sits between two other firms) and the information centrality (the speed and reliability of information), as measures of board access for social capital and timely information.\nFindings: Using a sample of non-financial firms listed in the UK FTSE 350 index from 2007 to 2018, the authors find that board networks, measured by degree, closeness, eigenvector, betweenness and information centrality, has positive influence on firms' ESG performance. Furthermore, the findings show that there is a non-linear relationship between board networks and ESG performance, and this relationship is stronger in the sectors where firms that have high product market concentration and high percentage of women board members.\nOriginality/value: This study unveils that strong board network centrality brings higher social (reputational) capital and information advantages to the firm to effectively, timely and accurately deal with the pressures from stakeholders (stakeholder management), which leads to better ESG performance.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Rent review: dark art or rainy sky?
|
[
"Contract",
"Rent review",
"Interpretation",
"Common law",
"Indexation",
"Service charge"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nLegal briefing: Rent review clauses are contractual provisions that allow for rent to be adjusted during the term to reflect changes in the value of money, altered market conditions or legal restrictions that might affect the attractiveness of a property in the letting market. The objective of an open market rent review clause is to arrive at a rent that would be likely to apply on a letting agreed between a willing lessor and a willing lessee of hypothetical premises comparable to those actually let to the tenant, on terms derived from those of the actual lease.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact on rent review clauses of a recent UK Supreme Court ruling on the interpretation and application of contractual provisions. Although the ruling in Arnold v. Britton (2015) UKSC 36 concerned service charge provisions, the court's approach has significant implications for rent reviews where a fixed or indexed increase is intended.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Review of the Supreme Court's approach and findings in a case concerning clauses that provided for fixed percentage increases in long leases.\nFindings: It is no part of the court's function, through the process of contractual interpretation, to rescue a party from a bad bargain.\nResearch limitations/implications: Supreme Court ruling in Arnold v. Britton was considered in the context of recent rulings on rent review clauses.\nPractical implications: When drafting for a fixed or stepped increase at rent review, parties must ensure that any formulae or other provisions governing calculation produce results that are fair and in line with the parties' actual intentions. The court will not use the process of contractual interpretation to rescue a party from a bad bargain, and will not intervene to override clear wording. Although the court has power to decide in favour of commercial common sense where a clause is ambiguous or unclear, there is a limit to the \"red ink\" that the court can apply, and no room for remedial interpretation where a clause is clear.\nSocial implications: Where contract provisions are clear it is not open to the court to intervene, by means of contractual interpretation, to protect or to rescue a party who has been disadvantaged, however seriously, if the clause is clear. Where such cases arise in a contract covered by English law, or in similar common law jurisdictions, any protection must be found in statute.\nOriginality/value: Practitioner's review and comments on recent Supreme Court authority.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Personal technology orientation in R&D: a tool to intensify organizational learning
|
[
"Learning organizations",
"Research and development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nTechnology development: For most companies, strong technological competence will be a key competitiveness factor in the future. Also, the creation of innovations strengthens the economic viability of a technology-oriented company. However, leading an R&D organization or a new technology development process requires creative problem-solving abilities and versatile ways of thinking.A new technology development process is in fact a learning process in which new knowledge is created. The process of new technology development requires many parts of the organization to get involved. The process is divided in four main phases: anticipation, development, evaluation, and commercialization. During these phases, different competence backgrounds are needed: for example, strong basic technological knowledge is needed in a development phase whereas the commercialization phase requires wide economic understanding. One team cannot necessarily function productively in all these phases. The transition from phase to phase is maybe the most critical step during a new technology development process. It is very important to get the receiving team to commit themselves to the technology and their role in bringing it to the commercial world.From our research, we have found that when the team members' \"personal technology orientations\" - as we call them - are clearly defined, their learning process for adopting the technology can be intensified and their commitment to fight for the technology's commercial success can be increased.\nPersonal technology orientation: Every person has his or her own subjective technology orientation. A person's own set of values, attitudes, working methods, personality, educational background, motivation and working position, among other factors influence the angle from which he or she views technology. It is like a relationship with technology. In this context, this relationship is defined as a \"personal technology orientation\". Whilst precise definitions are difficult, the overall categorization of people' technology orientations provides a powerful tool for leading an R&D organization or process. Below, we give a brief description of the two main categories (vertical and horizontal) and illustrate the language of each orientation. We finish with some observations about how our model can be used in organizations.Vertical technology orientation\nSome practical observations: All variations of the orientations are equally valuable. Problems start when a person holds a position that is not quite in line with his or her personal technology orientation or he or she is incompetent to adapt the personal technology orientation appropriate to a situation. In too many cases, long working experience is considered to guarantee wide and horizontal technology orientation and a person can be appointed to a position that requires a horizontal approach without analyzing his or her true orientation. An example from practice: a doctoral level person with a fixed vertical technology orientation was appointed as R&D director with responsibility for managing new technology development projects and leading an organization to take over these technologies. At the technology's transition phase all information was detailed and focused. Some team members complained that they did not understand \"the big picture\" or the technology's potential for commercial applications. Their personal technology orientations were ignored in their learning process for adopting the technology. They became frustrated and the success of the project was not good.According to our results, the personal technology orientation model offers a useful and practical tool for managers and other key persons to intensify an organization's learning process in adopting new technology solutions by offering important data in a form that fits members' personal technology orientations.According to our results, few people have actively defined their relationship with technology or in other words their own personal technology orientation. Also, many leaders have not examined the orientations of the people in their teams. Nevertheless, the personal technology orientations of key people have a considerable influence on the technology strategy of a company, management of a technology portfolio, leadership of a development organization, human resource activities, the organization's learning capabilities, creation of innovations, and so on.However, everything begins with defining one's own personal technology orientation. Ask yourself do you actually know your personal technology orientation?\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper introduces a tool to intensify organizational learning during a new technology development process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study used a participatory approach and a series of interviews carried out in five new technology development case projects in the field of wireless communication. The paper reflects the findings to one case study.\nFindings: - The paper introduces the concept of a personal technology orientation as a practical tool for managers and other key persons to intensify an organization's learning process in adopting new technology solutions by offering important data in a right form for every person.\nPractical implications: - The paper has real practical implications for leaders/managers and learning and development professionals in field of technology development.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides useful information for managers in the area of technology development or technology management.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Networking as a marketing tool in small companies: a random and informal approach
|
[
"Marketing",
"SMEs",
"Owner-manager",
"Networking",
"Small and medium-sized enterprises",
"Portugal"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Firms are living in competitive times, and they need to find a factor differentiating them from the competition to gain a competitive advantage. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), due to their characteristically limited resources, that need is even more pressing because the loss or gain of a single client can often be a crucial factor for their survival. However, marketing planning in SMEs is generally flexible, informal and short-term, sometimes based on common-sense knowledge.\n1. Literature review: We can define networking as the long-term relationship the owners and managers of an SME develop with organizations or people to obtain information, support and other resources. This network of contacts can also help SME business people to determine the firm's marketing mix, depending on how they rate its strengths and weaknesses and react to the threats and opportunities in the market and the operating environment (Hakimpoor et al., 2011).\n2. Methods: 2.1 Type of study and selection of cases\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Firm characteristics\n4. Conclusion and implications: The evidence obtained through analysis of the cases studied here shows that SME owners/managers recognize the importance of marketing and networking, but have not yet implemented them in a structured way. In these SMEs, marketing is informal and reactive to market opportunities. Networking, in spite of its great importance in firm growth, focuses mainly on the SME owner/manager's personal contacts, in an informal, unstructured way.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the particularities of marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), to try to understand how networking can influence the marketing activities implemented in this firm segment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: For this purpose, the author decided on a qualitative approach and performed exploratory case studies of four SMEs in Portugal.\nFindings: The results obtained show that the owners/managers of the SMEs studied here recognize the importance of marketing and networking, but have not yet implemented them in a structured way. In these SMEs, marketing is informal and reactive to market opportunities.\nPractical implications: This study contributes to showing the importance of marketing in SMEs, providing more information and evidence about marketing in this firm sector, as well as about the owner/manager's influence on the use of networking in marketing activities.\nOriginality/value: In spite of the opportunities associated with networking in SMEs, there is only limited empirical evidence of its importance in marketing activities. This holds particularly for the realm of SMEs.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Improving call centre agent performance: A UK-India study based on the agents' point of view
|
[
"Call centres",
"Motivation (psychology)",
"Stress",
"Performance management",
"United Kingdom",
"India"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Call centres have become as much a part of our lives today as ATMs, self-service supermarkets, and internet shopping - all of them are \"new age\" service delivery systems that the customer-at-large has had to accept and live with. Anton (2000) has discussed the evolution and features of call centres; many others (Houlihan, 2002; Batt and Moynihan, 2002; Fielding, 2003) have commented on the increasingly important role they are playing in society today.\nPeople management at call centres: While call centres can potentially contribute to customer satisfaction and retention, it appears that most organisations fail to harness full strategic value out of their call centre operations. Traditionally, service management models have recommended that the organisation focus on three areas - defining a \"service strategy\", ensuring that the \"service delivery systems\" are user-friendly, and managing for customer-oriented people, especially on the frontline (Zemke and Albrecht, 1985; Lovelock, 1992; Gilson and Khandelwal, 2005). Further, these models argue that it is important for the three components - strategic, operational, and people - to be \"compatible with the others and ... mutually reinforcing\" (Lovelock, 1992, p. 18). Literature indicates potential incompatibilities between people management at call centres and their strategic and operational foci.The \"quality\" vs \"quantity\" problem\nThe reasons for focusing on the call centre agent: The call centre agent is an example of what is generally known in services management literature as a \"boundary-spanner\".The importance of the boundary-spanning role\nDescription of our research: Research objectives\nFactors related to agents' jobs: Data analysis was done in two iterative steps, using a form of factor analysis known as principal component analysis, which is very useful in exploratory studies (Gorsuch, 1974; Kim and Mueller, 1978; Cooper and Weekes, 1982; Kline, 1994). In the first step, factor analysis was used to identify patterns in the data that would help zero in on more sharply defined constructs. Two factors emerged, that explained 24.2 per cent of the variance in the data. We stopped here, as the next (third) factor accounted for a further 6 per cent only (Gorsuch, 1974 has discussed when to stop the factoring process). We focused on items within these factors that had a loading of absolute value greater than 0.40 (Gorsuch, 1974; Kline, 1994) for the second step.In the second iteration, we performed separate factor analyses on the variables included in each of the two factors that emerged from the first iteration. We thus obtained four factors from the data, each of which appears to have some meaningful items combined together into a factor (see Tables II-V for details of these factors). Reverse-coded items are shown in italics. Some items occur on more than one factor - rather than see this as a problem, we accepted the results of the factor analysis and focused more on interpreting the combination of items under each factor, and trying to find meaning in that combination.Intrinsic motivation vs employee satisfaction\nRelationships with effectiveness, and between factors: Intrinsic motivation correlates with effectiveness\nDiscussion and implications: The management of intrinsic motivation can influence performance\nNote on interpretation of some of the items under CS and SM: 1. Some of the items under CS and SM could be interpreted in different ways - some explanations and discussion on such items is provided here to clarify the stand taken in the paper.2. \"By the end of my shift, I am totally drained of all energy\" is applicable to many jobs, not just call centre agents, or even boundary spanners or general service jobs. However, given the nature of the call centre agents job - which has almost zero physical activity (Table I), this item adds to the idea of \"emotional labour\" and the energy required for the associated \"deep acting\". Also, it implies for managers the need to find ways to \"recharge\" agents' energies, and therefore it fits well within CS.3. \"Passive customers are the best - people who are very understanding, very accommodating\" has positive connotations. We have chosen to interpret this statement in the way it was used by agents in the first part of our data collection - as an implied concern area. Customers who are irate often have very good reasons for being in that state, and ought not to get a poorer response simply because they are perceived to be \"aggressive\". For this reason, this item fits in very well with the overall construct of CS.4. Some items, such as \"I do not carry difficult calls with me till the end of the day - just finish it then and there\", and \"I visualise all customers in positive way - even if they are shouting!\" could be seen to fit better with SM rather than CS. Their loading on CS, however, was significantly stronger than on SM - so they have been included in the former rather than the latter.5. \"I always talk about the day's calls to others ... it helps me unload the tension and stress\" has two sides to it - one positive (the catharsis aspect) and the other potentially negative (talking about \"bad\" calls could increase rather than decrease stress). It was something, however, that was consistently mentioned by the agents at the interviews as something they invariably do. It is retained in SM as it hints at some possible implications for managers - for example to build formal development processes that start with people \"dumping\" their stress by talking about it to others, and then reflecting on how it could have been done better, how others tackled similar situations and so on.6. \"I like to frequently check the number of calls that are in queue\" is another such statement, that was often mentioned by agents in the interviews. As people check the queue status, their stress tends to grow especially when they have a large number of customers waiting to talk to them - leading them to put pressure to reduce call \"talk time\". This item has implications for both call quality as well as CS.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The study was designed to understand important aspects of the call centre agents' job, from their point of view, and the relationships between these aspects and agent effectiveness as perceived by agents' supervisors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Qualitative data gathering (from 113 agents) involved three methods: critical incidents, behavioural events interviews and focus group interviews. Based on the items thus identified, a questionnaire was administered (n=169) to agents in two call centres, and the results were analysed using factor analysis and correlation analysis.\nFindings: - Four distinct factors emerged from the analysis: intrinsic motivation (IM, a=0.91), reward/recognition (RR, a=0.56), customer stress (CS, a=0.85) and stress management (SM, a=0.74). IM correlated positively with effectiveness, especially among experienced agents. CS correlated negatively with IM and positively with RR; SM correlated positively with IM.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Some limitations are: self-reported data, representing one point in time, and with only two call centres. IM and CS present opportunities for further in-depth study, among frontline employees in general.\nPractical implications: - The study has many significant practical implications for call centre managers to improve agents' performance by tapping into IM rather than control. Further, higher levels of IM are likely to lead to a less stressed workforce.\nOriginality/value: - Our study has indicated two new and important constructs (IM and CS) that emerged from agents, and established important links between these constructs, and with effectiveness.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Undergraduate perceptions of the development of team-working skills
|
[
"Curriculum",
"Business",
"Employability",
"Skill",
"Team-work",
"Undergraduate"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The ability to working effectively with others (WEWO) is acknowledged as critical in graduates from all disciplines and is typically considered one of the most important skills when graduates enter the labour market (Australian Association of Graduate Employers, 2011; Confederation of British Industry (CBI), 2011; Hart Research Associates, 2010). Graduate mastery of effective team-working skills appears to be a global concern with documented industry needs extending beyond western, developed economies to Eastern Europe and Central Asia (see Sondergaard and Murthi, 2012) and China (Zhu et al., 2011). Graduate ability to interact productively and effectively within a culturally diverse workforce, often spanning a multitude of generations with competing priorities and varying characteristics (Bennett et al., 2012), is imperative in the modern world of work. Team-work is now one of the most heavily invested in skills in the corporate sector (Hart Research Associates, 2010).\nMethod: Of the 1,201 students enroled in the skills programme, 799 completed the skills audit and consented to aggregating their responses for research purposes. Table III summarises the sample's demographic and background characteristics. The skills audit comprises an online survey instrument which was pretested among business academics prior to implementation. The audit first captured demographic and background data before asking participants to rate on a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest, how well their particular unit developed its core skills. Focusing specifically on WEWO, which is core to Units 1-3, respondents then assigned a rating of one to ten for each of the six constituent behaviours. Finally, participants were asked to describe one way each of these behaviours was developed in their particular unit. The behaviour descriptors for each skill set formed the items used in the survey instrument. For example, the descriptors for the WEWO skill set (see Table II) were the items used by participants to rate core skill development for their particular unit.\nResults: Objective 1\nDiscussion and implications: Employability skill development in the programme is rated highly by participants. This applies across the programme's skills framework with WEWO being no exception. The importance of nurturing these skills is acknowledged yet there are difficulties in fostering them effectively in the university classroom (Callanan and Perri, 2006). Consistently lower mean scores in influencing others support Lang's (2009) assertion of gaps in addressing this skill in undergraduate curricula. Further, it aligns with evidence of graduate inability to grasp negotiation skills and the ability to influence others in the workplace (Institute of Directors (IOD), 2007). Relatively weak development of conflict resolution and social intelligence also supports evidence of poor graduate performance in these areas (Jackson and Chapman, 2012a).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The ability to working effectively with others (WEWO) is critical yet industry continues to lament deficiencies in new graduates. Progress in developing this highly valued skill in undergraduates is impeded by a lack of conceptual clarity and evidence of how best to measure it, and a tendency to adopt an outcomes-focused, rather than process-oriented, approach. This paper aims to investigate undergraduate perceptions of how well a stand-alone employability skill development programme, operating in an Australian Business Faculty, is fostering the WEWO skill set and which pedagogical practices are considered to add most value.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study examines undergraduate perceptions using data gathered from a skills audit of 799 business undergraduates from all four sequential units within the skills programme. Undergraduates rated and described their development against an established framework of WEWO behaviours.\nFindings: Findings indicate that, overall, skill development is rated highly among the undergraduates although the behaviours of conflict resolution, social intelligence and influencing others were rated less highly than others within the skill set. The importance of class activities and assessment items, including the use of virtual learning tools were identified by students as critical to the development of WEWO behaviours.\nOriginality/value: The study highlights the important role of constructive alignment, sequential skill development, consistency of delivery and ensuring student \"buy-in\" to education practitioners in their efforts to meet industry expectations of graduates who can WEWO.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Public sector firms and continuous improvement: how factors can help or hinder learning
|
[
"Public sector firms",
"Organizational change",
"Learning environment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nEfficiency and the public sector: Ineptitude and wastefulness are problems that any organization could obviously do without at any time. Fingers get pointed towards the public sector when these topics come under the spotlight. As a result, many state-owned firms seem determined to address these issues and adopt a more business-oriented approach.\nExpansive and restrictive learning environments: Having appropriate mechanisms in place is often not deemed enough though. Some establishments also prefer to enlist outside support in order to hopefully ensure ultimate success of the project. One example is workplace development programs (WPDPs) that are geared towards learning and change. Providers offer valuable support to organizational members in the shape of training, courses, coaching and networking. Alignment with the routine work activities is required to optimize the effect of a WPDP and ensure that learning goals are achieved.\nA Swedish case study: The key issues outlined are explored by Halvarsson-Lundkvist and Gustavsson (2018) in their study of a social welfare department within a Swedish municipality. A WPDP was used to aid the continuous improvement with an internal Lean support team created to assist managers. Lean courses were provided for both managers and Lean coaches, courtesy of the WPDP. Various pressures to increase efficiency levels in the department are what prompted the eventual investment in Lean.\nThe good and the not so good: So far, so good? Not totally. Quality of courses varied and managers attending them had no say in their design. An even greater issue was their questionable relevance for a public sector service organization. Content largely aimed at manufacturing was not adapted from its original state.\nComment: The review is based on: \"Learning conditions for continuous improvement in a public service organization\", by Agneta Halvarsson-Lundkvist and Maria Gustavsson, published in Journal of Workplace Learning. Commitment to continuous improvement can help raise efficiency levels within public sector firms. However, such goals will only be feasible when internal and external conditions are conducive to the creation of an environment wholly supportive of learning and change.\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: A strong emphasis on continuous improvement can enable public sector firms to significantly raise performance and efficiency standards. However, both internal and external conditions need to be favorable in order to create an environment in which learning and change are supported.\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"
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] |
A meta-frontier assessment of bank efficiency in Middle East and North Africa countries
|
[
"Cost efficiency",
"Banking sector",
"Meta-frontier",
"Middle East and North Africa countries",
"Profit efficiency",
"Technological gap ratios"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: As part of the establishment of a free-trade zone between European and Mediterranean countries based on regional cooperation for the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean trading area, several agreements were signed. For instance, the Barcelona Process aimed to create a \"shared peace and prosperity zone\" and establish a multilateral free-trade zone. To deal with all international challenges and cope with the economic agglomeration trend, Arab Mediterranean countries have also engaged in free-trade processes in the light of new relations between these countries and the EU for the creation of the Greater Arab Free Trade. Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan signed the Agadir Declaration in 2004, and it entered into force in 2007. The declaration aimed to boost trade between the four countries and especially with the countries of the EU through the implementation of the Pan-Euro-Med rules and to promote European and international investments. This agreement was a step toward the establishment of a common Arab market. It allowed signatory countries to prepare for deadlines for the creation of the Euro-Mediterranean free-trade zone. The Agadir Declaration is fully harmonious with the dynamics of the Barcelona Process and serves as a tool to meet the demands of globalization and intensify trade within countries of a similar level of development. This tendency toward economic agglomeration in different directions put the national financial systems at stake to cope with the evolving international market.\n2. Literature review: Several works have focused on the study of bank efficiency. These studies differ depending on the methodology used, the results reached and even the objectives of empirical investigation. Some of these studies focused on one country (USA) and raised conceptual issues (Lovell, 1993) or introduced variables of risk (e.g. Berg et al., 1992; McAllister and McManus, 1993; Mester, 1996; Berger and DeYoung, 1997). For the USA, Berger and Humphrey (1991) and Berger and Mester (1997) built the consensus that banks could improve more their efficiency from reducing inefficiencies relative to the frontier instead of achieving an optimal level of scale and scope for economies to optimize costs and profits. Other studies found that foreign banks are relatively less efficient than domestic banks (Hasan and Hunter, 1996; DeYoung and Nolle, 1996; Chang et al., 1998; Peek et al., 1999).\n3. Methodology: Definitions of cost and profit efficiencies correspond to the most important economic objectives, namely minimizing costs and maximizing profits. The concept of efficiency is based on the comparison between the optimal costs or profits and those achieved.\n4. Data and variables: The countries in this study are Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. We chose to conduct our analysis on commercial banks that are publicly traded[3] for comparability purposes. We used a data set of 61 banks extended over the period from 1991 to 2011. The number of observations is 949. The list of banks of each country is presented in Table AI.\n5. Results: Based on statistical results, we selected the most appropriate specification for each banking industry that best reflects the production conditions. Translog form was used to determine the frontier for our model. The accepted specification includes both technological progress and the behavior face to the risk. The obtained econometric results are consistent with theoretical considerations, which give a great importance to the time trend while measuring the impact of technological change (Lang, 1996; Altunbas et al., 1999), and the equity level to represent the risk preference differences between banks. The results of maximum likelihood estimation of specific and pooled models are provided in Table AII[7]. The estimation results of the model of the meta-frontier are provided in Table AIII[8].\n6. Discussion: 6.1 Cost and profit efficiency based on SFA models\n7. Conclusion: The paper assesses cost and profit efficiency ratios and technology gap ratios of banks in MENA countries over the period 1991-2011 and compares them across these countries, i.e. Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Estimations are made both within specific, pooled and meta-frontier approaches. Evaluation and comparison of bank efficiencies with the SFA method should only be carried out within the same country because we cannot assume the same technological conditions across countries analyzed. The decrease in the level of efficiency between the SFA and the meta-frontier models indicates that traditional approaches based on national frontiers and the pooled frontier over-estimate the efficiency scores.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the efficiency ratios and the technological gaps of banking industries in seven countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The meta-frontier model was used to evaluate efficiency across countries that may have different production technologies.\nFindings: The results of the meta-frontier analysis of banking systems over the period from 1991 to 2011 showed that Tunisian banks were the most efficient in terms of cost and profit. For the cost (profit) model, the analysis of the technological gap showed that Egyptian (Tunisian) banks used the most advanced technology in offering financial services to clients. The comparison of efficiencies confirmed that most efficient banks in terms of cost are not necessarily the most efficient in terms of profit and vice versa. The authors also concluded that cost efficiency analysis provides a partial view of banking efficiency and hence, profit efficiency analysis is as important.\nOriginality/value: The study is relevant for policymakers, regulators and monetary authorities and for researchers to know more about the real differences of efficiency of banks across countries in MENA region and to clarify the sources of this inefficiency to better adapt to the new environment, to make strategic decisions and to reference the performance of banking institutions.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Knowledge management initiatives at a small university
|
[
"Knowledge management",
"Universities",
"Research",
"Teaching",
"SWOT analysis"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction and background: Knowledge is a valuable asset and most organizations are beginning to realize the importance of preserving knowledge. Knowledge management (KM) is a strategic and systematic organization-wide effort to plan, control, and deploy resources in order to identify, create, store and distribute knowledge for reuse and learning across the organization. In today's knowledge-based economies, organizations derive more benefits from intellectual rather than physical assets. Competition, technology, and globalization of education have forced universities to think in terms of a business that uses its resources to deliver a quality service to its customers. Academic institutes and universities largely depend on their intellectual assets and human capital to impart knowledge. In general, human capital can be worth five to ten times more than the physical assets of an organization. However, until recently, organizations did not see the full ramifications of KM because it is difficult to measure how much of organizational performance is actually attributed to KM.Nonaka (1991) and Nonaka and Takaushi (1995) provided the knowledge conversion models as shown in Figure 1. Based on the interaction between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge, these four models represent four different phenomenons in KM as discussed below:1. socialization, i.e. tacit to tacit knowledge conversion;2. externalization; tacit to explicit knowledge conversion;3. combination; explicit to explicit knowledge conversion; and4. internalization; explicit to tacit knowledge conversion.Both tacit and explicit knowledge can potentially be shared and the continuous learning process represented in these models should ideally be a clockwise spiral moving into deeper and deeper levels creating newer knowledge, instead of a two-dimensional cycle of preserving the existing knowledge. The process of socialization transfers tacit knowledge in one person to tacit knowledge in another person through observation, discussions, experience, imitation, or some other social interaction to capture the knowledge. For example, a new faculty can learn from senior faculty on how to manage bigger class sizes or how to write successful research grant proposals. The externalization process to change tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge deals with turning your ideas, images and mental models into words, metaphors, and analogies. This type of externalization allows people to articulate their tacit knowledge or ideas into a form that could be presented to others. Conversion from explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge is called combination where explicit knowledge is transferred to others in the forms of documents, research publications, e-mails, data bases as well as through memos and briefings. Here, information technology (IT) plays a crucial role to store, disseminate and classify the knowledge. Collection, editing, classification, and distribution are some of the key functions to make knowledge valuable to others. Most of the research and teaching databases, journals and professional magazines, etc. help in this combination process. The process of internalization allows us to understand and absorb published and externalized knowledge in order to grow our tacit knowledge base and widen our horizons. According to Liu (2000), when KM is executed, there are four key competencies that are developed: the competency of developing a common consensus in an organization increases socialization from individual tacit knowledge; the competency of developing innovation increases externalization from tacit knowledge; the competency of developing learning ability enhances internalization and the competency of developing integration ability makes organizational knowledge more valuable.\nLiterature survey: In this section, we review the past work and relevant applications of KM to the education sector. According to Oakley (2002), the education system is about the production and dissemination of knowledge and what happens within this system is also knowledge based. Brown and Duguid (2000) argue that the profound changes in competitive environment have made universities and higher education institutes to think like business as education markets are becoming global due to internationalization of curricula and their ability to offer programs regardless of a student's location. The trend is quite evident from the fact that many business techniques such as productivity and performance management, quality management, ISO 9000, etc. have found applications in education. Kidwell et al. (2000) provide arguments that the concepts of KM as they exist in corporate world could be applied to higher education in general. Metcalfe (2006) provides a critical assessment of KM in higher education from various perspectives but with an emphasis on unintended consequences and future implications. Psarras (2006) examines the basic issues related to KM and how they play a role in transforming individual knowledge into group knowledge for educational institutes. Martin and Marion (2005) examine the critical role of leadership in higher education to identify an enabling mechanism for developing knowledge-based organizations. On the contrary, Rooney (2000) advocates that knowledge as an intangible, social and ephemeral process cannot be directly managed. Based on the work of Murray and Myers (1999), most respondents acknowledge that valuable knowledge resides in people's heads but they are reluctant to share their knowledge for fear of loosing influence and control. Moon and Kym (2006) propose a model to gauge the overall intellectual capital of a firm and provide empirical support for the model along with some measurement indicators for sub-factors such as human, structural, and relational capitals. Bontis (2001) provide a survey of models used to measure intellectual capital in order to asses the knowledge. Walton and Guarisco (2007) present a new diagnostic-enabling KM model that helps address issues of how knowledge flows and transfers can be analyzed within a transnational educational system. Ubon and Kimble (2002) provide online distance education provision to identify the major time and space constraints that hinder KM practices. Rowley (2000) considers the KM challenges faced by higher education institutes in UK, identifies tools like electronic collection of learning materials and concludes that effective KM requires significant change in culture and values.Most of the applications of KM in education sector have been reported either on the developing information systems for library resources or on the curriculum development side. Examples of libraries making use of KM are provided in Lucier et al. (1988), Lucier (1990), Lucier (1995), Monaghan (1994), Mudrock (1994) and Lowry (1994). There are examples described in the literature that related to individual education planning, curriculum evaluation and high-stakes testing where state test data, curriculum objectives, or educational goals are analyzed in relation to student performance for perceived educational benefit (Mason, 2003). Thorn (2001) addresses KM issues from an information systems design perspective and explains it with a case history from Milwaukee School District reporting the outcomes for eighth grade students. Bain (2005) and Bain (2006) recognizes the importance of KM and its potential to impact current practice in schools but also offers several reservations regarding the potential use of KM to the learning and teaching activity of schools. Newton and Sackney (2005) examined group knowledge in three school boards conceptualized it as a phenomenon influenced by structural, political, social, or relational elements composed of affective, axiological, and cognitive dimensions. Edge (2005) discusses an application of KM to education sector in Toronto school district board and sheds some light on how the district employs KM to improve early literacy instruction and achievement. The present paper provides a comprehensive approach for institute wide KM (rather than a localized application of IT in one area) by looking at the problem from both ecological as well as IT perspective (as against the IT emphasis in the current literature). This broader view provides a more sustainable KM culture. That is where this paper intends to contribute.\nProblem overview: This paper pertains to the case of a small provincial university (name withheld) which has an excellent reputation for imparting knowledge to its undergraduate students. However, the university is still far-off from enjoying a reputation for its research activities and graduate programs. Being a university, its assets are mainly intellectual capital. Towards this end, the university does possess a wealth of knowledge in terms of consulting work, pedagogical reports, patents, and experience of its existing faculty. At present, this has not been utilized towards the goal of projecting the image of the university. In addition, the university lacks a research culture. The university stands to lose the tacit knowledge base of its professors as they near the retirement age, i.e. this knowledge base is going to be eroded if not preserved. Lately, the administration has started to recognize the importance of a strong research base so as to make it globally recognized brand name for its graduate programs. But, there is a need to develop a mechanism for growing the tacit as well as the explicit knowledge bases. The incentive for KM lies in the university's willingness to develop an ability to acquire, share and preserve knowledge in future. Short-term measures may help to mitigate the university's loss of knowledge as its senior faculty retires, but given the financial constraints and the human inertia, realistically there is only so much that can be done. The purpose for beginning the KM process should therefore be based on a realistic assessment of what can be done to preserve today's knowledge while focusing on securing success in the future. Since the degree to which knowledge is acquired and preserved today is a reflection of the past efforts, a sound KM strategy can serve to create the foundation for future success on a long-term basis.Current state\nSWOT analysis: The following strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were identified for the university.Strength and opportunity\nComponents of KM process: This section discusses the key KM components as it pertains to a small university but applicable to any academic institute in general. Effective management of knowledge implies much more than a few decisive actions or investments in infrastructure. Though short-term investments and changes may be necessary to provide useful mechanisms, successful KM is a long-term initiative and it is a process that evolves continually. Initially, it is the administration that must provide the thrust, but in the longer run, the process should ideally become more and more organic. Second, accumulation and sharing of knowledge is a human endeavor, therefore, KM is inherently a human resource development process. To \"manage knowledge\" effectively is to empower people individually and collectively to acquire it and share it. Human resource initiatives that lead to increased organizational abilities in team work and communication will no doubt impact heavily on the organization's ability to manage its knowledge. Towards this end, several crucial factors (as discussed below) play a role in the KM process.Identifying core competencies\nKey recommendations: There are several recommendations that can be made to the university's administration and they are outlined below. However, the most important recommendation that the administration be committed to this process for the long-term and the processes must be backed with time, resources and funding. Indeed, if the long-term commitment of the administration is not acknowledged ahead of time, any talk of change not backed up by administrative action can serve to backfire and create resentment and distrust within the university.Effectively communicate the vision\nSummary of benefits: There are several benefits that could be reaped by following the recommendations presented earlier:* Improve the quality of teaching and research. An effective mechanism for knowledge sharing will improve the quality of teaching and research. With the improved efficiency for transferring knowledge to learners, the university can build a great reputation for its programs.* Closing the gaps between senior and new faculties. After the university establishes an effective KM system, senior faculty can easily transfer their experience and skills to new faculties by systematically sharing their knowledge, i.e. there would not be any problem for the new faculty to find mentors, resources, etc.* Competency to attract more experts. When the university has built an environment for faculty where they have sufficient availability of resources and infrastructure, experts and new faculty would be more interested to work in this environment. This will tremendously develop the university's human resource base giving it a world-wide recognition for its excellent research facilities, resources and graduate programs.* Locating experts. With an improved networking and knowledge sharing ability, it would be easier for staff to know each other and locate an expert in any field.* Document management. With the established databases, the document could be easily located, viewed, edited, and analyzed. This would provide easy access to quality information.Following the recommendations provided in this paper, the university would not only have a system to address the KM issues discussed earlier, but it would also create an excellent atmosphere for developing an ongoing research culture. The recommendations are designed both from a technocratic perspective that promotes the codification, storage and sharing of knowledge through IT, as well as from an ecological view which emphasizes on a sustainable organizational culture to generate and share knowledge.\nConcluding remarks: Teaching and research are two of the underpinnings of every university. Different universities have different conditions prevailing in their environment and small universities are no exception. Although small universities enjoy a small student - faculty ratio, but these small universities basically lack strong research culture and they are more focused on undergraduate programs and diplomas. These universities may have a potential to be strong on research side, but the ambience for conducting research is almost non-existent due to the absence of a KM system. The lack of resources, awareness and funds are not favorable for taking projects. Second, it may be concluded that universities spend so much money, time and effort on recruiting, training and developing individual competencies, but the moment any faculty leaves or retire, that knowledge is lost unless it has been disseminated. So, it is important that the university creates an environment and culture; where members can contribute to a repository of knowledge that is shared throughout the university.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to address the knowledge management (KM) challenges faced by the administration of a small university which does not have a mature research culture.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper follows both technocratic as well as ecological approaches to develop a sustainable KM. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis has been used to assess the problem environment.\nFindings: - The paper investigates the main issues faced by a small university to enhance its research reputation and identifies key components of a KM system that can be established to achieve these objectives.\nResearch limitations/implications: - KM is of paramount importance for most organizations and a university is no exception. Although knowledge is constantly being accumulated but it cannot be taken for granted. In the absence of a KM system to facilitate the growth and transfer of knowledge, knowledge base can easily be eroded. This is truer for universities engaged in imparting applied knowledge in business, trades, and technology-related areas.\nOriginality/value: - Most of the reported applications of KM in the education sector are limited to localized applications of information technology (IT). The present paper provides a comprehensive approach for institute-wide KM by looking at the problem from both the ecological as well as the IT perspective, therefore, providing a more sustainable KM culture. There-in lies the value of this paper.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Leaders or organisations? A comparison study of factors affecting organisational citizenship behaviour in independent hotels
|
[
"Servant leadership",
"Organisational commitment",
"Organisational citizenship behavior",
"Organisational justice",
"Independent hotels"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In many countries, independent, non-chain hotels are a major contributor not only to the tourism industry but also to their national economy. Apart from the income that these hotels generate, they are employers of numerous low and semi-skilled workers (Nazarian et al., 2017). It is, therefore, important for both a country's tourism industry and for its national economy for independent hotel managers to understand the factors affecting their performance and effectiveness (Nazarian et al., 2017; Nazarian et al., 2019). In Spain, there are three times as many independent hotels as chain hotels (Chappell, 2019) and in Iran almost 90 per cent of hotels are independent, with few Iranian chains and even fewer international ones (Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, n.d.; Varga, 2018), so these countries are suitable for a study of independent hotels .\nTheory and hypotheses development: Servant leadership\nMethodology: Sample and data collection\nData analysis: To examine our conceptual model, a structural equation modelling technique was used. A major concern of this study is to identify and test the sequential and multivariate relationships among the research variables. To minimise the non-response rate, we informed the participants regarding the confidentiality of the processing and storage of their data (Sekaran, 2003). We tested for non-response bias by taking out the first 50 and the last 50 responses. The findings demonstrate that the significance value of any variable was not in the acceptance level range. Thus, statistically there was no difference between the early and late respondents. As the result, the was no concern of non-response bias in this study.\nDiscussion and conclusion: The aims of this study were to examine the effect of servant leadership on OCB in independent hotels in two culturally diverse countries, to discover if distributive justice, procedural justice and organisational commitment played a part in the relationship, to discover if the relationships between these constructs differ between Iran and Spain and, if so, to find what might be learned from the differences. From previous studies of the nine relationships between these five constructs, it was expected they would all show positive relationships (Walumbwa et al., 2010; Bavik et al., 2017; Ling et al., 2017). However, we found there were different relationships between the constructs in Spain and Iran that show different attitudes to leaders and organisations in the two countries.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Managers of independent hotels need to maximise organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among employees to gain sufficient competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive environment, so it is important to understand what affects it. To achieve this, the purpose of this paper is to test if servant leadership, OCB and other related constructs have the same relationships between them in two contrasting parts of the world.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey data were gathered from managers of independent hotels in Spain (451) and Iran (429). Spain was selected because it is a developed country that is a leading destination for tourists. Iran was chosen as a contrast, as it is a developing country with a growing tourist industry.\nFindings: The findings show that Spain and Iran demonstrate different patterns of relationships in the selected variables, suggesting that Iranians trust their leaders more than the organisational systems, whereas the Spanish trust organisational systems more than their leaders. These results are consistent with Spanish culture having higher individualism than Iranian culture. They are also consistent with Iranian culture prioritising traditional values, such as personal loyalty to managers, and Spanish culture prioritising modern values, such as impersonal rules and objective processes.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study suggests that leadership and justice affect OCB in different ways where modern values prevail compared to where traditional values prevail. It suggests that managers of independent hotels in Iran should follow the example of Spanish hotel managers by adopting more objective and fair procedures while showing that inward investors and expatriate managers in Iran should be aware of the importance of personal leadership style. Further research is needed in different countries and regions to improve the generalisability of our findings.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the literature on the application of the servant leadership construct, which was developed in the West, to other regional contexts. It also adds to the literature of independent hotels, which is an important yet under-researched part of the hospitality industry.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Luxury brand markets as confluences of multiple cultural beliefs
|
[
"Brands",
"Luxury",
"Cultural beliefs",
"Cultural branding",
"Meanig construction",
"Multicultural marketplaces"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over the last two decades, we have witnessed unprecedented demand for luxury brands by international consumers in Japan, in East Asia, and now in the BRIC (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, and China) and CIVETS countries (i.e. Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa) (Kapferer, 2012). Due to the accelerated flows of consumption meanings, ideologies, and people resulting from global economic forces (Appadurai, 1997), many of these emerging marketplaces exhibit high degrees of cultural complexity, inner differentiation, and mutual entanglement (Craig and Douglas, 2006; Robertson, 1992; Welsh, 1999). Consequently, there is a growing need for the international marketing field to advance understandings of how luxury brand meanings and consumption behaviours are shaped by and within multicultural marketplaces.\nCross-cultural studies of luxury brands: The identification and understanding of cross-cultural luxury markets has been the subject of several previous studies in international marketing. However, this research has largely focused on the comparison of luxury brand consumption across regional and national borders (e.g. Dubois et al., 2005; Shukla and Purani, 2012). For instance, Okonkwo (2007) described six main regional markets for luxury brands - Europe, North America, Japan, China, India, and Russia - and noted that, although luxury consumers across the world generally exhibit similar expectations for luxury brands (e.g. high quality, prestige, and exclusivity) due to globalisation and cultural convergence, consumption styles may vary from one regional market to another, reflecting the economic, social, and cultural forces that influence these specific regions. In another study, Dubois et al. (2005) conducted a cross-cultural study of luxury brands across 20 different countries, identifying three generic types of attitudes towards luxury consumption - elitist, democratic, and distant. According to Dubois et al. (2005), some countries can display more of one attitude than another, whereas others can have a mix of two or three attitudes. Finally, Shukla and Purani (2012) recently developed a conceptual model of luxury value perceptions and empirically tested the salience of these values in two countries, offering a cross-national comparison between the collectivist and individualistic markets. Their findings suggest that, while some value perceptions are globally influential among all countries, consumers in collectivist and individualistic markets use dissimilar localised criteria for measuring the value of a luxury brand.\nConceptual background: Cultural branding\nMethodology: The objectives of this study called for a qualitative inquiry. Since there were no previous empirical studies that explored luxury brands in the context of multicultural marketplaces, it was necessary to employ methods that were appropriate for investigating underdeveloped contexts. The use of qualitative methods was useful in obtaining rich descriptions and more in-depth insight of the research context (Slater and Andriopoulos, 2013). Furthermore, Doz (2011, p. 584) noted that a qualitative research design is particularly useful when researchers aim to extend existing or build new theories, because it offers \"an iterative 'constant comparison' and recursive interplay between rich data and emerging conceptual insights that can be related to existing theories and also allow one to create new theoretical insights\". Given that previous literature is dominated by the global-local cultural paradigm, a qualitative inquiry was useful in eliciting new insights regarding the interplay of local and foreign cultural beliefs in a multicultural luxury brand market.\nFindings: Consistent with previous studies, some participants noted that luxury brands are reflective of global consumer culture, by conveying that \"there are other like-minded people in other parts of the world who appreciate these luxury brands\". However, it was also observed that luxury brand consumption in New Zealand is shaped by interesting dynamics at the confluence of local and foreign cultural beliefs. These are the Kiwi tall poppy syndrome and the East Asian face-saving orientation. We found that these two distinct beliefs convey oppositional socio-cultural meanings about luxury brands, promoting dissimilar styles of luxury brand consumption. In particular, while the local tall poppy syndrome encourages consumers to be more discreet when consuming luxury brands, the foreign face-saving orientation promotes conspicuous consumption. Most importantly, we found that consumers can be influenced by both of these cultural beliefs, conveying a complex duality and contextual cultural shifting within their adopted styles of luxury brand consumption. The emergent themes from our study are illustrated in Figure 1. We will now discuss these themes in detail, using illustrative cases derived from the interviews.\nDiscussion: Costa and Bamossy (1995, p. 22) postulated that, in a multicultural marketplace, \"one must be willing to assume that there is no dominant culture\". Therefore, rather than a system of meaning that is shared across all levels of a society, cultural influences are better seen as heterogeneous beliefs which shape consumers' \"kaleidoscopic experiences\" (Boyne, 2002, p. 125). Furthermore, the kaleidoscopic quality of these experiences in multicultural marketplaces is intensified by high levels of intercultural exchange (Smith, 1991) and mutual entanglement (Robertson, 1992; Welsh, 1999). Our study has drawn on this growing body of literature on multicultural marketplaces to explore the meanings and consumption styles of luxury brands that emerge at the confluence of local and foreign cultural beliefs in a single national market. In doing so, our findings illustrate that the cross-cutting heterogeneous cultural developments in multicultural marketplaces are of paramount importance when investigating diversity within luxury brand markets, since the concept of luxury has always been intertwined with prevalent cultural ideologies (Berry, 1994). Furthermore, they are particularly pertinent to multicultural nations, such as New Zealand, as well as for cosmopolitan cities that are located at the confluence of intercultural flows. In the remainder of this section, we will discuss some key implications of these findings for the international marketing of luxury brands in multicultural marketplaces.\nFuture research: In this study, by focusing on the interplay between local and foreign cultural meanings, we explored how the complexity of a multicultural marketplace shapes divergent styles of luxury brand consumption in a single national market. While we have purposively focused on only two ethnic groups (i.e. European NZ and Asian NZ) in New Zealand, incorporating other groups could extend our understanding of how the tall poppy syndrome and the face-saving cultural beliefs are negotiated, adopted, and/or integrated by luxury consumers within this multicultural marketplace.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: Cross-cultural influences are important considerations in the international marketing of luxury brands. These influences have predominantly been understood through cross-national approaches and the lens of glocalisation. The purpose of this paper is to study augments these paradigms by advancing the view of luxury brand markets as confluences of multiple cultural beliefs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A hermeneutic analysis of 24 in-depth interviews was conducted with luxury brand consumers in New Zealand.\nFindings: The findings describe two cultural beliefs that convey divergent meanings and shape luxury brand consumption styles in a multicultural marketplace. More specifically, the authors illustrate that consumers can be influenced by and shift between both local and foreign cultural beliefs in a single national market.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study offers a situated account of the New Zealand luxury market. Other cultural beliefs may be in operation in different national markets.\nOriginality/value: This paper makes three contributions to the international marketing of and cross-cultural considerations for luxury brands. First, the authors illustrate that cultural diversity must be considered not only at the cross-national level, but also at the intra-national level. In particular, the authors show that the global-local dichotomy in cross-cultural luxury branding needs to be augmented with the local-foreign dimension. Second, this is the first study in this area to empirically demonstrate the impact of multicultural marketplaces on luxury brands, where consumers emerge as contextual cultural shifters. Third, the authors advocate a shift from the prevailing glocal approach to a new multicultural approach in luxury branding.\n",
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Services vs retail chains: are there any differences? Evidence from the French franchising industry
|
[
"Franchising",
"Services",
"Retailing",
"France",
"Value chain"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There is no doubt: franchising is now everywhere. Everywhere means in most:* regions of the world;* kinds of cities; and* sectors of activities.Firstly, franchised chains are expanding in the industrialized countries such as the USA (1,500 franchised chains and 760,000 franchised units), France (765 franchised chains and 34,745 franchised units), Great-Britain (695 franchised chains and 33,800 franchised units), etc. but also in emergent countries such as Brazil (900 franchised chains and 19,000 franchised units), China (1,900 franchised chains and 87,000 franchised units), Philippines (750 franchised chains and 100,000 franchised units), etc. (French Federation of Franchising, 2005). Secondly, franchised chains are located in the shopping centers of the big cities but also in the center of small cities. Small cities, above all in European countries such as France, are more and more attractive for the franchisors. For instance, the French convenience store chain Vival, belonging to the retail group Casino, recently knew an exceptional growth. More than one thousand outlets were opened during the last three years (Casino, 2005, www.casino.fr) and they expect to open more than 300 outlets during 2006 (Personal meeting with the franchisee recruiter, December, 2005). All these Vival outlets are located in villages of the French rural areas. Thirdly, franchising is increasing in most sectors of activities. Of course, franchising is widely used in traditional businesses such as supermarkets, apparel stores, hotels, real estate agencies, etc. but also in new activities such as house keeping for personal homes (e.g. Menage.fr), reloading of ink toners (e.g. Cartridge World), broking in house work (e.g. Activ'Travaux).Even if franchising is now everywhere, there are still some differences among the chains, for instance according to the:* geographic area (e.g. 1: subway outlets are everywhere in the USA - with a total of 18,678 subway outlets in the US territory - whereas there are very few subway - less than 20 - in France, e.g. 2: the brand 7-Eleven is present in many countries - more than 25,000 outlets in the world - whereas not any 7-Eleven outlet operates in the French territory, Entrepreneur Magazine, 2005); or* sector of activities (e.g. hotel and fast-food franchising are widely developed in most industrialized countries whereas some other sectors just recently appeared in the franchising industry: housekeeping chains, etc.).Some multi-countries studies highlighted differences between the French and Spanish markets regarding the fast food chains (Lopez Fernandez and Perrigot, 2003), the French and US markets as far as the hotel industry is concerned (Alon et al., 2004), the Brazilian and French franchising markets, and more specifically in the case of specialized food chains and restaurant chains (Azevado and Silva, 2005) and the Brazilian, French and US markets with a particular focus on the plural form (Dant et al., 2006). In a global perspective, this is particularly relevant for the franchisors to understand the specificities of the different markets in order to adapt their entry mode, their concept, their organization, etc. to these local markets. These multi-countries papers then contribute to enlarge the literature dealing with franchising internationalization.As far as the sector of activities is concerned, researchers have not focused on the differences between different kinds of chains. Most papers analyzed the franchising industry as a whole (Lafontaine and Shaw, 1999, 2005), or at the contrary, focused on specific sectors, mainly the fast food industry (Bradach, 1997; Hoover et al., 2003; Kalnins and Lafontaine, 2004; Kalnins and Maye, 2004) and the hotel industry (Contractor and Kundu, 1998; Chen and Dimou, 2005).Nevertheless, services and retail chains seem to present important differences. How can it be explained that among the Top Ten Franchises for 2006 (Entrepreneur Magazine, 2005): Subway, Quiznos Sub, Curves, UPS Store, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, Dunkin Donuts, Jani-King, RE/MAX Int'l. Inc., 7-Eleven Inc., and Liberty Tax Service, nine chains are services ones and only one is retail chain? If the services chains are so successful, does it mean that they present some specificities compared to the retail chains?In brief, the differences in the nature of the offering provided by services and merchandise retailers (in general, and services and retail chains in particular), are:* intangibility;* simultaneous production and consumption;* perishability; and* inconsistency of the offering to customers (Levy and Weitz, 2004).The purpose of this paper is then to highlight the differences between services chains and retail chains. These differences are observed in terms of age, size, plural form, internationalization, and contract terms. The empirical study concerns more than 500 chains located in the French territory. France is the main European market as far as franchising is concerned, and more specifically, as far as the number of franchisors is concerned (French Federation of Franchising, 2005). Results could help the prospective franchisees, on the one hand, to better understand these two kinds of chains before choosing one particular sector of activities, and the franchisors on the other hand, to take into account these differences in the creation, development and management of their chain.The paper is organized as follows. In the next section, the differences between services chains and retail chains enable to formulate several propositions. Then, the following section presents the research design with details about the data, the variables and the methodology. Results are displayed in the fourth section and discussed in the last section.\nServices versus retailing in the franchised chains: Retail chains sell products to consumers whereas services chains primarily sell services rather than merchandise. It is important to mention the word \"primarly\" because \"all retailers are to a greater or lesser extent marketing a service\" (Bateson, 1985).Services firms are a large and growing part of the retailing industry (Levy and Weitz, 2004) because of trends such as the aging of the population that will increase demand for health, the increasing amounts of time and money spend on health and fitness by young people, and the increasing income and level of requirements.These reasons, given in a general context of services companies, can contribute to explain the development of new kinds of franchised chains in the services sector. For instance, many chains specialized in health care are well established in countries such as the USA (e.g. Home Helpers) or France where the chain Age d'Or Services focusing on senior people is a big success. Franchised chains specialized in health and fitness are also expanding. The chain curves has about 7,748 units in the US market, 713 units in Canada (Entrepreneur Magazine, 2005) and is actively pursuing its European expansion in France and Spain after having first focused on the British market. Last, more and more people are willing to pay for homes to be cleaned (e.g. Menage.fr), clothes to be washed and pressed (e.g. 5 a Sec), meals to be prepared in order to spend more time enjoying the meal with families and friends; etc.The importance of services franchising has been also underlined in recent books such as this of Alon (2005) that focuses on this particular kind of franchising. From all these examples, a first proposition is formulated.P1. Services chains are becoming more important, or at least as important, as retail chains.\nResearch design: Data\nResults: The results of the t-test and Levene statistics are provided in Table II. The figures display the differences between services chains and retail chains for each variable. The presence of \"***\" \"**\" and \"*\", respectively, indicates that the difference is significant at the 0.01, 0.05 and 0.10 level.The figures displayed in Table II indicate that:* Services chains (12.45 years) are significantly (at the 0.10 level) younger than the retail chains (14.28 years). On the average, a difference of two years is noticed. Whereas the year of creation for the retail chains is 1990 on the average, this for the services chains is 1992 on the average. The franchising case is therefore parallel with this of business in general for which the services offer has appeared some years later the product distribution.* Even if the services chains are younger and less numerous than the retail chains (228 vs 302) for the moment in the French territory, it is noticed that the average size of the services chains (86.40 units) is higher than this of the retail chains (72.13 units). Thus, it tends to confirm P1. Services chains are becoming more important (in terms of size) than retail chains even if the former are younger and still less numerous for the moment.* Services franchisors significantly (at the 0.01 level) use less company-owned units than retail franchisors. The average rate of company-owned units is equal to 33.55 per cent in a services chain whereas it is equal to 44.37 per cent in a retail chain. This significant difference borders ten per cent. P3a is then contradicted.* Services franchisors (17,407.91 EUR) significantly (at the 0.10 level) require higher franchising fees than retail franchisors (14,927.54 EUR). This significant difference borders 2,500 EUR. P4a is thus confirmed.* The franchising and advertising royalties are significantly (at the 0.01 level) higher in the case of services than in the case of retailing. This significant difference exceeds two per cent in the case of the franchising royalties. They are, on the average, equal to 4.93 per cent for the services franchisees and 2.88 per cent for the retail ones. The difference, even if it remains significant, is less important for the advertising royalties: 0.5 per cent instead of 2.05 per cent. On the average, services franchisees pay to their franchisor 1.14 per cent of their sales for advertising whereas this amount is equal to 0.64 per cent for retail franchisees. P4b and P4c therefore find support.* The contract duration is significantly (at the 0.01 level) longer in the services sector (6.68 years) than in the retail one (5.25 years). On the average, there is a difference of about one year and a half. This confirms P4d. One concrete example of long contract duration in the services sector is the chain Subway already well established in many anglo-saxon countries but beginning its development in the French territory. The contract duration for French Subway franchisees is equal to 20 years (Subway, 2005).* Predicted sales per unit are significantly (at the 0.05 level) lower in the services chains (556,870 euros) than in the retail ones (1,300,630 euros). The ratio exceeds 1:2. It can be mentioned that outlets that generate very high sales are generally those belonging to the non specialized food chains (supermarkets, etc.).As far as the experience before franchising is concerned, the difference is not significant. Nevertheless, it seems that contradictory to the P2, retail franchisors (14.52 years) have longer experience before franchising than services franchisors (8.17 years).Regarding internationalization, there is not any significant difference between services chains and retail chains. Empirical results do not support P3b.Table III summarizes the insights of the empirical study as far as the propositions are concerned.\nDiscussion: Contributions\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to review the differences between retailing and services in the particular context of franchised chains in order to highlight the main differences between retail chains and services chains.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The existence of such differences is tested in the French context because its franchising sector is the most developed one in Europe as far as the number of chains is concerned. The empirical study deals with 530 chains among which 228 are services and 302 are retail.\nFindings: - Some significant differences between services and retail chains are underlined in terms of age, plural form, franchising fees, franchising and advertising royalties, and contract length. Additionally to these significant differences, the new trend in franchising seems to consist in developing more services chains than retail chains.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper has some limitations. The focus is on only one country: France. A multi-countries study could be useful to confirm these differences or highlight other ones. Furthermore, a more precise classification about the sectors of activities could underline other differences.\nPractical implications: - This paper can help the prospective franchisee to better differentiate the services chains and the retail ones, and better understand their particular features. Furthermore, the new franchisor can use these descriptive results to compare his/her practices with the average practices within the sector he/she is in, above all in terms of contract terms: franchising fees, franchising and advertising royalties, and contract duration.\nOriginality/value: - This paper highlights differences between different kinds of franchised chains: retail vs services. These differences have not been underlined in previous research.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Simple tests as tools for vital wheat gluten evaluation
|
[
"Expansion test",
"Extensibility test",
"Gluten ball",
"Gluten index"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Vital wheat gluten is a protein concentrate (with about 80 g/100 g of protein) marketed in the form of a white grey powder, which is used to fortify flours that do not have viscoelastic properties suitable for the baking process. Vital gluten is obtained from wheat flour, through the aqueous separation of proteins and starch, and it recovers its viscoelastic properties when re-hydrated (Day et al., 2006; Majzoobi and Abedi, 2014).\n2. Material and methods: 2.1 Material\n3. Results and discussions: 3.1 Technological characteristics of vital glutens measured by simple tests\n4. Conclusions: The quality of vital gluten can be measured by different tests, and most of them are complex for their execution and interpretation, so simple tests are important to verify the viscoelastic quality of vital wheat gluten, reducing costs and the need for skilled labour to perform more complex tests and interpret their results. These tests showed differences between the commercial vital glutens analysed, where VGA presented a gluten network with greater elasticity and a greater SV of its gluten ball, while VGB formed a more extensible gluten network, and with a lower SV of its ball gluten. The GI and extensibility of the gluten ball showed significant correlation coefficients with farinograph parameters and bread quality parameters, confirming the results obtained for VGA and VGB from simple tests.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the viscoelastic quality of commercial vital wheat glutens from different origins (A and B) through simple tests, and correlate these results with dough rheological parameters measured using more complex equipment (farinograph and extensograph) and with bread quality characteristics (specific volume and crumb firmness) obtained from wheat flour fortified with 7 g/100 g of vital gluten.\nDesign/methodology/approach: For the evaluation of vital gluten quality, two commercial vital wheat gluten named A and B were used. The simple tests performed with these samples were wet and dry gluten contents and index gluten, extensbility test and expansion test. The Pearson correlation was performed among data from dough rheological tests (farinograph and extensograph) and bread quality parameters (specific volume (SV) and crumb firmness) obtained from the fortification of wheat flour with 7 g/100 g of VGA or VGB (previous work, data not shown).\nFindings: The simple tests showed differences in the viscoelastic properties of vital gluten A and B; vital gluten A presented higher elasticity and lower extensibility than vital gluten B, and the gluten ball of sample A presented higher SV. By correlation analysis, it was verified that the simple tests studied may be useful to assess the baking performance of commercial vital gluten when this product is added to wheat flour for its fortification. Furthermore, the results indicate the need for more information on vital wheat gluten proteins for its commercialisation and use.\nOriginality/value: This work is very important, not just for the scientific community, but also for the bakery industry, that requires more information about vital wheat gluten before its use in bread making. As there are great differences in the protein quality of commercial vital wheat glutens and their functionality, the study was developed to solve this problem.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Making JIT retail a success: the coordination journey
|
[
"Supply chain management",
"Just in time",
"Retailers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Seasonal products are sold in very short selling windows and their demands are hardly predictable. Furthermore, some seasonal products are produced by mass-production (low-responsive) strategy. Thus, retailers ought to pre-order with large quantity based on speculative forecasts before the start of the seasons. Consequently, both retailers and manufactures have to bear high costs of obsolete inventory, markdowns and lost sales.Alternatively, retailers may employ the concept of time-based purchasing or Just-in-time (JIT) retailing (Andel, 1996; Rosenberg and Campbell, 1985). JIT retailers carry only inventories at their shelves and replenish JIT according to the consumer demand without pre-ordering large quantities. This strategy enables the retailers to shift costs from their distribution functions to the manufacturers (McMichael et al., 2000). Therefore, JIT retail strategy requires manufacturers to supply with quick response (Suri, 1999), accurate response (Fisher and Raman, 1996), and to enhance their knowledge in communication, cooperation and coordination (Hoffman and Mehra, 2000).The concept of JIT retail is mostly applied in the continuous replenishment program (Vergin and Barr, 1999) or efficient consumer response for the grocery industry (Pearce, 1996). However, some industries, such as the food, textile and toy industries, still faced high inventory levels (Ginter and La Londe, 2002; NPD Group, 2004). These industries are different from other industries (for example, fast moving consumer goods). They face highly volatile and seasonal market because they supply perishable, seasonal, fashionable or innovative products. Their highly variable and unpredictable demands lead to uncoordinated ordering and supply behaviours (for example, price competition, shortage gaming, early-order, and, etc.), as well as the supply uncertainty. Therefore, manufacturers and the JIT retailers in a volatile and seasonal market need effective coordination with each other in placing orders and sharing risks.The key question is how to achieve an effective coordination between the manufacturers and JIT retailers? Effective coordination may be due to the coordination process, the coordination behaviours, the coordination strategies, and many other factors. This paper considers the first three factors as the focal themes. From the literature, several theoretical frameworks are available to explain the nature of coordination. For the process of coordination, there has not been much study about it (Simatupang et al., 2002). We may find some other theoretical frameworks, which are similar but somehow not specifically about coordination process, such as the framework of cooperative process (Ring and Van de Ven, 1994), and the process of interaction (Ford et al., 1986).Coordination behaviour concerns how the different parties choose to consider each others when dealing with the uncertain, risky and conflicting situations. Some studies indicated that JIT purchasing needs increase in interactions, boundary spanning, and commitment between suppliers and customers (Myers et al., 2000; Vonderembse et al., 1995). However, behavioural influence in JIT retailing is still a less-known area. To understand coordination behaviour, we may refer to some relevant behavioural theories. For example, during a conflict situation, decision-makers may coordinate towards avoiding, accommodating, compromising, competing or collaborating (Lewin, 2000). Conflict of interests may also arise due to the different parties' \"intention\" or \"priority,\" which might take advantage on the others' expenses.Moreover, the theory of planned behaviour suggests that individuals' \"intention\" to certain decision choice situations may be influenced by factors such as beliefs, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (Ajzen, 1991). Similarly, the classical theory of choice assumes that individuals put \"attention\" in making choices based on their \"mental models\" of the world, which are guided by their cognitions and preferences, and the lessons learned from the previous actions or choices (March and Olsen, 1979). These theories may help us to explain the behaviours of coordination.Furthermore, the theory of channel behaviour suggests that channel (coordination) behaviour is governed by the \"role\" of the involved individuals and organizations (Stern, 1969). This means each person acts according to the behaviours prescribed for his or her job position, or in accordance to a certain role. Moreover, the environment can also influence the coordination behaviour. When demand or supply becomes unpredictable, decision-makers may become more risk-averse (Friedman and Savage, 1948) or being self-satisfying (Jeuland and Shugan, 1983). For example, the JIT retailer is risk-averse to the inventory risk but willing to face the risk of lost sales instead.The next essential factor is the coordination strategy. Deriving effective coordination strategies is not an easy task. For example, decision-makers may lack knowledge on how the interrelationships between different variables which may influence the physical flow behaviours over time. These interrelationships are not the interrelationships between people, but among key variables, such as capacity, resources, production, orders and inventories in the multi-stage supply chain and the delays intervening between different stages, and the limited information available at each stage in the system, and the goals, costs, perceptions, and fears that influence individuals' orders (Senge, 1990). Such interrelationships (also called systemic structures) become rather complicated and difficult to understand, especially for a seasonal supply chain. Consequently, it is necessary to investigate if there exists some effective coordination strategies for a JIT retailer under unpredictable and seasonal demand.Thus, a case study is carried out between a toy manufacturer and a JIT retailer from the Nordic countries. The toy supply chain deals with seasonal and volatile products. The study followed up the coordination process between the two parties and their coordination behaviours for one calendar year in 2004. Their coordination process and behaviours were identified and analysed. The study also identified several patterns of coordination behaviours and how they have influenced each other. The study also tried to explain why certain counter-productive coordination strategies were chosen by the two parties.\nResearch methodology: To understand the coordination process and behaviours during various stages of the coordination journey, an in-depth case study is carried out. It involves an international toy manufacturer and a JIT retailer in the Nordic countries. Case study (Yin, 1994; Ellram, 1996) is the chosen methodology because it allows for in-depth understanding of:* The \"how\" question - how the manufacturer and JIT retailer engage in the process of coordination and how they behave?* The \"why\" questions - why the manufacturer and JIT retailer behave as they did while coordinating with each others?The case data is mainly collected from the observations from the coordination meetings, meeting minutes, various decision documentations, and actual ordering behaviours. These multiple sources of data allow for triangulation and understanding of the coordination process, behaviour and strategy (Eisenhardt, 1989). Collection of these rich case data was possible because the researcher was a part-time project member for the toy manufacturer. This also allowed for tabulation of meaningful events, accurate rendition of the facts, and uncovering of different explanations of the facts (Yin, 1981).The toy supply chain under this study consists of the toy manufacturer and many of its customers (retailers) within the Nordic countries, as shown in Figure 1. The main units of analysis are the coordination process and behaviours between the toy manufacturer and the JIT retailer. The JIT retailer is an independent toy specialist. It is one of the largest toy retailers in the Nordic countries. It has approximately 180 toy stores, located in both high-street and sub-urban areas. The JIT retailer usually replenishes its stores from the toy manufacturer to fill-up its shelves according to the consumer sales on daily basis. The JIT retailer usually refuses to commit to any early-order or demand forecast, or to carry extra buffer inventory. The JIT retailer shares data of the weekly consumer sales and retail inventory to the toy manufacturer and expects the toy manufacturer to provide adequate inventory at the distribution center and to meet the agreed fill-rate performance.Within this market region, there are many \"one-off\" retailers, which usually order very few large orders each year (keeping inventory in their Regional Distribution Centers) and accept early-order discounts. However, there are only a few JIT retailers, which order JIT according to consumer sales and only keep inventories at their shelves. Because \"one-off\" retailers are the majority, the toy manufacturer is inclined to produce base on \"one-off\" or mass-production basis, and to provide some inventory (and buffer) at its distribution centers to respond to the JIT retailers (Wong et al., 2004b). Therefore, this study considers also the interrelationships between the coordination decisions and actions of this dyadic relationship with the coordination and planning decisions of the other retailers, in order to further enhance the understanding of the interactions between different coordination strategies (Simatupang et al., 2002).\nThe coordination journey: This section describes the observed coordination journey between the toy manufacturer and the JIT retailer. It covers the three focal themes - the coordination process, the coordination behaviours, and the coordination strategies.The coordination process\nReflections and propositions on coordination journey: Understanding the journey of coordination between the toy manufacturer and the JIT retailer has allowed us to reflect and conclude several propositions on the coordination process, behaviours and strategies. Some of these propositions are descriptive in nature for the better understanding of coordination issue, while some are prescriptive so that the practice can utilize them to manage their supply chains.The proposition on coordination process\nConclusion and future research: This paper studies the coordination journey between a toy manufacturer and a JIT retailer. It generates several theoretical propositions on coordination process, behaviours and strategies. It is evident that the coordination process followed some generic sequential stages - evaluating, deriving, offering, assessing and implementing. This generic coordination stages can be further studied so that we can prescribe an effective coordination process. The study also found out that the physical flow behaviours and the ordering behaviours are interactively influencing each other. This led us to further understanding how poor flow behaviours are being created.Furthermore, the study identifies several effective coordination strategies for JIT retailing, i.e. accurate response, differentiated quick response, and coordinated response. It reveals the importance of coordinating responsiveness, ordering behaviours and risk-taking behaviours. This is because the coordinating parties had decided and coordinated irrationally and became self-satisfying, especially when there were uncertain conditions and time pressure. Such conditions led to the choices of ineffective coordination strategies. These coordination issues have not been pointed out by most quick response literature.Nevertheless, it is essential to remark that the above propositions and findings have their limits in terms of generalization. They are based on only one case study of a dyadic toy supply chain. Furthermore, the study also realized that the supply reliability and fill-rate performance for the JIT retailer were highly affected by the total ordering behaviours from all other retailers. Therefore, the use of an in-depth case study on a dyadic toy supply chain may have ignored the other essential exogenous factors. However, this in-depth case study serves well as an essential step to reveal the complexity and essential elements involved in a coordination journey.Finally, this study of coordination journey for JIT retailing allows for better understanding of the coordination problem because the problem is more severe in a seasonal supply chain as compared to the supply chain of commodity-like products or fast moving consumer goods. It further explains why many retailers (especially for food, textile and toy industries) still face high inventory levels. This implies that responsiveness and coordination knowledge derived from the operations management research is inadequate in meeting higher industry complexity (Sahin and Robinson, 2002), especially for a seasonal supply chain. Thus, research to further understand these coordination behaviours is required.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Just-in-time (JIT) retailers replenish continuously according to the consumer demand. Under unpredictable and seasonal consumer demand, it is essential to coordinate planning and responsiveness with the manufacturers. The purpose of this paper is to study the coordination journey between a toy manufacturer and a JIT retailer, and generates several theoretical propositions on coordination process, behaviours and strategies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A one-year case study to describe the unfolding coordination process between the toy manufacturer and JIT retailer. Rich case data is collected because the researcher is one of the manufacturer's project team members.\nFindings: - The coordination process followed some generic sequential stages - evaluating, deriving, offering, assessing and implementing of coordination strategies. Furthermore, the physical flow behaviours and the ordering behaviours are found interactively influencing each other. Especially, the speculative and risk-averse ordering behaviours have created cyclical excess inventory and low shelf-availability. Under such uncertain conditions, two counter-productive coordination strategies were implemented. The two parties later realized several effective coordination strategies - accurate response, differentiated responsive, and coordinated responsive. Moreover, the responsiveness of the manufacturer was actually affected by the order behaviours of all other retailers.\nResearch limitations/implications: - There is generalizable limitation to generate theoretical propositions based only one case study on a dyadic toy supply chain.\nOriginality/value: - Low-responsive supply for unpredictable and seasonal demand leads to irrational ordering and coordination behaviours, which create mismatch of supply and demand. This paper studies an alternate strategy - the JIT retailing. It includes the problems of coordination behaviours, some observed effective coordination process and strategies.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Colonial history and its effects on Sub-Saharan economic development
|
[
"Sub‐Saharan Africa",
"Economic development",
"Developing countries"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper examines some of the major economic initiatives the countries of Sub-Sahara Africa have embarked on to improve their lagging economies and try to boost the quality of life of the people in this region. Countries that comprise this region differ in many respects such as language, culture and political systems. Indeed some of them have more than their share of turmoil either from within or from both within and without. Most of the problems plaguing these nations seem to have their roots in improper governance and inept control systems.But in order to understand the current problems and the resultant desire to solve those problems, it is important that one looks at several historical factors, especially the colonial history of some of these countries. The concept of liberalization as used in this report is based on comparison and contrast of present practices viewed as failures and new practices that, they hope, will bring about reform and improvement in economic performance in the region.\nSource of information: Information used in this study came from the Internet, publications on Sub-Saharan countries (from member nations or international sources), The World Bank (IMF, etc.), reports from Investment Authorities (from countries that have established such agencies), various statistical reports on the economic development of the region and the author's personal knowledge as a person who grew up and traveled in that region.\nObjectives of this study: (1) To identify the catalytic factors behind the liberalization and reform effort.(2) To examine the political and economic liberalization process taking place in that region and the influence it has had in the region.(3) To identify problems or obstacles standing in the way of the liberalization and reform exercises.(4) To assess the current state of the economy in Sub-Saharan countries.\nImplications of the historical factors: Most of the countries in this region, if not all, were colonies at one time or another with exception of such countries as Ethiopia which had a brief stint with Italy as an outside occupying force. Even then, there was always some repressive governance or exploitation by the ruling elite of whatever origin, foreign or domestic. The bottom line is that a time came when the people wanted to be free from repression and gain self-determination. This proposition is based on the author's understanding of the region's history and political development. For that reason, the author is a proponent of the view that the econo-political situation in this region is a function of he past colonial subjugation and post-independence realities. Also, the author proposes that some colonial hangover existed in most of those countries. It is this hangover that made post-independence leaders stay with some old practices even as they crafted their own risky political innovation. They acted as if they had one leg in the past and the other in the present.It is in the light of this theory the author attempts to explain and justify the observed thrust toward liberalization of the political and economic systems of the countries in question. In other words these countries have realized that they inherited economic as well as political problems from the colonial era and they are trying to rectify the situation. To do so, most of them have relaxed the stringent political and governmental controls they had imposed on their countries and now have had to allow some market forces to come into play.Essentially, the concept recognizes implicit steps taken by some governments to move the region towards a market driven economy, oiled by the spirit of the free enterprise, not one whereby governments control means of production and dictate the modus operandi and modus vivendi of the people. It is postulated that the current thrust to liberalize regional politics, in order to breathe life into the economy, involves three steps on the path to economic and political liberalization. These three stages trace current regional problems back to their colonial roots and history. These stages are followed by outlines of major remedial initiatives needed to rectify the situation.First stage: the colonial era or repressive era\nThe benefits of reform: The countries which have been able to reform their systems according to World Bank guidelines, are reaping handsome benefits from donors. For example, Italy just canceled $116m of Uganda=s $145m debt (81.8 per cent) owed to the Paris Club Creditors (Kaheru, 2000) and the G8 countries canceled most debt for poor countries (The Monitor Newspapers, Kampala, 17 June 2005; Business Africa, October 2005). Italy is also canceled most of Uganda's remaining bilateral debt. But the Italian Ambassador to Uganda warned Uganda officials to change their attitude towards investors if investors are to stay. By contrast, Japan refused to forgive debt to Kenya which was suspended by the IMF in1997 (Muriithi, 2000) and it even more reluctant because of its commitment to Indonesia and other countries in that region. IMF has re-approved Kenya for loans with severe restrictions and warning as to possible cancellation of the loan at any time if the guidelines are not adhered to (Bundotich, 2000). Responsible behavior benefited Cameroon which is set to receive US$ 2 billion relief package under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) strategy of the World Bank (PanAfrica News Agency, 2000a).The G7 governments are not happy with the progress made by the HIPCs. In fact, Canada noted that only 6 out of 11 African countries that have completed the HIPC process still have debts deemed to be unsustainable and that many low income countries have to make payments, to multinational institutions, that are too high relative to their ability to pay and their own needs (Jubilee South, December 2004) There are 41 HIPCs and 33 of them are in Africa (South African Government report, 2003). Well performing countries enjoy relaxed terms of payment of such loans and the loans carry low interest rates and can be paid over a longer period of time. Jubilee South also said that in 2002, developing countries took in $58b. But in that year, those countries paid $325b in debt service. Most of this debt was deemed by Jubilee South as illegitimate and should not be paid. In spite of misgiving, the G7 countries agreed to freeze for poor countries (Business Week, 7 January 2005) and Britain came up with its own Marshall Plan to address HIPC's debt (ABC News Online, 7 January 2005).The World Bank gives a test to the borrowers (evaluates them) and the score card for last year is out. Good performers are rewarded by being allowed more access to loans and grants under various World Bank strategies for development and debt relief for HIPCs. Results of this test revealed that Africa produced the worst and the best performers. Out of 74 candidate countries Africa sat 41 countries. Thirteen countries got AA (an A is given to top performers) and five of them are from Africa. African countries which scored a grade of AA are Uganda, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Mauritania; Tanzania got an AB, Rwanda an AC.The score are important because the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank as agency for soft loans, uses these report cards as criteria to decide how much credit to extend to each country the following year. Kenya and Zimbabwe have been virtually cut off from IMF loans because they failed to heed the advice of the IMF. These economic reforms have increased confidence of foreign investors as shown by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Multi-lateral and bilateral lenders are careful with their money. They try to lend to countries which are likely to pay back or use the money on useful developmental pursuits. For that reason, World Bank and other lenders watch out for trouble indicators as evidence of possible risks. Example of how countries are tracked by research agencies, such as the highly credible Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and the Heritage Foundation is given in Table III (EIU, Business Africa, 16-31 October 2004). Table III shows FDI inflows and it seems better run countries have an edge over those which are not, with exception of Nigeria which is not well run but has oil and creditors can tolerate some its transgressions. Table IV shows Africa's best and worst performers (Business Africa, 1-15 October 2004).The initiatives put forth by most Sub-Saharan countries are making the region look better and more investor-friendly than in the past. Although not all the countries have liberalized their economic system enough to attract FDI, those which have are providing encouragement by example of the benefits that have accrued. Benefits have come to reformed countries by way of more multi-lateral and bilateral financial aid. The region has seen increased FDI activity and is likely to see more of it. Reduced internal and external hostility has made it possible for neighboring countries to talk and cooperate with each other rather than fight. Additionally, more peace, economic and political reforms have made the region more attractive to both foreign and domestic investment. Success seems to have gone in favor of smaller and more liberalized countries such as Namibia, Mauritius and Botswana although South Africa is number two in Africa and it is number 36 in the world as shown by the New Single Index of competitiveness (Table V). The table shows South Africa attracts most of SSA FDI. Also, reports that a major investor in Africa (Actis) invests at least 40 per cent of its African FDI in South Africa.\nOpportunities for Sub-Sahara: The regions new image is much more favorable than in the past and the countries of this region are poised to take advantage of these opportunities and hopefully, minimize the effects of their problems. Here are some of the opportunities that might accrue to members of the region that have vigorously pursued political, social and economic liberalization.(1) Formation of economic alliances such as COMESA and ECOWAS will stimulate intra-regional trade and commerce, particularly if these alliances also become Free Trade Areas (FTA), as they intend to be.(2) Money which used to be spent on maintenance of disproportionate armies and police forces which are used for repression, can be spent on beneficial projects for development and improvement of the quality of life of the people in the region.(3) The World Bank, IMF and other lenders are generous when it comes to aiding HIPCs. They have put in place certain initiatives for helping poor countries. Particularly effective in alleviating poverty in qualifying countries is the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) initiative which provides grants or low interest loans to be used for specific poverty relieve programs.\nProblems to surmount: (1) Many countries are still run by repressive regimes with long serving and tired leaders. Such leaders are not progressive, they are insecure and, resort to ruthless and repressive measures to stay in power. In Uganda has a clean record when it comes to compliance with lender terms. On the other hand, South Africa does not need foreign aid as badly as do the other Sub-Saharan African countries. But it still needs.(2) DFI inflow and it has still to reduce its ethnic tension and a weak economy. Even with reformed economy, the firms and companies in these countries may be many, but they are small. Their total output remains small. These small countries cannot benefit from the exposure as would the larger firms, because they are obscure and cannot list stock on the National Stock Exchanges even if the exchanges were available in their countries.(3) In most cases, countries that need help are the ones that are heavily indebted and burdened by debt. In such cases, the countries would not have funds to stimulate their economies as they would be spending most of their little money on debt service to remain qualified for possible aid in the future.(4) Formation of political and economic alliances like COMESA or ECOWAS may not work as well as originally envisioned because the members are not bound to stay in the alliance. That means that there is always a danger of possible future disintegration, upon a member or members disagreeing. Indeed, currently there have appeared two smaller alliances within COMESA already and they are: the EAC, and the SADC. The EAC is comprised Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. If EAC and SADC are independent, then COMESA cannot declare a FTA for all its members. In fact, COMESA would not function with those smaller alliances inside it. It is difficult to see the future of a COMESA with fragmented interior. Yet the alliance had hoped to achieve \"0\" tariffs status for its members by the end of the year 2002 (PanAfrica News Agency, October 2000a, b). But by the middle of 2005, COMESA was no where near 100 per cent of that goal. Would EAC or SADC tax other COMESA members? If not, what would be the point of forming such sub-alliances within a mega one? If yes, what strategic regional purpose would COMESA serve?(5) Just like the EU of 15, COMESA members have signed agreements to have free trade with non-members. For example, South Africa has such an agreement with the European Economic Community and Kenya has a similar agreement with Egypt. This practice, if not abandoned, will tend to dilute COMESA's regional synergy and make unity difficult to achieve (Business Africa, 16-31 January 2000).\nSome recommendations to leaders of Sub-Saharan countries: A lot has been said and written about this part of Africa. But one author hit the target when he wrote in his column that Africa needs Africans for Africa policy (Reese, 1998). Reese's axiom can be extended to cover all possible solutions to African problems. He debunked the economic thought that the problems facing Sub-Saharan Africa can be solved by increases in exports. Rwambali (2004) pointed out the fact that financial aid might not be as helpful as assumed. He bases his skepticism on the donors' host of highly paid consultants sent to recipient countries. Indeed a good amount of aid is spent on logistics and expatriate personnel. Yet aid, with its flaws, is essential for development of poor countries even though carrying more aid may mean a heavier debt burden.Politics are the life blood of a nations economy. Government policies can increase flow of that blood or cut it off by their policies. So, free and fair elections (guaranteeing timely leadership succession), improved security, checked corruption and a market driven economy are some of the critical success factors for Africa today. But it should also be noted, that a good African government is not necessarily the one the West approves of. On the contrary, African leaders who are determined to help their people even when it means stepping on toes of multinational corporations, may be good for Africa. Africans should not allow themselves to be beaten to submission by lenders and protectors of their security. Sovereignty is not for sale. Moreover, a stubborn stance against the West for the sake of it or imitating the West is not the answer, either. The nations in this region must be themselves and feel free to accept or reject aid with honor.\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explain the causes of political and economic problems faced by Sub-Saharan countries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Data were compiled from current statistical data from various countries in the region. Also library sources were used to study the historical developments relating to the countries' past and current political and economic situations.\nFindings: - This paper finds that the Sub-Saharan countries misruled themselves and ruined their economies soon after they gained independence. They were then forced to seek help from their past colonial masters whom they had fought and got rid of to be independent.\nPractical implications: - The implications are that these former colonies have had to face reality and work with some western countries (including their past colonial foes) in order to foster economic development. In so doing, they have had to compromise and be accommodate donor and invest conditions\nOriginality/value: - This paper provides explanation as to why the countries in this region have had economic and political problems. Furthermore, it lists comprehensive strategies these countries have devised to get out of their problems.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Recreating the university from within: Collaborative reflections on the University of British Columbia's engagement with sustainability
|
[
"Higher education",
"Educational policy",
"Canada"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is the third largest university in Canada - with over 28,000 undergraduates, 7,300 graduate students, 1,700 faculty and 7,300 staff (and non-faculty employees). The campus is located on a 402 hectare plot of land that overlooks the Georgia Straight at the base of the Fraser River (Figure 1).The campus is filled with learning spaces, research labs, recreational areas, a farm, a second growth forest as well as parking lots, garbage bins and fast food outlets. On the UBC campus, there are communities of people that live full time, a major hospital, hundreds of departments within Faculties, theatres, sports facilities, retail shops, art galleries, gardens and a wide array of operational units. As the role of the university shifts, expands and transforms it is important to take time to reflect on and evaluate its potential future pathways. This paper considers how the university as a whole is dealing with issues of sustainability, ecological and social justice and how these concepts are integrated into the day-to-day functions and teaching practices of the institution. The intentions of the paper are to:* summarize the sustainability education initiatives at UBC, and address the barriers and pathways to creating sustainability education programs at the university level;* consider the implementation and integration that has occurred at the operational level since the signing of the UBC Sustainable Development Policy; and* create a collaborative writing process with a range of voices and experiences.Our focus is on sustainability education and the operational procedures of the university. As a result, we will not address in this paper the significant number of research initiatives, centres and institutes at UBC that focus on sustainability research.Formal organizations and mandates exist in the USfor implementing sustainability in higher education (e.g. University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF, 2000), the President's Council on Sustainability (1994)) and Canadian universities are shifting directions to implement similar practices (Environment Canada, 2000). In 1990, UBC signed the Talloires Declaration which is an international commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education. The Talloires Declaration is an action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy into teaching, research, operations and outreach at the university level. Prior to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development meetings in Rio de Janeiro (UNCED, 1992), another group of University Presidents and senior officials from universities, governments, the business community and NGOs from five continents met in Halifax in 1991, to discuss the leadership role of universities on the path to sustainable development. UBC signed the Halifax Declaration that was created during this meeting. The following are two of many actions that the university has committed to by signing these documents:1. To emphasize the ethical obligation of the present generation to overcome those current malpractices of resource utilization and those widespread circumstances of intolerable human disparity which lie at the root of environmental unsustainability.2. To enhance the capacity of the university to teach and practice sustainable development principles, to increase environmental literacy, and to enhance the understanding of environmental ethics among faculty, students and the public at large (Lester Pearson Institute for International Development, 1992).These public commitments to sustainability are only two of many competing commitments made by the University. As a signatory of these two declarations UBC has had access to action plans and a community of universities that are attempting to implement them. In 1997, the University of British Columbia (UBC, 1997) adopted a sustainable development policy (UBC Policy #.5) which states that the campus should adhere to sustainable practices in all of its actions and mandates. It also suggests that all students who attend UBC should be educated about sustainability:UBC recognizes that just as the university contributes to a healthy society and economy through education to build up social capital, we also need to invest in maintaining the ecological services and resources, our natural capital, upon which society depends. UBC seeks to become a centre for teaching and learning about the skills and actions needed to manage ourselves in a sustainable way (UBC Policy 5).There is a fundamental difference between creating policies for sustainability versus creating programs and systems that model and develop sustainable practices on the ground. One of the authors suggested an addition to the policy that would better reflect the necessary fundamental shift towards sustainability would read \"UBC recognizes that it is not possible to contribute to a healthy society without developing mechanisms and practices within the institution that model the critical importance of social capital\". Institutional policy is often created at a great distance from the day to day activities of undergraduate classrooms and student interactions or the operations and facilities that form the infrastructure of the university. As universities create sustainability policies, programs and curriculum, there is a need to coordinate and reflect on these initiatives.\nThe UBC experience: Over the past six years at UBC, a number of programs and organizations related to sustainability in the fields of teaching, learning, research and campus operations have been initiated. This paper grew out of a collaborative process involving a small group of faculty, staff and students who were responsible for implementing a number of sustainability programs at UBC (see Table I). The main research question concentrated on the barriers and pathways to creating sustainability education programs at the university. Through the collaboration we also shared stories of success and failure. By writing reflections on our experiences we were able to consider the barriers and opportunities for change and the possible future directions for these initiatives and for the campus as a whole. The collective experiences of the collaborative group were wide ranging and the process was an opportunity to have students, faculty and staff reflect on their collective experiences of creating sustainability programs at UBC.In 1998, UBC created the Campus Sustainability Office to implement the Sustainable Development Policy. The Sustainability Office has a primary focus on planning, design and operations, as well as a role in staff, faculty and student education about sustainability. The policy required the formation of a sustainability advisory committee that reports to the administration on all matters related to sustainability on campus. Another early initiative was the organization of a committee that considered the state of environmental education at UBC. A report was created from this group called \"Rethinking Environmental Education\" that suggested a number of new initiatives related to sustainability including a \"College of Sustainability\" and a mandatory first year course entitled \"Sustainability 101\". The College of Sustainability was proposed for research and learning about issues of sustainability within an interdisciplinary framework and to coordinate and focus the diverse courses and programs dealing with sustainability and environment at UBC. The committee envisioned a College with three core functions: to develop and administer an interdisciplinary course on sustainability for first year UBC students; to coordinate course offerings related to environment and sustainability across campus; and to offer interdisciplinary programs of study for students who want to focus in greater depth on questions of sustainability (UBC, 1999). This College was proposed in 1997 and has not yet been implemented. At present (2004) another proposal is being circulated which calls for an undergraduate Interfaculty Program in Sustainability Studies (IFPSS).Other sustainability initiatives that influenced our discussions included: the UBC Campus Sustainability Office, the creation of the Greening the Campus program (created by the Sustainable Development Research Institute - SDRI), the SEEDS program (Social, Environmental, Economic Development Studies created by the Campus Sustainability office as an extension of the Greening the Campus Program), the Environmental Studies and Environmental Science programs, and the transformation of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences to include sustainability as a core value. A more detailed listing of a sample of sustainability initiatives on the UBC campus is found in Table I.\nA collaborative inquiry: Collaborative inquiry is a research approach that takes action research principles (reflexivity, flexibility, social change etc.) and further engages the participants and researchers as collaborators of knowledge production. The goal of collaborative inquiry is to present participants' findings in a public arena, through dialogue and actions within the group. The inquiry creates the opportunity for new data and life experiences to become a part of knowledge construction at all stages in the research process (Group for Collaborative Inquiry & thINQ, 1994). By engaging in a truly collaborative process of inquiry, researchers begin to break down the hierarchical and institutional structures that surround the process of research.The idealistic assumptions behind collaborative inquiry give rise to a wide array of challenges in practice. For example, collaborative inquiry is presented in the literature as difficult, frustrating and yet extremely rewarding (Barr Reagan et al., 1994; Group for collaborative inquiry & thINQ, 1994). Groups of collaborative writers and researchers publish their research under group names to reflect a conscious process of shared knowledge construction. The consideration that all viewpoints are a collaborative resource contradicts the \"conventional status hierarchy which gives some members' viewpoints greater credibility than others\" (Winter, 1996). This emerging paradigm of research enables researchers to be engaged in collaborative knowledge production but it does not fit within traditional academic models for writing, publishing or promotion. Collaborative inquiry challenges academic institutions to create a system that accepts (and even rewards) these alternative processes for research.The process\nConclusions and future directions: Sustainability initiatives, policies and practices are well meaning but are not usually at the forefront of decision making or teaching at the university. For a university to take a leadership role in sustainability is much more complex than simply having the right policies or even rewarding good practice. The shift to sustainability involves; a fundamental thinking through of basic issues about the role of the university in society, creating a strong relationship between sustainability principles and the core goals of the university. It also will require a reworking of the design and operation of institutional reward systems, creating an appropriate linkage between the operational and academic functions of the university, and finding an appropriate mix of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity.In summary, our experiences and insights led to a number of conclusions about what needs to happen in order to create institutional change towards sustainability. Institutional commitment needs to be more than just a policy and a few programs. Universities need to consider sustainability in the decision-making structures and everyday practices of the whole university. The decision making process needs to be open and transparent in order to allow everyone to be involved in the process and to be able to voice concerns. Connecting academic plans with sustainability policies may be a strategic way for sustainability to be infused throughout the organizational culture of the university. There was also a strong desire to reconsider and change the current reward structure in a manner that recognized and rewarded sustainability initiatives on campus. By rethinking the reward system we may be able to recognize how much work is to be done and therefore allocate enough time and resources to the mission. There was also a strong need for faculty, staff and students to find time to rest and renew while attempting to change academic culture. Unfortunately, all of these ideas assume that there is a conversation already happening on campus about these topics. Faculty and staff need more time for reflection and integration of projects so that communication across large campuses becomes possible. For example, this collaborative writing process helped to bring people together to reflect on the projects of the past and consider the plans for the future. It allowed us to consider if we were walking our own talk. The following are three overarching recommendations that we believe could help UBC and other institutions in the transition towards sustainability education:1. We believe that the university needs to be transformed. We should be in experimentation mode during our transformation, taking the opportunity to help the University chart new paths in demonstrating values, re-defining work-places and making innovations in course content and delivery.2. We should foster institutional self-reflection with the purpose of understanding and then changing the damaging institutional policies and structures (e.g. promotion and tenure criteria, capital expansion investment criteria etc.) that reinforce negative practices and that make the post-secondary education structure a source rather than a solution for the problem of unsustainability. We need to create more avenues for discussing these issues within the traditional university system.3. We should recognize the time and effort necessary for true interdisciplinary communication and that educating people about process is a big job. For the process to be successful it requires a common language which has to be shared and worked within the quest to communicate fully.There are many individuals actively developing and implementing sustainability initiatives on the UBC campus. Some of the Faculties are keenly aware of the importance of sustainability issues and many programs are being proposed and funded with relation to sustainability. The energy and commitment are high but so is the danger of burn-out. Universities need to find ways to reward this enthusiasm and energy and to integrate it into the more traditional decision-making processes of the university. If these recommendations turn into clear priorities, UBC has the potential to be a leader in creating innovative and effective sustainability initiatives.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: - In 1997, the University of British Columbia (UBC) adopted a sustainable development policy stating that the campus should adhere to sustainable practices in all of its actions and mandates and that all students who attend UBC will be educated about sustainability. The purpose of the paper is to consider how far UBC has moved in the last six years in the direction of sustainability education, what has been accomplished, what lessons have been learned and what challenges lie ahead.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper is a collaborative inquiry created by a number of faculty, staff and one doctoral student working on sustainability education issues at UBC.\nFindings: - The shift to sustainability involves: a fundamental thinking-through of basic issues about the role of the university in society, creating a strong relationship between sustainability principles and the core goals of the university. It also will require a reworking of the design and operation of institutional reward systems, creating an appropriate linkage between the operational and academic functions of the university, and finding an appropriate mix of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity. The collaborative writing process helped to bring people together to reflect on the projects of the past and consider the plans for the future.\nOriginality/value: - The intention of the paper is to summarize the sustainability education initiatives at UBC, and address barriers and pathways to creating sustainability education programs at the university level. The collaborative stories aim to help other individuals and groups implement sustainability in higher education and contribute to a process of institutional learning for sustainability.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Collections 2007: Reinvigorating Collection Development and Management
|
[
"Collections management",
"Canada",
"Academic libraries",
"Public libraries",
"Conferences"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nCanadian Library Association Collections Pre-Conference, INCO Center, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, Newfoundland, Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 9.00 a.m.-4.00 p.m: This all-day session was one of the most popular of the pre-conferences held at the 2007 Canadian Library Association Conference in St John's, Newfoundland. On a bitterly cold May morning, about 40 delegates gathered in a lecture hall at the Memorial University of Newfoundland to hear a diverse sequence of reports describing collections activities in academic, special and public libraries.The morning began with a keynote presentation by Martin Levin, books editor of the Globe and Mail newspaper, entitled \"Confessions of a literary editor.\" In his wide-ranging and extremely entertaining speech, Levin offered his thoughts on the role of the contemporary book review and targeted three issues as being of primary concern:1. The diminishing space allotted to book reviews in many newspapers. Levin noted that this trend began with the New York Times, when it reduced its book review section and developed a narrower focus on non-fiction and major fiction. Other newspapers, notably the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, followed suit and Levin speculated that others will follow. Levin decried this tendency, stating that it is fundamentally a mistake for mainstream review sources to concentrate on major authors who really do not need to be reviewed; they are, in fact, \"review proof\" and will be read regardless of positive or negative book reviews. In contrast, newspapers should offer as wide an array of reviews as possible, including many of new and emerging authors for whom reviews can be genuinely significant in helping them find an audience.2. The critic as celebrity. Levin noted the tendency of many reviewers to enhance their own reputations by writing scathing reviews of major literary figures, as in Tibor Fischer's review of Martin Amis' Yellow Dog. Interestingly, Fischer's review Yellow Dog has, unfortunately, received far more attention than Fischer's own novel, Voyage to the End of the Room. Levin speculated that while the trend towards caustic reviews is not yet as popular in Canada as it is in the USA or the UK, Canada is definitely not a country of \"mealy-mouthed reviewers, tip-toeing around the books they review\" and unwilling to say anything critical of Canadian literary masters. In fact, harsh reviews of major Canadian authors are not uncommon, although no Canadian critics have yet gained celebrity for savage reviews of Margaret Atwood or Alice Munro.3. The state of book reviewing in Canada. Canada lacks a vehicle for literary criticism and Levin criticized the fact that there are no fulltime literary critics in this country.Levin concluded his thoughtful and humorous reflections with a quote from George Orwell's famous essay, \"Confessions of a book reviewer\":The great majority of reviews give an inadequate or misleading account of the book that is dealt with ... The best practice, it has always seemed to me, would be simply to ignore the great majority of books and to give very long reviews - 1,000 words is a bare minimum - to the few that seem to matter.Jan Horner, English subject specialist at the University of Manitoba, reported on her recent research project comparing the performance of books acquired through firm orders versus books acquired through approval plans on the basis of quality of books obtained, number of circulations, and number of citations. Her study considered books acquired for the university's Department of English from 1993 to 2004 and concluded that approval plans and firm orders were equally successful in obtaining popular books, and that approval plans outperformed firm orders in obtaining high quality (e.g. well-reviewed or award-winning) books. On the other hand, firm order books were better able to reflect local research needs, especially for Canadian subjects. Overall, Horner concluded that approval plans were a successful strategy for ensuring stable acquisition levels.Heather Morrison, British Columbia Electronic Library Network, and Jason Charron, National Research Council (NRC) Research Services, gave a panel presentation entitled \"Demystifying electronic journals.\" Morrison began with an examination of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), noting that 10 percent of all journal titles are included in DOAJ, a total of 2,600 titles, with approximately 42 new titles added each month. She urged both academic and public librarians to promote the DOAJ on their library web sites and to include DOAJ titles in their library catalogs. Her presentation concluded with a discussion of the economics of OA publishing. Next, Charron provided a case study of NRC Research Press, a not-for-profit publisher operating on a full cost recovery model. While NRC is not open access yet, he outlined some of the new OA initiatives and some of the barriers to full OA publishing.Next, Dan Duda, map librarian at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, gave a lively presentation analyzing academic library map collections entitled \"From Mappa Mundi to web mapping,\" in which he provided an overview of the history and future of map production and map collecting in Canada.Independent library consultant Cheryl Stenstrom's presentation, \"Alternate format production service in Nova Scotia: a university and community college collaborative study,\" examined services for visually impaired and learning disabled students. She noted that while students with print disabilities have the right to access required readings and library materials in a timely manner, less that 5 percent of all works are available in alternative formats. Currently, students with visual disabilities have significant higher than average drop-out rates and Stenstrom concluded that a coordinated effort between post-secondary institutions is needed to reduce current inefficiencies and lack of standardization. She concluded with several specific recommendations to enhance the collaboration between institutions in their service provision to visually disabled students.After several presentations focusing primarily on collection development in an academic library context, Susan Caron of the Toronto Public Library provided an inspiring look at her library's development of a local music collection, \"Tune into Toronto tunes.\" The target audience of this collection project was teens and was part of a larger youth initiative to encourage teens to use library resources. A total of $40,000 was set aside to develop a collection of CDs by Toronto area musicians, with a focus on the local music scene. Selection was coordinated by the Youth Collections librarian, with ongoing input and suggestions from teens. To celebrate the launch of the collection, the library hosted two free music concerts, which were held from 8 p.m. to midnight on two consecutive Saturdays. Five bands played each night for a small honorarium and 600 tickets were given away. These events were a huge success and the local music collection continues to circulate heavily and attract new teen users to TPL. Meanwhile, Caron and her colleagues are already planning for a similar event next year and are continuing to expand the local music collection.The final two presentations of the day, \"The battle of the brands: reference e-book collection development in a 'Britannica vs Wikipedia world\" by Barbara MacDonald of McMaster University and \"The 3 Rs of reference collection development in academic libraries: re-cognition, re-articulation, re-definition\" by Jocelyn Godolphin of Concordia University, explored the rapidly shifting terrain in academic library reference collections. McMaster offered a detailed comparison of traditional publishing vs \"publishing 2.0\" and concluded that, at the individual article level, many of the highly edited Wikipedia articles are as good as (or even better than) Britannica articles. She ended with a quotation from Darlene Fichter (2007):Convenience will always trump quality. It's our job as librarians to make quality convenient.Godolphin followed up on this theme by questioning the continued existence of a reference \"canon.\" She noted studies that have found that use of online reference sources exceeds that of print by a ratio of 6:1 and that traffic at most academic library reference desks is decreasing. She concluded by emphasizing the point that reference skills rather than knowledge of individual tools, are central and that we can no longer point to a standard canon of reference works. However, users increasingly need highly developed information literacy skills, as authority is progressively more difficult to determine.The 2007 Collections Pre-Conference was an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas and developments in the broad arena of collections work. Participants left with many stimulating new ideas, and many exciting new suggestions to enhance collections in their own institutions. The CLA Collections Interest Group, chaired by Andrew Waller, deserves congratulations for organizing such a successful event once again. We are all looking forward to next year's event in Vancouver.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to describe the Canadian Library Association's 2007 pre-conference, Collections 2007: Reinvigorating Collection Development and Management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper summarizes the various papers, describing actual collections practices in a variety of library and information center settings that made up the CLA Collections pre-conference.\nFindings: - The paper finds that collections development activities in academic, public and special libraries are characterized by a diversity of approaches and methods.\nOriginality/value: - This paper provides a brief summary of some of the practical approaches to collections building in a variety of library and information center settings.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Advertised versus unexpected next purchase coupons: consumer satisfaction, perceptions of value, and fairness
|
[
"Coupons",
"Advertising",
"Incentive schemes",
"Purchasing",
"Customer loyalty",
"Individual perception"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Coupons are an important promotion vehicle for both manufacturers and retailers, accounting for $3 billion in consumer savings (of $250 billion distributed) on packaged goods purchases (NCH Marketing, 2004). To stem the decline in coupon redemptions and to increase the effectiveness of their coupon offers, retailers are using a variety of coupon delivery methods to target coupon offers to specific customer segments. In recent years, a new type of coupon, the \"next-purchase\" (also called checkout or handout) coupon has gained popularity in grocery stores (Catalina Marketing's Checkout coupon), services (e.g. hair salons, restaurants, oil change, and auto repair), pharmacies, home appliance, department, and online stores, among others. We will use the term \"checkout\" and \"next-purchase\" coupon interchangeably to refer to coupons issued immediately after a purchase for redemption at the next visit or purchase occasion within the specified period at the issuing retailer.\nBackground: To our knowledge, there is no published research on next-purchase or checkout coupons. However, research on package coupons has bearing on this research. Based on findings in self-perception theory, Dodson et al. (1978) argues that on-pack coupons are less detrimental to brand loyalty because of their restricted availability and the greater effort needed on the part of the consumer to redeem them. However, next-purchase coupons have become a standard promotional tool in many industries and are offered on a continual basis. Dhar et al. (1996) found that for high-share brands on-pack and in-pack coupons can lead to higher brand profits than instant peel-off coupons, even though on-packs have a lower probability on redemption compared to peel-offs, and in-packs have lower redemption rates compared to peel-offs and in-packs. Next-purchase coupons represent delayed incentives at the time of offer, requiring an additional purchase in the future to redeem the savings. Soman (1998) showed that the face value of delayed incentives drive choice to a larger extent than the effort required to redeem them, hence future effort is underweighted relative to future savings. However, little is known whether consumers discount future savings and effort (and expense in our case) when delayed incentives are unexpectedly thrust on them instead of being selected. Heilman et al. (2002) investigated the role of unexpected in-store promotions and found that surprise promotions increase unplanned purchases and size of the shopping basket. While these studies have implications for advertised next-purchase coupons, or situations where the promotion offer knowledge is available prior to purchase, many issues relating to post-purchase outcomes of advertised and unexpected next-purchase coupons remain unanswered.\nConceptual framework and hypotheses: Consumers draw economic (savings), informational, and affective inferences from promotions (Raghubir and Corfman, 1999). Retailers offer promotions to communicate utilitarian (or financial) gain, however, contextual factors lead to differences in how consumers decode utilitarian and hedonic benefits of the promotion. Some factors are under retailer control, such as promotion features and restrictions, whereas others, like competitors' (instant) promotions and target market characteristics (e.g. deal proneness, need for cognition) may be outside the retailer's control. Table I presents variations in next-purchase coupon features used by retailers, each of which can lead to differences in the framing of the same objective financial savings.Next-purchase coupons require the consumer to make a monetary sacrifice now (by purchasing a product) for a delayed reward in the future. Research on delayed incentives suggests that the effort or expense required in future to acquire the savings is underestimated at the time of brand choice (Loewenstein, 1996). The saving (face value of the delayed incentive) is vivid, salient, and unambiguous and can be integrated easily with the price the consumer pays at the time of purchase (Soman and Lam, 2002). The temporal proximity between the immediate sacrifice and delayed gain imply that affective responses will be activated. Prior research suggests that affective responses may range from excitement and thrill at receiving a savings (Chandon et al., 2000) to regret at missing savings (Inman and McAlister, 1994). Moreover, consumers will ascribe attributions to themselves and their purchase decisions (e.g. \"smart shopper\") and motives of external agents like retailers which impact their post-purchase outcomes and perceptions of fairness in the exchange (Campbell, 1999). It is important to note that salience of the next-purchase offer on receipt or delayed incentive plays an important role in motivating future purchases (Soman and Lam, 2002).In the first study we examine how different promotion features (next-purchase coupon type: advertised vs surprise, and start date restrictions: no explicit start date vs explicit future start date) and competing brand instant promotions (yes vs no) impact affective responses to the same objective promotion. Restrictions on promotion act to constrain consumers' ability to take advantage of the promotion and influence perceived promotion value and retailer fairness. Restrictions activate cognitive resources used to judge the favorableness or unfavorableness of an offer, however, consumers differ in their ability and willingness to do so. In the second study, we examine the role of individual difference variables, such as need for cognition (Haugtvedt et al., 1992) in determining the overall attractiveness of a next-purchase promotion offer and post-purchase outcomes.\nStudy 1: effects of advertised vs unexpected next-purchase coupons: Prior literature on satisfaction and post-purchase evaluation suggests that standards prompted by performance observations after consumption may lead to a re-evaluation of original purchase decision. Consumer post-purchase outcomes will vary based on whether the consumer knew about the offer prior to the purchase decision (advertised checkout coupon) or only found out after purchasing the product (unexpected checkout coupon), even if the consumer actually receives the physical coupon immediately after purchase in both cases. Both cases are factually equivalent for the same objective value of the coupon--the consumer has purchased the product and then got a $5 off coupon towards their next purchase at the retailer. However, consumer evaluation of their purchase decision will differ based on how they frame the promotion offer in both cases. In the former case the customer has already integrated the utility or value of the next-purchase coupon in the product purchase decision. Receiving the actual coupon is the expected outcome. In the latter case, the consumer paid full price for the product and became aware of the promotional offer only after completing purchase. Since the surprise coupon offer was not integrated into the purchase decision, it may lead to a re-evaluation of the purchase decision.Research on equity would suggest that receiving the unexpected coupon after the purchase may lead to the individual being over-benefited. The unexpected benefit represented by the face value of the coupon looms large and influences evaluation of purchase decision to a larger extent compared to the effort and expense required to get the savings, which is underweighted (Soman, 1998). The purchaser had already perceived the net value from purchasing the product was positive. Since the unexpected next-purchase coupon did not negatively impact the product's performance utility or its cost, the receipt of unexpected additional savings (though delayed) should, at worst, not affect purchase outcomes at all or, at best, lead to favorable feelings and unplanned purchases (Heilman et al., 2002). This will also lead to favorable attributions to the external agent (the retailer). Hence:H1. Purchasers receiving an unexpected next-purchase coupon (a) will be more satisfied with their purchase decision, (b) have higher perceived deal value and (c) have higher perceptions of retailer fairness, compared to purchasers receiving an advertised next-purchase coupon.Effect of (pre-purchase) promotion context\nStudy 2. moderating effect of need for cognition: Need for cognition (NFC) is one of the determinants of the motivation to process information content (Haugtvedt et al., 1992). Consumers differ in their tendency to engage in effortful, systematic thinking. Specifically high NFC individuals are more likely to process information thoroughly and use it as a basis for judgments than those with low NFC (Haugtvedt et al., 1992). High NFC individuals are also more likely to rely on less obvious or missing information (Pham et al., 2001).Prior research suggests that low NFC subjects would use the term \"next-purchase\" as a heuristic cue and are less likely to note or make inferences when a next-purchase coupon does not have an explicit start date. Hence we do not expect to find differences in response by low NFC individuals to coupon start date restrictions. In contrast, high NFC individuals in both unrestricted and restricted start date conditions are more likely to invest cognitive resources in assessing the offer. Higher levels of cognitive involvement are preconditions to the generation of counterfactuals, hence high NFC individuals are more likely to generate upward counterfactuals compared to low NFC individuals when next-purchase coupons do not have an explicit start date. Hence we hypothesize:H5. Unrestricted start date next-purchase coupons will lead to (a) lower purchase satisfaction, (b) lower perceived value of the coupon, and (c) lower perceptions of retailer fairness for high NFC individuals than restricted next-purchase coupons, but not for low NFC individuals.\nManagerial implications and future research: This study has a number of implications for use and design of next-purchase coupons in competitive shopping contexts. When the consumer is informed of the promotion offer - prior to purchase (advertised) or after purchase (unexpected) determines whether the next-purchase coupon is perceived as a delayed reward or immediate loss. Unexpected next-purchase coupons lead to higher purchase satisfaction compared to advertised next-purchase coupons, but also perceptions that the retailer is unfair. More specifically, when competing brands offer instant promotions, unexpected next-purchase coupons are more likely to lead to perceptions of retailer unfairness even when buyers pay the lowest price in the product category. Hence use of unexpected next-purchase coupons as a loyalty-inducing tool may backfire and have unintended consequences. This effect may vary across face values of the next-purchase coupon and may disappear for implausibly high or low discounts, or when savings offered by a next-purchase coupon is relatively higher than instant promotions--a topic deserving of further investigation.Coupon restrictions like presence or absence of explicit future start dates have contrasting effects on current purchase satisfaction and perceived coupon value. Consumers receiving an unexpected next-purchase coupon without an explicit start date are more likely to mentally simulate that they could have used it for immediate gain \"only if\" it had been available earlier, leading to a perception of immediate loss than with those receiving a start date restricted, unexpected next-purchase coupon. We demonstrate in our second experiment that this is true only for consumers with a high need for cognition, who are more likely to note and draw inferences when a start date is missing. Restricting a start date to future time periods appears to be the safest course of action for surprise coupons, though not for advertised next-purchase coupons. Our findings on restricted start date coupons support time discounting theory and hyperbolic discounting (Loewenstein, 1996). In our experiment, we manipulated the restricted start date to a week later. We expect results to differ should the start date be a month later. Reducing it to a day later would have enhanced the impact of regret at \"just missing the deal.\" Consumer purchase cycles for a product category are critical inputs in designing next-purchase coupon offers. Hence the use of next-purchase coupons to accelerate purchases or increasing purchase volume through conditional next-purchase coupon offers (e.g. get $5 off next purchase of two or more units/$50 or more purchase) warrants rigorous investigation.Effectiveness of next-purchase coupons depends on the customer retaining the coupon. We expect coupons with higher savings and lower future effort will increase retention and redemptions. However, little is known whether consumers also consider current efforts or financial sacrifice invested in acquiring the coupon (i.e., for advertised offers). Perceived deal value is a proxy for intention to retain and use the coupon in future, however, the salience of the next-purchase coupon in the consumer's mind, and its potency in inducing the next-purchase at the retailer, will decline over time as it competes with other instant promotion offers. Consumer response to receiving a competing brand next-purchase coupon (widely used in the FMCG industry) has implications for switching and redemption behavior, but little is known about their impact on internal reference price for focal and competing brands.As more retailers compete through multiple channels and use a variety of promotional tools, cross-channel next-purchase coupons are used to promote and migrate consumers to desired channels. Research is needed on whether promotion intensity in target, or originating channel, or both, will determine the effectiveness of next-purchase coupons and the optimal design of these offers.Further magnitude of impacts may be asymmetric. This underscores the importance of optimizing and coordinating promotion offers across various channels simultaneously.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This research aims to investigate how consumers differ in their interpretation of advertised and \"surprise\" (or unexpected) next-purchase coupons as delayed rewards or immediate losses based on promotion context and coupon start date restrictions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Two laboratory experiments examine how consumers respond to next-purchase coupons. In Study 1, next-purchase coupon types (advertised; unexpected) vs competing brand promotions (yes; no) vs coupon start date restriction (unrestricted; restricted to future start date) between-subjects experimental design was used to examine the impact on purchase satisfaction, perceived promotion value, and perceived retailer fairness. In Study 2, four between-subjects factors were used to examine the impact on purchase satisfaction, perceived value, and retailer fairness: next-purchase coupon type vs coupon start date restriction vs coupon target restriction (brand-specific; non brand-specific) and the measured need-for-cognition variable (high; low).\nFindings: - Study 1 indicates that unexpected next-purchase coupons lead to higher purchase satisfaction but lower perceptions of retailer fairness compared to advertised coupons. Study 2 indicates that consumer predisposition toward effortful thought (NFC) amplifies the impact of unrestricted start date on perceptions of retailer unfairness. Furthermore, this effect is stronger on purchase satisfaction and perceived value for unrestricted unexpected next-purchase coupons.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Results imply that advertised and unexpected next-purchase coupons differ in their impact on post-purchase outcomes of consumers. Differences in competing brand promotions and coupon start date restrictions lead to interpretations of next-purchase coupons as immediate loss vs delayed gains.\nPractical implications: - Managerial implications for the design and use of next-purchase promotions are discussed.\nOriginality/value: - This research paper is the first to study how consumers respond to checkout or next-purchase coupons.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
The use of e-learning in pre-service teacher education
|
[
"E‐learning",
"Teachers",
"Training",
"Curriculum development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: E-learning has been applied in pre-service teacher training since 2006 in the Distance Education College (DEC) of East China Normal University (ECNU). The purpose of involving e-learning in teacher training is not only to promote the integration of information technology into the curriculum and the expansion of pre-service teachers' learning time and space, but also to change their learning styles and raise the level of their information literacy and learning abilities. This paper presents the use of e-learning in the pre-service teacher training at ECNU and discusses the relevant issues involved.\nContext: To meet the developmental needs of higher teacher education and information and educational practice in the new information age, ECNU set up a modern educational technology training center in 1998. Since then, the modern educational technology course has been offered to pre-service teachers to improve their information literacy and information technology awareness and ability. All pre-service teachers in the Registry are required to take the modern educational technology training, which lasts for a total of 40 hours.In recent years, a lot of changes have happened in basic education: curriculum reform, the development of modern educational technology course content, pre-service teachers self-learning, and an improvement in the level of information technology. As a result, the content and form of pre-service teachers' training is meeting a higher demand (Connolly et al., 2005). In this context, the modern educational technology training center at ECNU aims to improve the modern educational technology curriculum for pre-service teachers, who are third-year university students. E-learning is involved in pre-service teacher training. Information technology is integrated into the curriculum.Using information technology, an innovative course content and format have been created. Information technology also extends the learning time and space. Learners are not limited to face-to-face information exchange. The use of e-learning changes the way of communication between teachers and students (Bacsich, 2005). E-learning also changes the students' learning from purely listening to a teachers' lecture to task-driven learning (Bryn and John, 2006).The curriculum of modern educational technology was designed and developed by a team of subject teachers and information technology specialists. The author, as one of the team members, undertook the task of design, development and implementation of the curriculum for pre-service teachers. E-learning is integrated into curriculum design, implementation and evaluation of the course. We conducted a pilot study after two years of teaching practice. This article also presents the results of the study.\nCurriculum design: By taking the course, pre-service teachers are expected to experience how to use information technology effectively to improve instructional quality and integrate information technologies into instruction to enhance teaching efficiency and effectiveness (Wu, 1994). It helps pre-service teachers to enhance their self-learning abilities, professional development and information literacy.The design of online courses often over-emphasizes content design but ignores social interaction design (Wang, 2007). This course is designed based upon the following ideas:* the teaching content must be engaging and relevant to the participants;* the teaching method combines both traditional classroom teaching and e-learning;* the instructional process is organized based on a number of case studies;* teachers and students can share their own subject resources online; and* students can continually get support and service after completing the course (Wu, 2006).This course involves plenty of activities, such as face-to-face teaching, self-study, online interaction, design and writing lesson plans, and teaching practice. The course lasts for about three months. It has a total of four face-to-face sessions. The others are online. A CD-ROM and internet resources are provided for students to self-study, the e-learning platform used is on a website (see: http://jsjy.dec.ecnu.edu.cn). The following activities were supported using the e-learning platform:* Delivery of learning instructions and information. In the whole learning process, it is important to enable learners to get clear instructions for learning activities.* Sharing of learning resources. Not only do the teachers use the e-learning platform to provide curriculum resources for learners, but the learners also share resources with others. The learners can upload good quality resources.* Interaction and online discussions. In the process of learning, students can use the discussion forum to ask questions, explain, debate, support, and reflection.* Exchanging social and emotional life. Through the e-learning platform, the learners exchange learning experiences and talk about their emotional and social lives. This helps to increase friendship among learners.* Online submission of assignments. The learners can submit their assignments online. Also, the teacher can give feedback and comments online.* Learning survey. Before and after the course, two surveys are often administered online. The learners fill out questionnaires and submit online. The e-learning platform can analyze and show survey results immediately.* Tracking of student learning activities. Teachers may need to know how learners have completed their learning activities. The e-learning platform can record the learning activities students have done.Curriculum evaluation\nSummary and conclusion: The innovative teaching method increased the self-study ability of learners. E-learning was involved in the course. This was an innovative instructional method. It changed the way students learned (Zheng, 2007). They participated in various instructional activities. In addition, self-study played a positive role in this course. The learners' self-study ability was improved significantly.The use of online discussions improved students' motivation. The discussion topics were not only initiated by the teacher, but also by the learners themselves. To a certain extent this motivated the students to participate more in the discussions. Also, the posts indicated that the students did think critically when they were participating in online discussions.The use of e-learning has promoted resource sharing and an exchange of learning experiences. Many learners shared additional online websites, multimedia resources, and instruction materials, besides the suggested teaching cases and instructional materials. E-learning promoted the sharing of resources and also communication among them. Furthermore, it provided an opportunity for the learners to learn from one another.The learners were engaged in the learning process and many high-quality artifacts were produced. During the learning process, the students kept searching for resources from the internet, VCD and other sources. They designed lesson plans, prepared supporting materials for teaching, and learned to integrate technology into lessons. All these activities helped the students to produce high-quality artifacts.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - E-learning has been applied in pre-service teacher training for many years. The purpose of this paper is to present the use of e-learning in a pre-service teacher training course and discuss the relevant issues involved.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The article reviews literature related to instruction design, and e-learning concepts and practice. A survey is conducted, the course having been offered for two years.\nFindings: - The use of e-learning in this pre-service teacher training course is successful because it achieves the expected goal. The self-study ability of pre-service teachers is improved. Learners also participate actively. However, further improvement needs to be done in curriculum design teacher support.\nOriginality/value: - This paper integrates theories and practice. It shows a sample of applying e-learning into a course for pre-service teacher education. This blended approach is new in the context of China.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
An examination of factors contributing to student satisfaction in Armenian higher education
|
[
"Student satisfaction",
"Academic experience",
"Armenian higher education",
"College environment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In recent years, student satisfaction has gained more attention than ever before. The growing competitiveness in student recruitment among higher educational institutions has created a need of assessing the effectiveness of academic programs and student support services. It has been documented in previous research that a number of factors affect student satisfaction in a college environment such as quality of programs, instructional effectiveness, student support facilities, internet and library access, administrative staff efficiency, and individual demographic characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and age. In addition, available literature reveals that several college student satisfaction conceptual models have been proposed and tested by educators in different educational systems (Alves and Raposo, 2007; Douglas et al., 2008; Gremler and McCollough, 2002; Schertzer and Schertzer, 2004). The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that affect student satisfaction in the college environment of Armenian Higher Educational Institutions (AHEIs).\nBackground information: Armenia is one of the independent republics of the former Soviet Union. In 2005, Armenia joined the Bologna Declaration on the European Space for Higher Education (National Information Center for Academic Recognition and Mobility, 2006). The Bologna Process is a cooperation in European higher education which aims to strengthen competitiveness and attractiveness of higher educational institutions in participant countries (European Higher Education Area, 2010). Within the Bologna Process, a number of reforms are being implemented. The reforms affect Armenian higher education areas such as establishing a credits scoring system, adoption of a system of comparative degrees, mobility of students, and a promotion of European cooperation in quality assurance, etc.\nConceptual framework: Figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of this study, which was developed taking into consideration Astin's (1999) theory of student involvement, Tinto's (1975) retention theory, as well as a number of conceptual models developed and tested by other educators (Alves and Raposo, 2007; Douglas et al., 2008; Gremler and McCollough, 2002; Schertzer and Schertzer, 2004).\nLiterature review: A considerable number of studies have examined factors that affect student satisfaction in college (Alves and Raposo, 2007; Arambewela et al., 2005; Forrester, 2006; Mai, 2005; Mavondo et al., 2004; Petruzzellis et al., 2006; Pop et al., 2008; Postema and Markham, 2001; Thomas and Galambos, 2004; Umbach and Porter, 2002; Wanjohi, 1999; Wiers-Jensenn et al., 2002). Some commonly identified factors include quality of programs, instructional effectiveness, student support facilities, internet and library access, administrative staff efficiency, college environment, and individual characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and age. Most of these variables were included in the conceptual framework of this study. This section focusses on examining some of the available literature as it relates to the conceptual framework of this study.\nMethodology: Research design and instrumentation\nFindings: A total of 12 selected institutions were included in this study, representing four regions and Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. Target regions covered different parts of the country geographically, specifically, south, northwest and east, while the capitol is located in the central part of the country. Out of the 12 institutions, five were urban (located in the capital city) and seven were rural (located in the regions). As for the participating students, 59.4% were from rural institutions and 40.6% from urban institutions. Table II shows student representation per university. For confidentiality purposes, institutions' names are coded by numbers like it was agreed upon with university administrators and faculty who assisted in the survey implementation. However, the location of institutions is denoted.\nDiscussion and implications for practice: This study examined the impact of demographic and selected satisfaction measurement dimensions (IVs) variables on overall student satisfaction (DV) in Armenian higher education. The results revealed that eight out of 23 IVs entered in the multiple regression analysis contributed to the final model of predicting overall student satisfaction in AHEIs. Table VII displays the satisfaction dimensions with their corresponding items included in the final predicting model of student satisfaction. Additionally, the findings of the study indicated significant main effects for a number of demographic variables such as gender, institution's type, permanent residence status, and financial aid status. The majority of the findings of this study were consistent with previous research which emphasized the role of various variables (e.g. faculty services, academic experience, etc.) on overall student satisfaction in higher education (cf. Mai, 2005; Pop et al., 2008).\nLimitations and recommendations for future research: This study was limited to 12 out of the 67 higher educational institutions in Armenia. However, the participating institutions were located in different parts of the country to ensure a comparatively complete picture. The findings of this study can only be generalized for Armenian higher education. It is recommended for further research to explore student satisfaction in higher educational institutions of other former Soviet republics and compare their results with the outcome of this study.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that affect student satisfaction in college environment in Armenian Higher Educational Institutions (AHEIs).\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study used an ex-post facto, non-experimental approach to investigate factors that affected student satisfaction in college environment in AHEIs. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire from students in nine public and three private institutions located in different rural and urban areas of Armenia. The sample consisted of 372 respondents from 12 institutions that geographically covered the whole country in order to have a comparatively complete picture. Factors investigated in relation to student satisfaction included: demographics, faculty services, academic experience, students support facilities, campus life, and social integration.\nFindings: The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was used to analyze the data. Results of ANOVA indicated significant main effects for a number of demographic variables and student satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis indicated relationship between a number of selected satisfaction measurement dimensions and overall student satisfaction. This study was the first attempt to investigate factors that influence student satisfaction in college environment in Armenia.\nResearch limitations/implications: Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made to AHEIs for their consideration when addressing the needs of their students and any needed support services.\nOriginality/value: This study was the first attempt to investigate factors that influence student satisfaction in college environment in Armenia.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Mental health - backbone of the soul
|
[
"Mental illness",
"Schools",
"Mental health services",
"Personal health"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: \"There is no health without mental health\" (WHO, 2001) Against the background of a world-wide increase in the occurance of mental disorders among adults, adolescents and children, with this slogan, the World Health Organisation (WHO) places mental health alongside physical health matters as the focus of attention. For the most part, this increase of mental disorders has been ignored. The WHO draws attention to the fact that this is the pivotal aspect of health, suggesting that psychological functions affect the core of a personality, in other words, individual experience and independent thought, feeling, wants, needs, and behaviour. The prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health in children and adolescents are therefore one of the central aims of the WHO.In recent years increasing research in the field of health-sciences has brought to light not only where children and adolescents are at risk but also the nature of these risks, and what resources would be necessary for healthy development. Some results of this research will be presented in this introductory paper.\nWhat is mental health?: Mental health is more than merely the absence of disturbances of the mind, mental disorder or illness or other problems, about which we already understand a good deal, as the differentiated classification system of mental disorders (e.g. ICD 10 - WHO, 2007; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) shows. It is a positive concept, displayed in the ways people meet the challenges of their socio-cultural contexts constructively and the way in which they are able to include their own interests and concerns in the lives they lead. These two aspects of mental health can be described as \"productive adjustment\" and \"self-realisation\". They form the main pillars of mental health (Paulus, 1994).It follows that for children, mental health means having the ability to come to terms actively and successfully with the age and socio-cultural typical conditions in which they find themselves, assuming those conditions are beneficial. This might be related to the family, school, friends, environmental conditions (e.g. housing, school building, climate) and personality and physical characteristics of the children themselves (such as constitution, emotional stability, self-concept). In addition to this, mentally healthy children are able to express themselves, their ideas, wishes and hopes constructively, and experience being heard and recognised.\nMental health and schools: What does this imply for the school? Mentally healthy school children can deal constructively with the regular cognitive challenges posed them by the curriculum in the classroom. They understand what the lesson is about, what they are being asked to do (so called \"productive adjustment\"). They are able to make their ideas heard in the classroom and feel they have a contribution to make to the lesson (so called \"self-realisation\"). If they are able to achieve this within a comfortable balance, they will be likely to be content and happy in their class (Figure 1).\nImportant determinants of mental health: In order for school students to achieve this balance, they require individual characteristics which strengthen their personality, and they need support from their social environments such as families, friends and the school. Which resources supply the necessary power and protection factors for keeping a child safe and making him resilient?Besides genetic and neuropsychological strengths such as a strong constitution or a stable autonomous nervous system, a sense of coherence is the most valuable personal resource. This concept is based on the work of the Israeli-American medicinal sociologist Aaron Antonovsky (1997). According to Antonovsky, the sense of coherence is a \"global orientation\" which expresses the extent to which a person is fitted with a long-lasting, deep but dynamic sense of trust, which conveys the following benefits:* it gives structure to, predicts and explains the challenges faced, both internally and externally, in the course of a life-time (\"sense of comprehensibility\");* it promotes skills necessary for meeting challenges adequately (\"sense of manageability\");* it allows the recognition of such challenges as deserving the investment of attention (\"sense of meaningfulness\"; Bengel et al., 2001).A mentally healthy person displays a disposition in these three areas, combining these and enabling the establishment of coherence between them. The greater the ability to create coherence, the healthier the person is likely to remain.In order for mental health to remain in balance, resources from the students' social environment must join forces in supporting and promoting the skills necessary for healthy development (Schmidtchen, 2001). Among these are the protection provided by the family, i.e. a friendly, supportive and warm atmosphere, mentally healthy parents, non-aggressive up-bringing, support, care and responsibility, and a loving, sharing, stable partnership between parents (Nolting and Paulus, 2004). Also important are socio-ecological factors in the school. Research findings have shown the value of various protective aspects of the school environments (Freitag, 1998; Schweer, 2000):* Classroom climate. To what extent do a sense of togetherness and mutual support exist in the classroom?* Teacher/student relationships. In how far are mutual acceptance and respect, esteem, and openness displayed?* School stress. How far are transparency, justified expectancies and reports on achievement manifest?* School climate. To what degree is a sense of fairness and a sense of belonging to the school felt by the majority?* Participation. To what extent is it possible for students to take part in the wording of and application of school rules?* Common sense awareness. How much weight is laid on the linking of schoolwork to professional life and initial working-life experience?* Room space. How well-appointed are the rooms, do they allow for adequate activity, mobility and seating, and are they clean and pleasant?\nUnequal opportunities: Not all students are given the same opportunities to experience mental health. Genetic risk-factors such as Trisomy21 (a chromosomal disorder, \"Down's syndrome\") caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome; Herpertz-Dahlmann et al., 2007) may make life more challenging for them. Further barriers such as family risk-factors, including neglect, sexual abuse, separation / divorce; psycho-social factors such as failure in school, rejection from peers, social factors, such as violence in society, and personal risk factors such as limited capacities for emotional control (Schmidtchen, 2001, 70ff) can all play an important role. The quality of the medical and psycho-social welfare systems available to support for children and adolescents (including educational therapists, paediatricians, child and adolescent- psychiatrists) are a further vital factor. These institutions can all offer important help and support. They may however, be inadequate or insufficient for certain cases. Critical faults, such as a lack of help in the immediate vicinity, poor coordination and cooperation and an incorrect addressing of peoples' needs, can hinder efficiency and have detrimental effects on students' health.Normally, such contextual problems do not arise singly, but appear in connection with each other. Particularly for the socially underprivileged, they can quickly lead to a consolidation of conditions detrimental to health. Similar to the school achievement spectrum (Deutsches PISA-Konsortium, 2001), a social gradient is visible. Social inequality and poverty manifest themselves in poor health in general, and also have detrimental affects on the mental health of the following generation (Mielck, 2000; Klocke, 2001).These problems affect a substantial proportion of all student, and are a significant issue in most, if not all, countries. Schools therefore have a responsibility to contribute to measures to deal with them. Schools have an education mandate to guide the children in their care in teaching them responsibility, both for their own health and that of others. They might also consider how mental health or mental disorder affects the learning process and school or classroom-climate in general.The detrimental effect which anxiety, depression or aggression have on school teaching and learning outcomes, have long been recognised (Edelmann, 2000; Essau, 2002, 2003; Tucke, 2005). Little is known so far about the educational and pedagogical impact of conditions such as having a sense of coherence or resilience. Increasingly, however, results show that mental health and achievement in school affect each other positively and that it is therefore worthwhile investing in maintaining and promoting mental health (Hascher, 2004a, b; Bailey, 2006; Sigfusdottir et al., 2007, Murray et al., 2007; see also: \"Student health and academic achievement fact sheet\": www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/index.htm)\nWhat school can do: Figure 2 shows an overview of areas that can be employed to promote mental health in schools.Certain operation principles are also shown, since within the last 10-15 years, they have proven both nationally and internationally to be promising approaches to improving school health education and promotion in general and mental health in particular (Stewart Burgher et al., 1998; Paulus, 2002; Weare, 2000, 2004).Despite the fact that, compared with other countries, there are only a few projects In Germany involved in the promotion of mental health in schools, some successfully evaluated examples can be found.Fields of practice 1: teaching, learning, curriculum\nEmbedding mental health in the world of the school: It is vital to be aware of the fact that the often considerable effort put into measures in and with schools as single, individual mental health promoting initiatives, are not sufficient. Integrating approaches involving people, situations and interaction on a normal daily basis, and in a way that meets the needs and wants of all involved is far more likely to be effective. This inclusive approach places school in the centre of attention and suggests that schools can be transformed into places where all aspects of the school ethos, organisation and environment can promote mental health. Rowling discusses this paradigmatic shift at length in her paper. This would also mean that mental health promotion would find itself within the context of a general educational mandate and demonstrate how it contributes to the core business of the school. This is a new approach in Germany which is called \"good healthy school\" (Paulus, 2003).A good, healthy school is a school that improves its overall educational quality through health-related interventions. At the same time, it also satisfies the specific goals of health education that are part of a school's educational responsibilities. It brings the fields of education and health together in a whole new way by consistently leveraging health to serve in the interest of a school's educational responsibilities (Paulus, 2008, p. 4).Franze and Paulus present a paper on a school mental health promotion programme with just this aim of promoting a good school through mental health. It is the German version of the Australian resource for secondary schools \"MindMatters\". Once the two tasks of using schools as starting points and linking mental health promotion with the core business of the school have been taken seriously, the hitherto applied interventions in everyday school-life have a chance of becoming self-evident and the \"Models for good practice\" can become \"Practice of good models\".\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to serve as an introduction to the theme of this special issue of Health Education on mental health in schools, focusing on work in Germany.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper focuses on the conceptual basis of mental health and reflects the meaning of mental health in school settings. The determinants of mental health in young people are mentioned, in particular social inequality. Throughout the paper other authors' contributions to this special issue are mentioned, and shown to have some interesting relationships to one another.\nFindings: - It becomes evident that school can play an important role in the promotion of mental health. What schools can achieve in mental health promotion is then elaborated on with the help of a comprehensive model showing different approaches. Available research evidence shows which interventions are more likely to be successful.\nOriginality/value: - Shortcomings of traditional approaches of school mental health promotion are mentioned and a new perspective (the \"good, healthy school\") is outlined.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Patient involvement in Europe - a comparative framework
|
[
"Europe",
"Empowerment",
"Patient involvement",
"Co-production",
"Choice",
"Voice",
"Professional involvement",
"Patient participation",
"Proto-professionalism"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The focus of this special issue of JHOM is on patient involvement in health care for it has been an issue of growing importance across Europe over recent decades. The reasons for this are various, although one of the principal ones has been the impact of the consumerist logic in health systems in the wake of new public management (NPM) reforms and the introduction of market principles within public sector health systems (Coulter and Magee, 2003, p. 10; Dent, 2006a, pp. 450-451). Although patient choice, as the consumerist variety of patient involvement, may well be the most obvious form within health care there are other varieties too. In this introduction we will set out a model for differentiating between the three main varieties as these apply principally to hospital health care and which we argue can provide a template for comparative studies across Europe (see Table I). The model provides a means of identifying key factors for aiding or disabling effective patient involvement. Another important element to this model is that it includes consideration of the engagement of doctors as well as the patients and by extension could include a range of other agents, including nurses and managers. In addition to identifying the main forms of patient involvement the question here is to what extent do doctors encourage or inhibit greater patient involvement?\nContext: Within European public sector health care systems, the patient has historically been seen as the supplicant. This is an assumption that is no longer generally true although, as we will see, it has not completely disappeared. Patients generally are becoming increasingly involved in their own health care, although there are clear differences between countries. This may reflect different stages on a path towards European convergence, although it is important to bear in mind the power of path dependency reflects a strong cultural and political conservatism often found within health care organisations (Kirkpatrick et al., 2009, pp. 644-645; Dent, 2006b, p. 463; Dent et al., 2012, p. 109). This \"sticky stasis\", to use Pierson's terminology (2000, p. 107), plays a large part in explaining the variation in the commitment to, and character of, patient involvement. Patient involvement was never an issue before the \"contagion\" of NPM across Europe in the late twentieth century. These radical reforms demonstrated that national health care systems are not immutable to change, but the nature of the changes will be shaped by their previous histories (Dent, 2003). Prior to then involvement was limited to patients as citizens being able make their views known via their representatives within the political process involvement in patient associations (see Pavolini and Spina in this issue). Another possibility would be that of \"exit\" (Hirschman, 1970), an exercise of choice, but hardly one of involvement for it is an option external to the public sector health care system. There have been attempts earlier to give patients, collectively, a voice, as, for example, in Scandinavia through local and regional democracy (see Vrangbaek in this issue) as well as in the UK NHS with the Community Health Councils, introduced in 1974 (Ham, 2009, p. 25). Their role was to \"represent the views of the consumer\" at the local level (Klein, 2001, p. 73). Another example would be the \"self management interest communities\" of the former Yugoslavia (see Kavcic, Domajnko, Pahor in this issue). This system of self-management extended to the involvement of citizens in health policy decision making on local, regional and national levels through \"self management interest communities\", in which local community representatives as well as health care empolyees and providers' representatives decided on the health insurance rights, health policy, the location of hospitals and clinics. However, in all these cases and generally elsewhere in Europe, the relationship between individual patient and doctor remained largely hierarchical.\nTowards a comparative typology of patient involvement: The whole arena of patient involvement within health care is riven with problems of meaning, definition and purpose. The topic is further complicated when one attempts to compare practices across Europe (or indeed elsewhere in the world) where health care organisation and delivery will have different histories, funding arrangement and challenges. A path dependency model would take us some way in providing an explanation as to why the various countries follow different trajectories (Kirkpatrick et al., 2009, pp. 644-645; Dent, 2006b, p. 463; Dent et al., 2012, p. 109). Let us take that as read for the purpose of this introduction, for what is important here is to unpack the meanings of patient involvement within European hospital settings. To do this we will focus principally on constructing a patient involvement framework with which to assess and compare the range of responses that different countries have adopted to patient involvement, but only once we have put the issue of patient involvement in health care in context.\nOutline of contents: The papers included here are based on different research designs and approaches: three of them are comparative studies (one quantitative and two qualitative studies) and three are single country cases (one quantitative and two qualitative studies), presenting different aspects of patient involvement in Denmark, Italy and Slovenia. All the papers except the first are informed by the user involvement typology discussed earlier (see Table I) and all are written by members of our COST Action \"User Voice\" working group again with the exception of the first article, by Groene and Sunol. This comparative study explores the characteristics of patients' involvement in hospital quality management functions, looking into implementation and effects of this strategy. It is based in the results of the international survey data from the \"Deepening Our Understanding of Quality Improvement in Europe\" (DUQuE) Project. Patient involvement in planning for quality both at hospital level and at departmental level in 74 hospitals across Europe shows low scores, especially in planning of service provision processes and establishing quality criteria. These results contradicts the often assumed beneficial impact of patient involvement on quality indicators, and it opens up the question as to why there appears to be a reluctance on the behalf of professionals and management to involve patients and public directly in quality management. We within the COST network had close links with the DUQuE one, including some common membership. This paper is included here to provide an overview of patient involvement across European hospitals. Also a comparative study, but one based on qualitative methods, is the paper by Samorinha, Lichon, Dent and Silva addresses patient involvement in assisted reproductive technologies in England and Portugal. It is focused on the strategies of doctors to enhance or to inhibit patient involvement in this ethically sensitive field in the two countries. Variations were found both between the two countries as well as inside each country health care system on accessibility and funding criteria, and on choice and co-production. Increasing elements of choice and co-production are present in both countries, but patient involvement is limited by inequalities in accessibility criteria, and still very much dependent on doctors' individual perspectives. In another qualitative comparative study, Lichon, Kavcic and Masterson examined patient involvement in healthcare systems of England, Poland and Slovenia. Two of the cases are central European countries previously subjects of different state socialist regimes while England represents the classic NHS tax funded model. In all three countries, laws enhance users' influence on healthcare services and in the process differences are decreasing. However, patient participation in healthcare is an outcome of many institutional factors connected to each country wider economic, social and cultural context.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide and explain the model that underlies most of the research reported within this special issue on \"Patient involvement in health care across Europe\".\nDesign/methodology/approach: This introduction provides a literature review and a conceptual framework for the understanding of patient involvement and its potential development within health care across Europe.\nFindings: Patient involvement can be characterised in terms of three ideal types: voice, choice and co-production. Policies for developing user involvement in healthcare can have disempowering as well as empowering consequences. The pattern of dissemination of user involvement across Europe varies in form and content largely due to path dependency.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper provides a template for future comparative research on user involvement in health care and one that could be extended to social care as well as other varieties of human services. This introduction and the special issue highlights the need for further comparative research in this area.\nOriginality/value: The paper presents a robust model for comparative research. The findings may well be useful not only to researchers but also to policy makers and analysts.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Virtual classroom: reflections of online learning
|
[
"Online learning",
"Elluminate Live!",
"Accounting",
"Australia",
"Education",
"Learning"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As society becomes increasingly technology orientated, pressures have emerged within the education sector from policymakers and other stakeholders to embed e-technology into higher education courses. As Prensky (2001), clearly identified, today's students are not the people the traditional educational system was designed to teach as they are, dependent on communication technologies for accessing information and for interacting with others (Oblinger and Oblinger, 2005). As the investigation into online learning in higher education continues to expand (Hofmann, 2002; Hill et al., 2003; Kim and Bonk, 2006) more questions are raised than answered. In an attempt to meet the challenges of the online learning environment, the School of Accounting and Finance at Victoria University (VU), Melbourne Australia, embarked on a pilot study of online classes using Elluminate Live!.The pilot study had two main areas of focus: first, the achievements of the teaching and learning outcomes arising from the adoption of online classes; and second, student and staff reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of the pilot project. Consequently, the objective of the study was to identify student and staff experiences with online learning and to examine feedback as a means in which to improve future curricula.Information in the form of observations, readings, meetings, e-mails and conversation reflections with students and staff were documented in a professional journal to give insights of the online experience. This paper adopts a self-study methodological manner (reflective journal) to document personal thoughts and draw upon experiences, as well as observations and scheduled ad hoc discussions with students and staff. The significance of this study is to share the important knowledge garnered through reflective insights (via feedback and journal writing). This can act as a guide to other higher education universities looking at undertaking online learning.The paper is structured as follows: First, the reasoning behind the School of Accounting and Finance decision to explore the use of an online tool in its tutorials are identified. Second, the study design is explained where a description of the online class atmosphere is given to help simulate the environment being discussed. Third, a number of themes arising from the online class pilot are identified. The paper concludes with a summary of the results and an identification of areas in which the school can improve online teaching.Why go online?\nStudy design: The analytical approach adopted in this study is structured reflection. Reflective thinking has a well-established tradition in both facilitating informed and logical decisions about educational matters, and in assessing the consequences of those decisions. Dewey (1933) is acknowledged as one of the key originators of the reflection concept within education. His seminal work continues to inspire scholars (see Schon, 1987; Moon, 2000; Greener, 2009) to share their reflective insights on their teaching and learning experience. In this study, a reflective journal was used as a means for self-assessment, self-reflection, goal setting and collaborative critique in order to assist in the learning and progression of online classes in the School of Accounting and Finance.Elluminate Live! at VU\nThemes: The importance of teacher reflection is identified by its status as an established practice to improve teaching. However, it cannot be achieved without the teacher converting their teaching experience into knowledge through the process of reflection (McAlpine and Weston, 2004). Reflective journals are used extensively in the university context as a means to deepen personal understanding and stimulate critical thinking (Ballantyne and Packer, 1995). Hence, a reflective journal was used to assist the development of professional reflective practice with the Elluminate Live! online pilot program.A number of insightful themes and issues emerged from the data collected from the journal reflections as well as other source documents such as meeting and e-mails. These themes are considered below.Increased flexibility and cost reductions\nSummary and conclusion: The online pilot project undertaken by the school is important since it serves as a basis from which to develop future successful pedagogical approaches, where the aim is to improve online curriculum development and teaching practices.Through my observations the school's virtual classroom strategies need to address staff concerns. In particular the scepticism staff have for the potential for student learning in online environments as well as their continued preference for traditional teaching. Hence, staff training and the establishment of effective support structures for embedding safe, secure and rewarding virtual classrooms are required to make it a success.The journal kept during the pilot reflected upon my perceptions of how the online class was progressing. These reflections led to the identification of obstacles to achieving online learning success. It is hoped that the reflections mentioned here can shape the evolution of the online class concept within the School of Accounting and Finance at VU. More specifically, that the school is willing to introduce policies and procedures aimed at addressing the concerns raised in this paper to ensure improved outcomes and the active promotion of the virtual classroom. The importance of dedicating sufficient time, reflecting on practice and learning through research is strongly recommended.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to identify student and staff experiences with online learning at higher education (HE) using the software Elluminate Live!\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper adopts a qualitative approach, focusing on the reflections of participants (student and teacher) collated over a 12 month period of piloting online classes with Elluminate Live!\nFindings: - A number of insightful themes and issues emerged from the data collected from the journal reflections as well as other source documents such as meetings and emails. The themes considered in the paper include: increased flexibility and cost reductions, technical challenges, resistance to online learning, extension of online facilities and student engagement, and visual literacy skills.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The school's virtual classroom strategies need to address staff and student concerns. Staff training and the establishment of effective support structures for embedding safe, secure, and rewarding virtual classrooms are required. Once these issues have been addressed, online classes can be expanded across numerous discipline areas within the school.\nOriginality/value: - Currently, Australian scholarly papers focussing on the use of Elluminate Live! as a teaching tool to help develop curriculum at tertiary level are scarce. The significance of this study is to share the important knowledge garnered through reflective insights (via feedback and journal writing) which can act as a guide to other higher education universities looking at undertaking online learning.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Under what conditions is mandatory disclosure most likely to cause organisational change?
|
[
"Sustainability reporting",
"Social and environmental accounting",
"Central databases",
"Pollutant release and transfer register"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over two decades ago, in one of the social and environmental accounting's (SEA) most frequently cited texts, Gray et al. (1996) argued that social and environmental reports could be a way of changing the power relationship between business and society. Their reasoning (greatly paraphrased) essentially boiled down to the old adage \"information is power\". The less society knows about a corporation's ethically questionable activities, the greater its ability to get away with them. Therefore, surely the corollary would also hold true. Requiring corporations to report on their social and environmental activities would result in a behavioural change, for surely corporations would take pains to avoid ethically questionable activities when they know such behaviour would be exposed to the gaze of society? With corporations less free to privatise gains and socialise externalities, and society more fully aware of the trade-offs concerning the environmental harm and social inequality required to underpin business prosperity in a capitalist market economy, society might be able to take the first few needed steps towards sustainability.\n2. SEA research concerning how reporting can drive social change: Gray et al. (1996), in one of the SEA's most cited texts, once argued that requiring corporations to report on their social and environmental activities could help drive social change and promote accountability. By subjecting corporate actions to the gaze of society, corporations would be more mindful of how their actions affected and would appear to the outside world, which would incentivise better behaviour. Gray et al. (1996) dared hope that maybe, just maybe, the resulting behavioural change, in combination with the greater information base provided by sustainability reports, would make society more democratic.\n3. Institutions and organisational cause change: The biggest conceptual limitation to believing that sustainability accounting can promote organisational change is its lack of formal power. At best, sustainability accounts can reveal to the public the harm caused by business and the unsustainable nature of their practices. But what does that accomplish? What prevents business from simply ignoring the reports and carrying on as usual? The answer is that sustainability accounts can sometimes - but not always - be a source of informal power. We thus present in this section a conceptual framework to outline what we see as the role of sustainability accounts in facilitating change and promoting sustainability. This framework draws strongly from institutional theory.\n4. Pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs): a case study in sustainability accounts and organisational change: A watershed moment regarding environmental disclosure was the development of PRTRs. According to the OECD (2001):A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is a database or register of chemicals released to air, water and land, and wastes transferred off-site. Based on a list of priority chemicals, facilities that release one or more of the listed chemicals report periodically - usually annually - on the amount released and/or transferred and to which environmental media. Reported data are then made available to the public.(p. 12)\n5. US healthcare: conditions blocking social change: Though there have been many attempts at driving social change, reform of the US healthcare system has thus far been one of the most spectacularly unsuccessful. Currently, reform efforts are stymied by the lack of a single obvious solution, people not willing to make the sacrifices that reform would require and veto points in the political system. These factors could impair other efforts to make society more sustainable. Therefore, though healthcare is a social as opposed to an environmental issue, we believe that analysing why US healthcare reform has been so difficult can provide salutary lessons for the potential role of sustainability accounts.\n6. Role of mandatory sustainability accounts in driving social change: The SEA project began with the hope that if accounts of corporate non-financial performance were publically available, the business world would be more careful about its social and environmental impacts on society (Gray et al., 1996). Unfortunately, while corporate sustainability accounts have become increasingly commonplace, this has not led to increased accountability or deep-seated behavioural changes (Milne, 2013).\n7. Under what conditions are mandatory sustainability accounts most likely to cause change?: As previously stated, from an institutional perspective, sustainability accounts drive change by providing information that changes the institutional mix of pressures on organisations. The remainder of this section discusses conditions which, if present, are most likely to facilitate institutional pressure being brought to bear on organisations. In summary, optimal conditions usually arise when sustainability accounts are designed for intended users. As intended users tend to be more concerned with issues than companies, issues-based information is more likely to be useful than corporate-centred information.\n8. Conclusions: We have argued in this paper that sustainability accounting can drive social change by influencing the institutional mix of influences on organisations. Organisations do not have complete freedom of choice; their options are constrained by institutions. Sustainability accounts can give those institutions the necessary information to nudge organisations in a more sustainable direction. These accounts can help political actors participate in negotiations on a more even footing by reducing the transaction costs involving in acquiring necessary information. They can also galvanise stakeholders into taking action through shame, shock or the identification of comparative injustice. It has also been suggested that merely putting the information in the public domain results in the issue being regarded as more serious than it otherwise would have.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on how mandatory sustainability accounts can be designed to maximise the likelihood of moving society towards sustainability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors use institutional theory to show that organisations are constrained by institutions. Sustainability accounts can drive change by providing information that changes the institutional mix of pressures on organisations.\nFindings: Mandatory disclosure is most likely to drive change when: indicators are appropriate for information intermediaries or other intended users; information is provided at the appropriate level of aggregation; data are comparable to external benchmarks and/or other corporations; there exists a linkage to network of other relevant information; and sufficient popular and political support exists.\nPractical implications: Social changes will only come about if users receive information relevant to their goals and are able to translate it into political action. Corporate-level reporting may not be the best mechanism for this, because many users are interested in issues-based information. In many instances, due to the ability to facilitate greater comparability, a database mechanism is likely to be more helpful. Social and environmental accounting research should consider adopting more site-based reporting, ascertain what sustainability information governments already collect, determine what information NGOs need for campaigning purposes, and theorise how to create and link a nexus of accounts.\nOriginality/value: While many studies have called for improved practice and lamented the impotence of reporting, few studies have explored this link from a theoretical perspective.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
An investigation about Brazilian mango and grape exports
|
[
"Buyer‐seller relationships",
"Case studies",
"Transactions",
"Europe",
"Brazil",
"Fruits",
"International marketing",
"Supply chain management",
"Value chain",
"Supermarkets"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The industrial concentration of the retail sector is one of the main events in the study about food chains. One of the outcomes of this industrial concentration is the increase of requirements (such as traceability and certificates) and suppliers have to make investments in order to meet those (Reardon et al., 2003). It is well argue that retail suppliers are spread over different countries (Ruben et al., 2007; Fulponi, 2006; Jaffee and Masakure, 2005; Garcia and Poole, 2004) and consequently the strategies of the retail sector have been leading primary agricultural producers investments in many places in the world, mainly in developing countries. In general, the supermarkets literature tends to generalise the strategies of retailers focusing on differentiation and preferred suppliers (Dolan and Humphrey, 2000; Humphrey, 2007). From this point some questions arise: Is it only differentiation that matters? How do governance mechanisms differ along different transactions characteristics? With this in mind, the objective is to characterise the transactions between European buyers and Brazilian mango and grape producers and how the governance structures can differ.This paper is divided into four further sections. Section 2 discusses the theoretical background, the transaction costs analysis (TCA). Section 3 presents the method, multiple case studies, and explains the structure of the Brazilian mango and grape supply chains in its exports activities to Europe. Section 4 considers insights from theoretical background in analysing the research subject. Finally, the conclusion is presented.\nTheoretical background: transaction costs approach (TCA): The TCA is a micro analytical approach, which is used to analyse the features of transactions. In this paper the aim is to analyse transactions between two stages in the Brazilian mango and grape supply chains, the producers located in Brazil and the buyers in Europe. The use of TCA for explaining the relations between different stages in supply chain is pointed out by Halldorsson et al. (2007). According to Williamson (1985) transaction costs can be divided into costs of information, of negotiation and of monitoring (enforcement). To sum up, they are the costs of driving the economic system. The TCA presupposes that a transaction involves risks, and the parties try to protect themselves creating mechanisms and governing structures in order to reduce them. These risks are called transaction costs.TCA has some characteristics related to the behaviour of agents. One of them refers to the fact that the economic agents are rational, but in a limited way. Another refers to the fact that the economic agents display opportunistic behaviour in accomplishing transactions. It is difficult to foresee all the future situations that will affect a transaction. Situations who agents (in economic environment) can foresee are established in the contract, but many of them do not appear because of the limitations in the agents' reasoning. Incomplete contracts can cause problems after the signature (ex-post), and thus it is necessary to adopt safeguards to protect against problems in adaptation. The presupposition of opportunism is based on the lack of restrictions on the economic agents' selfish behaviour, what also involves setting safeguards to decrease eventual transaction costs. Given the presuppositions of limited rationality and opportunism, it is important to identify the main attributes of transactions and thus analyse the built-in transaction costs and the ideal governance structure for each case, that is, the governance structure that will decrease the transaction costs involved.In the TCA, the attributes of the transactions are: specification of assets, frequency and uncertainty. For example: when two companies make a transaction, this can mean specific investments by the parties involved, for example, in human resources or a certain industrial plant. These investments are specific to this transaction. In case the transaction does not work out, investments already realised cannot be used for another transaction with the same results.Depending on the intensity of the specification of the assets demanded in this transaction the economic agents would choose the commercialisation form or governance structure that decreases transaction costs. The greater the specification of the assets involved in the transaction, the higher the tendency to adopt vertical integration as the governance structure in order to get total control on transaction (Williamson, 1991). On the other extreme, there is the market (or \"spot\" market) as governance structure that provides total incentive for agents, but no control on transaction (no specificity of assets). The spot market is the best example of a free market where transactions occur without any commitment by the parties. In the middle, there are hybrid structures, such as franchising, long-term formal contracts, long-term \"non-formal\" contracts, partnerships, co-operation networks, among others (Menard, 1996). The hybrid governance structures combine incentive and control in different levels.According to Williamson (1985) there are different types of specificity. For this paper the main ones are:* locational specificity: which is related to the location of asset;* physical specificity: which refers to the production process and the assets involved in this process;* human specificity: refers to the human skills involved in the transaction; and* temporal specificity: which depends on the duration of transaction.Further, the new trend toward searching for good-quality fresh products by the consumer market increases the specification of assets and implies the adoption of governance structures that guarantee these specifications.The frequency with which transactions are executed is important for the dilution of the costs of the mechanisms used to accomplish the transaction, which is fundamental in choosing the governance structure. The third attribute is uncertainty, which can be analysed from different perspectives. For the purpose of this article, uncertainty means the absence of complete information with respect to a transaction. This raises the uncertainty regarding the transaction, leading to increased transactions costs (Farina et al., 1997).Keeping in mind the presuppositions of the economy of transaction costs, opportunism and limited rationality, as well as the attributes of transaction (specification of assets, frequency and uncertainty), it is possible to choose the appropriate governance structure of each transaction, i.e. that which provides the lowest transaction costs.\nThe Brazilian mango and grape supply chain for the European market: This paper is a study about Brazilian mango and grape exports to Europe. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Report on tropical fruits, the mango represents 36 per cent of tropical fruit production worldwide. Latin America is responsible for 17 per cent of world mango production and Brazil is the third largest mango producer (FAO, 2007). Almost 100 per cent of Brazilian mango and grape exports come from the Sao Francisco region, located in the Brazilian Northeast. The European Union is the main destination for Brazilian mango and grape exports, 90 per cent and 68 per cent respectively (SECEX - Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretariat, 2005).The field research was accomplished in Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands, and the UK from 2004 to 2005. This paper is an outcome of the PhD studies of the first author. This study challenges the supermarket literature about the generalisation of supermarkets' strategies focusing on preferred suppliers and differentiation (Dolan and Humphrey, 2000; Humphrey, 2007). Having this in mind the method selected for this work was multiple case studies. This method permit to answer questions such as \"how\" and \"why\" and allow generalising to theoretical propositions (Yin, 2001; Seuring, 2008; Eisenhardt, 1989; Malhotra, 2001; Lyons, 2005).About 11 Brazilian fresh fruit importers located in Europe and nine English wholesalers from Spitalfields from London's (the largest fresh food market) were interviewed. The information about importers and wholesalers were obtained in the Brazilian Embassy in London. The Brazilian Embassy has a list of UK agents who keep trade relations with Brazil. Besides, it was undertaken exploratory research in the Sao Francisco Valley region (by telephone) in order to get information about importers. From these two sources it was concluded that there are not many mango and grape importers and it was interviewed about 90 per cent of agents quoted by two sources.For the field research in Brazil, the Sao Francisco Valley, the largest mango and grape-exporting region, was chosen. Face-to-face interviews were held with eight large producers and exporters, four small and medium producers, the director and two agronomists from CODEVASF (a federal government agency created to promote the economic development of the Sao Francisco Region), the representative from SEBRAE (the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service), the director of VALEXPORT (Exporters Association), three cooperatives and the director of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency - (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria) - EMBRAPA. At most companies, the face-to-face interviews included field visits to the crops and to post-harvest facilities. In total, 41 face-to-face interviews were made.According to Seuring (2008), the case study is a method that allows the use of a flexible research strategy. Despite the strength of this feature, the flexibility could be a weak point if the research process is not well documented. The categories of analysis considered on this study are the dimensions of transactions between Brazilian producers and European buyers (Table I).Mango and grape chains\nConclusions: The objective of this paper is to characterise the transactions between European buyers and Brazilian mango and grape producers. The method of empirical research was multiple case studies, which were made viable though face-to-face interviews with mango and grape producers located in Brazil and buyers located in the UK, Germany and The Netherlands.The findings indicate that in the markets studied, the level of industry concentration in food retailing is high, but the German retail model is based on cost competition, while in the UK product differentiation is more important. As a result, the supply chain strategies of German retailers are largely based on market relations with suppliers, whereas in the UK and The Netherlands, supply chains are characterised by the presence of category managers and high levels of coordination along the chain. The differences between UK and German supermarkets challenge the supermarkets literature that tends to generalise the strategies of retailers focusing on differentiation and preferred suppliers.Regarding managerial implications this study contribute for characterising the governance structures of transactions in different markets, and shows the differences between them based on the dimensions of transactions. Having this in mind the study contributes for producers who are interested in their entry into the global market.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The objective of this paper is to characterise the transactions between European buyers and Brazilian mango and grape producers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The method selected for this paper was multiple case studies. The Brazilian mango and grape supply chains' export activities to Europe were investigated. The field research was undertaken in Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK. In total, 41 face-to-face interviews were carried out.\nFindings: - The supermarkets' literature tends to generalise the strategies of retailers focusing on differentiation and preferred suppliers. However, in empirical research conducted in the UK, Germany and The Netherlands it is possible to conclude that the procurement strategies of supermarkets can vary sharply. The results reveal the presence of different agents who demand different quality standards. The level of intensity depends on consumer behaviour, the features of product commercialised and the characteristics of the production segment in each country.\nResearch limitations/implications: - First, in relation to the empirical method there is a limitation because the case study does not allow statistical generalisation. Consequently, it will be interesting to undertake quantitative research in order to quantify the variables presented and their impact on the structure of value chains. Second, the research focuses only on two stages of the supply chain, producers and buyers.\nPractical implications: - The differences between UK and German supermarkets challenge the supermarket literature, which tends to generalise the strategies of retailers focusing on differentiation and preferred suppliers.\nOriginality/value: - The study shows that the issue of influence and activities of retail agents along the value chain can be analysed taking several variables into consideration: the products commercialised; the distribution segment; and the consumer market. This result opens the way for analysing different structures of the value chain and the impact of these differences on the entry of producers for developing countries into the global market.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Absorptive capacity in virtual teams: examining the influence on diversity and innovation
|
[
"Innovation",
"Absorptive capacity",
"Deep-level diversity",
"Functional-level diversity",
"Virtual teams"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Globalization has opened new possibilities for establishing and maintaining competitive advantage. As firms operate in competitive global markets, innovation and collaboration are critical to success (Matthew and Sternberg, 2006). Through the development of global virtual teams (GVTs), technology has advanced in ways that support collaboration among a team of experts even if members are not proximally located. GVTs, consisting of members collaborating in various geographical locations who may belong to different time zones and countries, are becoming more common in practice. A recent report notes that about 75 per cent of knowledge-based project work is completed by distributed GVTs (Gartner, 2011). GVTs typically consist of individuals working independently toward a shared purpose while transcending the boundaries of location, time and organizational boundaries (Lipnack and Stamps, 2000).\nLiterature review: GVTs are becoming increasingly popular in the high-tech domain and are generally described as diverse and geographically dispersed. GVTs enable technology experts who are remotely located to collaborate and innovate, mainly by using technology to share information, communicate and coordinate their efforts (Lipnack and Stamps, 2000). Technology experts no longer have to work in the same physical space but can engage in collaboration from any location around the world and at any moment in time. GVTs are valuable in generating new knowledge through improved access to experts who expedite the exploration of creative and innovative solutions (Duarte et al., 2011). GVTs with a flexible and configurable infrastructure save valuable resources, resulting in increased productivity (Anderson et al., 2007).\nMethods: Data collection\nResults: Measure validity and reliability\nDiscussion: This study was motivated by the dearth of prior research on ACAP at the GVT level. Accordingly, a contribution of this research is the empirical validation of ACAP as a higher-order factor with three dimensions (knowledge assessment, knowledge assimilation and knowledge application) within in a GVT environment. Results from the confirmatory factor analyses suggest that the three-factor model of ACAP, as conceptualized, is appropriate for use in the context of GVTs. Furthermore, reliability indicators, factor loadings and convergent validity revealed that all the indicators are related to the underlying constructs they were designed to measure. Discriminant validity of the construct was tested by showing that the three distinctive dimensions exist in the ACAP model. The evidence of reliability and validity provides support for the ACAP measure. This work represents a step toward the validation of an ACAP measure within a GVT context. This empirical analysis allows for more fine-grained research on ACAP and the ability to analyze ACAP dimensions in concert with one another, supporting further research opportunities in the GVT research field.\nLimitations and future research: Although the findings of this investigation contribute to the advancement of GVT research, the findings should be interpreted with respect to the study's limitations. First, the sample was drawn from a single organization, which limits the generalization of the findings. Future researchers are encouraged to examine ACAP in alternate virtual contexts to further validate the measurement and noted relationships with other team-based phenomena.\nConclusion: As GVTs continue to proliferate within organizations, we note that the diversity within such teams is both an asset and liability. Specifically, we find that while deep-level diversity restricts the team's ACAP, the functional-level diversity of the team enhances ACAP and directly relates to innovation outcomes. This research offers insight into better understanding the nuances of diversity and advances literature beyond assuming that all forms of diversity are beneficial. Additionally, the findings offer insight into how diversity is used to create value within such contexts. Although functional-level diversity has a direct effect on innovation outcomes, we hypothesize and find that both forms of diversity affect value creation via the team's ACAP. In other words, the type and extent of diversity within a GVT affects the team's ability to acquire and use new, external knowledge to create value (via ACAP). In all, while the common wisdom in organizations assumes diversity is beneficial to teams because diversity brings various perspectives to the table to solve complex problems, this study demonstrates that the type of diversity within the team is important, noting how value creation via ACAP is affected given a specific type of diversity.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of the study is to empirically extend and validate a measure of absorptive capacity (ACAP) and examine its role in leveraging the benefits of diversity on innovation within global virtual teams (GVTs). This study validates a multidimensional measure of ACAP for use within the GVT. GVTs are increasingly utilized in industry given their ability to bring together diverse knowledge and experience from geographically dispersed individuals.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The hypotheses of this research were tested using a field survey to collect real world knowledge about GVTs. The survey method is a research technique in which data is collected from a sample of individuals using a questionnaire.\nFindings: Using a sample of GVT members, the authors find that ACAP significantly mediates the relationships between diversity (deep-level diversity, functional-level) and innovation.\nPractical implications: The implications for the study of GVTs is discussed and recommendations are offered. GVTs, as investigated in this study, include members that use electronic media for some or all of their interactions and collaboration with other team members.\nOriginality/value: This study validates and operationalizes the multi-dimensional ACAP construct at the GVT level: its relationship with diversity and its influence on GVT innovation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Linking positive psychological capital with customer value co-creation
|
[
"Brand management",
"Employee development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Regarding the rise of tourism and increasing competition within the tourism industry, Shaw et al. (2011) indicated that customer experiences are at the heart of the industry, which they suggest is based around customer experience; hence, suppliers and customers engage in close interaction. In addition, based on the theory of service-dominant logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2004; Gronroos, 2006), service - rather than goods - is the fundamental basis of exchange; customers now engage in interaction with their suppliers during the process of personalizing their own unique experience (Payne et al., 2009). This engagement is referred to as customer value co-creation (VCC). When customers and the organization engage in co-creating value, the individual customer experiences value that is unique (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). Prior research focuses mostly on the conceptual and theoretical viewpoint of VCC (Edvardsson et al., 2011; Gouillart, 2014; Gronroos, 2011; Gronroos and Voima, 2013; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2000, 2004; Skarzauskaite, 2013), but few investigate and practically experiment with value creation, which is likely to yield positive outcomes that strengthen the sustainability of an organization. The authors were unaware of any previous research investigating the driving forces that stimulate customer value co-creating behaviors from the employees' perspective. Therefore, the present study sought to fill this research gap, specifically in the case of hotels.\nLiterature review: Customer VCC\nHypotheses: H1. PPC is positively related to VCC.\nMethod: Participants and procedures\nResults: Psychometric characteristics of the measures\nConclusions: The present study investigated the driving forces that stimulate customer willingness to co-create value from the employee's perspective, specifically in the case of hotels. This research echoes the calling that customer experience is the core of the tourism industry; hence, suppliers and customers tend to engage in close interaction throughout their relationship (Shaw et al., 2011; Payne et al., 2009). This engagement is referred to as the \"customer value co-creation (VCC)\". When customers and organizations engage in co-creating value, the individual customer experiences value that is unique (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). Prior research studies focused mostly on the conceptual and theoretical viewpoint of VCC (Edvardsson et al., 2011; Gouillart, 2014; Gronroos, 2011; Gronroos and Voima, 2013; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2000, 2004; Skarzauskaite, 2013), with few investigations and experiments on value creation. Thus, the present study aimed to fill the research gap by exploring the driving forces that stimulate customer value co-creating behaviors from the employee's perspective. We identified the \"employee service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior\" as an important mediator that links the indirect relationship between employee PPC and customer VCC. We also identified the \"customer brand experience\" as an important moderator in the relationship between customer VCC and employee SOOCB. We expect the findings could be able to contribute to the VCC field and provide managerial implications to the hotel industries.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to identify the driving forces of customer value co-creation (VCC) that occur through employee positive psychological capital (PPC), employee service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (SOOCB) and customer brand experience (BE).\nDesign/methodology/approach: In total, 493 valid samples were retrieved from 30 hotels in Taiwan. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to extensively and accurately examine customer VCC from a cross-level perspective.\nFindings: The results showed that employee PPC was not positively related to customer VCC, that employee PPC affected customer VCC indirectly through the mediating effect of employee SOOCB and that the relationship between employee SOOCB and customer VCC was positively moderated by customer BE.\nOriginality/value: First, this study investigated the customer VCC driving forces through the role of the employee, and thus advances the customer VCC field. Second, it identified employee SOOCB as a key mediating mechanism that links the indirect relationship between employee PPC and customer VCC. Third, it identified customer BE as a key moderating mechanism in the relationship between employee SOOCB and customer VCC. Fourth, regarding methodology, few studies investigate VCC through a cross-level approach. The present study used hierarchical linear modeling to extensively and accurately examine customer VCC and its cross-level relationships, thus providing greater research value compared with single-level analysis. Finally, the result findings suggest that organizational leaders should enhance the PPC of employees in furtherance of encouraging the employees to perform extra-role SOOCB, which makes customer co-creation behavior, and ultimately, contributes to managerial practice.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Comparing critical success factors between European M&As in China and Chinese M&As in Europe: A mixed-method analysis
|
[
"China",
"Critical success factors",
"Europe",
"Cross-border mergers and acquisitions",
"Mixed-method research design"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: China has been an important destination for cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by foreign companies particularly since its accession to the WTO in 2001 (Wolff, 2008). In the highly developed but saturated European economies with relatively low-growth perspectives compared with emerging markets, European companies have to look to new azimuths and develop new markets in order to stay competitive. Therefore the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) have become important markets for European companies. China as the largest of the BRIC countries with the biggest population and high long-term growth perspectives is one of the most attractive markets in the world for the globally oriented European companies. A fast route for market entry and for gaining immediately important positions in China is the acquisition of a suitable Chinese company. This route has been the major entry mode taken by European companies over the last decade. In 1999, 8 percent of all M&A transactions of foreign companies in China were of European origin. M&A transactions with European acquirers increased until the year 2008 to 20.77 percent but fell to 8.38 percent in 2009 due to the financial crisis, and recovered to 12.88 percent in 2013 (Authors' own calculation based on the Thomson ONE database).\n2. Five key perspectives in M&A performance and proposed CSFs: In the recent past, researchers have widened the evaluation basis of M&A performance from the pure financial measures to the actual motivations of M&A transactions (e.g. Angwin, 2007; Brouthers et al., 1998; Epstein, 2005; Gaughan, 2002; Vaara, 1995). We build upon this M&A performance evaluation extension and assess M&A success or failure through the evaluation whether an M&A transaction closes the competence gap as perceived by the management of the acquiring firm. Competence is defined by Sanchez et al. (1996, p. 8) as \"an ability to sustain the coordinated deployment of assets in a way that helps a firm achieve its goals.\" Our study investigates the perceptions of the responsible top managers and focuses on the acquiring companies' strategic motivations to close their competence gaps, for example, in R&D capabilities, patents, customer understanding or international management expertise.\n3. Research method: To combine the strengths of quantitative and qualitative research methods and to overcome some of their weaknesses, we employ a mixed-method research design, that is, the mixing of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Creswell and Plano Clark (2011) emphasize four key decisions in choosing an appropriate mixed-method design: first, the interaction level between quantitative research and qualitative research, that is, the extent to which quantitative research and qualitative research are kept independent or interact with each other; second, the relative priority of quantitative research and qualitative research. Quantitative research and qualitative research may have an equal priority in addressing the research questions, or may have a quantitative priority where a greater emphasis is placed on the quantitative research and the qualitative research is used in a secondary role; or may have a qualitative priority where a greater emphasis is placed on the qualitative research and the quantitative research is used in a secondary role; third, the timing of quantitative research and qualitative research. The researcher may concurrently conduct quantitative research and qualitative research during a single phase, or may sequentially conduct quantitative research and qualitative research in two distinct phases, or may conduct multiple phases that include sequential and/or concurrent timing over a program of study; and fourth, the stage of mixing or integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods. The researcher may mix quantitative research and qualitative research during the final step of interpretation after both sets of data are collected and analyzed, or may mix during data analysis, or may mix during data collection, or may mix at the level of design.\n4. Primary qualitative case study research: In the case study, we choose three European M&A cases in China including Stora Enso's acquisition of Inpac, Nestle's acquisition of Hsu Fu Chi, and Bayer's acquisition of Topsun (OTC cough and cold business), and three Chinese M&A cases in Europe including Wolong's acquisition of ATB, Lenovo's acquisition of Medion, and Sany's acquisition of Putzmeister. An overview of the selected cases is seen in Table II.\n5. Secondary quantitative survey research: In order to complete our mixed-method approach, a Likert scale-based questionnaire survey was conducted concurrently with the case study. However, as the participants of our questionnaire survey needed to be top managers in European and Chinese companies which had been involved in cross-border M&A activities, we expected a very low response rate.\n6. Conclusions: This paper is among the first attempts to compare the CSFs between European M&As in China and Chinese M&As in Europe. Due to the exploratory nature of our research, we choose a multiple-case study as our primary research method. In order to offset the weaknesses of qualitative research method, we embed a secondary quantitative survey within the whole research design to enhance our understanding of differences in CSFs between the two groups.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the critical success factors (CSFs) between two groups of European mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in China and Chinese M&As in Europe.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the paper, a mixed-method research design which combines primary case study with secondary questionnaire survey is applied.\nFindings: The findings from the case study show the main differences with respect to CSFs between the two groups are related to: importance of relationship building in Chinese culture, Chinese culture trait of high power distance, Chinese decision process, complicated Chinese approval process for foreign companies doing M&As in China, integration of acquired Chinese/European company, and relatively new phenomenon of Chinese acquisitions in Europe. The Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test from the questionnaire survey provides statistical support for significant difference between the two groups regarding the factor of involvement and commitment of acquiring companies' entrepreneurial CEO/chairman in the M&A process.\nOriginality/value: This paper is among the first attempts to conduct a comparative study which provides new insights into the differences between the CSFs in European M&As in China and in Chinese M&As in Europe.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Can speed kill? The cyclical effect of rapid credit growth: evidence from bank lending behavior in Italy
|
[
"Credit risk",
"Banks",
"Bank lending behavior",
"Loans growth",
"Non-performing loans"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: This paper investigates the intertemporal relationship between bank lending behavior and credit risk. The study analyses whether banks that grow rapidly are subsequently more exposed to an increase in credit risk during a financial crisis and whether the increase in credit risk in these banks' portfolio causes them to reduce their lending activity during a crisis period.\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: This paper is based on two main strands of literature. The first relates to the macroeconomic analysis of bank lending behavior and credit risk. The second relates to the relationship between credit risk and credit growth.\n3. Sample and descriptive statistics: 3.1 Sample\n4. Loan growth and credit risk: To measure the level of credit risk, the growth of non-performing loans is analyzed for the 2008-2013 period. The high or low growth of NPL is defined with reference to the median value of the growth of NPL distribution over the total crisis period[3]. We choose the median, because, with respect to the mean, it is a more durable index, as it does not change if there is an outstanding value in the distribution.\n5. Methodology: To investigate the intertemporal relationship between banks' lending behavior and credit risk, we executed different regressions. Given that outliers may exert an undue influence on estimation results in the relatively small sample available, we applied the last absolute deviation (LAD) estimator, in addition to the ordinary least squares (OLS), the fixed effect model and a dynamic panel model; the last one is to solve the endogeneity problem.\n6. Results: Table VII displays the results from the baseline regressions. Columns (1), (2) and (3) report the output from the OLS model; Columns (4), (5) and (6) show the results of the fixed effect model; Columns (7), (8) and (9) display the output from the LAD model; finally, Columns (10), (11) and (12) highlight the results of the GMM model.\n7. Robustness check: We conducted a number of robustness checks that ultimately leave our key conclusions unchanged.\n8. Conclusions and policy implications: The study investigates the relationship between credit risk and credit growth in the Italian banking system.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to analyze bank lending behavior before and during the most recent financial crisis. Banks are more willing to grant loans during economic expansion. However, this behavior can result in reduced portfolio asset quality. The analysis tries to facilitate understanding of whether this relationship is always true. A second aim of the study is to highlight whether the impact of credit risk on bank lending behavior during a financial crisis is greater for banks that grew faster during the pre-crisis period than for other banks.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on a sample of banks in Italy, an example of a country undergoing a credit crunch without a lending bubble burst. The methodology is based on a panel regression and author uses different models to test his hypothesis: an ordinary least squares, a fixed effect, a least absolute regression and a Generalized Method of Momentum (GMM). This allows to mitigate some of the endogeneity problems.\nFindings: The essay shows that effectively, most of the banks that grew faster during a pre-crisis period show a higher growth of non-performing loans and a greater reduction in lending activity during a financial crisis. However, 34 per cent of banks that grew faster during a pre-crisis period have a low growth of non-performing loans in the subsequent years. Finally, the results suggest that credit risk negatively affects bank lending behavior, but a higher impact relative to fast banks with respect to other banks cannot be emphasized.\nPractical implications: Findings have some policy implications. First, given the adverse effect of the increase of non-performing loans (NPLs) on the bank's lending activity and on the broad economy in general, there is merit to strengthen supervision to prevent a further increase and accumulation of NPLs in the bank's credit portfolio. In addition, the supervisors could require that banks take always high credit standard when extend credit, both during positive economic cycle and during period of contraction. The using of higher credit standard could be helpful in the reduction of the pro-cyclicality of bank's lending behavior and credit risk. Furthermore, the fact that high level of NPLs continues to impact on the bank's lending activity and that this activity is very important for the economic recovery underlines that banks should clean-up their credit portfolios as soon as possible.\nOriginality/value: This paper contributes to the literature in various ways. The study analyzes the cyclical effect of credit growth, i.e. banks increase their bank lending behavior during good times, which leads to an increase in bad loans and a high credit risk in their portfolio. These cyclical effects are not knowingly studied together, but the literature usually analyzes the single steps of the cycle. Second, studying listed and unlisted banks allows to have a more representative sample and to analyze better the real bank lending activity considering both commercial than cooperative banks.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Characteristics associated with CEO success: perceptions of CEOs and their staff
|
[
"Leadership",
"Perception",
"Management development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: CEOs play an important role in the performance of their organisations (Grude et al., 2002). Knowledge of the characteristics of successful CEOs is important if organisations are going to select and develop appropriate individuals for high-level leadership positions (Wood and Vilkinas, 2004, 2005). Yet to date, this executive group remains unexplored, unchallenged and to a great extent ignored in the research literature.There have been only a few recent studies seeking to identify the characteristics of successful CEOs and using a CEO population (see Table I). Much management research has focussed on other levels of managers, such as the studies involving executives (Howard, 1996), middle managers (Krishnan, 2001) and supervisors (Atwater et al., 2000). CEOs operate in a different organisational context from other senior level executives and middle managers, however, and they may have undergone completely different developmental pathways that shaped their thinking (Conger et al., 1999).The mindset that leads to success as a CEO is characterised, then, by elements that appear to be a combination of personal traits and attitudes that are formed by experience. Much of the recent published work on CEOs, which tends to be theoretical, has argued that CEOs need to possess the range of characteristics outlined in Table I if they are to be successful. The characteristics of CEOs as nominated by the theorists are not unlike those postulated by the CEOs themselves. Both groups argue that CEOs need to demonstrate an achievement orientation, a humanistic approach, have a positive outlook, a willingness to be inclusive, to have integrity, to learn and exhibit self-awareness.In addition to those studies involving CEOs themselves, there have been a handful of studies asking staff who report to the CEO to identify the characteristics they feel a CEO needs to possess in order to successfully manage an organisation (see Table I).Characteristics identified by the staff are similar to those identified by the CEOs with the addition of positive outlook and a balanced approach. The perceptions of the staff also support the theoretical work.\nPurpose of the study: Previous research has taken a limited approach with most authors identifying one or two characteristics rather then a range of characteristics that successful CEOs need to possess and actually demonstrate. Most of the previous researchers have focused on either the perceptions of the CEO or their staff, but not on both. The current study was designed to take a more comprehensive view and to include both CEOs and their staff simultaneously. The purpose was to identify the characteristics considered important for successful management by both CEOs and their staff, and to determine the level of correlation in each group's opinion of the characteristics of successful CEOs.\nMethod: Selection of participants\nResults: Questionnaire\nDiscussion: The results from the interviews and questionnaire identified six characteristics that successful CEOs need to possess. The six were:1. humanistic approach;2. achievement orientation;3. a positive outlook;4. a sense of integrity;5. inclusiveness; and6. learning and self-awareness.In addition, the questionnaire results indicated that the CEOs did effectively demonstrate each of these characteristics. The interview results identified a seventh characteristic - balance. Three of the characteristics - humanistic approach, achievement orientation and positive outlook - were ranked as more important than the other four. There were no differences in the perceptions of the CEOs and their staff.Both the CEOs and their staff members indicated that being humanistic was critical to the CEOs' success and was effectively demonstrated. This result is consistent with previous findings (see Table I). The findings support the theoretical writings and suggestions of authors advocating that individuals in leadership positions at all levels adopt specific humanistic characteristics to ensure success (see Table I).Having an achievement orientation was also identified by the CEOs and their staff as critical for the CEOs' success. The CEOs effectively demonstrated this characteristic, which was identified as the second most important characteristic. This finding is consistent with previous research into management effectiveness (see Table I). The findings also support the theories and suggestions of writers who argue its importance for CEO success (see Table I).The third most important characteristic identified by the CEOs and their staff was positive outlook. Both groups said this characteristic was critical for the CEO's success, but not as important as having a humanistic approach and an achievement orientation. The CEOs were also reported to effectively demonstrate being positive. This finding supports the earlier work of Boone et al. (1996) and Waterman (1994) and leadership writers claiming the importance of this characteristic for CEO success (see Table I).Four other characteristics were identified as important for CEO success, but they were not considered as important as the three characteristics already considered. Having integrity was one such characteristic which the CEOs did demonstrate. Parry and Proctor-Thompson (2002), Tait (1996) and Sarros and Butchatsky (1996) have previously identified this as an important characteristic, and many other writers have also argued for the importance of this trait (see Table I).Considered of less importance for success, but observed in the CEOs, was their willingness to be inclusive. Previous research (Kets de Vries and Florent-Treacy, 2002, Barling et al., 2000) also identified this characteristic, and its importance has been argued for by earlier writers (see Table I).Similarly, learning and self-awareness, while not regarded as critical, were also effectively demonstrated and have been identified as associated with success as a CEO (see Table I). Of particular note, therefore, is the lack of importance placed on learning and self-awareness in the opinions of the CEOs and the staff members involved in this study. Such results are surprising given the research supporting the need to learn from experience (see Table I).The final characteristic identified by both the CEOs and their staff was having a balanced approach, supporting the research of Kets de Vries and Florent-Treacy (2002). It has been argued by Bennis (1996b) that CEOs need to balance their lives. This characteristic was considered of little importance for CEO success, however.\nStrengths of this study: The current study took a very different approach to most previous research by asking CEOs and their staff to describe the characteristics the successful CEOs possessed without reference to a pre-existing model. To use such models as the basis for the data collection would have limited the characteristics to be investigated to those characteristics identified in the model.A significant difference between the present study and previous research was that both the CEOs and their staff were involved in the study. Many of the earlier works only asked for the opinions of either the CEO or their staff. This study found that the perceptions of the CEOs and their staff were similar.Another strength of the study was that both the CEOs and their staff were specifically asked to identify the three most important characteristics of their CEOs. This resulted in the elimination or reduction in importance of some of the characteristics identified in earlier research, such as integrity, inclusivity, learning and self-awareness and balanced approach.One of the most interesting features that emerged from the two forms of data collection was that each produced a similar range of characteristics with the exception of balance. While the extra characteristic of balance was added from the interview data analysis following content analysis, it did not have a high frequency of response and was not considered important for success.\nLimitations of the study: The sample size in this study deserves some comment. The CEO selection process was difficult for two reasons. First, it was difficult to achieve a truly representative sample (that is, public and private sector balanced approach, gender, age and industry type) in a population of 1.2 million. Second, there were a number of rejections from well known, successful and experienced CEOs in industry sectors not represented, such as mining, health, education and telecommunications. The numbers of CEOs involved also determined the number of staff reporting to them that could be involved.\nFuture research and practice: The current findings have implications for future research and practice. The results of this study suggest that future research aimed at understanding the link between CEOs' characteristics and their success is warranted. It would obviously be important to obtain larger samples than in the present study so that the generalisability of the research findings could be improved.On a more practical note, the findings have implications for the selection and development of CEOs. From a selection perspective, it may be that CEOs can be assessed using a 360-degree feedback process based on the use of questionnaires to measure the presence of each of the characteristics identified in the present study. The presence of these characteristics would be an initial indication of a CEO's potential for success. Such a process would provide organisations with a means for selecting their top executives.With respect to the development of potential CEOs, future researchers need to determine which of the characteristics identified can be developed and which are \"hard-wired\". Once this information is available, then individuals who possess the requisite inherent characteristics can be developed to possess any other characteristics that they may not initially display.\nConclusion: Past research has taken a piecemeal approach in the identification of characteristics that successful CEOs need to possess. Few researchers have adopted the broad approach used in the present study. Furthermore, it is rare for a research methodology to ask senior executives and their staff what they believe to be important for their success and ask them to rank these characteristics. This study addressed these issues.The present exploratory study interviewed 20 successful CEOs and 38 of their staff in order to identify the characteristics the CEOs possessed. The dominant characteristics were achievement orientation, humanistic approach and positive outlook. While this is an exploratory study, it does allow for future research to be based on these findings in an area where little empirical work has been undertaken.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper seeks to identify the characteristics that successful CEOs possess and demonstrate, as perceived by both the CEOs and their staff.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Twenty CEOs and 38 staff members who reported directly to them were involved. There were two parts to the research - questionnaire and interviews. The leadership questionnaire was completed by both groups, who were then interviewed to further explore the characteristics these successful CEOs did possess and demonstrated.\nFindings: - Characteristics identified as important for success were a humanistic approach, achievement orientation, a positive outlook, a sense of integrity, inclusiveness and learning and self-awareness. Both the CEOs and their staff agreed that the CEOs did possess all these characteristics, some to a greater extent than others. They also agreed that the six characteristics were effectively demonstrated by the CEOs.\nResearch limitations/implications: - To date, research on the characteristics that CEOs need to possess has been very limited. This study was the first to take a comprehensive approach to identify the characteristics CEOs need to possess and did demonstrate. It is also one of the few studies that has involved both CEOs and their staff. As this was an exploratory study, it is important that it be replicated in a larger population of CEOs.\nPractical implications: - The characteristics identified in this paper can be used to select and develop CEOs.\nOriginality/value: - The paper would be of value to future CEOs and to those charged with the responsibility for the selection and development of CEOs.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The narrative cleansing of Andrew Carnegie: entrepreneurial generativity as identity capital
|
[
"Andrew Carnegie",
"Entrepreneurial generativity",
"Entrepreneurial philanthropy",
"Identity construction"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Sing to me of the man, muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy [...] Homer (translation by Fagles, 1996).\nAndrew Carnegie: entrepreneur, business mogul and philanthropist: Andrew Carnegie was born in a stone cottage in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835 (Nasaw, 2006b). His father (William) worked from home as a handloom weaver (Hill, 2004) and young Andrew helped his father while also attending Robert Martin's Rolland School for about five years (beginning at the age of eight). In 1848, poor working conditions and a flailing weaving industry led the family to move to Allegheny City, PA, in the USA (Nasaw, 2006a); Andrew was 12.\nThe homestead massacre: The lockout and resulting strike, which evolved from a conflict between the Carnegie Steel Company and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers union at the Homestead plant, officially began on June 30, 1892. Regrettably, on July 6, 1892 it culminated in violent confrontation, between the striking workers and Carnegie's hired militia, the Pinkerton Guards (Nasaw, 2006a). With 11 dead and many injured (Bemis, 1894), this tragic event is recorded as the third most deadly clash in American labor history (Standiford, 2005).\nExtending the capital theoretic model of generative entrepreneurial philanthropy: Entrepreneurial philanthropy refers to the social and innovative management of wealth allocation by exceptionally wealthy businessmen or businesswomen (Harvey et al., 2011). The management of wealth allocation to philanthropic purposes, which occurs in the public domain, has its historical root in Andrew Carnegies \"Gospel of all Wealth\" (Carnegie, 1889). In this text, Carnegie claimed that wealthy businessmen should manage their philanthropic donations by themselves due to their unique experience in exceptional wealth management and acquired social power (Gordon et al., 2016). Carnegie \"walked his talk\" with his philanthropic donations that were of generative nature because he targeted real and permanent goods (e.g. churches, universities, libraries and parks) that could provide lasting benefits to the general public across future generations (McAdams, 2006).\nHistorical approach: When research efforts are aimed toward reconstructing or extending a theoretical conceptualization, researchers have argued that the use of case methods is desirable because they allow scholars to focus on the reflexivity needed to profoundly interpret and reinterpret constructs and conceptual frameworks (Alvesson and Gabriel, 2013). Specifically, narrative explications derived from well-crafted unique case studies (Siggelkow, 2007) can shed light on the processes by which motivations are developed and maintained (DeRue and Ashford, 2010), as analyses of contextualized texts may allow researchers to uncover meaningful identity facets (Hassard, 2012) and foundations (Koerner, 2014), as well as motivational fluctuations that occur over time (Humphreys et al., 2015).\nTesting the extended capital-theoretic model of generative entrepreneurial philanthropy: Harvey et al. (2011) proposed that the generative actions of entrepreneurial philanthropists are motivated by their desire to advance their personal power via accumulation and conversion of different forms of capital. Specifically, tapping Carnegie as their exemplar, Harvey et al. (2011) advanced a compelling argument that entrepreneurial philanthropic activities serve to boost the cultural, social, and symbolic capital of entrepreneurial philanthropists, thereby increasing their influence in the public domain. \"From this perspective, the field of power is the point of union between business and philanthropy\" (Harvey et al., 2011, p. 431).\nUnpacking Carnegie's generative philanthropic identity: Identity is defined as the ways in which people \"continuously engage in forming, repairing, maintaining, strengthening or revising the constructions that are productive of a sense of coherence and distinctiveness\" (Sveningsson and Alvesson, 2003, p. 1165). Identity construction, \"is essentially twofold, some aspects implicating the personal sphere and others being oriented towards public consumption (Watson, 2008)\" (Maclean et al., 2015, p. 1626). Entrepreneurial identity, then, can be viewed as the distinctive amalgamation and intertwining of personal identity with social identity (Chasserio et al., 2014).\nThe journey from entrepreneurship to entrepreneurial generativity: Our opening quote from Homer's epic poem Odyssey pays homage to Maclean et al.'s (2015, p. 1628) use of \"the journey\" motif to represent identity construction and reconstruction by entrepreneurial philanthropists:\nContributions, limitations and future research: Entrepreneurial philanthropy, as the intersection of entrepreneurship and generativity, is still very much a pre-paradigmatic field (Maclean et al., 2015). Using the case of Andrew Carnegie, we contribute to the historical and theoretical understanding of this domain in four important ways. First, we extend Harvey et al.'s (2011) capital theoretic model by addressing the critical influence of personalized and socialized power motives as motivational drivers of entrepreneurial philanthropy. We also addressed the narrative reconstruction and redemption of entrepreneurial identity as an important outcome (Leitch and Harrison, 2016). This is an important contribution because Fletcher (2003) referred to the narrative construction and reconstruction of entrepreneurial identity as the fifth movement in entrepreneurship research. Second, we uncover how the entrepreneurs' self is implicated in the co-construction of their entrepreneurial identity. Third, we traced Carnegie as an entreprenurial philanthropist along the path of his journey from entrepreneurship to generativity. Fourth, we have extended Maclean et al.'s (2015) foundational theory of generative identity narratives by unpacking the emergence of generative entrepreneurial identity.\nConclusion: Scholars are calling for narrative examinations and more complete conceptualizations representing the historical journey from entrepreneurial identity to generative entrepreneurial philanthropy. With this historical study incorporating theorization, we have attempted to heed those calls. Specifically, we have analyzed the case of Andrew Carnegie's journey from self-enhancing entrepreneur to others-regarding world-changing entrepreneurial philanthropist. We have specifically analyzed Carnegie's power motives, behaviors and rhetoric to explain how the narration of his generativity was used in his quest for the absolution of his previous moral misdeeds. With our analysis, we have extended the capital theoretic model of entrepreneurial generativity.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to proffer a reconstructed theoretic model of entrepreneurial generatively that accounts for personal and social identities in the narrative construction of entrepreneurial identity..\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors followed general analytically structured history processes using the life of Andrew Carnegie to understand how generativity scripts aid in aligning personal and social identities in the formation of entrepreneurial identity.\nFindings: The authors argue that Carnegie used entrepreneurial generativity as a form of redemptive identity capital during the narrative reconstruction of his entrepreneurial identity.\nOriginality/value: This paper extends Harvey et al.'s (2011) model of entrepreneurial philanthropy motivation by including forms of self-capital (psychological capital and self-identity capital) as part of the co-construction of entrepreneurial identity and proposing a reconstructed capital theoretic model of entrepreneurial generativity.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Keeping it pure - a pedagogical case study of teaching soft systems methodology in scenario and policy analysis
|
[
"Tourism",
"Policy",
"Pedagogy",
"Scenario analysis",
"Futures",
"Soft systems methodology"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Soft systems methodology (SSM) (Checkland, 1981) is well documented in the academic and management literature ever since the birth of the process by Professor Peter Checkland in 1981 in the ground breaking book Systems Thinking: Systems Practice. The process or methodology was developed as a problem-solving strategy for those faced with resolving highly complex and inter-related problem situations. Over the years, the methodology has come to be adapted depending on the tool users' skills and experience in order to fit the problem thus, SSM, has become known as a problem framing device or recipe in which the principles are followed and adapted in order to achieve an outcome (Mingers, 2000; Yeoman, 2004a, b). Peter Checkland acknowledges this development is a move away from the step by step approach to more of a flexible rendition published in Soft Systems in Action (Checkland and Scholes, 1990). Today, SSM has been widely disseminated and applied in many geographical contexts and academic disciplines (Mingers, 2000). This paper is fundamentally a personal perspective of how Dr Ian Yeoman uses SSM as a scenario analysis tool in the teaching of TOUR301 Tourism Policy and Planning (which will be referred to as TOUR301) at Victoria University of Wellington. My motivation for the paper comes out of students wanting clearer examples and direction of how I have adapted the methodology for teaching and why.\nTOUR301: TOUR301 is a third year course as part of the Bachelor of Tourism Management degree. The course aims to help students develop the skills and knowledge necessary to understand and critically analyse tourism public policy, planning and processes within New Zealand and a wider context. The theoretical and applied emphasis is on developed countries with advanced democracies, thus allowing the student to observe and understand examples of best practice and good governance. The course consists of lectures and tutorials that are delivered in a logical sequence in order that the student can grasp the basics of policy and planning in context. The central theme running through the course, from a pedagogical perspective it is about developing student's skills in applying policy and planning frameworks, hence the paper uses scenario planning and SSM as envisioning and analysis tools. Given the location of Victoria University of Wellington as New Zealand's capital city, a number of guest speakers from government departments, industry associations and local government discuss the key issues and challenges in tourism policy and planning. TOUR301 objectives and graduate attributes are listed in Table I.\nWhat is SSM?: SSM (Checkland, 1981; Checkland and Scholes, 1990) is a methodology for dealing with complex, unstructured problematic situations developed by Professor Peter Checkland at Lancaster University. SSM evolved in response to the failure of systems analysis to address messy and complex problems, those problems about human activity. Systems analysis was a paradigm of hard systems where a model has precise objectives and can be expressed in quantitative terms allowing the development of mathematical models. According to Kirk (1995, p. 14):These models can be used to predict the response of the system to changes in the environment. The model produces a convergent solutions to any change. The model can be expressed in the form of a mathematical equation with a precise measure of outputs - a deterministic model. Where there is more uncertainty, the relationships may be expressed in the terms of probability of output as a response to a change in inputs - stochastic models. Also, this can be extended to include non-continuous relationships through the use of chaos theory.\nUsing SSM as scenario analysis tool in the context of policy and planning: Scenario planning is a research technique that has evolved into business sectors from the early 1960s subsequently acquiring increasing academic provenance and practical success by assisting businesses to prepare not simply for one \"official future\" but a range of possible futures. In the postmodern era which is characterised by uncertainty and contingency, increasingly scenario thinking and planning are being used in the public and private sectors (Yeoman, 2004a, b). Facilitating strategic conversations of diverse stakeholders and embracing the complexity of their multiple perspectives, scenario planning promotes a broader action focussed perspective. I have authored a number of papers and studies that have followed Shell's (van der Heijden et al., 2002) approach to scenario planning which follows a multiple futures perspective in which four pictures or scenarios of the future are constructed in order to enable stakeholders or participants to think about future events or circumstances. In the tourism industry, studies have included country studies such as New Zealand (Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie, 2014) and Scotland (Yeoman, 2004a, b) or specific sectors such as ecotourism (Yeoman et al., 2014) and festivals (Robertson and Yeoman, 2014) or specific circumstances including oil (Yeoman et al., 2006) or foot and mouth disease (Yeoman et al., 2005). Scenario planning is a process of construction where the future is presented as pictures, states or stories. Whereas scenario analysis is how your company, country or organisation would respond to that future scenario. SSM is used in TOUR301 in the context of scenario analysis.\nSSM intervention: In order to illustrate the process of SSM in the teaching of TOUR301 a case study \"New Zealand: is it an Eco Paradise?\" is deployed (see the Appendix). As noted previously, SSM is like a flexible process that has been adapted and is presented in the way I use the process. I remind my students that SSM is like baking a chocolate cake, we use a recipe as a guide but we change and adapt that recipe. We all have different recipes for chocolate cakes, some gluten free, others with no eggs or with premium chocolate. From a theoretical perspective, SSM is associated with tool use theory where the tool is adapted and altered by the tool user (Yeoman, 2004a, b). Hence the presentation of SSM in this paper is based upon feedback over the years from students and my personal learning.\nConcluding lessons: This paper \"Keeping it Pure - A Pedagogical Case Study of Teaching Soft Systems Methodology in Scenario and Policy Analysis\" contribution to tourism futures lies in documenting how I (Ian Yeoman) teach scenario analysis through TOUR301. Thus making it explicit the how's, why's, when's and what's of teaching the future. The how's reflect the nature of the paper in how my teaching occurs, the why's are a reflection of Yeoman's teaching philosophy, the when's reflect the scheduling and adaption of the SSM processes. My way and the what's reflect the teaching content and exercises elaborated in this paper. TOUR301 is regarded as a highly quality tourism course according to Victoria University student survey's with the course being rated 1.4 with 1 being excellent and 5 being poor for the survey question \"overall, I would rate the quality of this course as [...]\" Over the last five years, I have incrementally improved the course based upon student feedback and pedological developments. Therefore, in order to conclude, I reflect upon the teaching and learning of TOUR301 through five learning lessons for others who may seek to adopt, apply or listen.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Soft systems methodology (SSM) is well documented in the academic and management literature. Over the last 40 years, the methodology has come to be adapted depending on the tool users' skills and experience in order to fit the problem. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate good teaching and learning practice from a pedagogical perspective.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Dr Ian Yeoman of Victoria University of Wellington provides a personal reflection of how the methodology is used in the teaching and learning of TOUR301 Tourism Policy and Planning as a policy and scenario analysis method.\nFindings: The paper articulates the seven stages of SSM from problem situation unstructured, through to Rich Pictures, vision and guiding principles, policy solutions, comparisons, feasibility and implementation stages. The paper uses a series of teaching tasks to breakdown the complexity of the methodology thus guiding students and teachers in how to deploy the methodology in the classroom.\nOriginality/value: The value of the paper demonstrates the reflective practice of SSM in action as an exemplar of good practice. The paper clearly articulates the stages of the methodology so students and teachers can adopt this approach in classroom environments following a scaffolding learning approach. The use of teaching tasks throughout the paper helps bring clarity and order thus enabling the teacher to effectively teach the subject and the students to learn. The most significant contribution of this paper is the articulation of good teaching practice in policy and scenario analysis which articulated through four learning lessons: facilitating a learning environment; the impact of visual thinking; political theory; the importance of incremental learning; and problem-based learning and international students.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Effective adoption of agri-food assurance systems
|
[
"Quality assurance",
"Food industry",
"Agricultural products",
"Food safety",
"Management information systems",
"Skills training"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Food safety, environmentally-responsible production and other credence attributes of food are becoming increasingly important to consumers in developed countries (Myers et al., 2004) and it is important that there is a robust and substantial foundation to support them. This is the role of assurance systems in agri-food production - to substantiate the attributes of food that consumers are unable to measure at the time of food purchase.One of the key factors that determine the efficacy of assurance systems is the attitudes that producers and their supply chain partners have towards them. What real knowledge do they have of these systems? How skilled are they in using them? What are their attitudes towards them? What aspirations do they have for their future use? From such information, a summation of the drivers for and barriers to the adoption of agri-food assurance systems can be made. Understanding these drivers and barriers to adoption will allow the design of better, more appropriate-for-the-task assurance systems that are more likely to be fully utilised by value chain members and more effectively protect agri-food reputation in the market.This paper collates and interprets information from industry reports on the attitudes of producers and their value chain partners towards assurance systems in four agri-food products - cherries (Soderlund et al., 2006a), mussels (Soderlund et al., 2006b), dairy (Soderlund et al., 2006c) and lamb (Soderlund et al., 2006d) - with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the drivers for, and barriers to, adoption of such systems in agri-food value chains.\nLiterature review: The more complex systems become, the less likely they are to be implemented effectively. This is especially so for voluntary systems. The complexity of selecting meaningful indicators for use in an environmental management scheme (EMS) was found to be a barrier to adoption by producers (Chang and Kristiansen, 2004). Measuring and recording indicators was information intensive and was identified as an additional barrier to EMS adoption. Similarly, the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) practices in orchards was a complex process that Bewsell and Kaine (2004) classified as a \"high involvement purchase\", a barrier that explained the variability in the response of producers towards the adoption of IPM. On the driver side, Payne et al.(1999) found that reducing complexity by simplifying an abundance of dairy food-safety rules encouraged the adoption of food-safety assurance among Californian dairy-food producers.Breaking barriers into smaller pieces can make them easier to overcome. For example, Chang and Kristiansen (2004) suggest that the complexity of EMS can be reduced by using a tiered approach that suits the farmers' aspirations and market requirements. The first tier may be a simple, self-assessed scheme with third-party auditing being introduced in tier two or three which can be adopted as the user gains commitment to the principles of EMS.An assurance system is more readily adopted when the goals of the system align with the goals of the business. Both Ridley (2004) and Tee et al. (2006) note that congruence of the farmer's values and goals with that of the EMS is an important driver for adoption. There are many examples where incongruence with existing farm systems was a barrier to adoption. Carruthers (1999) found that the lack of integration of a new assurance system with an existing one was a barrier to adoption, Chang and Kristiansen (2004) discussed the lack of alignment of the goals of an EMS system and a farmer's production goals, Tee et al. (2006) found poor perceived links between good environmental practice and efficient grape production, and Bewsell and Kaine (2004) noted that a barrier to adoption of IPM systems was the incompatibility of IPM with existing farm practice.The perception that the costs related to the system are greater than its expected benefits is the most commonly reported barrier to adoption of assurance systems (Bhaskaran et al., 2006; Tee et al., 2006; Grolleau, 1999). Frequently, producers see increased costs without tangible rewards flowing from an assurance scheme (e.g. Payne et al., 1999; Kearns, 2005; Taylor, 2001). Other studies found that the benefits of an assurance scheme are unclear or unknown (Tee et al., 2006; Carruthers, 1999; Bewsell and Kaine, 2004). Costs of assurance schemes can be significant and the benefits may not always flow to the producer who implements the scheme. Chang and Kristiansen (2004) estimate the cost of implementation of an EMS at $AUD3000-8000 with an ongoing cost of $AUD3000 per year. They noted that it could be some time before the producer sees a return from this investment. In addition, consumers won't necessarily pay a premium for food produced in an EMS (Chang and Kristiansen, 2004). The perception that an EMS does not deliver a \"benefit to consumers but to the environment\" (and so why should consumers pay a premium) is also reported by Bhaskaran et al. (2006). The through-chain cost of producing \"environmentally friendly\" food is high, as all members of the chain have to implement environmentally friendly practices. Thus, the cost of implementing environmental assurance in food which requires complex processing may be prohibitive for smaller value chain members (Bhaskaran et al., 2006).An uncertain attitude towards the value of EMS in the Australian wine industry is one of the main barriers to their adoption by that industry (Tee et al., 2006). Payne et al. (1999) found the fear that \"even though food safety schemes were introduced they may not always deliver safe dairy food\" was a barrier to adoption of such schemes. Excessive choice (Schwartz, 2004) may have the same effect. In contrast, the uncertainty related to customer requirements and government regulations (the risk that \"if we don't do something, someone else will impose something we may not like\") provided a driver for the adoption of food safety assurance by the West Australian grains industry (Jeffries, 2004) and the Californian dairy industry (Payne et al., 1999). Uncertainty created by terminology within assurance systems, for example the output of an EMS being described as each of \"green\", \"organic\" and \"environmentally friendly\", reduces confidence in assurance schemes which in turn is a barrier to adoption (Grolleau, 1999).If conflicting information about an innovation is received, uncertainty about the innovation increases and the chance of it being adopted is reduced. This applies in all walks of life. For example, conflicting information on medical issues created confusion with consumers and may have prevented the adoption of appropriate procedures (Shenk and Dancer, 2005).Increased flexibility in farm management can be a driver for adoption while loss of flexibility is a barrier. One of the main drivers for the adoption of improved irrigation management strategies in orchards was increased managerial flexibility associated with reticulated irrigation systems (Kaine et al., 2005). On the flip side, the required changes to other farm processes for the adoption of IPM in orchards was reported as a barrier by Bewsell and Kaine (2004).Various types of farmer networks, which represent part of a farmer's social infrastructure, can have a strong positive impact on adoption. The impact of social infrastructure was listed by Ridley et al. (2003) and Ridley (2004) as a driver for the adoption of environmental assurance schemes. Social impact may be through group learning (Ridley et al., 2003) or through community relationships resulting in pressure to be a good community member or neighbour (Tee et al., 2006).A major driver for the adoption of assurance schemes is the influence of chain members such as retailers. The UK supermarket Tesco provides a good example with its \"Nature's Choice\" farm management scheme which integrates food safety assurance, environmental management and product specifications (Tesco, 2006). In the USA, consumer demands have driven the production of safe, clean food and forced producers and other value chain members to participate in quality assurance schemes (Kla and Tollefson, 1999). Retailers have a requirement to exercise due diligence related to food safety issues and Batt (2006) found this had resulted in widespread adoption of assurance systems by their suppliers. In contrast Gellynck et al. (2006) found that quality assurance schemes and associated consumer labels had little impact on consumers' perception of food safety. They speculated that assurance programs were introduced by supermarkets as a means of controlling procurement (suppliers) rather than for food safety. Despite this there may be an advantage in adopting an assurance system. Bhaskaran et al. (2006) suggested that organisations adopt EMSs when such actions deliver the benefit of that organisation becoming a preferred supplier to a large customer such as a supermarket.\nMethodology: Selection of interviewees\nFindings: Value chains\nObservations and Implications: Drivers and behaviour\nConclusion: The drivers for, and barriers to, the adoption of assurance systems in a single value chain of each of the Victorian cherry, mussel and lamb industries have been identified. Drivers and barriers were also identified in a desktop review of food safety in dairy. We found a range of drivers and barriers operating in a variety of combinations across the industries studied. Arising from these findings were the following implications:* When there are few drivers for adoption the risk of \"minimalist behaviour\" increases. The motivation is to do the minimum to achieve a tick in a box.* When there are many strong drivers the requirements of assurance become embedded in everyday practices and are \"just the way we do things\". The result is that the assurance system is fully able to achieve the outcomes for which it was designed.* In each of the chains studied and in the dairy industry, the processor/packer/manufacturer was the hub of the chain and set the standards for adoption of food safety and other forms of assurance. The hub interacts with the retailer and has major commercial influence on the other members of the value chain.* Systems that are simple and appropriate to the level of risk are more likely to be adopted than complex ones.* A positive attitude by influential chain members toward assurance aids adoption and favours the assurance system achieving its desired outcome.* A relatively recent experience of the outcome that an assurance system is designed to prevent, for example, a food poisoning event, is a strong driver for adoption.* External challenges not only refresh an assurance system they also provide strong drivers for adoption. The knowledge that there will be challenges means that those in the chain are more likely to fully implement the assurance system to minimise the opportunities for weakness.* The strongest barrier to adoption of assurance schemes is often the lack of an outcome that will provide a benefit greater than the costs of the scheme.In many cases, our observations were supported by the findings of others working in this area, to the extent that with further work it should be relatively easy to establish a set of \"operational principles\" for the design and deployment of assurance systems in agri-food production.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to identify the drivers for, and barriers to, the adoption of assurance systems in a range of agri-food value chains that will allow the design of better, more appropriate-for-the-task assurance systems that are more likely to be fully utilised by value chain members.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Semi-structured interviews were used to collect a snapshot of the knowledge, attitudes, skills and aspirations (KASA) of value-chain members with regard to assurance systems in fruit (cherries), seafood (mussels) and red meat (lamb). Responses were grouped by KASA characteristic for qualitative analysis. The nature of the dairy industry necessitated the use of a desktop review of the food-safety assurance system.\nFindings: - The actual drivers for, and barriers to, adoption varied with the industry studied but included the requirements of domestic and export market customers, realistic appreciation of risk, mandatory schemes, the influence of other value chain members, financial incentives and external influences. The major barrier to the adoption of assurance systems was the perception that the costs of such an assurance system outweigh its benefits.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This study was purely qualitative and covered only one value chain within each of three industries with a desktop review in a fourth industry.\nPractical implications: - A suite of drivers that includes financial incentives results in more effective adoption of assurance systems than a single driver such as market access.\nOriginality/value: - The observations could lead to a series of design principles for the development and deployment of agri-food assurance systems.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Applying DEMATEL to assess TRIZ's inventive principles for resolving contradictions in the long-term care cloud system
|
[
"DEMATEL",
"TRIZ",
"Health care",
"Cloud system",
"Long-term care (LTC)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Medical and technological advances have gradually extended average life expectancy, resulting in a significant yearly increase in the ratio of elderly in the population. In 2012, the US Population Reference Bureau noted an increase in the world's elderly to more than 564 million people (Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), 2013). In other words, this segment of the population increased by 100 million over a 12-year period. Health care for the elderly has become a common global issue, with long-term care (LTC) becoming increasingly important. To help meet this challenge, in 2012, Taiwan's MOHW proposed the health cloud project, taking advantage of cloud computing, comprising a medical cloud, care cloud and wellness cloud. The medical cloud aims to improve the service performance of medical institutions by connecting the medical care services of different medical institutions through exchanges of medical e-records exchanges. The care cloud aims to promote early prevention and early treatment, and convey individualized preventive health care information to the public. The wellness cloud targets residents in remote areas and the elderly who are often isolated, and aims to offer remote care and home-care by establishing a common care IT platform for care-giving institutions (MOHW, 2013). Under the premise of LTC, the cloud system offers resource sharing capability, as well as waste and cost reduction, instant accessibility to medical expertise and services by LTC operators and care-givers, reduction in the number of return hospital visits, and access to the critical time window for treatment during emergencies. The cloud system also raises complex technological and social issues such as the necessity for modification of inadequate legal provisions, changes to the doctor-patient relationship when offering remote care, concerns about system leaks endangering patient privacy, and administrative contradictions between government and medical institutions. Thus, the operational model of the cloud system must be re-defined.\n2. Literature review: Health care systems around the world are generally divided into three types: national health services, such as in England; free markets, such as in the USA; or social insurance systems, such as in Germany and Taiwan. In 1995, Taiwan implemented the national health insurance system, which is a mandatory insurance policy managed by a government agency, namely, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Health Insurance Administration. Its provisions are based on the national medical insurance policies spelled out in the additional articles of the constitution of the Republic of China. This medical care system is similar to Canada's current system.\n3. Research method: We first describe the TRIZ tools, and the process for resolving contradictions. The DEMATEL application and computation steps are then described.\n4. Evaluate the innovative principles of the LTC cloud system: The assessment of the LTC care cloud system construction is divided into three parts. In section 1, information on issues causing contradiction in system construction are compiled; in section 2, innovative principles for system are derived using TRIZ heuristic reasoning; and in section 3, these innovative principles are assessed using an expert survey approach, where the scores are calculated using the DEMATEL to delineate objective and feasible key innovative principles.\n5. Analysis of results: The innovative principles for the LTC cloud system derived from the TRIZ heuristic reasoning process were combined with the DEMATEL results to construct an expert innovative principle questionnaire, which was administered to experts from three major professions, namely, industry professionals (from LTC institutions or medical institutions), governmental authorities and academics. A total of 11 expert questionnaires were individually administered through interviews and the validity of the expert evaluations can be justified based on their professional experience and knowledge related to LTC issue (see Table VII).\n6. Conclusion: Current progress in medical technology has increased average human life expectancy and the increased the proportion of the elderly population, making health care and safety for the elderly increasingly important issues. The younger population are more focused on career and child-raising, and correspondingly the need for professional LTC for the elderly has increased. In response to trends in socio-economic development, the number of LTC institutions in the care industry has been increasing. However, the absence of a sound systematic platform and regulations makes governmental supervision of LTC institutions difficult. With advances in information technology, the use of cloud technology for the development of a medical information platform offers new advantages to the health care service industry. The development of an LTC cloud system platform could help the government monitor and manage LTC and medical institutions, and enable these institutions to communicate and exchange information.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find the key innovative principles for evaluating the long-term care (LTC) cloud system by exploring contradictory and complex points in its development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approaches are integrated to resolve complex contradictions in the system. The heuristic reasoning of TRIZ is applied to obtain innovation principles for an LTC cloud mining system. However, the importance and feasibility of these innovative principles require further assessment. In this study, DEMATEL is employed to clarify the complex relationships among the principles and evaluate their key influences.\nFindings: This paper identifies six primary contradictions and derives 25 innovative principles for the resolution of these conflicts. Further analysis confirms three key innovative principles. First, the government should consider the overall planning of the cloud system platform, followed by the participation of other medical and LTC institutions. Second, the information capability of LTC institutions should be unified by recording the pathology data of care recipients to create an information exchange system. Third, LTC institutions should act in cooperation with medical institutions to provide professional medical capabilities.\nOriginality/value: The contributions of this paper are two-fold. First, this study provides an integrated methodology integrating the TRIZ and DEMATEL approaches to resolve LTC problems. Second, this research identifies the key innovative principles for developing an LTC cloud system in Taiwan.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Challenges in preparing academic staff for research training and supervision : The case of the Philippines
|
[
"Academic staff development",
"Graduate supervision",
"Research higher degree",
"Research management",
"Postgraduate education",
"PhD supervision"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Research into research training and supervision has received considerable attention in recent years (e.g. Enders, 2005; McWilliam et al., 2002; Pearson and Brew, 2002). These investigations mostly present the perspectives of more developed countries such as Australia (e.g. McWilliam et al., 2002; Moses, 1992; Parry and Hayden, 1994), Canada (Julien, 1995), the Nordic countries (e.g. Kyvik and Tvede, 1998), and the UK (e.g. Tinkler and Jackson, 2002). Generally, studies examine postgraduate pedagogy in detail (e.g. Evans, 1998; Green and Lee, 1998; Johnson et al., 2000); the skills graduate students require (Hager et al., 2002); and research higher degree supervision (e.g. Heath, 2002; Marsh et al., 2002; Zuber-Skerritt and Roche, 2004). Students have been the unit of analysis in these studies, and the data examines their views of supervision and their graduate study experiences. The research training of academic staff and the role of government officials in higher education, particularly in developing nations in Asia, rarely feature in the research training literature. Where academic staff have been involved, the research is mostly confined to their professional development in order to improve supervisory practices (Brew and Peseta, 2004; Cryer and Mertens, 2003; Grant and Graham, 1999).\nMethod: The survey involved the participation of selected government and university executives, including the zonal research centre (ZRC) directors, via interviews; and survey of academic staff via a questionnaire. A ZRC is a unit established by CHED located in selected universities that manages the research funds from the government.\nFindings: As mentioned earlier, the challenges for government and universities found in the study relate to: effectively meeting the dual demands of teaching and research, building a critical mass of researchers, and developing excellent research skills and competences among staff and students.\nDiscussion: There are a couple of points to consider from the above findings. First, the findings suggest that there is an insufficient pool of qualified researchers who will undertake research and conduct training programmes for both staff and students. This has implications for research education and training. An obvious one is that insufficient research experience can impact the teaching of research methods, the supervision of research students, and the professional development of staff in supervision, among other things. Clearly this can affect student outcomes. The development of the students' skills set required for writing a good thesis or dissertation can be impaired. This puts tremendous pressure on thesis supervisors, often finding themselves filling gaps for both themselves and their mentees at the same time.\nConclusions and recommendations: The above findings have implications for both policy and practice, both at national and university levels. Universities should undertake to provide staff and student research training programmes to particularly develop critical thinking, academic writing, and data analysis skills. The government can also re-examine its role and the kinds of contribution it can provide universities to help them develop these skills and improve research capacity.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Little attention has been given to the preparedness of academic staff for their role as research trainers or supervisors. In addition, limited work has been done on this topic in developing countries such as the Philippines. The Philippines is an important case, as it is a national priority to develop university research and improve research training practices, and there is a graduate skill deficit (in terms of critical thinking, academic writing, and data analysis skills). The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges confronting the government and universities that relate to academic staff development, research supervision, and staff and student support, involving 53 government and university executives and academics from the Philippines.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The survey involved the participation of selected government and university executives, including the zonal research centre directors, via interviews; and survey of academic staff via a questionnaire.\nFindings: Results indicate that the most critical challenges for government and universities in the Philippines relate to effectively meeting the dual demands of teaching and research, building a critical mass of researchers, and developing excellent research skills and competences among staff and students.\nOriginality/value: The paper is the first to study research training and supervision in Philippine universities, providing a case for the Philippines internationally, which is less featured in research.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
The impact of institutional changes on the Tunisian auto parts aftermarket
|
[
"Tunisia",
"Institutions",
"Distribution network",
"Business network behaviour",
"Deep political change"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Studying and understanding the interactive business landscape (Hakansson et al., 2009) is the core mission of the IMP research. IMP scholars have investigated a wide variety of interactions between individual companies and organizations as well as the wider network that surrounds them (www.impgroup.org). Deep and large-scale investigations of innovation network (Hakansson and Waluszewski, 2002; Hakansson et al., 2009) have yielded important contributions to better understand the wider technological networks which are surrounding the business actors (Bengtson and Hakansson, 2008). An emerging IMP research stream (Jansson et al., 2007; Waluszewski and Johanson, 2008) focuses on another part of this wider surrounding network and its effects on the interaction, i.e. the political and the broader social environment. One interesting question of this research approach is the role of institutions in the business network (Jansson, 2007; Mandjak and Simon, 2016).\nEmbeddedness of distribution network: The original concept of embeddedness is attributed to Karl Polanyi. He developed the concept at the macro level emphasizing that the economy is engrained in society through social integration over time (Polanyi, 1944). Social integration happens at the institutional level. The concept of institution is expansive. There is almost as much written about the definition of the concept of the institution as its foundation within research studies (Livian, 2001). Archetypally, the institution is perceived as general normative framework in which political and socio-economic actions are realized. The institution follows the norms and behaviors sanctioned by social values. In this context, the institution forms the basis for the functioning of the organizations. The fundamental task of the institution is to provide guidance and/or to control the behaviors of actors for the interests of the society. The creation of long-lasting and stable norms, the establishment and nurturing of social relations, and governance activities are the key features of the institutions (Livian, 2001; Jansson, 2007).\nResearch design: In this paper, we draw upon insights from qualitative, exploratory research and attempt to explain the actors' behaviors within the Tunisian automobile parts aftermarket. The characteristics of the empirical research are as follows. To collect observational data on intermediaries' business relationships in Tunisia, we conducted ten semi-structured in-depth interviews (Easterby-Smith and Lyles, 2011). The small sample size can be attributed to: the limited number of companies in the traditional pathway (dependence on the Western European spare-part manufacturers) of the Tunisian auto spare-parts distribution network, its geographical distribution (an important part of the South is desert and low populated), and the relatively small number of its actors (i.e. managers). Respondents were managers who act as key jobbers. We selected these respondents because they could assess the state of business relationships with the entire business network.\nCharacteristics of Tunisian auto parts aftermarket networks: The Tunisian auto parts aftermarket is dominated by European manufacturers. Given the composition of the Tunisian vehicle fleet, original equipment suppliers, the incumbents, hold controlling market shares. With agreements between Tunisia and the European Union they enjoy preferential clauses including the absence of customs duties on imports.\nTraditional sources of good business relationships among distribution network actors: Historically, the \"glue\" that bound foreign suppliers, wholesalers, jobbers, and repair shops was an amalgam of sound, reliable, and ethical business practices, reputation and brands carried, adaptability and responsiveness in handling business problems, and personal relationships. As one wholesaler of German auto parts told us, \"The fundamentals of a good business relationship are the ability to consistently provide quality goods, price stability, trust and good faith.\" Finding compromises on problems is another requirement. For example, in close business relationships suppliers are willing to take back and offer full refunds for poor quality parts and to provide price rebates on old inventory if market conditions cause supplier prices to fall unexpectedly and dramatically.\nMore conflicts after the Arab Spring: Our respondents complained about the softening of trade laws, not only in Tunisia but more critically in the unstable, neighboring countries of Libya and Algeria. A jobber, specialist of German cars spare parts, gave a quite complete analysis of the situation: \"Here is the law of the jungle. It is not protected either by law or by a regulation or by an institution or by the state. This is really unacceptable. I pay customs duty, taxes and all duties and there are those who import counterfeit goods without paying taxes and they are not even monitored. The Department of Commerce control the products sold in the formal system while it does not control the actors operating in the illegal circuit [informal]. It is really revolting. There are plants that are involved in these circuits as people who smuggle [smugglers] their demand for their produce packaging that resemble those of original brands and packaging is done in Tunisia. The consumer is misled easily.\" An Italian spare parts jobber told us, \"Once I visited a wholesaler and saw with my own eyes, the workers put parts in brand packaging which is not theirs. The dealer is always aware that there are traders who are dishonest and mislead their customers by selling them counterfeit parts.\"\nPossible impact of deep political changes: In the last few years in Tunisia, however, deteriorating economic conditions and intense completion have accelerated the growth of low-priced and often counterfeit, Chinese, Turkish, Brazilian, Indian suppliers that have challenged the status quo. Their presence has shifted the actors' behavior from one based on close, long-term, personal working relationships and high-quality products and services, to one driven exclusively by low price and transactional business relationships. Some enterprising and entrepreneurial Tunisian jobbers and repair shops have responded unscrupulously, stocking low-priced and/or counterfeit goods for highly price-sensitive customer segments and branded, premium products, such as racks, carburetors, and specialty electronic parts, for segments that demand specific and well-known brands. The instability caused by the Arab Spring has intensified this shift by unintentionally opening the Algerian and Libyan borders to smugglers of low-priced, counterfeit goods. In recent years, these smugglers and unethical Tunisian resellers and repair shops have thrived.\nConclusions: Our research demonstrates how established practices and business relationships of age-old Tunisian distribution networks have been disrupted by the entrance of new actors and brands from abroad and by the consequences of the Arab Spring. These disruptions have created new tensions between the wholesalers and jobbers over pricing, norm and contract fulfillment, and incentives. At the same time, conflicts have deepened between jobbers and repair shops over technical requirements and procedures as well as resistance to adopting new business methods. Some tensions can be attributed to the financial problems of repair shops which prompts them to take advantage of low price, counterfeit, or smuggled products. Finally, lax government prosecution of laws (i.e. the collapse of the norms of governance) has brought the emergence of counterproductive, short-term and malevolent behaviors.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the effects of deep environmental changes on business network actors' behaviors. The consequences of political, institutional, and socio-economic changes on Tunisian automotive spare-parts distribution networks during the past five years are examined. The authors chose the Tunisian automotive spare-parts distribution network for several important reasons. Most importantly, it gave us a unique platform to study the aftermath of deep political, socio-economic, and governance shocks caused by the Jasmin Revolution on a historically stable, simple, and productive business network within the import-dependent Tunisian spare-parts distribution system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative, exploratory research project was conducted in Tunisia to assess and interpret changes in actors' behaviors and business relationships within the automobile parts aftermarket due to major social, economic, and political upheavals. Automobile parts jobbers served as principal source of data for investigations. Jobbers were selected as key respondents because of the middle and pivotal position they occupy in Tunisian automobile parts distribution channels. For this reason, they were able to provide insightful and compelling information about business relationships with upstream channel members such as manufacturers and wholesalers as well as with downstream channel members such as retailers, repair shop owners, and repair technicians.\nFindings: The authors found that seismic political, socio-economic, and interpersonal relationship shocks to institutions significantly impacted the behaviors of key actors in those networks, which, in turn, altered the nature and conduct of business within those networks. Profound changes in the companies' external environment provoked changes in the companies' proximate relationships and business dealings. In the short-run, these changes brought more conflictual and more short-term and selfish behaviors on the part of network actors in their ongoing business relationships. In long term, the increased volatility and uncertainty will likely bring wanted and unwanted institutional changes which, in turn, will likely create new forms of behaviors, relationships, and business networks. This new situation will cause a distrust between distribution actors and among notorious automotive brand names that are counterfeit and sold as genuine brand.\nResearch limitations/implications: As in the case of qualitative methodology, this research has several limitations. One of them is the focus on jobbers. Although the choice of jobbers as a key respondent is justified by their middle role between the importer wholesalers as their suppliers and the repair shops as their clients, the views of these other actors are not directly mirrored in the research. Another limit is that only the most important jobbers were asked who were generally threatened by the counterfeit products and who did not deal with those products. Thus, the view of the new actors is missing from the picture.\nPractical implications: Managers must pay attention to potentially dangerous combinations of elements which, when taken together, may prompt self-serving and destructive behaviors that may threaten the continued prosperity of long-standing business relationships and networks. As in the Tunisian case, the lower the level of compliance combined with the availability of low price, counterfeit or imported goods dramatically increased the level of short-term, malevolent relationship-destroying behaviors. Perhaps the greatest danger to overall network prosperity comes when short-term opportunism replaces the pursuit of long-term mutual benefits. Research has long demonstrated that high-involvement long-term relationships are essential for distribution companies' growth and sustained performance.\nOriginality/value: Given the immediacy of the revolution and the paucity of research on channels in developing North African nations, this work stands to make a timely contribution to the literature. The influence of weak institutions (including governments) is a unique and important contribution. Other unique contribution is the introduction of counterfeit goods into consideration showing their role in the changes of actors' behavior and in the possible source of conflicts.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Signature reliability of linear multi-state sliding window system
|
[
"Sliding window system",
"Universal generating function",
"Signature",
"Tail signature",
"Barlow-Proschan index"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Nomenclature\n1. Introduction: The sliding window system (SWS) is a generalized form of k-out-of-n:F system which has n linearly ordered elements. The system fails if total weight is less than the allocated weight w. SWS is one of the generalized models of the binary and consecutive k-out-of-r-from-n system which has n lineally multi-state element. The system fails if at least k out of r consecutive elements fails. Each element can have two states namely completely working or totally failed. The application of multi-state SWS is used in oil pipeline system, telecommunication system, mobile communication system, radar detection, quality control system, etc. Linear multi-state sliding window system (LMSSWS) is the generalized form of consecutive k-out-of-n:F system in case of multi-state elements. The LMSSWS fails if performance rate is lower than the demand weight w. Though in real-life situation binary systems are widely used in engineering system, but multi-state systems (MSSs) are, in general, found to be more reliable and practical than the binary state system (BSS) because it is based on the performance rate of the system. Aven (1985) calculated the reliability of MSS having multi-state elements. He used the Doulliez and Jamoulle decomposition method to evaluate the reliability of the proposed model. Wu and Chen (1994) gave an algorithm for calculating the probability of the weighted k-out-of-n system. Cai (1994) studied the consecutive k-out-of-r-from-n:F system when elements are dissimilar and assessed the system reliability in terms of lower and upper bounds. Psillakis (1995) studied the consecutive k-out-of-r-from-n:F system (circular and linear) and estimated failure probability and uncertainty with the help of recommended algorithm. Levitin (2001) considered an MSS with redundancy optimization problem of unreliable source and computed system availability and cost using genetic and universal generating function (UGF) algorithm where the system is working if given performance is greater than the demand. Levitin (2002) proposed a system which generalized the consecutive k-out-of-r-from-n:F system and evaluated the system reliability using UGF and genetic algorithm technique. Levitin (2003a) introduced a linear multi-state SWS which has n linearly ordered multi-state elements and assumed that the considered system failed if the performance rate is lower than the total allocated weight. The system reliability is calculated using extended UGF technique. Levitin (2003b) also discussed the linear multi-state SWS in multiple cases and obtained the system reliability with the help of the UGF technique. Later Levitin (2005) evaluated the reliability of linear multi-state SWS consisting of n linearly ordered multiple element and applied UGF technique to determine the uneven allocation of SWS. Habib et al. (2007) computed the system reliability of multi-state consecutive k-out-of-r-from-n:G system in case of multiple failure element. Muhammad et al. (2010) considered an MSS based on Markov process and computed reliability and cost by using a transition matrix. Konak et al. (2012) discussed the linear multi-state multiple SWS consisting n ordered multi-state elements and calculated the multi-objective optimization reliability of SWS. Hui et al. (2013) considered the circular multi-state SWS and circular consecutive k-out-of-r-from-n system and obtained the system reliability. Khorshidi et al. (2013) optimized system reliability of the proposed multi-state weighted k-out-of-n system using the UGF algorithm. Liu et al. (2015) generalized MSS having Bayesian probability with Markov chain process and evaluated the system state probabilities, reliability function, mean time to failure (MTTF) and cost analysis. Xiao et al. (2016) determined the system availability of MSS with optimal load sharing element with the help of genetic algorithm.\n2. Levitin (2003a, b) UGF of the LMSSWS: The UGF of the discrete random variable Y is defined as:(1)\n3. Reliability evaluation for LMSSWS: Let the LMSSWS contain n-r+1 groups of r consecutive MSE and each MSE has no more than r groups.\n4. Illustration: Consider an MSSWS for n=5, r=2, w=3, where each multi-element has two states: working and failed along with some performance rate. Say, the performance rates of the multi-element from 1 to 5 are 1, 2, 2, 1 and 1, respectively.\n5. Result discussion: In this study, we have studied linear MSSWS which consists of n ordered multi-state element and each multi-state element consists of m parallel windows, and each window can have two states, namely, working and failed. In this paper, we discussed reliability characteristic like tail signature, signature, MTTF, expected cost and measure of Barlow-Proschan index with the help of the UGF technique.\n6. Conclusion: In this present paper, we have compute signature, MTTF, expected cost and Barlow-Proschan index with the help of reliability or structure function of the LMSSWS by using Owen's method and UGF algorithm. To study the proposed system first, we evaluated Tail signature and then with the help of tail signature compute signature. Barlow-Proschan index is found to be same for each working element. With the help of minimum signature of the linear MSSWS, MTTF obtained and expected cost are 0.67 and 6.55, respectively.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deal with a linear multi-state sliding window coherent system which generalizes the consecutive k-out-of-r-from-n:F system in the multi-state case. The system has n linearly ordered multi-state elements consisting of m parallel independent and identically distributed elements. Every element of the system can have two states: completely working or totally failed. The system fails if the sum of performance rate is lower than the given weight.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors proposed to compute the signature, MTTF and Barlow-Proschan index with the help of UGF technique of multi-state SWS which consists of m parallel i.i.d. components in each multi-state window.\nFindings: In the present study, the authors have evaluated the signature reliability, expected lifetime, cost analysis and Barlow-Proschan index.\nOriginality/value: In this study, the authors have studied a linear multi-state sliding window system which consists of n ordered multi-state element, and each multi-state element also consists of m parallel windows. The focus of the present paper is to evaluate reliability metrices of the considered system with the help of signature from using the universal generating function.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Brand extension feedback effects: towards a mediated framework
|
[
"Brand extensions",
"Feedback effects",
"Mediation",
"Value equity",
"Brand equity",
"Brands",
"Feedback"
] |
[
{
"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: Brand extensions generate direct benefits to a firm. However, brand extensions also impact the brand equity of a parent brand, known as feedback effects. Feedback effects materialize due to a reciprocal transfer of consumer attitude from a brand extension to a parent brand (Ahluwalia and Gurhan-Canli, 2000; Keller and Aaker, 1992). Consumers' evoked brand extension attitude thus assumes a critical role in shaping long-term parent brand equity. The extant literature outlines a direct impact of brand extension attitude on reciprocal parent brand equity (Martinez et al., 2008; Salinas and Perez, 2009). The literature however does not clarify the intervening cognitive mechanisms that may mediate this direct path from brand extension attitude to reciprocal parent brand equity. An understanding of how consumers' extension-derived attitudes get converted into reciprocal parent brand equity evaluations adds an interesting insight into the theoretical mechanism of feedback effects.The current study argues that the effect of brand extension attitude on parent brand equity entails a process whereby the effect is fully mediated by consumer perceptions of value (i.e. value equity) associated with a parent brand. In the first instance, a positive brand extension likely increases the value equity of a parent brand. A positive brand extension increases both functional (e.g. increased convenience value) and symbolic value perceptions of a parent brand. For example, an insurance brand extension by a bank increases the convenience value of the original bank parent brand and also increases the symbolic value of the bank as a broader financial services company. In turn, the increased parent value equity flows through to greater parent brand equity because of increased value associations of the parent brand. Theoretically, the associative-network memory theory (Keller, 1993) supports the mediation argument. According to this theory, consumer knowledge of a parent brand (i.e. a brand schema) is held in memory as a network of inter-connected nodes, that are causally related (Crocker, 1984). Once a brand extension is introduced, new extension-related associations are created resulting in a changed parent brand schema (Keller, 1993). The inter-connectedness of nodes brings about corresponding changes in vital brand associations, such as consumer perceptions of value (John et al., 2006). Empirical support for the proposed mediation is fragmented. On one hand, studies observe brand extension attitudes as antecedents of consumer perceived value equity derived from a parent brand portfolio (Lei et al., 2004). On the other hand, a general consensus towards a positive influence of value equity on brand equity across diverse contexts exists (Baldouf et al., 2009; Johnson et al., 2006). The current research reconciles these findings by empirically examining a process-based framework of brand extension feedback effects whereby change in parent value equity fully mediates the impact of brand extension attitude on change in parent brand equity.The present examination offers key contributions to the literature. The theoretical contribution involves an understanding of underlying mechanisms that explain how feedback effects actually materialize on parent brand equity. While explicating the underlying mechanism, the study expands the theoretical scope of feedback effects by simultaneously modeling feedback effects on two equities, namely brand and value equities for the first time in the literature. The practical contribution pertains to a broader measurement and assessment of brand extension feedback effects. Traditionally, the literature adopts a singular approach to measuring feedback by modeling feedback mainly on parent brand equity or its inherent components such as, perceived quality, attitudes, beliefs and brand image (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Martinez et al., 2009). From a managerial standpoint, the current research enables a dual measurement of brand extension feedback effects, thereby potentially introducing multiple \"key performance indicators' to a brand extension. The current study opens up opportunities for developing brand extensions with targeted consequences on the two equities.\nTheoretical framework: The associative-network memory theory serves as the overarching theory for understanding brand extension evaluations and their feedback (or reciprocal) effects (Keller, 1993). Knowledge of a brand in consumer memory is held as network of brand information nodes, referred to as schema (Keller, 2007). Consumers generally have positive associations about a parent brand prior to a brand extension launch that get evoked once an extension is introduced. As a result, favorable attitudes and beliefs transfer to the extension due to the inter-connectedness among the memory nodes. If consumers are satisfied (dissatisfied) with an extension, positive (negative) extension-derived associations are created that flow over to a parent brand schema, thus leading to a feedback effect (Morrin, 1999; Sheinin, 2000). The conceptual model of the current research (Figure 1) reconciles the two dynamics. The focus however is on explaining feedback effects emanating via brand extension attitude.Explaining brand extension attitude\nResearch design: Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey. Purposive (non-random) sampling is conducted, by hiring a large unduplicated database of 200,000 Australian consumers, and sending email surveys randomly to 20,000 consumers nationally from that database. The respondents were voluntarily-enrolled with an email list brokering firm for answering email surveys in return for receiving online points that could be redeemed as cash or gifts. The design was chosen due to its relative advantages over phone and personal (i.e. non-self-administered) surveys such as respondent anonymity and elimination of interviewer and researcher biases, thereby reducing chances of socially desirable responses. Coverage bias is not serious as around 80 percent of the Australian population has internet access (Economywatch.com, 2011).Stimulus\nData analysis: Out of 20,000 emails sent, 3468 opened the email and 960 respondents completed the survey (i.e. a response-rate of 4.8 percent). Follow-ups could not be conducted as the researchers did not have access to email addresses due to legal reasons. After cleaning the data for substantial missing values, extreme and midpoint responses, 888 usable cases were available for analysis.Sample demographics\nDiscussion and implications: The current research enhances the theoretical understanding of brand extension feedback effects on two major fronts. The first major contribution pertains to understanding the intervening processes that underline brand extension feedback on parent brand equity. Although the literature generally suggests a direct impact of brand extension attitude on reciprocal parent brand equity, the current research is among the first empirical attempts to decompose this effect. The current research observes that change in parent value equity partially mediates the effect of brand extension attitude on change in parent brand equity. This effect implies that a part of the effect of brand extension attitude on parent brand equity actually develops via a change in value perceptions of a parent brand, due to inherent causality among brand associations. Change in parent value equity, being an evaluative cue, influences consumers' parent brand equity perceptions, consistent with cue-utilization theory (Richardson et al., 1994). These additional dynamics extend the current perspective on feedback effects, by suggesting that additional routes to enhancing parent brand equity run via a respective a change in parent value equity.The second major contribution pertains to a novel perspective on brand extension feedback effects through explicating the partial mediation scenario. Traditionally, research examines feedback effects largely on parent brand equity. For the first time, brand extension feedback effects can be conceptualized simultaneously on two parent brand equities, thereby broadening the scope of feedback effects to additionally include value equity. This broadened perspective is consistent with the literature on brand associations (John et al., 2006). Overall, the results suggest that brand extensions can reciprocally influence consumers' value perceptions of parent brands.Change in parent value equity is introduced as a new measure of brand extension feedback, which is directly influenced by brand extension attitude and initial value equity associated with a parent brand. The results reveal that if supermarket consumers consider a banking brand extension as a great business offering, this assessment generates a positive effect on the change in value perceptions of a parent brand. By carrying a supermarket parent brand's name, a banking product most likely reduces psychological costs (lower risk) while simultaneously increasing the psychological benefits (pleasure of dealing with their preferred brand in a new category). A second impact on change in parent value equity emanates from initial value equity of a parent brand, suggesting that upon encountering a value-providing brand name in a new category, consumer perceptions of value are re-enforced via associative memory networks. This finding is consistent with the brand extension feedback literature (Salinas and Perez, 2009).The results have practical relevance. The current study implies that brand extension decisions need to be considered within a broadened strategic perspective that conceptualizes parent brands as possessing two vital equities, namely, brand equity and value equity. Consequently, the research suggests multiple points of managerial intervention in accordance with the broadened perspective. The first point of managerial intervention is parent brand equity. Apart from broader strategic marketing efforts that are aimed at generating greater customer value, the present study advocates direct brand building efforts. By directly investing in brand development, a favorable feedback effect on parent brand equity is likely to be attained. Further, in accordance with the broadened perspective, managers should first conduct an audit of a parent brand with regards to brand equity. If the audit suggests that the parent brand is weak in terms of brand equity, then it should be strengthened directly via investments in brand-building, or indirectly via bolstering consumers' value equity perceptions. Once the parent brand is strong in terms of brand equity, only then should consideration be given to adopting a brand extension strategy. Moreover, a broader scope of parent feedback effects means that possible unintended consequences need to be factored in. For example, hypothetically, a bank's extension into insurance might increase value equity but decrease brand equity. Alternatively, some brand extensions might be deliberately planned with the aim of primarily increasing one of the two equities.The second point of intervention is the value equity of a parent brand. If a parent brand is perceived by consumers as delivering superior value, a positive reciprocal impact materializes on the change in value equity of a parent brand after the extension launch. This finding underscores the importance of devoting resources to value creation and enhancement at the parent brand level. Such investments entail a triple benefit that is, strengthening parent brand value perceptions, achieving a favorable impact on overall brand equity and, enhancing chances of positive value-related feedback effects on a parent brand.Finally, brand extension attitude is forwarded as a third point of intervention. Although explained directly by fit and existing brand equity, consumers' brand extension attitudes can be directly enhanced using marketing communications. Marketing investments could be deployed to enhance the desirability of a brand extension per se. Research reveals that practitioners are interested in generating a quick adoption of brand extensions (Nijssen and Agustin, 2005). Creative, integrated and consistent marketing communications may help attain this objective. Overall, the study presents a fresh perspective on parent brands and brand extensions, thus opening up new possibilities for targeting and developing future brand extensions.\nLimitations and future research: The current study acknowledges five inherent limitations. First, not all members of the Australian supermarket shopper population may have access to the internet and as a result, this may have contributed to some element of a non-coverage bias in the data. Given high internet penetration rates in Australia, this limitation is not expected to be serious. Future researchers may consider collecting data from multiple sources to reduce such biases. Second, the current research investigates consumer based antecedents of brand extension feedback. A potential extension of this research may involve examining direct and conditional effects of firm based antecedents (e.g. current branding strategy) in the context of a brand extension feedback. Future research may also consider inclusion of novel dependent variables such as modeling the impact of brand extensions on inherent facets of parent value (e.g. functional and symbolic value) that may be impacted via brand extensions. Third, the current study does not account for previous brand extensions introduced by a parent brand. However, consumers' reciprocal parent brand evaluations are potentially impacted by prior brand extensions introduced by a parent brand (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Future research may consider modeling of feedback effects after controlling for such spillover effects of prior brand extensions. Fourth, the study is conducted in Australia by using responses from Australian consumers, thus limiting its generalizability. A future cross-cultural comparative study may yield interesting differences in parameter estimates. Fifth, and finally, the current study is conducted within the context of the supermarket (retail) industry. The results of the study should be replicated across industries in order to examine likely changes in path estimates, as well as to further enhance the practical usefulness of the results.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Brand extension attitude is a key antecedent of consumers' reciprocal evaluations of parent brand equity. Traditionally, the link from brand extension attitude to change in parent brand equity is modeled as a direct path, potentially obfuscating any underlying processes. The current research aims to propose that the impact of brand extension attitude on change in parent brand equity materializes via change in parent value equity perceptions of a parent brand.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A conceptual model is developed, positioning change in parent value equity as a mediator of the effect of brand extension attitude. The model is estimated on a sample of 888 Australian consumers using a cross-sectional self-administered survey. Drawing upon actual industry dynamics, a hypothetical scenario of Australian supermarkets extending into the banking sector is used as stimulus.\nFindings: - The research model demonstrates acceptable fit to data, confirming most hypotheses. Change in parent value equity mediates the effect of brand extension attitude on change in parent brand equity. Rival model comparisons, however, reveal that a partial mediation scenario better represents feedback effects. The research model is suitably modified to include an additional path.\nPractical implications: - The current study broadens the scope of brand extension feedback effects from parent brand equity to additionally include parent value equity. Practitioners can now envision brand extensions as simultaneously impacting multiple facets of a parent brand, not previously considered.\nOriginality/value: - The current research explicates an underlying process of how consumers' extension-derived attitudes are converted into revised parent brand equity evaluations. Such an insight is novel in the literature.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The Portuguese corporate tax reform and international trends: an assessment
|
[
"Corporate tax",
"Portugal",
"Participation exemption",
"Tax reform"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The taxation of corporate income is an area of tax policy that is increasingly influenced by international trends. Given the mobility of capital, the geographic spanning of many corporations and the tax competition fostered by rate reductions or special tax incentives observed in many countries, the policy debate has been strongly focused on the virtues and vices of tax competition.\n2. Corporate taxation in a global setting: a literature review: In the past decades, as the world became increasingly integrated, many researchers and policymakers worried about the role of corporate taxation in such an economic setting (Johnson and Myles, 2011).\n3. EU direct tax harmonization and the CCTB: a brief review of core issues: 3.1 A brief exposition of the main features of the CCCTB proposal[4]\n4. Methodology: The methodology employed in this paper is based on a mix of the legal research method and case study analysis. The legal method will be applied under comparative income taxation, and the case study will draw on the Portuguese reform to broaden the discussion about critical issues in the taxation of corporate income.\n5. The Portuguese economic situation and the bailout: 5.1 The evolution of the Portuguese economy until the bailout\n6. The CIT reform in Portugal: 6.1 Reasons for reform\n7. Conclusion: During the past decades, Portugal was increasingly out of line with international trends in corporate taxation, namely: rate reduction, PE regimes for dividends and capital gains, extensive loss carry over periods or group relief.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is, first, to discuss if the Portuguese corporate tax reform, implemented in 2014, moved the system towards international trends. Second is to analyse in what areas the similarities and disparities are more pronounced when assessing the Portuguese reform against the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base, the Mirrlees Review or other relevant international guidelines. Finally, it assesses how a European country under a bailout could significantly reform the corporate tax.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodology employed is based on a mix of the legal research method and case study analysis. The legal method will be applied under comparative income taxation, and the case study will draw on the Portuguese reform to broaden the discussion about critical issues like the participation exemption regime and its place in the taxation of international income flows. The paper will analyse core issues in international income taxation, the present state of corporate tax harmonization in the European Union, discuss the main issues that were dealt by the Portuguese tax reform and offer a critical assessment of tax policy choices that underpinned the reform.\nFindings: During the past decades, Portugal was increasingly out of line with international trends in corporate taxation. The bailout asked for the Portuguese Government in 2011 placed a heavy burden in public finances, with an apparent lack of room to follow international trends of corporate tax reform. However, it can be concluded that, after convincing the troika that investment and growth were paramount to overcome the severe economic and social crisis that fell upon the country, the corporate tax was seen as an important policy tool to promote these goals. The reform was thus possible even in the context of a restrictive public finance situation, and followed most guidelines put forward in highly regarded international reports.\nPractical implications: A broad corporate tax reform, including rate reduction, a participation exemption regime, a more flexible rule on cost acceptance, an extension of loss carry over period, to name a few, was possible in a very constrained public finance situation. By placing the emphasis on moving the system towards international trends and promoting measures to enhance investment and growth, international creditors could accept such a reform. Also, a consensus with the main opposition party was a very important factor in securing much needed political support.\nOriginality/value: The findings from what can be considered as an experiment in corporate tax reform in tough economic and social times can be useful to policymakers, tax authorities and international bodies dealing with tax reform processes. The impact on managerial decisions such as investment and financing is also relevant.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
The impacts of quality and quantity attributes of Airbnb hosts on listing performance
|
[
"Signaling theory",
"Airbnb",
"Sharing economy",
"Online trust",
"Host quality",
"Multi-listing host"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The sharing economy refers to a new type of business model that enables individuals to collaboratively make use of under-used inventory via fee-based sharing (Zervas et al., 2016). It consists of a variety of online businesses that use internet technology as a platform for lending, borrowing, gifting, swapping or renting consumer products and services (Molz, 2013). According to Allen and Berg (2014), the sharing economy features the more sustainable use of idle and underused resources, more flexible employment options for sellers and more customized products and services for consumers at more reasonable prices. While all these features are important for the development of the sharing economy, they come with added risk for buyers and sellers in business transactions, especially for the former. In particular, the success of the sharing economy relies on facilitating transactions by ensuring that sellers will actually fulfill their promises and create trust between strangers (Maag, 2012). Buyers cannot physically evaluate the quality of products over the internet (Mavlanova et al., 2012), making trust difficult to maintain on sharing economy platforms.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Online trust\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Data and measures\n4. Results and discussion: We used a blend of regression models to estimate the effects in Table IV. The core models (Models 1 and 2) present the estimated effects of host attributes (quantity and quality) on listing performance in the subsequent month. In Models 1 and 2, respectively, we included regular OLS error terms and errors clustered within hosts for cross-reference purposes. Because our observations are not independent, the use of clustered errors in Model 2 should adequately correct the potential standard errors due to within-host correlations and, thus, supplement the estimation using regular OLS errors in Model 1. To check the robustness of the estimation results in the main models, we further ran the same blend of regressions in Models 3-4 using listing performance in the subsequent two months, Performance2Months, as the outcome variable and in Models 5-6 using listing performance in the subsequent three months, Performance3Months, as the outcome variable. The link among the three dependent variables, Performance1Month (for the main model), Performance2Months and Performance3Months (for models of robustness checks) is that they are all listing performance measures but in different time frame. Should the estimated effects be consistent between the main model and the models of robustness checks, the impacts of quality and quantity attributes of hosts on listing performance persist.\n5. Conclusion and implications: As a relatively recent entrant in the lodging market, Airbnb is often characterized as having uncertain quality and a risky image because the providers of accommodation services are mainly individuals with little professional training and experience who use Airbnb as a side business (Li et al., 2015). Existing research has suggested that a way to mitigate this perceived risk is to provide more information regarding the product and the seller to enhance trust (Ert et al., 2016; Mavlanova et al., 2012). In this paper, we first examine whether hosts' quality attributes affect listing performance. Certain non-demographic host quality attributes (i.e. being a Superhost, having longer operating experience and a higher response rate) significantly affect future reservations of host listings. These attributes are perceived by guests as reliable, honest, positive and effective cues to form initial trust (Wang et al., 2004). In other words, guests care about and rely on these specific attributes to infer host quality. In contrast, identity verification on the Airbnb platform has no significant influence on future reservations, that is, guests do not draw clues regarding the quality of hosts based on identity verification provided by Airbnb. Consistent with Ponte et al. (2015), our study in general shows that information quality, such as non-demographic host quality attributes, are necessary for Airbnb hosts to build trust among users and, in turn, to ameliorate listing performance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: With the prevalence of the sharing economy phenomenon, there are an increasing number of hosts on Airbnb who manage more than one listing. Managing more listings likely makes hosts more seasoned in terms of serving guests, but it may undermine host quality due to hosts' constrained capability. This paper aims to examine the effects of host quality attributes and the number of listings per host on the reservation performance of these listings.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a large-scale but granular data set of 5,805 active listings of 4,608 Airbnb hosts in Austin, Texas, this study estimates the effects of host attributes (host quality and listing quantity) on the performance of the hosts' Airbnb listings through a blend of regression models.\nFindings: This study evidences that host quality attributes significantly influence listing performance through cue-based trust. In addition, this study finds a \"trade-off\" between host quality and the quantity of their listings. As the number of listings managed by a host increases, the performance effects of host quality diminish.\nResearch limitations/implications: The business implications of this study include the suggestion that sharing economy businesses such as Airbnb should sustain service quality through incentivizing hosts to improve host quality while balancing the quantity of listings managed.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the literature through its meaningful theoretical extension in the sharing economy context and unique data-driven insights enabled by an analytical approach. It addresses the critical but less researched topic of host quality and listing quantity and generates important practical business and policy implications.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Management challenges in British Columbia's healthcare system
|
[
"Canada",
"Organization",
"Policy",
"Management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Like many jurisdictions worldwide, the Canadian province of British Columbia has looked to global budgeting and regional organization to deliver publicly funded health services. The research reported here identifies a range of challenges encountered by the British Columbia's healthcare managers and the solutions with which they have responded. These observations raise questions about how the management challenges that result from structural features such as British Columbia's may affect the attainment of a system's objectives. The observations reported here have implications for how democracies should assess options for health system governance and reform.\nMethods: The approach used here is a case study of British Columbia's healthcare system between 2012 and mid-2016. British Columbia is one of ten Canadian provinces, each of which is constitutionally responsible for healthcare in its jurisdiction. The single case study approach was appropriate here because of the investigation's concern with a relatively new area of inquiry, the relationship of management challenges and responses to structural features of a healthcare system. Addressing this question required a level of detail not readily obtainable in a multiple case study, including observation and integration of information about multiple institutions and historical periods. As Rohrbeck and Gemunden (2008) have commented, \"In order to explore a field that is relatively new or about which knowledge is comparably limited, case studies are recommended as the research method.\" According to Eisenhardt and Graebner (2007), \"single case studies are particularly powerful for exploring a phenomenon in its context while retaining the richness of the studied incident and its context.\"\nBackground: system features: Adoption of universal, publicly financed health insurance in Canada took place on a province-by-province basis that was concluded in the 1970s (Maioni, 1998; Touhy, 1999; Marchildon, 2013). After an expansionary period, Canada's provinces instituted a series of measures to improve cost control and simplify administration. Large numbers of hospitals were closed or consolidated. Between 1991 and 1997, the number of short-term acute care beds in British Columbia declined by 30 percent (Sheps et al., 2000).\nStudy findings: management challenges and responses: Table I summarizes four key features of the British Columbia healthcare system. Two (fixed, prospective budgets and centralized capital allocation) may be considered as the essential elements of the system's structure. Two others (powerful stakeholders and political flux) are expectable developments and occurrences in a representative democracy. Key informants traced many of the challenges they identified to these system features.\nDiscussion: The management challenges described here should be understood as interrelated, giving rise to mutually reinforcing difficulties. The need to accommodate stakeholders, for example, affects the capital allocation process. The mandate to avoid deficits risks dissatisfaction among stakeholders. Political flux affects budgetary concerns and options available to managers. Challenges such as those observed here may be unavoidable in a system which, like British Columbia's, is characterized by public financing, global budgeting, independent or strongly unionized providers, and electoral democracy, all within an atmosphere of fiscal restraint.\nConclusions: This study identifies the challenges encountered by healthcare managers in British Columbia arising from features of the system under which they work. The manner in which managers respond to these challenges influences care available to the public. It would be difficult to definitively assess actual cost and health outcomes. But the possibility of adverse impact in some areas underscores the importance of understanding how the features of a system can create challenges for managers and condition their actions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the operational and management challenges in a globally budgeted, regionalized healthcare system and their implications for public service.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Concentrating on British Columbia's regional health authorities (RHAs) and hospitals, this study utilized data from interviews of key informants, documents (histories, legislation, agreements between RHAs and provincial government, and RHA organizational charts), news reports, and participant observation at board meetings.\nFindings: Challenges encountered by the managers include accommodating powerful stakeholders (elected officials, providers, and organized publics), adhering to fixed budgets, obtaining capital from public sources, and adjusting to government turnover. In response, the managers engage in balancing priorities of stakeholders, shifting of resources within and across sites and operating units, and working strategically with the capital allocation process. Responses of managers to these challenges have promoted stability but raise concerns about attaining the system's goals.\nPractical implications: Management challenges and potential patterns of response should be considered in assessing the options for health system reforms. Many countries periodically reorganize their healthcare systems, and recognition of potential management challenges can contribute to the achievement of objectives sought in these reforms.\nOriginality/value: Although studies have demonstrated that management affects the implementation of public programs in several areas, little research has focused on the relationships between features of health systems, management responses, and potential outcomes.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
The discovery of cumulative knowledge: Strategies for designing and communicating qualitative research
|
[
"Qualitative research",
"Cumulative knowledge"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: A hallmark of positivist science is the creation of cumulative knowledge. Each study seeks to build on those done before, and part of the evaluation of articles submitted to peer-reviewed journals is to determine whether the submission provides an incremental contribution to the literature. A well-executed study that does not add to our cumulative knowledge is unlikely to be published in leading academic journals, even though replications are seen as necessary to validate research results (Smith et al., 2000). The concept of \"cumulative knowledge\" is relatively easy to operationalize in fields based on a realist ontology and quantitative methods. Realism implies that there is a single independent reality that each researcher accesses, and the addition to knowledge can be gauged against this truth. For example, a new theory, or method of analysis, will be judged to make a cumulative contribution to our knowledge if more of the variance in a phenomenon is explained, or a disparate set of empirical observations are subsumed within a common framework (Freese, 1972a, b; Willer and Willer, 1972). The use of quantitative methods also allows for meta-analysis and other techniques to refine variables and seek consensus across multiple studies. The very concept of a meta-analysis implies that different studies can be combined to generate validated insights based on the increased statistical power of the joint sample size of all the studies included (Schmidt, 1996). But for researchers using qualitative methods, or holding anti-realist philosophies, does the goal of cumulative knowledge still hold or is another approach to measuring the value of a study to the literature necessary?\nQualitative research and research philosophy: There are three important points to make before addressing the potential for cumulative knowledge through qualitative research.\nCumulative knowledge as a system property: Cumulative knowledge is a property of the system, or population, of articles written and not a property of individual articles. The concept of \"cumulative knowledge\" must be distinguished from the issue of \"generalizability.\" The question of generalizability has been extensively discussed in various literatures (in accounting; see e.g. Lukka and Kasanen, 1995; Cooper and Morgan, 2008). Generalizability refers to the properties of an individual study that allow the results to inform inferences about a wider population of subjects or contexts. But possessing generalizability is neither a sufficient nor necessary condition for contributing to cumulative knowledge. For example, a paper may contribute to our understanding of the boundary conditions of a theory, i.e. provide cumulative knowledge, without possessing statistical generalizability. But a series of replications, each possessing generalizability in terms of the quality of their individual research design, would not contribute to cumulative knowledge as this is typically understood (Schmidt, 1996).\nFinding our place in the literature: The commonality of the strategies to develop cumulative knowledge through qualitative research listed below is that all would establish a claim to cumulative knowledge through a typology or taxonomy within which the focal research can be located. The process of building typologies as a tool of qualitative research has a long history including Weber's (1978) concept of \"ideal types,\" Lazarsfeld's (1937) discussion of the \"property space\" of research, and the introduction of \"fuzzy logic\" typologies (Fiss, 2011). A typology is a system of categories based on one or more dimensions or properties. A typology reflects at least an implicit theory of what makes various cases different but related. Taxonomy, by contrast, is a system of categories based on empirically observable attributes of the cases. These empirically observable attributes may not, ultimately, prove to reflect \"true\" differences between cases but are sufficient in the field to make variations recognizable (the biological analogy is the distinction between field guides, e.g. Audubon's guides to identifying birds based on bill shape, size, color, etc., vs species identification based on DNA data). It is more common in the social sciences to refer to a system of categorization as a typology, while in the natural sciences, the term taxonomy is more common.\nStrategies for generating cumulative knowledge from qualitative studies: Table I summarizes the strategies for building cumulative knowledge through qualitative research. These strategies include three approaches to increasing the scope of knowledge and four approaches to increasing the depth of knowledge. This taxonomy is neither regarded as comprehensive nor are the approaches listed mutually exclusive, i.e. a given study may add to our knowledge drawing on more than one strategy at the same time. The intent is to encourage the self-conscious use of these strategies in designing and reporting qualitative research.\nDiscussion: The strategies discussed above adopt an etic perspective on the potential contribution of anti-realist research to our knowledge. The intent is to provide guidance in the design and reporting of qualitative research. Each strategy identifies a set of studies that provide the baseline against which a contribution can be gauged and establishes the discursive space to which the study contributes. By explicitly integrating these studies into the design and reporting of qualitative research, a cumulative literature, i.e. a more extensive and intensive intertextual network, will emerge.\nConclusion: This note explores an etic perspective on the possibility of cumulative knowledge based on qualitative accounting research. It makes three points. First, the concept of \"cumulative knowledge\" in qualitative research must be expanded beyond a Cartesian model of aggregating knowledge to produce a single \"truth\" and into a discursive model where cumulative knowledge refers to an increase in the extent and density of linkages within a discursive space. Second, the paper provides a taxonomy of strategies for designing and reporting qualitative research that recognizes its contribution to cumulative knowledge based on increasing the scope of knowledge (time period, context, theoretical pluralism) or increasing the depth of knowledge (empirical elaboration, methodological pluralism, theoretical elaboration, analytical generalization). In each case, the strategy involves identifying the literature that is related to the focal work either directly or through its contribution to understanding other aspects of the typology in which the focal work is embedded. Finally, the paper provides three approaches to creating typologies that should not violate the philosophical commitments of anti-realist researchers: typologies as a set of logical possibilities; typologies as a methodological bracketing of the research space being explored; or typologies (taxonomies) as an empirical outcome of engagement with a phenomenon.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide guidance for designing and generating cumulative knowledge based on qualitative research.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper draws on the philosophy of science and specific examples of qualitative studies in accounting that have claimed a cumulative contribution to knowledge to develop a taxonomy of theoretically justified approaches to generating cumulative knowledge from qualitative research.\nFindings: The paper argues for a definition of cumulative knowledge that is inclusive of anti-realist research, i.e. knowledge is cumulative if it increases the extent and density of intertextual linkages in a field. It identifies the possibility of cumulative qualitative research based on extensions to the scope of the knowledge and the depth of the knowledge. Extensions to the scope of the knowledge may include expanding the time periods, context, and/or theoretical perspective used to explore a phenomenon. Extensions to the depth of the knowledge may include new empirical knowledge, methodological pluralism, theory elaboration, or analytic generalization. Individual studies can demonstrate their contribution to cumulative knowledge by locating their research within a typology/taxonomy that makes explicit the relationship of current research to past, and potential, research.\nResearch limitations/implications: The taxonomy may be useful to qualitative researchers designing and reporting research that will have impact on the literature.\nSocial implications: The increased use of research impact as an evaluation metric has the potential to handicap the development qualitative research which is often thought of as generating non-cumulative knowledge. The taxonomy and the strategies for establishing cumulative impact may provide a means for this approach to research to establish its importance as a contribution to knowledge.\nOriginality/value: The concept of cumulative knowledge has not been systematically applied to research based on qualitative methods.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Strength of ties involved in international new ventures
|
[
"Entrepreneurship",
"International new venture",
"Networks",
"Relationships",
"Strong ties",
"Weak ties"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Networks play an important role in international entrepreneurship as they help entrepreneurs to recognize opportunities, gain knowledge and acquire resources (Agndal et al., 2008; Ellis, 2011; Hilmersson and Jansson, 2012; Kontinen and Ojala, 2011). International new ventures (INVs), which internationalize soon after inception and with limited resources, use networks extensively to acquire the requisite resources. Indeed, the central role of networks in internationalization is highlighted by Johanson and Vahlne (2009) in their revised version of their earlier internationalization process model (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). They argue that the firm's networks develop opportunities for the firm in international markets. Firms learn through their networks, and this may be one explanation why INVs internationalize rapidly.\nLiterature review: The theoretical context is international entrepreneurship, which we define as: \"the discovery, enactment, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities - across national borders - to create future goods and services\" (Oviatt and McDougall, 1995, p. 540). The international entrepreneurship literature highlights the proactive, innovative and risk taking attitude of entrepreneurs when seeking opportunities in foreign markets (Dimitratos et al., 2012). INVs are entrepreneurial firms that internationalize soon after inception and this ranges from two (Chetty and Campbell-Hunt, 2004) to eight years (McDougall et al., 1994). In this paper, we refer to INVs as small entrepreneurial firms that have ambitions to internationalize from inception (McDougall et al., 1994; Zahra, 2005) and are seven years old or younger (Jolly et al., 1992). We consider entrepreneurship as: \"the study of sources of opportunities; the process of discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities; and the set of individuals who discover, evaluate and exploit them\" (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000, p. 218). Several researchers on entrepreneurial and internationalization networks have shown that when studying such activities the term \"opportunity\" is important (Ellis, 2011; Johanson and Vahlne, 2009). In addition, the entrepreneur's background such as mental models and childhood experiences would determine their role and activities in developing their firm's internationalization (Ghannad, 2013).\nMethodology: The context of this study is international entrepreneurship as we examine the strength of relationships during three phases of INV development. We used Eisenhardt's (1989) multiple case study approach to qualitative research and conduct an in-depth study of multiple relationships within multiple firms.\nAnalysis of case studies: The relationships were analyzed from the perspective of the lead entrepreneur. For the five cases, we identified a total of 117 unique relationships that lead entrepreneurs associated with the critical events during pre-founding, start-up and early internationalization. Some relationships were involved in several events and since relationships are dynamic, some changed strength between the events. Hence, the total number of relationships exceeded 117 in the analysis as shown in Tables I and III. Our rationale was that since we were capturing the dynamics of relationships, it was logical to include relationships that changed in strength from one critical event to another.\nDiscussion: We drew on the strength of ties literature (Granovetter, 1973) for theory, and found that INVs' strength of ties appear in a continuum with three different levels of relationship strength. We can, however, use this finding to build on the work of Aldrich and Zimmer (1986) as well as Perry-Smith and Shalley (2003) about the varying levels of relationship strength. We observed from our data that a relationship with frequent interaction over a longer period of time is not necessarily a strong one, which is compatible with Marsden and Campbell (1984) and Uzzi (1997). Our study shows that a crucial aspect of tie strength is the importance of the relationship for the INV during its founding and internationalization. Parallels to our finding on the relationship between strength and importance can be drawn with Jack (2005, p. 1251). She found that one determinant of tie strength was the \"usefulness and applicability of relationship to entrepreneurial situation at a particular point in time\".\nConclusion: By focusing on process we provide a detailed analysis of the strength of relationships that entrepreneurs use during pre-founding, start-up and early internationalization. Our methodological contribution is to use evidence from practice to develop a continuum for the strength of ties to determine three levels of strength. Such a continuum helps advance our understanding of the dynamics of a firm's relationships during its evolution and to identify whether stronger relationships are more important than weaker ones during this process. Thus, we contribute to the ongoing debate by researchers such as, Grabher (1993), Hinttu et al. (2004) and Jack (2005) as to whether strong or weak ties are more useful and the dimensions of tie strength (Jack, 2010).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The paper aims to examine the strength of ties that entrepreneurs use during three critical phases of the international new venture's (INV) development; pre-founding, start-up and early internationalization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper uses in-depth interviews to track the development of five INVs to provide nuanced and detailed findings relating to tie strength during these three critical phases. By focusing on proces, the paper captures in detail the strength of these ties and the dynamics of how they evolve.\nFindings: While the existing literature considers strength of ties to be two separate entities, the paper develops a continuum with three different levels of strength by using entrepreneurs' actual relationships. The paper found that stronger relationships predominate and that they play an important broker role to link with other unconnected networks.\nPractical implications: Since relationships are crucial for recognizing and developing business opportunities, entrepreneurs need to invest time and resources to create and develop relationships. The study indicates that entrepreneurs have stronger relationships during the early phases of firm development mainly because they focus on essential relationships and cull unnecessary ones that form a distraction.\nOriginality/value: The paper refines theory by identifying a distinct category the \"equally strong as weak relationship\" that is not yet mentioned in the extant literature but could be useful for international entrepreneurs to position themselves inside a network in foreign markets. In such relationships entrepreneurs experience the co-existence of importance and uncertainty.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Drivers of service climate: an emerging market perspective
|
[
"Social exchange theory",
"Service climate",
"Competitive intensity",
"Ownership type"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Service climate, emphasizing how service employees perceive the importance of service quality in their organizations, is instrumental to organizational success (Bowen and Schneider, 2014; Schneider and Bowen, 1993). A service climate exists in the mindset of employees when they perceive that several messages provided by their organizational practices and reward systems, primarily under managerial influence, indicate the organization's priority commitment to services (Lin and Liu, 2016; Solnet and Paulsen, 2006). While research on the outcomes of service climate has shown a clear picture of its role in organizational success, research on its antecedents has received far less attention (Drach-Zahavy and Somech, 2013). Previous studies (Auh et al., 2011b; Kopperud et al., 2014; Salanova et al., 2005) have identified organizational resources such as leadership, training, job autonomy and inter-departmental support as facilitators of service climate. However, these studies take a piecemeal approach and are often industry-specific. In reality, many drivers co-exist within a service organization. Thus, it would be more meaningful to examine them together and compare their effects (Bowen and Schneider, 2014).\nTheoretical background and hypotheses: Service climate and social exchange theory\nMethod: Data collection\nData analysis and results: Measurement models\nDiscussion: Our study investigates factors associated with service climate in firms (local and foreign) operating in an emerging market. The study found that the effects of the drivers on service climate were different between ownership types. The influence of leadership commitment to service quality and service-oriented HR practices was found to be greater in foreign firms than in local firms in our sample. In other words, foreign firms in our sample are more effective at using leadership commitment to service quality and service-oriented HR practices to foster an excellent service climate. Firm ownership, according to Peltokorpi and Froese (2016), can lead to different styles of organizational practices as well as organizational and individual cultural values. Our findings support the view that foreign Western firms are more individualistic (Hofstede et al., 2010) and thus have a closer fit with individual-level interventions, such as individual rewards, employee autonomy and other HR practices. In addition to higher leadership commitment and more sophisticated service-oriented HR practices from their headquarters, foreign firms may be successful in acquiring local knowledge to provide a more favorable service climate in the host market. Local firms in our sample, on the other hand, might not have developed full awareness of the strategic role of leadership commitment and service-oriented HR practices in enhancing the service climate in their firms. Indeed, HR practices of domestic firms in emerging markets are still influenced by \"traditional personnel administration and high power distance cultural values\", and controlling influences from top management in these firms are still dominant (Wang et al., 2007, p. 698). As a result, the implementation of leadership commitment and service-oriented HR practices had less of an effect on service climate in these firms (Wang et al., 2007). This finding contradicts the finding from Ngo et al. (2008) who found no effects of ownership types on the relationship between strategic HRM and employee relations climate in China.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Drawing on social exchange theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop and test an integrative model of internal and external factors determining employee perceptions of their organizational service climate.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data are collected from a sample of 549 service employees in local and foreign-owned service firms in the emerging market of Vietnam. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypothesized relationships.\nFindings: Leadership commitment to service quality, internal processes and service standards, work facilitation resources and service-oriented human resource practices are positively associated with service climate. Internal customer service mediates the effects of these variables on service climate, with the exception of work facilitation resources. Furthermore, competitive intensity negatively moderates the impact of the internal drivers on service climate. The results also suggest that, depending on the ownership types (local vs foreign firms), the influences of the internal drivers of service climate might differ.\nOriginality/value: Despite the recognition of the role of organizational resources in fostering service climate, the integration and processes by which such resources influence service climate have not been fully examined. In particular, little is known about the external factors facilitating or hindering service climate, especially from an emerging market perspective. By examining both internal and external drivers of service climate under different ownership types, this paper enriches the existing knowledge on service climate and provides important implications for service firms operating in emerging markets.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The ethics of business strategy
|
[
"Business ethics",
"Corporate strategy"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Strategy-as-war in business literature\nCognitive models and morals: The first step in exploring the linkage between strategy and ethics is to establish that the models used to frame and understand a situation have important consequences for the ethics in that situation. This is not a new point. Cognitive psychologists have long studied the ethical implications of mental models. It was the subject of Johnson's book, Moral Imagination. According to Johnson (1993):... cognitive linguists have discovered that our terms and concepts get their meaning relative to larger frames or schemas [or] idealized models ... that we bring to our understanding of situations and that there are different moral consequences depending on the way we frame the situation.Johnson goes on to point out that: \"Our most fundamental moral concepts (e.g. will, freedom, law, right, duty, well-being, action) are defined metaphorically (1993).\" In other words, our fundamental moral concepts are affected by the cognitive map (schema, knowledge structure, cognitive frame) through which we understand and interpret the situation. This means that what we determine to be ethically acceptable behavior depends on the mental frame through which we view the situation.More recently, a business researcher, Lissack and Richardson (2003) have come together to study the crisis in corporate ethics from a more systemic perspective: \"Rather than regarding ethics as simply the adherence to a set of universal moral values, this article is concerned with the ethical implications of model use in business and education.\" They focused specifically on the models taught in the US's business schools and have come to the conclusion that \"models have ethical implications that are often overlooked given the naive realism that, despite much evidence to its ineffectiveness, persists in business thinking\" (Lissack and Richardson 2003). They go on to draw a connection between the ethical implications of the models taught in business school and the crisis in corporate ethics:The headlines of 2002 and 2003 told a sad story of corporate ethics, or their lack. WorldCom, Andersen, Merrill Lynch, Enron, Martha Stewart ... Media pundits speak of the lack of ethics of the corporate chieftains ... What these media pundits fail to acknowledge is that this is the same MBA mindset that was extolled by the same media during the 1990s. What kind of standards does the MBA mindset implies? What kind of ethics? (Lissack and Richardson 2003).By asking what kind of ethics is implied by the MBA mindset, they are suggesting that the problem is not a lack of ethics but an inappropriate ethic. In fact, a few paragraphs later, they state that: \"Our corporate officials are ill-equipped with an ... inappropriate mindset about right and wrong\" (Lissack and Richardson, 2003).\nStrategy is a mental model: Given that our mental models have ethical implications, now let us look at the function of business strategy as a mental model. Day (1990) states that: \"strategy provides a conceptual glue that gives shared meaning to all the separate functional activities\" and \"gives purpose and direction to organizations ... [and] serves as a central theme guiding and coordinating ... actions.\" Liedtka (1998) argues that strategy: \"provides the focus that allows individuals within an organization to marshal and leverage their energy, to focus attention, to resist distraction, and to concentrate for as long as it takes to achieve a goal.\" Cognitive psychologists, Gioia and Thomas, have studied the cognitive schema that shape organizational behavior. They explicitly argue that strategy serves as an important mental model in shaping organizational behavior.To summarize, people use mental models (a.k.a. cognitive schema, knowledge structures, cognitive maps) to help them filter and interpret the complex and often overwhelming influx of stimuli, input and information from the external world. These mental models exert a powerful influence in shaping the way we frame and understand the world. They have ethical implications because that what we determine to be ethically acceptable behavior depends on the mental model we use to interpret the situation. Therefore, the mental model by which a firm approaches strategy, can shape what organizational members, especially executives, consider ethically acceptable behavior.\nTwo competing mental models for strategy: Within the business and academic literature on strategy, there is any number of strategy models. It has been said that there are as many models as there are consulting firms. However, at a more fundamental level, a distinction is made between two different approaches to strategy. The first approach is a \"value capture\" approach. The second is a \"value creation\" approach. It is important to understand that for both approaches, strategy may be defined as the firm's rationale for how it will achieve and maintain an above average economic profitability (Jacobson, 1988).Value capture model\nEthical implications: To understand the ethical implications of the two models of strategy, we need to look at the assumptions and metaphors that are implicit in each.Assumptions and metaphor of value capture\nA lack of ethics versus an inappropriate ethic: In Systems of Survival, Jacobs (1992) argues that human society has evolved two moral syndromes - the guardian syndrome and the commercial syndrome. These two moral syndromes closely mirror the value capture and value creation mindsets respectively. Jacobs uses the phrase \"moral syndrome\" because the dictates and precepts of each syndrome constitute a unique ethic that provides the basis for moral action. Table II summarizes the main precepts of each syndrome. While the two ethics are divergent and even contradictory in practice, each is internally consistent and logical within itself. In other words, the commercial syndrome and the guardian syndrome are moral syndromes because they each promote and foster ethical behavior within the dictates of that syndrome.This goes back to the point made by Lissack and Richardson - that it is not so much the lack of ethics, but an inappropriate ethic that is at the root of the ethical crisis. If we look at the actions of executives from the standpoint of the guardian syndrome, many of those actions can be viewed as ethically justifiable since they are functioning as \"heads of state.\" Consider the acts of deception. Deceive for the sake of the task is one of the dictates of the guardian syndrome. Similarly, Sun Tzu argues that: \"All warfare is based on deception\" and lauds the virtues of subtlety and secrecy. Again, the problem is not a lack of ethics, but a misappropriation of the guardian ethic to what are essentially commercial enterprises. The virtues that are admired and valued in guardians, who fight wars and defend nations, become vices in the context of business. Although there is no doubt that business leaders must be held accountable for their actions, it is also true that their actions result from the general acceptance of the business-as-war theory of the firm.\nAccountability to shareholder return: The value creation approach is often critiqued as overly idealistic, naive and lacking a bottom-line orientation. The value capture approach, on the other hand, is seen as reflecting a hard-nosed, bottom line orientation that is more realistic given the profit imperatives under which a business must operate. The implicit sentiment goes something like:Realizing a firm's potential for value creation sounds good in theory, but profitability is where the rubber meets the road. Profitability doesn't just happen. The only way to get it is to be better than competitors. When push comes to shove business is war.In many, if not most business firms, you can find those hard-nosed, and perhaps somewhat cynical, senior managers who will tell you that in their experience, the only thing that matters is profit for shareholders and anyone who believes differently is being naive. They will explain that profit imperatives and pressure from Wall Street do not allow for niceties. To survive, businesses have to be ruthless with competitors and single minded in their pursuit of profit. Such executives maintain a stoic attachment to their position, secure in the belief that they are merely being realistic, and ennobled by the conviction that it takes courage to deal with the world as it was rather than as one would like it to be.While this position claims to deal with reality, it has a number of flaws that make it much less realistic than it sounds. When executives allude to \"pressure from Wall Street,\" they ignore the fact that \"Wall Street\" is comprised of multiple investors who operate from various perspectives. Only some of these perspectives matter to a firm. For example, a firm is not interested in investors who move in and out of stocks on a daily basis. Trying to maximize return for these \"day traders\" would be pointless. Likewise, CEOs have no reason to cater to \"technical investors\" because they assume that any variance due the quality of the company itself has already been accounted for in the stock price (efficient market theory). These investors try to make money by capitalizing on certain recurring patterns of change in stock price (e.g. the head and shoulders pattern). Their buy and sell decisions are independent of the actions or decisions of management.The only shareholders that CEOs should care about are \"value investors\" - those who understand that when they buy a stock, they are buying a company. For these investors, buy and sell decisions are based on \"fundamentals\" and overall rate of return is, by definition, a long-term measure. We do not deny the existence of an institutional imperative that exerts pressure on senior management, but executives who allow their strategic decisions to be dictated by \"pressure from Wall Street\" cannot claim that they are operating out of an accountability to their shareholders. In fact, Warren Buffet, one of the most successful value investors and an acknowledged guru of Wall Street, evaluates the management of a firm in terms of their ability to resist the institutional imperative. He avoids investing in companies whose management succumb to the pressure and manage to quarterly earnings.It is also worth remembering that, in reality, a firm cannot simply \"maximize shareholder return.\" In the first place, the diversity of investment approaches makes it impossible to maximize return for all shareholders at the same time. Then there is the question of the time frame over which a firm maximizes shareholder return. Maximizing return in the short term is a different animal from maximizing return in the long term. In many cases, short-term profitability is at cross purposes with long term profitability. In reality, profitability and shareholder return are complex, time-bound concepts. We are not saying that they do not matter, only that they are often talked about in an overly simplistic and unrealistic manner.The point is that treating business as a war cannot be justified as being more realistic or more bottom line oriented. In reality, engaging in a head-to-head battle with competitors is often at the expense of profitability. Those who treat business as war are not ennobled by their courage to face reality head on. Their stoic attachment to their position is not the resolute acceptance of reality, but a subjective choice hiding behind the claim that \"I am just facing reality. I didn't make it this way.\" No one has to view business is war. It is a subjective choice, and as such, the individual is accountable for the actions, consequences and fallout that result from that choice.\nReforming business reforms: The primary response to the current ethic crisis in US business has been based on preventing, avoiding or minimizing the potential for unethical behavior. The result has been more rules and stiffer consequences. While necessary, it is doomed to limited success; there is no measurement system or set of rules that cannot be beaten. More importantly this approach addresses the symptoms but not the cause. It tries to change how people play the game rather the trying to change the game itself.In order to effect real change, we need to shift the strategic mindset that dominates US business and pushes executives to view business as war. We need to adopt models of strategy that see the business of a business as realizing its potential for value creation, not fighting wars against competitors. We need to remind ourselves that we can make this shift without sacrificing accountability to profitability and shareholder return. If we can do that, we might be able to design business reforms that do more than rein in business. Rather than only asking \"how do we prevent this from happening again?\" we might also ask \"how do we help organizations more fully realize their potential to create value for society?\" *\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This chapter examines the linkage between strategy and ethics in business.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - We examine the implicit assumptions underlying the \"business-as-war\" versus the \"business as value creation\" models of business strategy. Drawing on the work of sociologists, we lay out the consequences those implicit assumptions have on the conduct of business.\nFindings: - We find that the \"business-as-war\" mindset sees corporations as sovereign states engaged in battle against other sovereign states, while the \"value creation\" mindset sees corporations as institutions engaged in an ongoing journey toward realizing potential, both in terms of capability and service. We further show how these two mindsets evoke different moral systems - a \"guardian syndrome\" for the \"business-as-war\" mindset and a \"commercial syndrome\" for the \"value creation\" mindset. Since both mindsets represent legitimate, though divergent moralities, we conclude that the recent crises in American business do not reflect the lack of morality or ethics. Rather, they reflect an application of an inappropriate morality/ethic dictated by the wrong model of business strategy.\nOriginality/value: - This chapter serves executives by advocating a strategic mindset that that is more conducive to ethical business activity, and at the same time, is better suited to meeting the profit imperative and pressure from Wall Street. This chapter serves policy makers by showing that ethical reforms are unlikely to be effective if they simply add stiffer penalties without \"changing the game\" that executives are playing.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
European football teams' CSR engagement impacts on customer-based brand equity
|
[
"Brand equity",
"Sports",
"Football",
"Football club",
"Corporate social responsibility",
"Consumer perceived ethicality",
"Customer‐based brand equity",
"Sport entertainment"
] |
[
{
"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: Sports clubs are inevitably preoccupied with results. Market orientation is a relatively recent phenomenon, which professional sports clubs have started to adopt, rather than traditional \"common sense\" management where team performance was the primary focus (Shilbury et al., 2003). Strategic brand management has only become a key issue in the last decade (Gladden and Funk, 2002). The role of CSR in sport has been opened to analysis, interpretation and empirical research (e.g. Smith and Westerbeek, 2007; Walters, 2009; Walters and Tacon, 2010), business and management journals have published special issues on CSR in sport (Babiak and Trendafilova, 2010; Sheth and Babiak, 2010), and the CSR literature in major sports management journals is growing quickly (Babiak and Wolfe, 2006; Hemsley, 2009; Breitbarth and Harris, 2008).However, there is yet to be research in the domain of evaluation methods for sport brands, and such activities might fail if they do not track changes in consumers' brand perception. Research findings in other sectors could also contribute to the sport entertainment industry (for example John et al., 2006).Thus, we pose the following research question:What elements of brand image influence the purchase behaviour of sports spectators?Despite the simplicity of the research question, the underpinning concepts are complex. Community involvement could be one of these concepts. Brunk (2010) proposed a consumer perspective of corporate ethics and introduced the construct of consumer perceived ethicality (CPE) of the brand, and further research on CPE and its influence on consumer decisions has been called for (Brunk, 2010; Cohn, 2010; Shea, 2010).Manchester United immediately suggests ideas such as football, England, the colour red, and superior team performance. However, CSR as an element of customers' perceptions linked to professional football clubs and its impact on the brand image and customer based brand equity has not previously been investigated.This paper is presented in six sections: the introduction, formulates the research question; the literature review looks at football clubs and their environment, the concept of corporate social responsibility, and consumer perceptions of the ethical and philanthropic behaviour in sports clubs; the methodology explains the clubs selected for our research; the findings are described and analysed; the findings are discussed; and our conclusion explains the implications of our findings for professional football club managers.\nLiterature review: Football clubs as brands\nMethods: We assume that there are three categories of product related attributes, non-product related attributes, benefits, and spectators' CSR-ethical perceptions. Each category may be broken into several factors, and the nature of these factors was be operationalized by specific items in the questionnaire. Previous studies have used psychometrics, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to estimate the predictability of purchases (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993). However, the use of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to detect multiple brand associations, their importance and their reliability is neglected by the literature (Homburg and Giering, 1996). Perceptions have an impact on intentions, such as the intended behaviour of spectators. The black box concept aims to ascertain patterns of customer behaviour when taking purchase decisions. Past experience (the input) explain brand perceptions (the intentions) which impact on customer loyalty to a team, purchasing club merchandise, buying tickets and season tickets.The literature has defined several factors of brands relevant for the sport entertainment industry (Gladden and Funk, 2001, 2002; Ross et al., 2007; Bauer et al., 2008). One product related attribute for football clubs is the primary service, the match on the field. Factors reflecting this core product are linked to players, team success, and the management of the club. Interviews were used to create an initial set of the factors specific to each of the brands of the two football clubs in this research. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify and significant factors for the brands of each club. These factors explain the key traits of the brands. Cooper and Schindler (2006) and Malhotra (2007) argued that only a small number of factors are useful for determining key traits. Whereas others have identified 14 or 16 factors, Bauer et al. (2008) proposed just five factors. Four of the factors are similar to the three categories of Keller's model, and the fourth, brand loyalty, measures the impact of brand image on consumer behaviour. Our research objective is to verify the existence of a CSR-ethical category in the brand perception of football club spectators. We define the fourth category brand attitudes as consumers' overall evaluation of the brand. Attitudes are a function of the associated attributes and benefits that are salient for the brand. They serve the consumer by reflecting themselves, via their self-concept, in the brand (Keller, 1993); for us brand attitudes are related to CPE (see Table I).Previous studies have explained the first two categories (cat 1.1 and 1.2), but category 3 needs further investigation; these are factors relating to the CSR of a sport club.Hypotheses\nResults and analysis: Data analysis\nDiscussion: European sport policies\nConclusion and managerial implications: In the last ten years most of the French professional clubs opted for a legal statute similar to a limited liability company (Societe Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle - SASP). This is a shift away from their not-for-profit organization origins. So CSR is an increasingly strategic imperative for football executives (Sheth and Babiak, 2010).What might be done by management?\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Brand management is a central issue for the sports industry in general, and professional football clubs (usually called soccer teams in the USA) are the archetypal branded sport in that industry; the brand is their most important asset. Match attendance equates with financial return; patently it is a preoccupation of senior management. Metrics of brand performance need be up to date, and include contemporary issues such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a reflection of consumer expectations. This paper aims to address these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The methodology aims to evaluate consumers' perceptions and purchase behaviours. A sample survey of consumers' brand evaluations has been collected and factor and regression analyses have been employed.\nFindings: - Recent models based on Keller's conceptual approach have not emphasized the evolution of societal concerns. Brand management in the football industry has to change to meet customer expectations better.\nPractical implications: - This research demonstrates that professional football clubs may be different from other businesses. The research method used enables the evaluation of customer-based brand equity. Findings suggest clubs' involvement in community activities influences brand image and customer behaviour. The sport entertainment industry requires a specific type of brand management and customer perceived ethicality has to be an integral part of the approach.\nOriginality/value: - Brand theories tend to stem from marketing and they are inclined to emphasize the same kind of product-oriented concerns. However, customers expect more than watching an exciting game in a pleasant environment; they are affected by clubs' community involvement which impacts on the affect towards the brand. This is demonstrated through purchase behaviours of spectators. This research determines and evaluates these issues for the cases of two professional football clubs.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Restructuring services to reduce waiting times and prevent complications: Neonatal inguinal hernias at Bristol Children's Hospital
|
[
"Audit",
"Paediatrics",
"Surgery",
"Hernia",
"Service provision",
"Clinical audit"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: Inguinal hernias are common amongst infants and children, affecting 3-5 per cent of full-term neonates, and around 10 per cent of pre-term infants (Grosfeld, 1989). Such hernias have the potential to cause significant morbidity, the greatest risk being posed by incarceration of abdominal contents within the hernial sac, potentially resulting in strangulation of the contents and ischaemia. The risk of incarceration is significantly higher in infants below 3 months compared to that of older children, and some studies suggest it can be as high as 30 per cent (Rescorla and Grosfeld, 1984; Puri et al., 1984). Incarceration requires emergency surgery to prevent bowel ischaemia and necrosis, and patients undergoing emergency repair for incarcerated hernias are at higher risk of complications following surgery (Rescorla and Grosfeld, 1984).Prevention of incarceration through swift surgical repair is therefore key to improving outcomes. For infants and older children, as in the adult population, inguinal hernias are routinely repaired as elective cases. However, with the increased risk of incarceration, repair in neonates below three months is more urgent. Standard guidelines concerning the urgency of repair in this group do not exist, however many departments perform the operations within a few weeks of diagnosis because of fear of incarceration (Rosenberg, 2008). A number of studies have found that repair within the first one to two weeks of diagnosis reduces incidence of incarceration and complications (Uemera et al., 1999; Vaos et al., 2010).Consequently, our institution had developed its own system to expedite surgery. A referral system known as the \"Hernia Board\" was used, whereby when a neonate was referred with an inguinal hernia their details were stored on a computerised list; patients were then admitted as soon as feasibly possible for their surgery, and placed on emergency lists or slotted into elective lists as and when spaces arose. The number of patients waiting at any one time was widely variable, as was the availability of spaces on emergency and elective lists, thus there was significant variation in the length of time patients waited for herniotomy after referral. It was of concern to the department that a prolonged wait for surgery could increase the risk of incarceration, and hence complications, as a result of the hernia. We therefore decided to audit our practices with the aim of implementing targeted change to provide an improved service.\nMeasuring waiting times and associated morbidity: First audit cycle\nImplementing change: Service restructuring\nMeasuring impact of change: Second audit cycle\nDiscussion: Neonatal inguinal hernias are a common problem with the potential to cause significant morbidity, and are usually operated within weeks of diagnosis to prevent incarceration; however, recommendations on the exact timing of surgery do not currently exist. The present study addressed this issue because of concern at our institution that our waiting times from referral to repair may be too long, and result in preventable incarcerations and complications.Audit is an important tool in clinical governance, and in this study our first cycle audit allowed us to effectively measure the waiting times for neonatal hernias in our institution, and the clinical impact of this wait for surgery. Our audit also identified that 90 per cent of hernias that incarcerated, did so in less than four weeks, and consequently a significant reduction in waiting times would be required to impact the incarceration rate. Although our complication rates were low, we felt that further reduction could be achieved with a change in practice.Following implementation of the new referral system, waiting times for neonatal hernia repair have significantly reduced. This is, of itself, evidence of an improved service, but in addition, no patients incarcerated whilst awaiting surgery and there were no complications.The successful outcome of restructuring neonatal hernia services within our unit, and the suggestion that this service model reduces morbidity from neonatal hernias, supports its potential use as a framework for service provision that could be adopted throughout the UK. With no guidelines currently available, practice varies between centres, and further studies with the potential to substantiate our findings are needed to inform an evidence-based consensus on best practice.There are a number of potential limitations to the present study: in this series where incarceration and complications occur in a small proportion of cases, large study populations are required to power the study sufficiently to detect differences between subgroups. Our six-month follow-up period after implementation of the new referral system allowed meaningful comparison of waiting times, but we require longer follow up for conclusive evidence of a long-term reduction in complication rates.One factor the present study does not account for is the change in cost of the service as a result of restructuring. Although this will free up space on elective operating lists to allow other cases to be performed, the cost of emergency admission and operating, combined with a potential increase in length of stay, may result in a higher overall cost of service.\nConclusions: The present study demonstrates an effective model of service provision for a specialist Children's Hospital in management of neonatal inguinal hernias, and is a step towards achieving evidence-based consensus on timing of hernia surgery in neonates. The study also highlights a successful audit process, in which the extent of a problem is quantified and analysed, strategies for improvement are identified and implemented, and second cycle audit confirms the impact of change and an improved service.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Inguinal hernias are a common problem amongst neonates, and a potential source of significant morbidity through incarceration of the hernia. Expedited surgical repair can prevent incarceration and reduce complications. The department at Bristol Children's Hospital aimed to minimise waiting times for surgery thereby reducing incarceration and complication rates. This paper aims to examine how this was done.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Bristol Children's Hospital provides local and regional (tertiary referral) services. Retrospective audit of waiting times from referral to surgery was performed against the departmental standard of four weeks. Data were collected on frequency of incarceration and any complications. Following service restructure, second cycle audit was performed to assess the impact of change.\nFindings: - First cycle audit (n=74) found median waiting time 20 days, (Mean 28.4 days, Range 0-138 days). A total of 28 per cent of patients waited longer than the target four weeks from referral. Incarceration occurred in 13 per cent of patients awaiting surgery. Two patients (2.7 per cent) experienced complications. Following service restructuring second cycle audit (n=28) found waiting times were significantly reduced (median two days, mean 7.0, p<0.0001). Only 7 per cent of patients waited over four weeks for surgery. There were no incarcerations or complications.\nPractical implications: - This study demonstrates a successful model of service for management of neonatal inguinal hernias which could be adopted at children's hospitals throughout the UK.\nOriginality/value: - This study highlights a successful audit process, in which the extent of a problem is quantified and analysed, strategies for improvement are identified and implemented, and second cycle audit confirms the impact of change and an improved service.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Business development success in SMEs: a case study approach
|
[
"Business development",
"Project management",
"Small to medium‐sized enterprises",
"Business performance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), have been described as catalysts for the future economy. There is a special need to accelerate SMEs' growth and to improve their competitiveness. Under the circumstances of increasing market pressure, enterprises try to improve their competitive position by development efforts, and a business development project, further abbreviated to BDP, is one tool for that. At the same time several international studies have reported on problems in implementing development projects, and on alarming low success rates (see Beer and Nohria, 2000; Buchanan and Boddy, 1992; Kotter, 1995).Current literature suggests that SMEs may differ from larger companies by a number of key characteristics, e.g. resource and knowledge limitations, lack of money, reliance on a small number of customers and need for multi-skilled employees. Some of the above-mentioned characteristics are putting a greater strain on the SMEs inducing that the successful implementation of BDP may be more challenging in this context.The issue in this research is the BDP success of SMEs. The main objective is to structure and model the success dimensions that contribute to and can be used in evaluating the BDP success of SMEs. This study aims at deepening the knowledge in the problem area by offering both theoretical and empirical insights. The theoretical foundation for the BDP success dimensions was created from the literature. The features of the business environment in SMEs were studied through literature and in practice with two pilot cases. The framework of the BDP success dimensions was evaluated in practice with four case companies and the focus was on successful and unsuccessful projects implemented in SMEs.The paradigm advocated in this paper is a qualitative one culminating in two assumptions: The reality is subjective and multiple, and the participants in the study may see it in different ways. Further, the world can be understood best from the point of view of the individuals directly involved in the activities in question. That is why people involved in projects are regarded as the most appropriate informants.\nThe current body of knowledge: Business development in SMEs\nThe framework of success dimensions: In this study, an enterprise is seen as a system where the detector is the function acquiring information about its environment. It is then used in management decisions. The effector is the function executing the decisions. A development project can be seen as a microcosm of this system. It also needs information about the environment in order to be able to recognise the opportunities and the threats. The selector is needed to make decisions about the project; to set the obtainable goals and the required resources. The effector is the action to make it happen. (see Salminen, 2000).The components connected to project success have been categorised into five dimensions on the basis of prior research, the nature of the business development project and a pilot case study with two cases:1. entrepreneurial success;2. project preparation success;3. change management success;4. project management success; and5. project success.The first four success dimensions are by nature the contributors to the project success. The project success is a result. Figure 1 summarises the framework. Its aim is to suggest a construct of the dimensions that affect the BDP success, to develop a construct of the focus areas for assessment used for the project success and performance measurement, and to link the BDP success and the performance improvements together in a framework.Entrepreneurial success refers to three words; intention, ability and opportunity. The owner-manager's know-how and expertise are in an emphasised role. In particular, when a BDP is launched to pursue growth, the owner-manager's intention, business ability and opportunity environment are highlighted (Churchill and Lewis, 1983; Morrison et al., 2003). This dimension also includes the connection of the BDP to the strategy of the enterprise. The strategic choices made by the owner-manager have an impact on the growth and performance. The written or the unwritten strategy is part of the attribute intention. The ability to identify niches and recognise favourable industry evolution makes the opportunity arena more promising. The factors of the entrepreneurial success dimension show the richness of opportunities in the environment, the ability to recognise the opportunities and the sense of direction to capitalise them.One of the typical problems in SMEs is the lack of resources. Often, however, underestimated resources available for the set project goals pose a more serious problem. A good BDP is in harmony with the SME's plans and resources. Many researchers warn about over-ambitiousness with the improvement efforts. Projects aiming at business not previously known very seldom succeed (Ghobadian and Gallear, 1997; Hyvarinen, 1993; Storey, 2000). Project preparation success refers to the balance between the project goal and the required resources; i.e. how well the SME has defined the realistic and viable target for the project and identified the required resources for its successful implementation. This dimension also includes the fact how clearly the anticipated business impact has been defined. The project preparation dimension consists of the factors showing the balance between the set goals and the allocated resources, the clarity of the business impact and the previous knowledge in the area of the project.The BDP has almost always the nature of a change project. Successful leadership, communicated need of change, widespread participation of employees, efficient communication and highly motivated managers and employees are important for the good performance (Kotter, 1995; Salminen, 2000). The change management success dimension consists of the following focus areas: how well the change is led in the SME, how clearly the need for change has been identified and communicated, whether the people affected by the change are participating in solution planning and implementation, how well information about the changes is distributed and feedback from people gathered, and finally, whether managers and employees are motivated and committed to the change effort.The project management success concentrates on the project life cycle and the hard dimensions of project management, such as planning, documentation, budgeting and scheduling (Boddy and Buchanan, 1992; Turner, 1999). The project management success dimension refers to the technical project management, including the factors showing how well project organisation and the roles of project members are defined, how sophisticated planning and documentation are, whether the risk analysis is done, how relevant monitoring practices are, and what is the level of the adequacy and sufficiency of the training provided to the employees affected by the project.Project efficiency includes the Iron Triangle of project management; cost, time and quality (Atkinson, 1999). Project efficiency can be measured or assessed during the implementation and immediately after its completion. It shows how well the schedule and the budget goals are met. In addition it shows how well the other project goals that can be measured or assessed immediately after the completion are met, for instance meeting the technical specifications and the functional performance.Project effectiveness refers to the results and benefits that can be measured or assessed after a longer period, when the project has been delivered to the customer or the project sponsor, internal or external, and the customer or the project sponsor is using it. This success area includes three categories: impact on customer, business success and future potentiality. The impact on customer, for example customer satisfaction, can be measured or assessed within a few months after the project delivery. The business success can usually be measured after one or two years. The future potentiality can be measured or assessed after 3-5 years (Shenhar et al., 2001).The focus areas for measuring or assessing success have been adopted from the ones validated by Gupta and Govindarajan (1984) and Shenhar et al. (2001). Measuring success involves also the evaluation of the degree to which the objectives have been achieved. Because projects have different kinds of objectives, the list of focus areas is not considered all-inclusive, but a basis for consideration that can be enhanced by the case companies (see Jennings and Beaver, 1997). A summary of the success dimensions and their focus areas has been introduced in Table I.\nMethodology: This study utilises multiple case studies, following the replication approach introduced by Yin (1994). A case study methodology was chosen targeting at building deep understanding about the business development success in an SME context, based on two successful and two unsuccessful BDPs carried out in four SMEs (Table II). These case companies are later called case A, case B, case C and case D.The research data consists of:* Interviews of three persons per case company: an owner/manager, a project manager and a project team member.* Public information about the case companies and their main competitors.* Annual accounts of the case companies and their main competitors.* Observation during the visits.The interviews were conducted in three parts: first, the interviewee's narrative story about the project and its implementation, second, a semi-structured interview about the success dimensions and third, a structured interview (questioning) based on a set of positive statements. The analysis of the information obtained through the semi-structured interviews was guided by the themes of the interview framework. The case study was conducted following the advice of Miles and Huberman (1994), through the phases of data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing. The collected data was processed and gradually condensed into tables. By focusing on success dimensions, the qualitative data was transformed through selection and summarising into patterns.The structured interview is based on 66 positive claims with a one to seven-Likert type scale, where 1 denotes that the interviewees fully disagree with the claim presented and 7 denotes that the interviewees fully agree with the claim presented. The answers of the structured interviews (questionnaire) are categorised into factors followed by the introduced framework of the success dimensions. Each factor was given a quality rating in order to describe the status of the factor. The quality rating is based on the mean values and the unanimity in the interviewees' assessments.Reliability was established through the development of a case study protocol and a case study database. All the interviews were taped and transcribed. Construct validity was established by using multiple sources of evidence, establishing a chain of evidence and by having the key informants' review drafts of the case study. Pattern-matching and explanation building were used to establish internal validity and the external validity was established by using the replication approach (Yin, 1994).The accounts of four cases, two successful and two unsuccessful BDPs, were used to investigate the framework of success dimensions. The projects and the analysis will be described briefly here. The more detailed descriptions can be found in Forsman (2005).\nThe five success dimensions as a framing concept: Project success dimension\nConclusions: In this study, the BDP success has been studied holistically in its implementation environment, in the SMEs that have already established their business. The framework for success dimensions has been developed providing a systematic way to analyse the BDP and its impact on the performing company. The results may provide a basis for benchmarking one's business and evaluate how well their own firm meets the success dimensions and their focus areas.The information was largely based on subjective evaluations and interpretations of the reality. This should be taken into consideration when interpreting the results. This study was mostly based on cross-sectional data on projects implemented some years ago. The assessment of the success and performance changes was conducted after the project implementation. Because the project success may vary during the project life cycle, the results of this study may not give the right picture of every phase of the project implementation. It is also possible that the current situation and recent incidents have affected the informants' answers. However, the influence of one respondent was not dominating, because the number of informants was at least three per case company, and because the demand for unanimity was used as a criterion during the case analysis.The BDPs were implemented as integrated into the daily business of SMEs. It might have been difficult for the informants to distinguish fully and objectively which of the performance changes were caused by the BDP and which of them were the results of changes in some other issues, e.g. changes in the business environment or competition. Attempts to avoid this bias were made by utilising the multi-informant system, and by collecting information from different sources, including industry key figures and information about competitors. The information from the different sources was triangulated and no inconsistencies were found. However, this possible problem should be noted when interpreting the results.This study suggests a number of implications with regard to further research. The case study is based on two successful and two unsuccessful business development projects implemented in SMEs, all of them representing companies that already had established their business. The natural further question to be posed is whether there is variation across different kinds of project types implemented in different kinds of companies and representing different stages of company life cycle. These issues, together with the project life cycle dynamics for the success dimensions and the success factors should be studied further.The present study is based on the cross-sectional data on the projects implemented a few years ago. Therefore, a longitudinal study might be useful to find out how the perceived performance changes through the project implementation and after its completion. The longitudinal study could be useful also to discover how the importance of the different success dimensions varies through the project implementation. Such studies might provide valuable information on the changes and give a basis for developing smart tools to help SMEs in their business development efforts.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - There are not many answers to the question of how the development projects launched to improve business performance in SMEs have succeeded. This study focuses on business development success in SMEs. The main objective is to structure and model the success dimensions that contribute to and can be used in evaluating the business development success in SMEs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study utilises multiple case study methodology, following the replication approach. The empirical evidence is based on data from four SMEs that have implemented a business development project. Two of the projects were perceived as successful and the other two as unsuccessful.\nFindings: - This study builds a framework for a business development project success in a SME context. In the SME context the business development project success seems to be dependent on several interrelated dimensions. Success in one area leads to success in other areas, and so creates an upward success spiral. Failure in one area seems to lead to failure in other areas, too, thus creating a downward failure spiral.\nPractical implications: - The results provide a basis for benchmarking one's business and evaluate how well one's own firm meets the success dimensions and its focus areas.\nOriginality/value: - The framework for success dimensions has been developed providing a systematic way to analyse the business development project and its impact on the performing company. A setting for analysing the project success from different time perspectives in a SME context has been produced.\n",
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A treasure too valuable to waste: Human resource management
|
[
"Human resource management",
"Retention",
"Fexible labour",
"Women"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Any business is only as good as the people who comprise the organization. Therefore, an excellent employee is a pearl of great price. However, instead of recognizing the value of their employees, many companies still squander these precious human resources in a number of ways. This review explores some of the problems in human resource management and suggests possible solutions.\nProblems with recruitment and promotion: There are various points in a career trajectory where problems can occur, from recruitment, through training and mentorship, to promotion and retention. Recruitment can be particularly difficult because a new employee is an unknown factor. Straker (2009) points out that the evidence that many companies are failing to recruit the right people is the number of people who are patently in the wrong job! He suggests that one reason for this is that organizations make job offers based on past performance rather than on a realistic assessment of future potential. A mis-match between an individual and their position within a company may, however, be due to factors other than poor recruitment practices. Employees can be promoted into positions that no longer match their skills; rigidity in organizational structures may inhibit opportunities for employees, particularly women, who need to balance work and family responsibilities; and organizational reward structures can encourage people to take jobs for the wrong reasons.Promotion is often used as a way to fill job vacancies internally and according to Straker (2009), about a third of all internal appointments are acquired because of relationship networks or secondary opinion. Excellent performance in one job does not necessarily translate into the same level of performance on the next rung of the career ladder. This can be especially true when a promotion involves managerial responsibilities.Failing to promote employees with the aptitude and skills to be effective managers can be just as big a mistake as promoting the wrong people. Recent evidence indicates that organizations with women in top management positions out perform those with more traditional, male-dominated leadership structures. However, many women who begin their careers on an equal footing with their male colleagues fail to reach the highest levels of management because of rigid organizational structures that inhibit an achievable work-life balance. Although many companies are beginning to recognize the value of a more flexible approach to working, employees who take advantage of this are often seen as less committed or ambitious.\nFlexible working practices: However, some organizations have adopted innovative models of flexible working such as Best Buy's results only work environment (ROWE) which allows employees complete control over how, when and where they work as long as they achieve agreed objectives. ROWE has resulted in greater reported happiness among employees, less attrition and a 35 percent increase in profits. Another model of flexibility is Deloitte's mass career customization (MCC) program that enables employees to alter four different career dimensions. These are: rate of career progression, workload, location and role. Altering the rate of career progression could be a big boon to female employees who often have different career patterns from men due to family responsibilities. In some companies employees who do not progress to senior management at the anticipated point in their careers (based on a masculine norm) fail to achieve senior positions at all.\nWomen's differing career trajectories: This arc-of-career flexibility is a serious issue for women, according to Cabrera (2009). Women often take career breaks just as they are becoming well established in their jobs, which can make it difficult to re-establish a traditional career pathway. Women's careers may peak later than those of men due to their preference for more family-friendly working practices in the child bearing and child rearing years. Businesses that cannot accommodate non-traditional career patterns risk losing talented women who could make substantial contributions later in their working lives. Many women choose a so-called protean career path that involves altering career goals to meet changing personal circumstances or a kaleidoscope career model (KCM) that emphasizes authenticity and changing needs. Greater accommodation of women's fluctuating career requirements could assist in the retention of talented female employees and provide support for their return to demanding managerial roles later in their careers.\nExternal versus intrinsic motivation: The fact that money does not appear to be women's only career motivation may be one of the attributes that makes them such valuable employees. The recent banking crisis has demonstrated how destructive the bonus culture, where personal gain was the motivation to take big risks with other people's money, can be. This crisis may prove beneficial in the long term if it causes corporations to consider how they motivate employees. The use of external motivation, such as large bonuses can be counter productive because such bonuses foster personal greed rather than corporate conscience and promote competition rather than collaborative working practices. Straker (2009) compares such external motivation to a donkey that has a carrot dangled in front of its nose to make it walk faster. The carrot does not make the donkey want to walk quickly; it just creates a desire for the carrot. Intrinsic rewards, on the other hand, are more sustainable and help employees to focus on the job rather than on the reward. Intrinsic motivation can be encouraged by asking employees what motivates them and allowing them to decide what their own rewards should be. This can be something as simple as receiving recognition from a line manager for completing a difficult task or being offered additional training in areas of personal interest or desirable skills.\nJob internships: One area of intrinsic motivation seems to be an employee's perception that they are using their skills effectively and working to their capability. Using highly paid employees to do routine tasks can be de-motivating and frustrating. A specialist professional library in Australia recognized that using highly skilled staff to do jobs such as stacking shelves was not cost effective. Not only were such routine tasks repetitive and boring, they took time away from more complex and rewarding activities such as research or project work. The solution was to employ library students on short term contracts to take over the day to day administrative work such as filing, photocopying, dealing with the post and answering telephone and email requests. There were some unexpected rewards for both the library staff and for the student interns. The library staff increased their mentoring skills, while the students helped them to keep up to date with new information. The students gained the opportunity to experience the reality of working in a specialist professional library and acquired skills that they could add to their CVs when applying for initial posts following graduation. The librarians were able to provide realistic references based on knowledge of the students' capabilities in the working environment.Internships are not only useful for students. They can be used within organizations to allow employees to try out different roles. Sometimes human resources are wasted because employees are stereotyped based on current roles or responsibilities. Helping people to learn new skills and try out different jobs within an organization can be a form of intrinsic motivation and may aid in retention of staff who might otherwise leave to seek new challenges elsewhere.\nConclusion: In the twenty-first century the business environment has become extremely competitive and continuous improvement is no longer an option; it has become a necessity. One area where organizations of any size can create changes is in their utilization of human resources. People are a company's greatest asset. Changing outdated structures and even more archaic attitudes can help to attract, motivate and retain the employees who have the vision, skills and determination to adapt to a constantly changing world. Assessing potential when appointing or promoting staff; creating flexible organizational structures which will help all employees to achieve a better work-life balance; recognition of women's different career trajectories and developing intrinsic motivation in employees are all ways in which organizations can find and hold onto the treasure of human resources.\nComment:: All three articles listed under references were interesting and informative. The article by David Straker was the first in a series of three articles about the nine dimensions of human resource wastage. It explored the first three of these, all which involved waste at the organizational level. These were: misuse of capability, mis-design of the organization and mis-motivation of people. The article illustrated the problem and then provided solutions, set out in little solution boxes. This article would be useful as part of a training course for managers. Elizabeth Cabrera focused on the career needs of highly educated businesswomen. In her empirical research, she interviewed women who had taken career breaks due to family responsibilities. This provided some valuable insights about women's career trajectories and their needs when returning to work after a career break. Alyson Dalby's (2009) article was the odd one out of the three. It was an interesting description of an initiative taken by a specialist library to introduce student internships in order to reduce the amount of routine administrative tasks undertaken by the library staff. However, the topic was quite different from that of the other two articles as it focused on one very specific initiative and its impact on both staff and the students who were employed as interns.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A review prepared by an independent writer who provides context and commentary.\nFindings: - In the Twenty-first century the business environment has become extremely competitive and continuous improvement is no longer an option; it has become a necessity. One area where organizations of any size can create changes is in their utilization of human resources. People are a company's greatest asset. Changing outdated structures and even more archaic attitudes can help to attract, motivate and retain the employees who have the vision, skills and determination to adapt to a constantly changing world. Assessing potential when appointing or promoting staff; creating flexible organizational structures which will help all employees to achieve a better work-life balance; recognition of women's different career trajectories and developing intrinsic motivation in employees are all ways in which organizations can find and hold onto the treasure of human resources.\nPractical implications: - 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",
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Arrangement of cooperation between labour market and regional vocational education system
|
[
"Cooperation between vocational education institutions and enterprise",
"Educational resources integration",
"Requirements of labour market",
"State and public management",
"Students’ professional identity",
"Vocational education programmes integration"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Today, vocational education is positioned as one of the most important factors of society's sustainable development, competitiveness and state's national security. It is conditioned by the formation of new geopolitical space, enterprises and the social sphere restructuring and the development of regionalisation (Ehrlich et al., 2017; Gutierrez and Morales, 2015). The separation of vocational education from the sphere of production, differentiation between manufacturing and staff training led to the task of finding tools for cooperation between labour market and educational services market (Akhmetov et al., 2016; Hyland, 2017; Dougherty and Lombardi, 2016). It was concluded that, on the one hand, educational activity is aimed at the development of a person who cannot act as a subject of purchase and sale. The goals of educational activity, ways of achieving them and results are incorrectly interpreted in terms of the market economy. However, on the other hand, the commercialisation of educational activities related to the production of the labour force determined the position of educational services in labour markets in the form of goods, regardless of the financing source and producer's form of ownership.\n2. Research methodology: The leading approach to the research was the participative approach, which allows considering the cooperation of labour market and regional vocational education system as the process aimed at creating management tools for formation, use, development of human resources. In present-day conditions, vocational education is considered as the unity of the integrative coordination between education, science and production, aimed at the formation of professionals ready for lifelong training, capable of a certain kind of professional activity, self-organisation and competitiveness in the labour market (Pugacheva, Kirillova, Ovchinnikova, Kudyashev, Lunev, Pavlova, Kashina, Valeyev, 2016). Quick response of vocational education institutions to labour market problems makes it possible to train professionals of a new type: ambitious, competent, flexible to changes, quickly mastering new methods and modern production technology, capable of analysing problems and taking important decisions, mastering new information technologies (Lunev et al., 2014d). The cooperation between labour market and vocational education system can quickly and effectively solve the emerging problems: if there is disproportionality between supply and demand in the labour market the solution is retraining; in case of low competitiveness of persons who are in need of social protection in the labour market it is possible to develop special vocational education centres; it is possible to cope with the lack of professionals in the field of innovation development by implementing innovative programmes of vocational education; the problem of unemployment growth can be solved by improving corporate training (Lunev et al., 2014a, b).\n3. Results: 3.1 National interaction models between vocational education institutions and enterprise\n4. Discussions: The problem of arrangement of cooperation between labour market and vocational education system is the subject of many research works. The articles dealing with the ways of creation and effectiveness of sector clusters are of great interest (Tatarinova, Shevtsova and Lunev, 2012; Lunev, Safin et al., 2016). The works on vocational education modernisation for the regional labour market have great theoretical and practical importance (Brunello and Rocco, 2017; Gast et al., 2017; Lunev and Pugacheva, 2013a, b; Lunev, Pugacheva and Stukolova, 2013; Lumby, 2000). It is worth noticing the articles revealing the idea of creating integrated educational programmes for training specialists (Akhmetov et al., 2016; Kennedy, 2016; Riphahn and Zibrowius, 2016). However, in the context of economic globalisation, on the one hand, competition in the labour market inevitably increases and labour mobility grows, on the other hand, considering technological development, there is a rapid skill obsolescence which results in the growing need to acquire new competencies that are constantly in demand in the labour market.\n5. Conclusion: To sum up, the optimisation of cooperation between labour market and vocational education system is reinforced on condition of participative management of the formation process, use and development of human resources. The effectiveness of the cooperation between labour market and vocational education system will be improved by studying national models and identifying the most advantageous cooperation tools (modular training, voluntary social/ecological year, educational resources integration, state and public management, clustering vocational education institutions and industry companies). This will allow comparing the suggested tools for collaboration between labour market and vocational education system with the experience of others and thereby assess their relevance and implementation risks. Improving the cooperation between labour market and vocational education system will be successful provided that universal tools for cooperation (socio-economic, educational, practical, innovative and technological) are identified, which promotes the integration of national vocational education systems into national educational space. The effectiveness of cooperation between labour market and vocational education system will increase on condition of criterion assessment (clustering, subjectivity, transdisciplinarity), promoting vocational education programmes integration, connection between professional and educational standards, students' professional identity, students' engagement in the development and implementation of research and production projects, stepped formation of professional competencies.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: Modern educational environment in the system of vocational education focuses on the requirements of labour market and those of employers to the content of graduates' professional competencies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to develop practical guidance on the arrangement of cooperation between labour market and regional vocational education system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Participative approach allowed considering the cooperation between labour market and regional system of vocational education as the process aimed at creating management tools for formation, use, development of human resources. The research involved 300 teachers, 400 students, 100 employers, who found out the effectiveness criteria for the cooperation between labour market and vocational education system.\nFindings: The findings reveal national models characteristics and universal tools for cooperation between vocational education institutions and enterprise. National models characteristics allow identifying the most advantageous cooperation tools; comparing suggested tools with the experience of others and thereby assessing their relevance and implementation risks.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research results allow us to plan strategies for further studies of this problem, which are related to the development of models for cooperation between labour market and vocational education system.\nPractical implications: The identification of universal tools for cooperation between vocational education institutions and enterprise promotes the integration of national vocational education systems into national educational space. The materials of the paper can be useful for university leaders and professors; employees of centres for professional advancement and retraining in selecting and structuring the content of academic and teaching staff's advanced training.\nSocial implications: The revealed criteria contribute to vocational education programmes integration, connection between professional and educational standards, students' professional identity.\nOriginality/value: The effectiveness of the cooperation between labour market and vocational education system will be improved by studying national models and identifying the most advantageous cooperation tools (modular training, voluntary social/ecological year, educational resources integration, state and public management, clustering vocational education institutions and industry companies). This will allow comparing the suggested tools for collaboration between labour market and vocational education system with the experience of others and thereby assess their relevance and implementation risks. Improving the cooperation between labour market and vocational education system will be successful provided that universal tools for cooperation (socio-economic, educational, practical, innovative and technological) are identified, which promotes the integration of national vocational education systems into national educational space. The effectiveness of cooperation between labour market and vocational education system will increase on condition of criterion assessment (clustering, subjectivity, transdisciplinarity), promoting vocational education programmes integration, connection between professional and educational standards, students' professional identity, students' engagement in the development and implementation of research and production projects, stepped formation of professional competencies.\n",
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Attributes, consequences, and consumer values: A means-end chain approach across restaurant segments
|
[
"Dining value",
"Restaurant attributes",
"Restaurant segment",
"Means‐end chain model",
"Consumer behaviour",
"Catering industry"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In today's highly competitive market place, it is increasingly hard for restaurants to develop creative marketing strategies to retain existing customers and attract new ones. Yet from a customer's viewpoint, an increase in competition means that customers now have a lot more options to choose from. Accordingly, customers are becoming more sophisticated in discriminating between products and selecting better options from a broader range of alternatives based on the value they can obtain from their choices. Likewise, restaurant diners currently have far more alternatives for each restaurant segment (e.g. fast food restaurants, casual-dining restaurants, and fine dining restaurants). Therefore, distinctive segment-specific marketing strategies should be explored by restaurant operators in order to differentiate their restaurant's unique characteristics and appeal to target customers from other restaurant segments.Restaurants provide foods, services, and dining environments. These are considered basic attributes that customers use to evaluate perceived quality (Jang and Namkung, 2009). Although they represent the general components of all restaurants, each restaurant segment tries to reflect distinctive properties or characteristics based on these basic attributes. Since restaurant attributes are directly related to customers' dining experiences, restaurant operators and marketing researchers have been interested in the effects of various attributes on customer satisfaction and post-consumption behaviors in each restaurant segment (e.g. Bonjanic, 2007; Kwun and Oh, 2006; Liu and Jang, 2009; McCleary et al., 2008; Chen and Hu, 2010; Ryu et al., 2012). Even though restaurants provide several attributes based on customers' needs and wants, they may not comprehend the actual purpose or ultimate goal customers seek from a dining experience without examining the benefits and hidden values they desire from those specific attributes.Marketing researchers have suggested that the best performing firms continuously develop new strategies to improve consumer value (Parasuraman, 1997; Woodruff, 1997). Consumer value is the end goal a consumer desires from a consumption situation and plays a critical role in all marketing activities (Holbrook, 1999). Woodruff (1997) suggested that attributes are the basic source of products or services, whereas consumer value is an upper-level concept used to understand consumer behaviors in consumption situations. Therefore, examining consumer value provides more specific information regarding the purpose for visiting a restaurant, or what customers really want from their dining experience, and can guide strategies for advertising or promotions in a specific restaurant segment.Due to the importance of the concept of consumer value, there are numerous studies on value. Many hospitality studies have also considered consumer value as an important concept for understanding consumers and developing marketing strategies for the industry. However, many of those studies examined customers' perceived value of given attributes or monetary value and the influence on post consumption behaviors (e.g. Clemes et al., 2011; Gallarza and Saura, 2006; Park, 2004; Petrick and Backman, 2002; Ha and Jang, 2010a, b). These studies suggested some managerial implications regarding the relationship between value and consumer behavior in a restaurant setting, but they did still not explain what customers actually want from the dining experience from the customer's perspective. Considering that consumer value is the end goal that a customer desires from attributes of products or services (Gardial et al., 1994; Woodruff, 1997; Zeithaml, 1988), it is important to identify the hidden values rooted in specific attributes and their consequences or benefits. In order to examine consumer value linked to specific attributes, past studies have used a means-end approach (Mattila, 1999; Mosquera and Sanchez, 2011). A means-end approach uncovers hidden values customers actually pursue through attributes and their consequences. Using a means-ends approach, this study also attempted to identify underlying consumer value that stems from restaurant attributes.The primary purpose of this study was to identify consumer-dining values for each restaurant segment (fast food restaurants, casual restaurants, and fine dining restaurants) using a means-end approach and to suggest useful information for restaurant operators to develop differential marketing strategies for each segment. More specifically, the objectives of this study were to determine specific restaurant attributes of the three different segments and to investigate the links between those attributes and higher-level motivational factors - that is, important consequences or benefits and desired personal values customers obtain from those attributes. By using a means-end approach, this study determined the abstract values linked to concrete attributes, which can help to establish a more in-depth understanding of diners. Further, this study a holistic picture of consumer dining values customers desire when they visit each restaurant segment, which is a unique contribution of this study.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Restaurant attributes in different segments\n3. Methodology: For data collection, this study used the interview method. Interviews were conducted one-on-one. The study participants were undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff at a mid-western university in the US. Each interview lasted for approximately 20 minutes. The number of samples for each restaurant segment was determined based on theoretical saturation. Data were collected until no new concepts regarding end values were generated, which confirms that the sample size was appropriate. A total of 71respondents participated in the interviews. Among them, 23 people (nine undergraduate students, six graduate students, and eight faculty and staff) responded to the question regarding fast food restaurants; 23 people (nine undergraduate students, eight graduate students, and six faculty and staff) responded to the question regarding casual dining restaurants; and 25 people (eight undergraduate students, eight graduate students, and nine faculty and staff) responded to the question regarding fine dining restaurants.Respondents were provided with a list of potential restaurant attributes for their segment. We provided attributes to help them think of possible restaurant attributes since it might be hard to come up with them on the spot. Even though several major attributes were provided for each restaurant segment, the respondents were allowed to choose any attribute whether it was on the list or not. Due to the general characteristics of restaurants, some attributes overlapped across the three restaurant segments. In order to identify how distinctive attributes of each restaurant segment lead to specific values, several different attributes that characterize each restaurant segment were also provided. Some of the attributes were borrowed and modified from previous studies, whereas others were developed from discussions with customers of each restaurant segment. The restaurant customers were asked to respond to the question \"What are the attributes you consider important when dining out at each restaurant segment (fast food, casual dining, or fine dining)?\" The attributes of fast food restaurants included \"Low prices,\" \"Prompt service,' \"Convenient location,\" \"Menu variety,\" \"Drive thru service,\" \"Long business hours,\" \"Take-out service,\" and \"Friendly staff (Bonjanic, 2007; Gilbert et al., 2004; Kara et al., 1997; Knutson, 2000). For casual dining restaurants, \"Reasonable cost,\" \"Good tasting food,\" \"Friendly environment,\" \"Menu variety,\" and \"High quality service\" were chosen (Brizek, 2002; DiPietro et al., 2007; Morgan, 1993). Last, the attributes of fine dining restaurants included \"Knowledgeable staff,\" \"Quality food,\" \"Exceptional service,\" \"High quality dining environment,\" and \"Menu variety\" (Kwun and Oh, 2006; McCleary et al., 2008; Sulek and Hensley, 2004).The respondents were given the definition of each restaurant segment and chose only one segment based on their most recent experience. A \"Fast food restaurant\" emphasizes speed of service and low cost and customers expect to eat their food directly from a disposable or convenient container; a \"Casual dining restaurant\" is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food, an average guest check of $10-$30, where customers expect to receive table service; a \"Fine dining restaurant\" is a full service restaurant with dedicated meal courses and a high quality dining environment where customers expect exceptional service from well-trained servers.Next, respondents were allowed to select the three most appropriate attributes from the list of attributes for their restaurant segment. By allowing respondents to select several restaurant attributes, more attributes and the corresponding benefits and hidden values could be identified. Using the laddering procedure, the interviewer then asked the respondent \"Why is the attribute important to you?\" The interviewer continued this process until the respondent had nothing further to say. The series of responses forms a means-end chain in which a restaurant segment attribute was linked with benefits or consequences and finally connected with one or more values the individual ultimately desired. The interviewer repeated this process for all three attributes the respondent chose.The responses for each restaurant segment were content analyzed by two independent judges who are researchers. The initial coding process included labeling responses to the questions and categorizing similar ideas. The two judges separately coded the categories based on the responses and the importance of those responses and then compared the coded works. The initial agreement between the two judges was approximately 80 percent, and the disagreements were resolved by discussion. Ultimately, the judges set up 18 categories for fast food restaurants that included 12 consequences and six values; 16 categories for casual dining restaurants that included nine consequences and seven values; and 14 categories for fine dining restaurants that included nine consequences and five values.\n4. Results: 4.1 Implication matrix\n5. Discussion and conclusion: 5.1 Discussion\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to identify consumer-dining values for each restaurant segment (fast food restaurants, casual restaurants, and fine dining restaurants) using a means-end approach and to suggest useful information for restaurant operators to develop differential marketing strategies for each segment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study applied a means-end chain approach to identify underlying consumer values across three different restaurant segments. The participants responded to questions in a one-on-one interview procedure regarding attributes of restaurants, consequences, and values. Based on the responses, hierarchical value maps were developed to better understand consumer value patterns across the three restaurant segments.\nFindings: - The results suggested that attributes of fast food restaurants were largely associated with convenience, success, and economic values; attributes of casual dining restaurants were related to emotional and belonging values; and attributes provided by fine dining restaurants were linked to emotion and quality life values.\nPractical implications: - This research suggested what customers really want from the dining experience so that restaurant operators in each restaurant segment can develop effective marketing strategies, such as advertisements or promotions, which are distinguished from other competitive restaurants.\nOriginality/value: - By using a means-end chain approach, this study showed a holistic picture of the consumer dining values customers desire when they visit each restaurant segment, which is a unique contribution of this study.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Risk management in Indian companies: EWRM concerns and issues
|
[
"India",
"Business policy",
"Corporate strategy",
"Risk management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In recent decades, the changing environment has posed a threat to the value maximization process in organizations. Catastrophes and systemic shocks altered the way risk was managed in 1970s and 1980s, and risk management has emerged as a separate discipline in the corporate world since the 1990s. The concept of risk management is not so new because risk management techniques like:* risk reduction through safety, quality control and hazard education;* alternative risk financing; and* insurance including self-insurance and captive insurance have been in existence for a long time (Doherty, 2000).But more recently, the growth of derivative markets has promoted the value of risk management, in handling of market risks. The emerging markets in globally have led the regional managers to diversify their risks in the developed markets (Alexander, 1999).Every enterprise is subject to several types of risks and the focus varies across organizations. Risk has been defined, classified and interpreted from various perspectives. The description of risk among practitioners ranges from deviations in the value of financial variable(s) to various types of strategic variables. According to Skipper (1997), risk has no universal definition and one way to express it as the variability of outcomes. Shimpi (2001) has defined risk as the lifeblood of every organization and functional managers do manage risk head-on wherever it appears. Gupta (2004a, b) says \"Risk refers to the possibility of deviation from the standard path. These deviations reduce the value and imply unhappy situations\". Classification of risk as credit, market and operational is a widely accepted methodology (Lam, 2001; BCBS, 2003).Risk management tasks have been conventionally confined to corporate treasurers, portfolio managers, insurers and the hedgers. The risk management in organizations has undergone a paradigm shift. It has moved from being \"hazard type\" to \"strategic type\". Risks are now not perceived as threats (adverse financial effects) but as potential opportunities. The focus of risk management has changed from all risks to critical risks (KPMG LLC, 2001). Recognition of risk management as a separate managerial function entails many advantages. Inclusion of risk management as a strategy in the general management function helps to enhance the value (Suranarayana, 2003). According to Jorion (2001), the success of organizations depends upon the risk management and manufacturing firms are still in primitive stage to understand properly the firm's sensitiveness to different types of risk. Lam (2001) also supports the view that risk management reduces earning volatility, maximizes value for shareholders and promotes job security and financial security in the organization. Shimpi (2001) establishes that capital management and risk management are closely related but the simultaneous existence of risk managers and financial managers operating in insurance and capital markets would lead to sub-optimally. Li (2009) has also presented the analytical optimal corporate investment allocation strategy by maximizing the probability of beating a pre-determined target. Risk measurement suffers from the problem of consistent yielding capacity of the subjective approaches (Emblemsvag, 2010). Convergence of technology has given impetus to internal controls in the organization and the matters of security (Pathak, 2005). Laviada (2007) highlighting the importance of the operational risk management framework suggested that internal audit should be alert to the whole process of implementation of the systems for managing the operational risk management in entities.Every enterprise is a portfolio of projects and the failure of these projects depends upon the business assumptions. Effective risk management can align with the business assumptions and proactively help in overcoming the possibilities of the business failures. Though it is seen that project managers tend to deny, avoid and ignore risks and to delay the management and risks are perceived as discomforting, not agreed upon (Kutsch, 2008).KPMG (2001) traces the change of risk management approach from an individualistic narrow silo type to portfolio type and the risk management is beginning to be perceived as a new means of strategic business management, linking business strategy to day-to-day risks. Doherty (2000) has described the integrated approach as - diagnostic, designed to support optimal investment, based on transaction cost and inclusive coordinated but discriminating. Shimell (2002) study of risk management practices indicates that risk management focuses to now shifting to a strategic one and risk involvement must be universal and thorough in the organization. Doherty (2000) argues that risk management suffers from the problem of duality in the sense that either the organization can remove the risk or its effect (accommodate). Berinato (2006) argues that risk management is crucial because balancing risk is becoming the only effective way to manage a corporation in a complex world. Researchers have shown that firms feel an aggregate measure should include all risks facing the enterprise, but acknowledging the fact that some risks like operational risk are difficult to quantify in a consistent way. Risk aggregation faces difficulty of measuring correlation across risk types. This leads to the question of how diversification benefits should be allocated among business units. We, therefore, argue that there is a need to offer incentives to risk managers.The crux of risk management exercise revolves around value defined as the utility or the importance of the entity to the stakeholders, in an uncertain environment. The uncertainty can be both perceived as risk or opportunity since it can either enhance or diminish vale. Value is created, preserved or eroded by management decisions ranging from strategy setting to day-to-day operations of the enterprise. Inherent in decisions is the recognition of risk and opportunity, requiring that management considers information about internal and external environments, deploys precious resources and recalibrates enterprise activities to changing circumstances (www.erm.coso.org). We argue that stakeholders' value is the summation of the discounted value of current business model and value of the future growth options. This valuation depends upon:* allocative efficiency;* execution efficiency and effectiveness; and* innovative capabilities.Professional risk management can bring these efficiencies and maximize the enterprise value (Gupta, 2009).EWRM as an emerging discipline\nMethodology: We assume that silo approach to risk management is losing ground and a need is continuously felt to integrate the whole gamut of risk management in organizations (EWRM). We hypothesize that risk management function is not yet fully developed in India, which may affect the implementation of EWRM. Research studies on ERM in Indian companies are rare to find. An initial study revealed that out of 74 firms surveyed, 20 have full awareness of various risks faced by them. Out of those 20 firms, six are adopting professional risk management practices. Further, the use of the integrated approach was absent. We find a research gap to find out whether the functional managers are able to conceptualize the EWRM and implement it exclusively.Our paper examines the risk management philosophy of Indian companies and explores the status of EWRM adoption and implementation. We first evaluate the communication and integration of function-nomenclatured risks and then attempt to extract the determinants of EWRM needs within the enterprise. Finally, we provide an insight as to the reasons for the adoption or lack of adoption of integrated approach to risk management and identify the imperatives for implementation of comprehensive risk management solutions leading to EWRM.Apart from the available literature, we have uses survey method for collection of data. A risk assessment questionnaire has been administered on judgmental basis to 130 companies of which 90 valid responses have been received. Data smoothing has been done for four companies and finally 94 companies have been selected for analysis. Multiple responses have been converted into distinct responses and the 313 cases have been processed.Questionnaire includes both closed-end and open-ended questions framed on a Likert-type scale (3-5 points). It consists of five major building blocks translated into 33 questions:1. risk awareness;2. risk communication;3. risk responsibility;4. risk measurement and analysis; and5. risk implementation and integration.Questionnaire is based primarily on the style of \"risk assessment questionnaire\" of Audit Office of New South Wales (www.audit.nsw.gov.au/publications/questionnaires/RiskSurveyInstrument.pdf). It intends to drive the following information:* company-specific risk profile and organization of risk management function;* information on the responsibility for risk management;* organization of risk management within the company;* current utilization and future outlook of various risk-financing techniques; and* status of risk integration and adoption of EWRM approach.Sample companies represent both the sets:* the companies that have implemented risk management solutions; and* those are in the process of implementing risk management solutions.The respondents are the functional heads of the companies under the survey. The sample companies include both large and medium-size companies in the manufacturing and services sector. The insurance and banking companies are excluded because their risk management practices are different from the other companies due to the nature of their business. Sectoral classification of sample companies is given in Table I. The questions have been converted into 79 variables processed on Systat 10.2 for descriptive analysis, F-ratios and clusters (Table II).\nFindings: Indian companies seem to follow a passive approach to risk management. Our survey of companies in the pilot study indicates that before the subprime crisis the companies claimed that they have the best risk management systems. However, the study during the sample period based on analysis of questionnaire and interviews indicates that risk management is poorly thought, conceived and practiced discipline. We present the findings and conclusions on various aspects of risk management by Indian companies in the following paragraphs.Risk management and organizational effectiveness\nConclusion: Integrated risk philosophy requires an extensive training on risk management. There is a dire need of institutions and experts on the subject. Though some organizations like Institute of Internal Auditors, India have taken some initiative on ERM, but the focus of their programs is more audit and internal controls type rather than using the EWRM as a part of business strategy (www.iiaindia.org). Implementing EWRM solutions require substantial investment in infrastructure of which IT solutions are costlier ones. Companies must be able to link risk management with overall organizational objectives. Corporate governance, which is the buzz world today in companies, is must for successful EWRM.Risk communication must be improvised in corporations to take advantage of and build confidence in risk management. The communications of organization's risks must be efficient enough to ensure that the risk appetite is built even at the lower management level. Operational risks have been sole focus area of attention in many companies. However, there are other risks which may be relatively more important. Hence, the approach to risk assessment needs a drastic change in companies.EWRM requires that functional heads that should have sufficient motivation to take up the risk management jobs which is possible by offering incentives. Risk responsibility must be entrusted to a risk champion, which may be designated as CRO. Companies should exclusively conduct comprehensive training programs on various aspects of risk management. EWRM can become a strategic competitive advantage if it is used to identify specific action steps that enhance performance and optimize risk. It can also influence business strategy by identifying potential adjustments related to previously unidentified opportunities and risks.ERM must be perceived and implemented in a strategic way rather than as a routine business function. Use of IT should be promoted to achieve automation of risk management. Web sites may also reflect some concerns on EWRM, which would signal a positive message to the stakeholders.Structural limitations\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the current status of risk management in Indian companies and explore the reasons for the adoption or lack of adoption of integrated approach to risk management. It identifies the imperatives for implementation of comprehensive risk management solutions leading to enterprise-wide risk management (EWRM). The paper shows that effective risk management can improve organizational performance but adequate infrastructure is not available in companies for implementing EWRM.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Exploratory design using the survey research methodology that includes structured questionnaires and interviews of 130 companies.\nFindings: - Risk management in Indian companies is currently facing the problem of integration and incentivisation. The risk management function is not suitably blended into the corporate strategy and use of information technology for risk management is minimal. The portfolio approach to risk management titled as integrated risk management or EWRM is ineffective from an implementation perspective and a sea change in risk perception is required which accentuates the need for building up of risk culture across business segments and adequate incentivisation for risk management.\nPractical implications: - Risk management is an integral part of the decision-making process and effective risk management can proactively help in overcoming the possibilities of the business failures.\nOriginality/value: - The paper highlights the fact that knowledge of risk management in Indian companies is inadequate and sample companies hesitate to respond thinking that it may reflect inefficiencies.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Use of copula functions for the reliability of series systems
|
[
"Bayesian approach",
"Reliability",
"Copula",
"Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern",
"Gumbel",
"Series system"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Usually, the studies of systems reliability engineering assume independence among the component lifetimes. In practice, however, the components of a system are usually dependent. Indeed, two components assembled in a system structure may share the same load, may be subject to the same set of stresses or similar environment and hence leading to similar performances. This way, the correlated lifetimes can modify the reliability of the systems. This problem is of great interest in industrial and engineering applications.\n2. A series system with two components: Let us assume a series system with two components, where the system works if and only if both components work (see Figure 1).\n3. Bivariate Weibull based on copula functions: In this section, we introduce two new formulations for the bivariate Weibull distribution based on copula functions.\n4. A Bayesian analysis assuming Weibull distributions for the component lifetimes: Let us assume a random sample of size n of a two-component series system with lifetimes T\n5. A numerical illustration: We show in this section how one can apply the previous obtained theoretical results.\n6. Conclusions: The use of copula functions for modeling the bivariate distribution could be a good alternative to estimate the reliability of a two components series system. Bayesian inference for this class of models using standard existing MCMC methods is not difficult to apply providing accurate inference results.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a new method to estimate the reliability of series system by using copula functions. This problem is of great interest in industrial and engineering applications.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors introduce copula functions and consider a Bayesian analysis for the proposed models with application to the simulated data.\nFindings: The use of copula functions for modeling the bivariate distribution could be a good alternative to estimate the reliability of a two components series system. From the results of this study, the authors observe that they get accurate Bayesian inferences for the reliability function considering large samples sizes. The Bayesian parametric models proposed also allow the assessment of system reliability for multicomponent systems simultaneously.\nOriginality/value: Usually, the studies of systems reliability engineering assume independence among the component lifetimes. In the approach the authors consider a dependence structure. Using standard classical inference methods based on asymptotical normality of the maximum likelihood estimators for the parameters the authors could have great computational difficulties and possibly, not accurate inference results, which there is not found in the approach.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Determinants of ownership structure and performance of seasoned equity offerings: Evidence from Chinese stock markets
|
[
"China",
"Stock markets",
"Shares",
"Public companies",
"Seasoned equity offerings",
"Agency theory",
"Monitoring hypothesis",
"Information asymmetry"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nI. Introduction: The Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) started share split reform of the listed firms in 2005 and defrosted non-tradable shares which were state owned. Since the share split reform, the Chinese publicly listed firms have mainly relied on private placements to raise capital for new investment project or takeover. This is not surprising as the extent literature documents that the stock market reacts positively to firms that sell equity privately. Wruck (1989) reported that selling a block of securities to private investor(s) increases shareholders' wealth. Wruck found that the ownership concentrated is strongly correlated with performance in firms that engage in private equity placements. Using monitoring hypothesis, Wruck argued that equity selling privately improves monitoring by the shareholders as private selling changes the ownership structure of the firm after the issue.Alternatively, Myers and Majluf (1984) argued that when there is a high degree of information asymmetry, firms prefer to undertake private placements. Hertzel and Smith (1993) claims that information asymmetry hypothesis better explains the reasons for private placement than the monitoring hypothesis proposed by Wruck (1989). Two other studies also support information asymmetry hypothesis. According to Dann and DeAngelo (1988), managers choose passive investor for private placements to mitigate the takeover. Barclay et al. (2007) reported that active placement only comprised 12 per cent of the private placements in their sample and concluded that private investor were not active after issue. As a result, there was no improvement in monitoring. Wu (2004) reported that in the USA, private placements did not show any improvement in monitoring after the issues.Fung et al. (2008) reported that more than two-thirds of the total shares outstanding are state and legal-person shares, and they represent controlling majority shareholders in listed companies in China. Since there are a high percentage of state-owned enterprises (hereafter SOEs) listed in the stock markets in China, it provides a significantly different ownership structure and also different types of owners in comparison to the firms listed in the US market. The concentration of controlling ownership is notably higher in China with an average of about 58 per cent compared to only 25.4 per cent in the USA and 33.1 per cent in Japan (Xu and Wang, 1999).Given the special ownership and extremely high ownership concentration ratio in China, it gives us great opportunity to investigate whether the existing theories of choice of equity selling mechanism is able to explain the phenomena. We argue that both monitoring hypothesis and information asymmetry hypothesis is relevant in the Chinese context. Therefore, we address three important questions in this paper. First, do firms that conduct private equity offerings enhance the level of monitoring by inducing new institutional investor(s)? Second, do different ownership structures of firms alter the ways of selling equity? Third, do high ownership concentrated firms that adopt the seasoned equity offerings (SEOs), experience enhancement in firm value?We found that private placements lead to positive announcement abnormal returns while public placements lead to negative abnormal returns. There are evidences that positive abnormal returns may have arisen from the monitoring effect. However, the change in operating performance after the announcement dramatically declines which suggests that the monitoring effect may not persist in the long term. Furthermore, the cross-sectional regression results show that there is a positive relationship between the first controlling shareholder and the positive announcement abnormal returns. This finding is consistent with the results reported by Wu et al. (2005) that the issuance of new equity reduces the degree of information asymmetry as it introduces a close incentive alignment to a high ownership concentration firm.The probit regression analysis shows that when there is a high degree of information asymmetry, issuers tends to choose private placements. More importantly, firms that are smaller in size and have shares owned by the state, have a high tendency to choose private placements. A plausible reason is that a large proportion of shares owned by the government create agency conflict between controlling shareholders and minority investors (Liu and Lu, 2007). The SOEs which are smaller in size are expected to have more agency problems and therefore, are more likely to choose private placements because equity selling to several investors dilutes the voting right, or disperses control and monitoring for the SOEs. Private placement reduces agency conflict between controlling shareholders and minority investors.Finally, when we group firms by size, changing ownership concentration, and announcement cumulative abnormal returns (similar to Fung et al., 2008), we found that the operating performance for private placements are mainly affected by size. The large size portfolio tends to have a larger rate of decline in operating performance. Since decline in operating performance is less likely to be contributed by large size portfolios, this suggests an overall poor operating performance of the firms.The rest of this paper is organised as follows. Section 2 provides the background of Chinese stock market, in particular the regulatory development. Section 3 provides the literature review and introduces the hypotheses. Section 4 describes the data and the research method. Section 5 presents the empirical results and Section 6 present conclusions.\nII. Chinese stock markets background: II.1 Ownership structure and share split reform\nIII. Literature review, theory, and hypotheses: III.1 Agency theory\nIV. Data and methodology: IV.1 Sample\nV Empirical results: V.1 Post-issue effects\nVI. Conclusions: We investigate the performance of SEO after Chinese stock markets started to implement share split reform in 2005. The share split reform has a significant effect on the Chinese stock markets, via the new equity issue. Therefore, given this situation, we review the announcement return behaviour and operating performance for private and public placement over the period from 2006 to 2008.For the three-day announcement window, we found that the mean cumulative abnormal return to be 4.3 per cent for the sample of 237 private placements and negative mean cumulative abnormal return for public placement for 58 public placements. The evidence from prior studies suggests that the market reacts positively for the firm issuing private equity to the formation of strategic and share purchases by institutional investor. Chan et al. (1997) reported statistically significant positive abnormal returns for the firm announcing the formation of a strategic alliance. Wruck and Wu (2009) documented that the relationship between buyer and issuer is an important factor that affects firm's value.In the cross-sectional regression analysis, we tested the monitoring effect similar to the method employed by Wu et al. (2005). Using the change in ownership concentration caused by new share dilution as proxy for monitoring effect, our results confirmed the positive relation between change in ownership concentration and firm value. However, recent studies have challenged the monitoring effect by arguing that equity is issued privately to sophisticated investors who are active and enable enhancement of monitoring of management to generate higher firm value. We argue that the highly concentrated ownership structure for Chinese SOEs could benefit from the private placement because it would reduce the agency problem by diluting the voting rights of existing concentrated shareholders.The ex post poor operating performance of private placement does not support the argument of monitoring effect. The results show that the profitability ratios, that is, ROE, OP/REV, and EBIT/ASSET deteriorated after the announcement day. Therefore, we conclude similar to Barclay et al. (2007) that investors are not active after private placement. We further argue that the positive announcement returns arising from the monitoring effect only persists in the short term. The investors are overoptimistic about the current year earnings and the future growth prospects. We find similar results to Wu et al. (2005) that there is a significant correlation between incumbent shareholder concentration ratio and positive announcement returns. This is because the high concentrated owners may hurt the incentive alignment and not increase monitoring for SOEs firms. The evidence supports the argument proposed by Wu et al. (2005) that the close incentive alignment at a high level of ownership concentration creates a positive information effect from new equity issues.Using the probit estimations we investigated the determinant of choice of equity selling mechanisms in private and public placements. We found that at the higher magnitude of information asymmetry, Chinese firms tend to choose private placement, particularly the SOE firms. This finding provides support to the view that the private placement could mitigate the underinvestment problem and informational asymmetry. Furthermore, our findings support the control hypothesis. We find that the high controlling margin firms tend to choose private placement, given that the first ownership concentration ratio is statistically significant and positive and change in first ownership is statistically significant and negative.Our results for the change in operating performance (for the earlier and later year related to the announcement day) are poor for both flotation methods. More importantly, we find that the magnitude of decline in operating performance are mainly contributed by large size, thus smaller issuers suffer less form the deterioration in operating performance. Moreover, we argue that smaller size issuers reduce information asymmetry throughout equity offering and thus enhance firm's value.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Since the initiation of the share split reform by the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) in 2005, the private placement has become the major source of raising equity after IPO. The purpose of this paper is to investigate why listed firms in China prefer private placements compared to other options of raising capital.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The ordinary least squares regression, the piecewise regression and the cross-sectional regression analysis were undertaken to investigate the determinants and characteristics of the seasoned-equity offerings announcement effects. Probit regression analysis was taken to estimate the probability of a firm choosing private placements.\nFindings: - The authors find positive significant announcement abnormal returns for private placement. The findings also indicate that operating performance deteriorates immediately after announcement and poor operating performance is more likely to be contributed by large size portfolios, which suggests size effect.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper's evidence contributes to an understanding of the wider implication of the share split reform undertaken by the CSRC.\nPractical implications: - The paper provides insights for policy makers in China and around the world who have and wish to adopt similar practices within their jurisdictions. Similar research can be conducted in other emerging markets to enable better understanding and implications of seasoned equity offerings on firm financial performance.\nOriginality/value: - The paper is novel in regard to the data and the wider research paradigm used.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Bank concentration and SME financing availability: the impact of promotion of financial inclusion in China
|
[
"Bank concentration",
"Financial inclusion",
"SME financing availability",
"FinTech",
"China"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Financial inclusion (or inclusive finance) is the conceptual opposite of Financial Exclusion (Koku, 2015). Financial inclusion describes a social phenomenon whereby a group of vulnerable people, including individuals (e.g. farmers) and firms (e.g. small- and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs]), are at a disadvantage when seeking to access or utilise financial services and products provided by mainstream banks and financial institutions. In 2005, the United Nations (U.N.) proposed the establishment of a unified global system of financial inclusion to counter financial inequality. China responded quickly to the U.N. initiative and initiated banking sector reform, including reducing the banking market admittance threshold.As a result of financial inclusion promotion in China, many smaller and private financial institutions were able to gain access to the banking market, which had formerly been traditionally dominated by large state-owned banks, thus fundamentally changing the degree of bank concentration [1]. In the literature, there are two contradictory theories explaining the relationship between bank concentration and SME debt financing. On one hand, the Market Power Theory (Klein, 1971) asserts that the monopolistic power held by large banks in a concentrated bank market would reduce competition in the sector. Consequently, SMEs would be discriminated against when seeking access to bank loans because most of them are not publicly listed, lack collateral in the form of assets and generally do not have credit ratings (Berger and Udell, 1998, 2002; Han et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2018). On the other hand, Petersen and Rajan (1994, 1995) challenge the Market Power Theory by providing an alternative - the Information Theory. They argue that having market power enables banks to maintain stable relationships with clients without charging them higher loan interest rates because the long-term relationship helps reduce information asymmetry and operational costs. SMEs are therefore beneficial to bank concentration (Ryan et al., 2014).We argue that the preconditions for these two theories could be significantly changed when there are promotion and implementation of financial inclusion in the banking market. Therefore, the traditional views of Market Power and Information theories might invite novel or supplementary interpretations. For example, many newcomers to the lending market are diversified financial institutions and FinTech (financial technology) firms. They are smaller, less bureaucratic, flexible in providing new financial products and lending services, and particularly capable and robust in applying new lending technologies. Such features would make these lenders more likely to advance funds to SMEs. Thus, when they compete with large banks in the lending market, the structure of this market could be significantly altered by the innovative financial products and convenient lending services encouraged by the promotion of financial inclusion. Consequently, there is an urgent need for research evidence to facilitate scholarly debate and inspire theoretical contributions.Since 15 years have passed since the promotion of financial inclusion in China, it is opportune and interesting to determine how new bank concentration and SME financing availability have been influenced by financial inclusion. A lack of evidence in the existing literature suggests that such research is timely and relevant. This paper therefore aims to illuminate this issue and find answers to three research questions: (1) whether, and to what extent, new bank concentration has improved the availability of SME financing since the promotion of financial inclusion; (2) how, and to what extent, financial inclusion has helped SMEs to access finance products and services; and (3) what is the relationship between bank concentration and financial inclusion?This study collects data from 1,509 listed SMEs in 30 provinces of China from 2007 to 2017 and conducts rigorous analyses. Our findings confirm that, although there are imbalances in regions, new bank concentration in China has been dramatically improved in the sense of benefiting SME financing by means of financial inclusion promotion; that financial inclusion measured by the availability, usability and utility of financial services is also conducive to more than half of SMEs gaining access to banking services; and that financial inclusion becomes a vital substitute for bank concentration. We also find and report several other interesting findings, which have a number of meaningful policy implications for the Chinese government, as well as for similar transitional economies.The rest of the paper is structured as follows: Section 2 states the theoretical arguments on bank concentration and SME financing, and financial inclusion and SME financing to establish testable research hypotheses. Section 3 introduces data, variables and analytical models. Section 4 presents the firm-level and regional-level data analysis results. Section 5 concludes, highlights the contributions and policy implications and discusses limitations.\n2. Theoretical argument and hypothesis development: Two contradictory theories explain the relationship between bank market concentration and SME debt financing. Market Power Theory (Klein, 1971) suggests that when bank concentration occurs, bank market power increases and competition in the industry decreases because high concentration gives large banks monopolistic power in a region or country. Bank concentration reduces market efficiency, resulting in banks supplying fewer loans at higher interest rates to SMEs (Degryse and Ongena, 2005). Moreover, large banks are more likely to use income-gearing approaches when evaluating firms' loan repayment ability; however, most SMEs are in an inferior position due to lack of collateral assets and credit ratings (Berger and Udell, 1998, 2002; Wu et al., 2008). Furthermore, bank concentration restricts SME financing particularly severely in emerging countries, where the banking sector is dominated by large and state-owned banks that have bureaucratic structures and low operating efficiency (Beck et al., 2004, 2005a). In short, bank market concentration is not beneficial to SME financing.Petersen and Rajan (1994, 1995), however, propose a contrasting interpretation; namely, Information Theory. This argues that having market power secures banks a superposition that there is no need for banks to charge premium loan interest rates but to motivate them in developing a long-run relationship with SMEs to overcome information opacity and reduce lending risks. In other words, private information acquisition is more easily internalised by lenders in a concentrated market. Thus, market power will benefit both banks and SMEs if they establish a stable relationship to lower information asymmetry and agency costs (Ryan et al., 2014). To be specific, bank concentration can help minimise the problems of adverse selection, moral hazard and hold-up caused by information asymmetry between lenders (banks) and borrowers (SMEs) (Beck and Demirguc-Kunt, 2006, 2008; Beck et al., 2004; Binks et al., 2006). Therefore, bank market concentration is helpful for SME financing.The debate above emphasises that the relationship between bank concentration and SME debt finance is a multi-faceted issue which should not be viewed in isolation. From the arguments adduced, we understand the key focuses for Market Power Theory relate to the percentage of large banks in the banking market, their monopolistic power and diversity in the sector. Whereas, in respect of Information Theory, the critical issue is the reduction of operational costs through effective communication with clients to reduce information asymmetry. However, when other factors are considered, either Market Power or Information Theory might need to be changed. We argue that the promotion of financial inclusion in China is an important stimulant that is altering the structure and services in the banking sector, which can fundamentally influence the lending environment of SMEs. Therefore, the findings of Market Power Theory and Information Theory could be modified. We explain our argument from two perspectives: changes in the banking market structure and banking services as a result of financial inclusion promotion in China, and how these changes have impacted on SMEs' ability to access sources of finance. 2.1 Changes in the banking market structure since promoting financial inclusion in China and their impact on the availability of SME financing\n3. Data and model description: 3.1 Sample\n4. Results: 4.1 The impacts of bank concentration and financial inclusion on SME's debt financing\n5. Conclusion: The promotion of financial inclusion in China in the last 15 years involves many smaller and non-state-owned financial institutions entering the lending market and competing with large and state-owned banks. Thus, the traditional bank concentration, which is unfavourable for SMEs to secure access to bank loans, is expected to respond accordingly. To answer the three research questions: (1) whether and to what extent the new bank concentration has improved the difficulty of SME financing since promoting financial inclusion; (2) how and to what extent financial inclusion policy and approaches have helped SMEs in accessing finance products and services; and (3) what is the relationship between bank concentration and financial inclusion; this study collects data from 1,509 listed SMEs in 30 provinces of China spanning 2007 and 2017, conducts rigorous analyses and finds convincing answers.In respect of the first question, we find that new bank concentration has positively and significantly affected the sample SME debt finance in the environment of financial inclusion. There are around 70% of sample firms obtaining bank loans, indicating that the promotion of financial inclusion has dramatically improved SME credit availability from bank concentration in China; however, variations in different regions exist. With respect to the second question, the results suggest that financial inclusion has played positive and significant roles in enhancing SME debt financing (about 62% of sample firms benefit from financial inclusion despite discrepancies across regions). As regards the third question, the results from the interaction variable (CONCENTRATION x INCLUSION) reveal several interesting findings. For example, bank concentration is suitable for SME financing, particularly in regions with a lower degree of financial inclusion; the positive effects of financial inclusion on SME credit availabilities are strengthened in the regions with lower bank concentration. The results suggest that new bank concentration and financial inclusion in China are substitutes for each other to some extent. This finding is a strong indication of the remarkable progress that has been made in widening financial inclusion in China.Furthermore, this paper also explores other related issues and reports significant findings. We find state-owned, larger and long-established firms still benefit more from new bank concentration and financial inclusion compared to their private, smaller and more recently established counterparts. This finding perhaps indicates that, despite outstanding progress, financial inclusion is still a long way from satisfying the needs of vulnerable groups such as SMEs. We also find that the regional development level does not have a strong connection to SME financing, but that a regional credit level does. Specifically, bank concentration and financial inclusion influence SME financing by means of an improved regional credit environment.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining the impact of financial inclusion on the relationship between bank concentration and SME financing. Therefore, we are unable to compare our results with others. However, we can discuss our findings relating to the effect of bank concentration on firms' financing with that of relevant studies. For example, large-scale research conducted by Beck et al. (2004) in 74 countries reveals that bank concentration obstructs firms with different sizes in obtaining finance only in countries having low levels of economic and institutional development. The findings of Beck and Demirguc-Kunt (2006) from reviewing substantial empirical articles also confirm that the level of financial and institutional development is vital for SMEs' growth and access to external finance. The promotion of financial inclusion is an important component of financial and institutional setting, and therefore our results echo the findings of Beck et al. (2004) and Beck and Demirguc-Kunt (2006). We further provide robust evidence that a supportive institutional environment of financial inclusion for SME financing is through the increase of banking market competition, diversity of financial product providers and diversification of innovative and technological banking services. Another two profound studies are Love and Peria (2014) and Ryan et al. (2014), and both are large size of international surveys with multi-year data. Their findings support Market Power theory with the confirmation that a low competitive banking market constrains the accessibility of SME debt financing and requires a more diversified banking structure to reduce the dependency of large banks. Our results are consistent with theirs in principle, but furthermore indicates that financial inclusion is one of the available and effective strategies to increase bank competitions and decrease SMEs' dependency on large banks. However, our research evidence limits in one country (China). A US data analysis (Han et al., 2017) suggests that both Market Power and Information theories are relevant in the explanation of the relationship between bank concentration and SME financing. In a concentrated banking market, SMEs are restricted in obtaining bank loans; however, they can still gain from a long-run relationship with banks. Compared to Han et al. (2017), our study takes a novel perspective (financial inclusion) and adds new explanations to the two theories. We will explain this point as our theoretical contributions below.This paper makes theoretical and empirical contributions to this under-researched area. We have added new explanations to the Market Power and Information Theories. We argue that when the banking market structure changed, with many more financial institutions engaging in competition because of the promotion of financial inclusion, large banks were compelled to enter the race. Their advantages in finance and human resources, operational and management systems and risk control can make positive and significant contributions to SME financing. In short, a dynamic and diversified bank concentration with the healthy competition will benefit SME debt financing. Concerning the Information Theory, we argue that rapid development of new technologies and their applications in the banking sector, e.g. online banking, mobile payment (Oni et al., 2016; Bradley and Loane, 2017), have significantly increased the availability of different types of financial products and decreased the running costs of the industry. The participation of banks, other financial institutions and FinTech firms improves the provision of finance to financially vulnerable firms such as SMEs. We argue that the promotion of financial inclusion is a powerful external stimulant for revolutionising banking structure and services and supporting SME financing. Empirically, our study has provided convincing evidence endorsing our arguments. The results also reveal other meaningful findings, as discussed earlier.Our research findings have three policy implications. First, the remarkable achievement from the financial inclusion promotion has been confirmed. The Chinese government should thus continue its strategies and approaches for the encouragement of diversity and competition in banking market and lending services. Second, as we observed, since small and private firms still face difficulties in gaining access to loans in comparison to large firms, arguably the government should consider strengthening their policies to support these vulnerable firms and narrow the gap. Third, from the evidence of regional imbalance in the development of financial inclusion, the government needs to conduct more policy research to inform the development of differential regional policies and approaches. Additionally, the findings of our study have relevance to other transitional economies whose banking markets were dominated by state-owned banks in the past and are currently in the implementation phase of financial inclusion; for example, some former communist countries in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos, etc.) and Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, etc.).We also acknowledge some limitations associated with the study. The primary consideration relates to how closely our sample is representative of the underlying population. Our focus is SMEs' access to finance. Thus, ideally, the sample should represent the general population of SMEs rather than listed firms, which are at the upper end of the population. However, data accessibility and availability limit our choice. Therefore, caution should be exercised when applying the results to the entire population of SMEs. Moreover, the future research trajectory should take into account the development of FinTech companies and digital finance technologies and their influence on financial inclusion, because they are developing rapidly and are likely to have a significant impact on banking market structure and lending technologies in the future.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The promotion of financial inclusion can disturb the composition of traditional bank concentration and change the relationship between bank concentration and the availability of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing. This paper concentrates on a less frequently explored area of research by examining the relationships between bank concentration, financial inclusion and SME financing availability respectively, and the interaction between bank concentration and financial inclusion after the implementation of a financial inclusion strategy in China.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using firm-level data from 1,509 listed SMEs in China from 2007 to 2017 and applying rigorous analyses, we identify how bank concentration affects SME financing availability under the promotion of financial inclusion and also the mechanisms involved.\nFindings: We find that bank concentration and financial inclusion respectively have positive impacts on the credit available to listed SMEs, indicating that the promotion of financial inclusion in China has reached a new high watermark. The positive impact of bank concentration is reduced when the level of financial inclusion is high. Conversely, a higher level of financial inclusion favours SME credit availability at only a low degree of bank concentration. Our findings suggest that financial inclusion has a substitution effect on bank concentration and has enabled us to add new interpretations to relevant theories; namely, the Market Power and Information Theories respectively.\nOriginality/value: This study provides new insights into the relationship between bank concentration and SME finance availability under the promotion of financial inclusion.\n",
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] |
Qualifications: a fast-track to hotel general manager?
|
[
"Hospitality services",
"Hotel and catering industry",
"Career development",
"Qualifications",
"Scotland"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Although there is a wealth of research that has explored the career development of managers in the hospitality industry (Arnaldo, 1981; Guerrier, 1987; Guerrier and Lockwood, 1990; Ladkin, and Riley, 1996; Ladkin, 2000) few studies have explored career development related specifically to variables such as educational background and the relative significance, if any, of formal qualifications.The last 30 years or so have revealed considerable developments in the UK higher education system. The most significant has perhaps been the aspiration by successive governments to create a system of mass higher education. The 1960s saw hospitality education progress to degree level with courses first offered at the University of Surrey, followed by the University of Strathclyde.Today, numerous universities and colleges offer programmes leading to qualifications in the management of hospitality (www.chme.co.uk). As such, an increasing number of university graduates with specialist qualifications are seeking employment in an environment where they can make use of their newly developed business skills. As a consequence, they increasingly demand entry higher up the hotel management career ladder and are set to challenge the traditional \"Bureaucratic Model\" of career development within the hospitality industry.The aim of this research paper is to compare the opinions, performance and career paths of qualified and unqualified general managers and to examine the role of formal qualifications in the career development of contemporary hotel general managers in Scotland. The paper considers \"Career Development\" theory within the hospitality industry and examines the current debate regarding a \"Traditional\" versus \"Modern\" approach.Career development\nMethodology: Due to the wide geographical distribution of the sample population throughout Scotland and the limited time available to conduct an appropriate number of personal interviews; a postal questionnaire was selected as the most suitable method of primary research. The questionnaire was designed for hotel general managers in accordance with secondary research findings.The first draft questionnaire was piloted to five hotel general managers (not included in the main sample) and minor adjustments made to the questions and layout as necessary. The questionnaire was then mailed to the general managers of all hotels in Scotland with 50 bedrooms or more, as taken from the Scottish Tourist Board: \"The Official Where To Stay Guide 2001\" (Scottish Tourist Board, 2001). This provided a total sample size of 96 hotels and although an exact figure for all hotels with more than 50 bedrooms in Scotland could not be found, was considered to be satisfactorily representative of the total population. A personalised covering letter and pre-paid reply envelope were included to encourage respondents.The decision to exclude the smaller hotels (i.e. those with less than 50 bedrooms) was made based on a previous study carried out by Ladkin and Riley (1996), which revealed that many of the managers of these smaller hotels owned the property and had either worked there for their entire life or had come from outside the industry. As the aim of the study was to examine the role of formal qualifications in the \"career development\" of contemporary hotel general managers, it was important to target those who had experienced a degree of mobility in their careers, something which managers of the smaller bed and breakfast hotels in general had not.\nResults: Of the 96 questionnaires distributed 54 were returned, representing a 56 per cent response rate. This can be considered representative given the busy work routine of potential respondents and the mail-based methodology for which a response rate of 30 per cent is acceptable (Owen and Jones, 1990, in Saunders et al., 1997).There were some limitations in the primary research method adopted: notably non-respondents and bias.Moser and Kaltan (1971) suggest:Non response is a problem because of the likelihood - repeatedly confirmed in practice, that people who do not return questionnaires differ from those who do! (Moser and Kaltan, 1971).and as a consequence may not be truly representative of the total sample population.Data reliability can also be affected by \"bias\", as respondents may \"answer to please\" or because they believe certain responses are more socially desirable. In 1978, Dillman argued that this is relatively unlikely to occur in self-administered questionnaires particularly where anonymity is maintained:They may however discuss their answers with others, thereby contaminating their response (Dillman, 1978, in Saunders et al., 1997).The questionnaire was coded and analysed using SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.The sample revealed the following characteristics: 50 per cent were between the ages of 35-44, there was almost a 3:1 ratio of men to women and 65 per cent of the population were married. The mean duration spent in the hospitality industry was 18 years and four months and the average age of becoming a hotel general manager was 29. A total of 76 per cent of the sample had a formal qualification at \"higher education\" level or above, with 38.9 per cent holding a HND. Although poorly answered, of the 49 per cent of the sample who did identify their course specialisation: 66 per cent had a hospitality specific qualification.A total of 75 per cent of managers with a formal qualification had gained practical experience in the hospitality industry through a \"work placement\" period. This was regarded almost without exception as invaluable for developing \"floor skills\" and \"practical experience\". Those who did rate their experience \"low\" identified the cause as: \"poor organisation\" and/or an \"unstructured set-up\".Managers without a formal qualification, on average reached their first position as hotel general manager at the age of 28 years and one month, marginally sooner than their qualified counterparts, who were 29 years and four months. Excluding time spent at college/university the qualified manager took a mean nine years and two months to reach a general management position, with the actual times ranging from five to 18 years. The unqualified manager by comparison took an average 11 years and ten months to reach the same position with the actual times taken ranging from seven to 21 years.Table I illustrates the \"job role\" occupied by each of the respondents (and percentage who held that role) in each of their previous four positions of employment and identifies the most significant positions in the career paths of hotel general managers. A considerable proportion of the respondents had held a position as \"Deputy\"/\"Assistant\" and/or \"Resident\" manager prior to becoming a general manager. The results also highlighted the importance of food and beverage/restaurant/bars and or catering management roles in career paths.Mobility was relatively high overall with a mean five career moves in 14 years and three months, this equates to a move every two years and eight months. The range was from three months to 15 years.The majority of those questioned \"agreed\" (61.1 per cent) that \"formal qualifications\" were \"an integral part of a managers\" career development within the hospitality industry\". Of the total sample, 25.9 per cent \"disagreed\" and just 7.4 per cent \"strongly disagreed\" with this statement. Those aged under 34 years in particular were most supportive, with 72.2 per cent of this age group \"agreeing\", compared to just 55.6 per cent of those aged over 35 years.A considerable percentage of the sample: 83.4 per cent \"agreed\" that \"Today's role of a hotel general manager encouraged a greater business than operational perspective and consequently demanded a higher level of technical and business skills\". A marginal 11.2 per cent \"disagreed\" with this statement. This opinion was consistent between all age groups.To the statement \"Formal vocational qualifications are encouraging more of a \"fast-track\" progression to the role of hotel general manager, with fewer managers working their way up within the industry\": 64 per cent of the sample \"agreed\" and just 29.6 per cent \"disagreed\". Those aged over 35 particularly supported this statement.It is interesting to note how opinion towards these three differed between those respondents who had a formal qualification and those who did not.Of the personal transferable skills: communication, time management, decision making and leadership qualities, formal qualifications were considered most beneficial in developing \"Time Management\" skills (64.8 per cent - considered \"beneficial\" or \"very beneficial\"), followed by \"Decision Making\" (61.1 per cent) and \"Communication\" (57.4 per cent). Just 44.5 per cent considered formal qualifications \"beneficial\" in the development of \"Leadership Qualities\".By contrast, formal qualifications were considered far more beneficial in developing functional managerial skills. A significant proportion of the sample (88.9 per cent) considered formal qualifications to be particularly \"beneficial\" in developing financial management skills. Strategic planning was also highly rated at 87 per cent, while sales and marketing and human resource management received 81.5 per cent and 81.4 per cent respectively.Both groups held similar views on the significance of qualifications in developing personal transferable and functional managerial skills.The implications of proportionally fewer unqualified managers within the sample were taken into consideration when comparing trends between qualified and unqualified managers. However, there was a strong consistency in many of the findings, despite the relatively small sample size.\nDiscussion of results: Support for formal qualifications\nConclusions and recommendations: Formal qualifications do appear to play an important role in the career development of contemporary hotel general managers in Scotland. Over three-quarters of the sample population (76 per cent) were qualified and the consensus was that formal qualifications were an integral aspect of a hotel manager's career development. It is proposed that formal qualifications do facilitate career moves between companies and allow qualified managers to \"fast-track\" to general management positions. It appears that those who were formally qualified achieved general management status two years and eight months earlier than their unqualified counterparts.The consensus from the research was that developments within the industry were encouraging an increasingly business perspective in the role of today's hotel general manager. Formal qualifications were perceived as a highly beneficial method of developing those functional managerial skills required, particularly in areas such as sales and marketing and strategic management.By comparison practical work experience, both within the course curriculum and the vocational role, was considered a more appropriate method of enhancing personal and traditional operational skills. Results highlighted that gaining experience particularly within food and beverage roles and at deputy/assistant general manager level were particularly beneficial.Experience within food and beverage operations does seemingly challenge the trend within universities to reduce these traditional skills within the course curriculum, in favour of more business-orientated subjects. However, it must be taken into account that this study was designed to examine the career development of current hotel general managers, some entered the industry 20-30 years ago.At this present time of change within the industry, the existing move towards a more business perspective in the role of hotel general manager may in fact be influencing the development of managers' mid-career. The actual importance today of food and beverage positions may be far less than it has been during the career development of those managers within the sample. If this proves to be the case there may be a developing trend of managers entering from outside the industry, directly to general management positions. This poses implications for the seemingly \"established\" career path of hotel general manager through food and beverage functions and deputy/assistant managerial positions.This study only briefly considered the benefits of qualifications in developing a small random sample of skills required in today's role of hotel general manager. The conclusions may present implications for educationalists trying to meet the needs of the industry in developing effective managers and for individuals in the development of their careers.Although it is apparent that individuals can successfully achieve general manager positions without formal qualifications, results indicate that formal qualifications are now the starting point for many managers within the hospitality industry. They facilitate career moves between companies and allow qualified managers to progress more rapidly up the career ladder. However, the perceived lack of effectiveness of formal qualifications in developing personal skills must not be ignored.As the industry demands more operationally skilled yet business orientated managers an appropriate balance must be established in the effective development of future managers for the benefit of the industry. While universities move towards more business orientated subjects the benefits of a structured work placement period within the curriculum should be reinforced. Emphasis must be placed on hospitality course curricula that develop the functional managerial skills required by today's hotel general managers while complimented by the development of operational and personal skills through practical work experience.The overall recognition and perceived benefits of formal qualifications by both qualified and unqualified managers highlight a positive change in attitude towards the acceptance of qualifications within the hospitality industry. As recruiters and employers it is suggested that the positive attitudes of current managers will considerably benefit formally qualified future graduates, who will be increasingly accepted at higher levels of entry onto the management career ladder. As a result, provided educators place an emphasis on hospitality course curricula that develop an appropriate balance of functional managerial, operational and personal skills, formal qualifications will develop an increasingly significant role in the career development of prospective hotel general managers in Scotland.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - To examine the role of formal qualifications in the career development of contemporary hotel general managers in Scotland.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A questionnaire was used which provided a sound basis for comparing the opinions, performance and career paths of both formally qualified and unqualified general managers.\nFindings: - Key findings identified that formal qualifications were an integral part of career development. They facilitated career moves between companies and allowed prospective managers to \"fast-track\" to general management status. Formal qualifications were considered particularly beneficial in developing those functional managerial skills required to succeed.\nPractical implications: - At this present time of change within the industry, the existing move towards a more business perspective in the role of hotel general manager may in fact be influencing the development of managers' mid-career. The actual importance today of food and beverage positions may be far less than it has been during the career development of those managers within the sample. If this proves to be the case, there may be a developing trend of managers entering from outside the industry, directly to general management positions. This poses implications for the seemingly \"established\" career path of hotel general manager through food and beverage functions and deputy/assistant managerial positions.\nOriginality/value: - The conclusions may also present implications for educationists trying to meet the needs of the industry in developing effective managers and for individuals in the development of their careers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Beyond the Red Queen syndrome: CRM technology and building material suppliers
|
[
"Information systems",
"Information strategy",
"Communication technologies",
"Contruction industry"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Construction organisations have embarked on the implementation of enterprise systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) (Chia and Ling, 2003; Barthorpe et al., 2003; Tatari et al., 2007). Such systems use information technology (IT) based applications to support and integrate various business functions so to achieve standardisation, synchronisation, coordination, improved information management and customer responsiveness (Tatari et al., 2007). To obtain the benefits of investing in such IT applications there is a need for construction organisations to better understand and be aware of the bottom-line financial returns of business automation initiatives (Love and Irani, 2004). Moreover, having knowledge about customers and understanding their requirements is deemed critical for the long-term business success of most organisations (Nargundkar and Srivastava, 2002). Yet only a small percentage of businesses have any form of basic information about their customers (McKeen and Smith, 2003; Kale, 2004). In recognising the need to be more customer-centric many businesses have adopted CRM applications to gather, organise, understand, anticipate and respond to the constant evolution of customers' requirements and demands (Reinartz and Chugh, 2002). Effective CRM is assumed to lead to bottom-line benefits for the organisation (Tschohl, 2001; Payne and Frow, 2005). Advances in IT have provided an effective platform to deliver CRM functions.Despite widespread agreement that CRM can have a direct and indirect impact on customer satisfaction, loyalty, sales and profit, the significance of CRM and the factors that lead to its successful implementation is an area of widespread debate (Rigby et al., 2002; Feinberg et al., 2002; Romano and Fjermestad, 2003; IBM Business Consulting Services, 2004; Hendricks et al., 2007). A study by Gartner Dataquest released in 2002 showed that CRM sales were $US22 billion in 2001, a 10.6 percent increase in revenue of $19.9 billion in 2000 (Eisenfeld and Denashish, 2002). This report also forecasted sales growth to continue and reach over $47 billion in 2008. The release of Microsoft's CRM application in 2004 also substantially increased the demand for CRM applications in the small and medium-sized business sectors, despite the widespread disenchantment that had been experienced with such applications (Thompson and Outlaw, 2003).Many businesses operating in the construction and engineering sector have been trying to respond to the demands being imposed on them through utilising IT applications such as CRM and ERP, but immediate benefits and improvements in business performance have not been forthcoming (Love and Irani, 2004; Hendricks et al., 2007). In this instance, an analogy from Alice in Wonderland where the Red Queen comments while peering through the looking glass \"It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place\", can be made with reference to technology implementation and the pace with which technology becomes obsolete (Kaufman, 1995). Essentially, investments in IT yield a negligible competitive advantage despite continual investment. A reason for why enterprise applications such as CRM traditionally fail to deliver benefits is because organisations concentrate on the customer contact processes without corresponding changes to internal structures and systems (Irani and Love, 2008). Previously, the motivation for organisations to implement CRM was to address their problems and not to offer improved value to customers. With this in mind, the research presented in this paper aims to provide material suppliers operating within the construction industry with the underlying knowledge to overcome the \"Red Queen\" syndrome often associated with enterprise applications such as CRM and ameliorate their chances of obtaining improvements in business performance.\nCustomer relationship management: Customer relationship management is a broad term that has evolved from systems such as marketing information systems, database marketing, decision support systems, call centre management and transaction support systems and can cover a wide array of technologies and business processes (Woodcock and Starky, 2001; Kotorov, 2002). Software vendors use the term to refer to any system that facilitates \"better\" relationships with its customers. This can be at a number of levels, ranging from facilitated transactions, higher retention rates, better marketing and lower transaction and service costs.Customer relationship management is a term for methodologies, processes, systems and software that help a business to manage customer relationships in an organised and effective manner (Bernett and Kuhn, 2002). According to Nargundkar and Srivastava (2002), CRM is essentially a business strategy that creates value and profitability through a systematic approach to efficiently acquire, collaboratively manage and effectively retain the \"right\" customers. It has also been defined as \"any application or initiative designed to help an organisation optimise interactions with customers, suppliers, or prospects via one or more touch points - such as a call centre, sales person, distributor, store, branch office, web, or e-mail - for the purpose of acquiring, retaining, or cross-selling customers\" (Goodhue et al., 2002, p. 81). It is emerging as an important technology tool that is used by many businesses as a way to maximise existing business models, create new revenue streams and increase new growth in existing markets (EPS, 2001). This process can span end-to-end operations thus integrating all relationships from suppliers to the consumers and each business entity in this value chain can be viewed as the preceding business's customer, transforming the value chain into a chain of customers (Nargundkar and Srivastava, 2002).Factors contributing to CRM success\nResearch approach: Since a validated survey instrument that encompasses the critical success factors of CRM technological initiatives did not exist, one was created to satisfy the requirements of the research. The operational and strategic perceived benefits constructs of the CRM impact research model were adapted from Iacovou et al.'s (1995) electronic data interchange (EDI) adoption and impact model, where both constructs were made up of five items rated on a Likert scale varying from 1 (highly disagree) to 5 (highly agree). The top management support construct was derived from Rai and Bajwa's (1997) executive information systems adoption model and was formulated in four measurement items rated on a Likert scale varying from 1 (highly disagree) to 5 (highly agree). The technological readiness adoption construct was also adopted from Iacovou et al.'s (1995) model. The six items were reworded and rated on a Likert scale varying from 1 (highly disagree) to 5 (highly agree). The research model is also enriched with the knowledge management capabilities construct developed from an adapted version of the Balanced Scored devised by Kaplan and Norton (1992) and complemented with the Alavi and Norton knowledge management capabilities framework. The six items were rated on a Likert scale varying from 1 (highly disagree) to 5 (highly agree), with a not applicable option.The CRM impact construct, operationalised in ten items, is based on Jutla et al.'s (2001) original customer metrics framework. These measurement items have been specifically identified as metrics that can be used to measure, monitor, and infuse feedback to assess the performance of CRM technological initiatives. The items were found to be highly consistent with items from Iacovou et al.'s (1995) technology adoption and impact framework. As indicated previously, the CRM impact construct is a second-order factor made of the two-sub constructs that look into the internal and external actual benefits of CRM technological initiatives. The internal focus was made of six items and the external one of four items, all rated on a Likert scale varying from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high), with a not applicable option.Questionnaire survey\nResearch findings: Assessment of measurement model\nDiscussion: The research findings revealed that the material suppliers sampled were small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are typically defined as employing less than 250 people (Fink, 1998). This is not surprising considering that in Australia, there are approximately 158,000 firms in the construction industry and the overwhelming majority are micro-businesses, employing an average of 2.3 people (Department of Industry, Science and Resources, 1999). Moreover, 94 per cent of businesses in this sector employ fewer than five people and only 800 firms - or less than 1 per cent - employ more than 20 people. Less than 5 per cent of firms account for 90 per cent of the industry's total output and it provides employment for 9 per cent of the total workforce (Department of Industry, Science and Resources, 1999). The widespread adoption of CRM packaged solutions by the material suppliers sampled demonstrates recognition for the need to become customer-centric and have knowledge about customers and their requirements.CRM critical success factors\nResearch limitations: Some limitations of the research need to be acknowledged. While an attempt to reduce variability and bias errors was used by employing a random sample, the nature and sector of the construction industry resulted in only SMEs being sampled. The inconsistent definitions of what constitutes an SME between studies make research findings difficult to compare and generalise (Fink, 1998; Love and Irani, 2004). While there has been a plethora of research undertaken on technology adoption and diffusion in SMEs, there has been limited research undertaken in the area of CRM and the identification of critical success factors, specifically in the construction industry.The concern for generalisation is also brought about by the relatively small sample size and its parochial nature. However, the 72 valid responses obtained in this study is comparable with sample sizes of 50 (Doukidis et al., 1994), 68 (Chau, 1994), 87 (Fink, 1998), and 96 (Yap et al., 1992) reported in previous studies. The choice of variables selected for the study can be considered to be problematic as only 45 per cent of the variance of CRM impact is determined. The reason for this is that they may not capture the complex nature associated with implementing an enterprise system in a dynamic supply chain environment such as construction and engineering. Building material suppliers are subjected to a push-based supply chain, as result products are pushed through a channel, from the production side up to the material supplier. The manufacturer sets production at a level in accord with historical ordering patterns from material suppliers. It takes longer for a push-based supply chain to respond to changes in demand, which can result in overstocking or bottlenecks and delays (the bullwhip effect), unacceptable service levels and product obsolescence. Thus, it is suggested that this could be one major factor not accounted for in this research that influences the CRM impact.Finally, the study took place at a particular point in time. Further research could be conducted to capture opinions of the benefits, costs and risks at various phases of a CRM project's life cycle and thus assist construction organisations to better understand the business value of CRM applications. Alternatively, since CRM initiatives are long-term business strategies, a study could be replicated in a few years' time to examine how the critical success factors have changed and are being managed in light of new emerging technologies.\nConclusions: Material suppliers need to develop a strategy for their implementation of CRM in order to reap its associated rewards. Part of this strategy should be determining the factors that will influence its successful implementation and then developing a plan to address these issues. In this paper an attempt has been made to determine the critical success factors for CRM implementation using a proven technology adoption and impact framework. The analysis revealed that CRM technological initiatives are successful when adequate top management support and accurate knowledge management capabilities, supported by a suitable technology infrastructure (measured by technological readiness), are in place. The results presented in this paper provide valuable insights into the critical success factors of CRM technological initiatives of Western Australian material suppliers. Material suppliers, as well as other organisations operating in the construction and engineering sector, that are considering the implementation of a CRM strategy can utilise these results to become better acquainted with CRM applications. More research is needed, however, to examine how the supply chain of material suppliers, particularly their customers, can influence the benefits that can be attained from CRM technology.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Many businesses operating in the construction and engineering sector have been trying to respond to the demands being imposed on them by utilising information technology applications such as CRM and ERP, but immediate benefits and improvements in business performance have not been forthcoming. This paper aims to provide building material suppliers with the underlying knowledge to improve their business performance and customer relationships.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A structural model that examines the following critical success factors of implementing CRM was constructed: operational and strategic benefits, knowledge top management support, technological readiness, and management capabilities. The model was tested using a questionnaire survey and randomly distributed to 150 building material suppliers.\nFindings: - A sample 72 building material suppliers was obtained. Using the evaluation technique of partial least squares the analysis fundamentally revealed that CRM technological initiatives are successful when adequate top management support and accurate knowledge management capabilities, supported by a suitable IT structure, (measured by technological readiness) are in place. Material suppliers, as well as other organisations operating in the construction and engineering sector, considering the implementation of a CRM strategy can utilise these results to become better acquainted with CRM applications.\nPractical implications: - To reap the rewards of CRM technological initiatives material suppliers need to develop a strategy for its implementation. Part of this strategy should be determining the factors that will influence its successful implementation and then develop a plan to address these issues. The results provide valuable insights into the critical success factors of CRM technological initiatives.\nOriginality/value: - The paper shows that managers should develop strategies based upon critical success factors to maximise the benefits of their CRM application.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Inter-firm job mobility and occupational transitions in Spain: are they related?
|
[
"Labour market",
"Labour mobility",
"Labour market flexibility",
"Human capital",
"Panel data"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Labour mobility has been a central topic in economics literature in recent years, with its role as a mechanism for improving the allocative efficiency of workers, in particular, attracting much interest from researchers. The continued internationalisation of economies and the emergence of the so-called \"knowledge economy\" also have boosted the importance of job mobility due to the increased need for a workforce with renewed human capital, which in turn has enabled labour to adapt to recent technological changes and to fluctuations in the demands for particular goods and services[1] (Muffels and Luijkx, 2008). Seen from the vantage point of the match between employee and employer, changes affecting worker productivity have led to alterations in the initial conditions of employment. As a result, employees now must decide whether to stay in their present job or to pursue a change in their occupational status at different stages of their labour relationships (see, e.g. Jovanovic, 1979; Sicherman and Galor, 1990). In addition, the emergence of new social patterns and the need to balance family life and work life signal a new phase for the labour market, one in which job mobility and the development of new work patterns are relevant efforts to improve and increase social and economic welfare.\nModel and econometric specification: This section details how we arrived at the present model and the econometric specifications that allow for an analysis of the determining factors of occupational transitions. The econometric model is estimated separately for workers that have remained at the same firm and for workers who have changed firms; for the latter group, a dummy variable indicating whether the individual quit or was laid off is included as a regressor. Doing so allows us to test the influence of the type of inter-firm mobility on occupational mobility.\nData: The data set analysed in this paper is drawn from the LCS, and has been provided by the INE. This survey replaced the European Community Household Panel Data for Spain (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, 1994-2001), and is part of the European SILC data set, which covers the EU-27. The LCS collected information on both cross-sectional and longitudinal dimensions; this study uses the longitudinal component, which followed individuals over a period of consecutive years. Specifically, the structure of the longitudinal data provided in the LCS corresponds to that of a rotating panel. Each year's sample in the panel is composed of four subpanels, and the maximum duration of each subpanel is four years. As such, in each year one subsample is rotated out, to be replaced by another. The period under analysis is the years 2005-2010, and the sample was created using the longitudinal files for the subpanels that correspond to the periods 2005-2008, 2006-2009 and 2007-2010. These files are pooled, and individuals for whom there is data for the same year in more than one file are taken into account only once - that is, redundant observations are dropped.\nResults: This section presents and discusses the results of our estimating of the multinomial logit model with random effects, which accounted for any unobserved heterogeneity. The odds ratios of this model appear in Table VIII.\nConclusions: This paper has attempted to empirically assess the flexibility of the Spanish labour market. In particular, the interrelationships between inter-firm mobility and occupational mobility were analysed, after we controlled for unobserved individual heterogeneity and other factors that affect workers' career advancement. The study uses data provided by the LCS (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, 2005-2009) and applies econometric methods in its handling of panel data.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to shed knowledge about the relationship between the inter-firm job mobility and the occupational transitions in Spain during the last years. In particular, it is tested whether if the type of job-to-job mobility (voluntary or involuntary) has some influence on the workers careers. The empirical analysis is based on panel data provided by the Living Condition Survey, which is conducted by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). The period analysed covers the years between 2005 and 2010 (both inclusive), what allows observing the labour mobility patterns in the recent Spanish economic crisis.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The econometric specification used to analyse occupational mobility corresponds to a random effect panel multinomial logit model. The econometric model is estimated separately for workers that have remained at the same firm and for workers who have changed firms; for the latter group, a dummy variable indicating whether the individual quit or was laid off is included as a regressor.\nFindings: The results derived from the estimates of the econometric specifications show that individuals who voluntarily leave a firm find the decision has a positive effect on their careers, as their probability of upward occupational mobility is more than 90 per cent higher than for individuals who leave their previous position as a result of having been laid off.\nSocial implications: This result is an argument in favour of adopting active labour market policies that help improve information flows in the labour market and allow workers a better understanding of potential job offers from outside firms.\nOriginality/value: This paper analyses the relationship between inter-firm mobility and occupational transitions that has not yet addressed in the economic literature for Spain.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Good governance and confidentiality: a matter of the preservation of the public sphere
|
[
"Good governance",
"Confidentiality",
"Transparency",
"Privacy",
"Social media",
"Populism",
"Public sphere."
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Intrusions into the privacy of celebrities or public figures and resulting violations of their anonymity are a well-known and widespread problem. The problem exists for a long time, may take different forms and generally evolves with changes in society. This also means that from time-to-time, the levels of protection of the rights of a person, whether public or private, need to be reevaluated (Warren and Brandeis, 1890). Among the factors of change are those caused by technological advances, which means that the problem often evolves in parallel with the development of the media. This can be seen from the rise of the \"paparazzi\" in combination with the innovations in the field of photography (Nordhaus, 1999). In the recent past, the problem has certainly attained a new degree of intensity due to the transformation of media in the digital age[1]. Recent examples, such as the almost instant and global publication of explicit pictures taken of Prince Harry in Las Vegas and intimate pictures of Prince William and his spouse in France testify to this claim.\nGovernance and good governance: The concept of governance is not synonymous with the one of government (Graham et al., 2003). Yet, there exist a plethora of attempts to define \"governance\". It is only safe to state that etymologically \"governance\" derives from a Greek verb (kubernao) and means \"to steer\" (Groves, 1844). Accordingly, governance mechanisms provide steering for a country, organization or institution. Otherwise, governance may refer to decisions that define expectations, grant power and verify performance. A definition provided and used by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is that it refers to the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented) (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP). Governance determines who has power, who makes decisions, how other players make their voice heard and how account is rendered (Institute on Governance). Or else, good governance is related to the concept of checks-and-balances. Good governance refers to governing according to certain values and principles. In general, governance must cover three areas: the public domain, the market domain and the domain between the two, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Corporate governance refers to governance of the domain where profit organizations function or the market. Public governance refers to the government domain, whereas private entities, such as NGOs may have their own form of governance. In summary, the concept of governance has been aptly described as a \"mystery\" because there is \"little we actually know about how we are governed\" and \"so much about global society itself eludes our grasp\" (Kennedy, 2008). This is largely due to the fact that governance is a concept in the making. What appears in our grasp already is that governance in the decades ahead means \"to discern powerful tensions, profound contradictions, and perplexing paradoxes\" (Rosenau, 1995). Those tensions between transparency and confidentiality are certainly among them.\nPublic sphere and governance: The public sphere is essential to good governance. The public sphere, as defined by German sociologist and philosopher Jurgen Habermas, is an area in social life where people can get together and freely identify and discuss societal problems and through that discussion influence political action (Habermas, 1991). Some people relate the public sphere to the Greek agora (The World Bank). Others point to the forming of public opinion. The public sphere is a discursive space in which individuals and groups congregate to discuss matters of mutual interest and, where possible, to reach a common judgment. The public sphere can be seen as a theater in modern societies in which political participation is acted out through the medium of talk and an area of social life in which public opinion can be formed.\nTransparency and confidentiality: Transparency was named as a value. As such it becomes translated into a set of norms, policies, practices and procedures that allow citizens to have access to information held by centers of authority (society or organizations) and enables them to have confidence that such information can be audited by the appropriate agencies that operate on their behalf. Again a definition of transparency provided by ESCAP is as follows:\nThe public sphere under pressure: Much of the debate over the public sphere relates to the basic theoretical structure of the public sphere, including such aspects as how information is debated in the public sphere and what influence the public sphere has over society as a whole. The next quote reflects this ongoing debate.\nConcluding remarks: To date, there have been too few studies of confidentiality and privacy on relationship with good governance. Much attention is given to transparency and accountability. There is no clear explanation for this (Bennett, 2001). To the initial question, whether there can be good governance without confidentiality and privacy, a preliminary answer is hard to find. This is due to the fact that actors will try to withdraw from the public sphere and the sphere of public authority will try to dominate the public sphere. To preserve the public sphere, privacy should be protected and the need for transparency should be regulated. As it was argued in this article, in today's public sphere, the boundary between the public and the private sphere has become vague and blurred. More legislation and social dialog is required to ensure privacy and fair information practices. The primary function of legislation is to set borders and norms, not primarily to prevent violations. By opening public debate, legislation makes it possible to address violations and to have a constructive dialog about them. In this way, legislation fosters self regulation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the concepts confidentiality and transparency in the context of good governance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: After exploring the concepts of confidentiality, good governance and other relevant concepts, they are related to each other.\nFindings: When it comes to good governance, transparency is overrated and confidentiality is taken for granted. For good governance, there must be a balance between the two to preserve the public sphere.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to the understanding of good governance and the evolution of the public sphere.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Value co-creation in firm sponsored online communities: What enables, constrains, and shapes value
|
[
"Online community",
"Literature review",
"Value co-creation",
"Online co-creation community"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, co-creation online communities have gained a reputation in involving enthusiastic consumers in a company's development processes through networked interactions between the firm and the consumers. These interactions unfold as a co-creation process, a cooperative phenomenon that reflects a shift in thinking from the firm as a definer of value to more participative customers (Frasquet-Deltoro et al., 2019; Ind and Coates, 2013). A well-managed co-creation process has clear benefits for the organisation; it can lead to successful innovations, new business opportunities, cost reduction and an expanded customer base (Fisher, 2019; Ind et al., 2013; Park et al., 2019). Thus, various firms have begun to incorporate individuals from outside their organisation in their value creation process through firm sponsored online communities. Successful examples of firm sponsored online communities can be found in various sectors such as Aston Martin Community in the automotive sector (Essamri et al., 2019), SAP in computers (Tavakoli et al., 2017), Huafen club for Huawei mobile phones (Zhao et al., 2019), and Starbucks in the cafe and restaurant industry (Wong et al., 2016). This has motivated a growing research interest in understanding value co-creation in firm sponsored online communities (Frasquet-Deltoro et al., 2019).\n2. Actors in online co-creation ecosystem: 2.1 Theoretical background\n3. Research method: Our approach for conducting this systematic literature review has been inspired by Brereton et al. (2007) and Kitchenham (2007), and our analysis of the selected studies has been guided by Durach et al. (2017). Our review includes three primary stages: initiation and selection, analysis and coding procedure, and findings (Figure 1).\n4. Findings: 4.1 Primary study map\n5. Discussion: Engaging with online communities has become increasingly important for companies, as these communities can contribute to the companies' digital and open innovation initiatives through strengthening the relationship between the firm and their consumer for product and service development (Nakatsu et al., 2014; Zhao and Zhu, 2014). The transition from innovation to the use of technology during the process of innovating presents a golden opportunity to be seized up upon by IS researchers (Nambisan et al., 2017). The high visibility of peer communication in online communities has increased the chance for the sponsoring firm to co-create value with participants (Gronroos, 2019). Although previous studies have shown the benefits of sponsoring an online community for value co-creation, not many comprehensively report on what the beneficial critical factors from various actors are, nor do they report on how firms should coordinate voluntary participation. By using SDL, sociomateriality and the affordance lens to generalise findings, this study has contributed to existing knowledge in two ways. First, the findings reveal and disentangle enablers and constraints for the four defined actors: firm, technology, individual participant and their inter-relationships (social) as depicted in Figure 6. Second, the findings systematically uncover the importance of the firm roles in managing online communities, the associated enablers and constraints for each role, and the trade-off between each role.\n6. Theoretical implications: This study discovered a comprehensive set of enablers and constraints based on the four actors identified in the literature review. Value co-creation is shaped by the firm's generative roles as a facilitator and co-creator and by the fluidity of the online community. Our model demonstrates the shift of control from firms to individual participants in online communities, and conceptualises the inter-relationship between various actors in value co-creation. This reflects a situation where firms may be persuasive, but online communities are not a place of corporate control. The co-creation process also depends on how individual participants understand and make meaning of the firm and the technology. By adopting the two firm roles, the sponsoring firm is better able to manage the tensions between control and \"laissez-faire\" in order to maintain and sustain value co-creation.\n7. Practical implications: This study offers a number of important practical implications for designing co-creation strategies and improving co-creation practices by delineating the resources that can influence value co-creation in online communities.\n8. Conclusions and limitations: This paper reviewed and synthesised past research in value creation in firm sponsored online co-creation communities and considered the perspectives of participants and other actors. In this research, we recognise and identify the contextual nature of the reviewed literature, and the shapers, enablers and constraints from the participants' point of view. Enablers and constraints are identified, distilled, classified and integrated into a classification framework. Because these findings are based on the literature, the limitations of the reviewed papers also apply to this research. This challenge was managed carefully and explained in the quality assessment section. However, this does not guarantee that this study is immune to the common limitations of literature reviews (Boell and Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2015). For example, the dependency on the selected keywords brings the implication that the characteristics only include affordances that relate to value creation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore enablers and constraints in value co-creation in sponsored online communities, and to identify firm roles in shaping value co-creation. The structured analysis is translated into strategies for practitioners and for guiding future research.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors systematically review and synthesise the literature to develop a comprehensive model of value co-creation.\nFindings: The literature review findings have led to the identification of four actors in sponsored online communities, revealed enablers and constraints for value co-creation in online communities, and provided insight into the simultaneous roles of sponsoring firm (co-creator and facilitator) and the interrelationship between them.\nResearch limitations/implications: Like other systematic literature review studies, the findings are limited by what was reported in the papers selected for the review. The authors contribute to service-dominant logic (SDL) by bridging the macro level to the empirical level, and add to our understanding of the sociomateriality theory by capturing constraints and enablers coming from various actors.\nPractical implications: The extracted enablers and constraints guide decision makers to better design, asses, monitor and support sponsored online communities. The findings also inform how to orchestrate the two sponsoring firm roles so that the online community is still attractive for the members and creates value for the sponsoring firm.\nOriginality/value: Given the variety of disciplines dealing with value co-creation, and given the plenitude of definitions and related concepts, this study consolidates the existing knowledge and models how value is co-created in online communities.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Tourism distribution channels in European island destinations
|
[
"Europe",
"Information communication technologies",
"Island",
"Tourism distribution channels"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Advances in information systems and consumer technologies have led to the increased adoption of online booking channels by tourists (Amaro and Duarte, 2015; Berne et al., 2012). In particular, the availability of various online channels, including search engines, review sites, price-comparison sites, online travel agents (OTAs) and hotel websites have supported the trend of empowering tourists to book their holiday directly online (Murphy et al., 2016). In fact, Murphy et al. (2016) revealed that the European online travel market is expected to grow more rapidly than the overall traditional travel market that is linked nowadays to a larger number of bookings being arranged on mobile devices. These changes from traditional holiday bookings via a tour operator toward online bookings have had significant impacts on traditional tourism distribution channels models (Buhalis and Laws, 2001; Kracht and Wang, 2010; Werthner and Klein, 1999). According to Xiang et al. (2015, p. 247), \"understanding and capitalizing on changes in the business environment are essential to sustained success\"; thus, it is crucial to continually review and update the latest trends in tourism distribution to remain current with new technological developments and consequent changes to the booking process (Kracht and Wang, 2010).\nLiterature review: Information communication technologies and tourism distribution channels\nMethodology: This study gathers perspectives from a broad range of stakeholders to develop a holistic model of tourism distribution channels within the context of European island destinations. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were used, and six interview questions were developed, guided by previously reviewed literature, to gather detailed insights from tourism and hotel managers on the changes in the tourism distribution model (Table I). To guide the current study, the six interview questions were formulated regarding a range of e-tourism product providers and their roles, as well as their comparative advantages over traditional players. In addition, the questions were used to explore the importance of e-players identified from the literature review, as well as to identify new ones by industry members and to ascertain their understanding of current channels of tourism distribution. Finally, the impact of new technological advancements (such as mobile and social media) on tourist-product retailing and the positioning of e-tourism players (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010; Inversini and Masiero, 2014) was explored. The questions were designed to allow managers to express their opinions about the current situation, changes and the impact of technology advancements on tourism distribution channels.\nFindings: This section presents the key findings and is structured using an actor-based approach according to key players and their opinions with regard to changes in tourism distribution channels over the past years and the impacts of the latest technologies.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Conclusions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Advances in information communication technologies (ICTs) have changed the tourism distribution channels model, as traditional players continue to disappear or change their business model, while new players and channels emerge because of technological developments. Therefore, this study aims to propose a tourism distribution channels model for European island destinations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using an exploratory approach, interviews with 34 tourism stakeholders were conducted at ITB Berlin and WTM London in March 2014 and March/November 2016, and analyzed using thematic analysis.\nFindings: The findings revealed that a number of changes have taken place within the distribution channels market over the past six years. The disappearance of incoming travel agents has increased, while new forms of online communication and distribution have appeared. In particular, social media, online review sites and mobile channels play an increasingly important role for hoteliers.\nPractical implications: ICTs change the online landscape for tourist distribution in island destinations, and practitioners should make use of new online channels and be aware of disappearing tourism players to remain competitive.\nOriginality/value: First, this paper provides indications for the increased disintermediation in regard to incoming travel agents within the Cretan hospitality and tourism industry. Second, it investigates the issue of tourism distribution channels using a broad range of key tourism and hospitality players to provide a tourism distribution channels model for future reference. Finally, this study offers implications for the development of distribution strategies for tourism businesses and hoteliers in Crete.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Project #NuKapav: a Mauritian service-learning case study
|
[
"Employability",
"Service-learning",
"Work integrated learning",
"Social justice",
"#NuKapav"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As many Generation Y employees focus more on work experiences in their profession as opposed to climbing traditional organisational career ladders, a shift from being employed to being employable is noted (Connell and Burgess, 2006). Careers are becoming less employer-centric with employees increasingly managing their own job moves and progression (Acikgoz et al., 2016). Employability (or \"work-readiness\") is, therefore, key to both secure and maintain a strong position in the twenty-first century labour force (Acikgoz et al., 2016; Ferns and Lilly, 2016; OECD, 2011). From their first step into the workforce, graduates are expected to readily apply their acquired knowledge and skills for rapid organisational productivity (Ferns and Lilly, 2016). Nevertheless, many graduates leave university with few or no employability attributes, leading to global industry concerns about finding suitable job applicants (Finch et al., 2013; Hays, 2016; Prikshat et al., 2016), as well as growing apprehensions about resulting economic deficits (OECD, 2011).\nContext: The skills gap\nThe #Nukapav service-learning project: The #NuKapav project merges CTI's firm belief in inclusivity with its strong drive for WIL including service-learning. In collaboration with an NGO, the project united second and third year undergraduate students from the CTI Schools of Design, Mass Communication and Law on a voluntary basis for a collaborative, cross-faculty WIL experience. Led by two lecturers from the Schools of Design and Law, respectively, students divided the campaign into three related phases as shown in Figure 1: identity and visual support; a communication strategy to engage with members of the public; and the legal component.\nResearch method: Qualitative research methods are predominantly relevant for exploring subjective opinions, perceptions and real experiences (Miles et al., 2013). Focus groups are commonly used as a qualitative research method in education (Rogers and Andrews, 2016; Bettencourt, 2015). They permit access to respondents who may deem one-to-one direct interaction intimidating (Madriz, 2000) by providing them with a secure environment along with their peers to share their personal experiences. The group setup helps to kindle thinking and verbal input in terms of concrete personal experiences of the participants. For this reason, a focus group was used to explore the #Nukapav project student experience.\nResearch findings - the #NuKapav student experience: Analysis of the focus group comments revealed that students found the service-learning experience highly rewarding. Despite insufficient NGO support, Project #NuKapav provided them with an authentic learning experience, helped them enhance both their discipline knowledge and soft skills, and nurtured a more inclusive mind-set while also awakening a desire for social justice. These findings are illustrated in Figure 2 and discussed in more detail in the upcoming sections.\nDiscussion: Butin (2003, pp. 1676-1677) framed useful service-learning to reflect \"four Rs - respect, reciprocity, relevance and reflection\". Students engaged in service-learning should respect the people being served, give back to the community, see the relevance to their academic content, and be given an opportunity to digest their learning. The #NuKapav experience provided students with the perfect opportunity to demonstrate all four Rs. For many of them, the project brought a sustainable change in mind-set towards persons with disabilities. Respect was accompanied by a strong desire to challenge existing social structures for greater inclusivity and social justice. Through working pro bono on the campaign, students were able to demonstrate civic engagement by giving back to society in a spirit of reciprocity strongly driven by a desire to promote a disability-friendly Mauritian community. Some students were so moved by the life of PWDs that they have embraced inclusion as a value and pledged lasting commitment to community projects for social change. This aligns with findings from Flannery and Pragman (2008) who, in their study of student experience on a community campus kitchen service-learning initiative, reported continued community service as one of the positive outcomes of their project.\nChallenges, limitations and future research: Although focus groups are generally accepted as an effective means of collecting rich data from a group of people (Miles et al., 2013), more students could have shared their opinions during discussions. In future similar studies, this problem can be resolved by following up with individual interviews (Shek and Chan, 2013) and a survey to both enrich and triangulate data collected from focus groups. The current study also analyses the #NuKapav experience primarily from the students' perspective with the two CTI mentors authoring this paper. Future research could include the perspective of NGO representatives for a deeper understanding of the project dynamics. The impact of service-learning initiatives on the employability and citizenship of their participants once they graduate could also be investigated from both employer and employee perspectives to evaluate project success. This would serve to better contribute to the practice of service-learning for the development of both professional and socially engaged graduates.\nConclusion: The life of a Mauritian PWD is paved with hurdles. Society is ruled by the \"abled\" and, often, issues faced by persons with disabilities remains unknown. Yet, PWDs have much potential awaiting to be unleashed if given the right support. Media has a key responsibility to spread awareness and a desire for social justice by promoting the changes required for a disability-friendly society. The #NuKapav service-learning media campaign presented opportunities for university students to educate society about the life and rights of PWDs whilst developing both respect and empathy for them. By better understanding the situation of PWDs, the students developed the civic values underlying a lasting desire to create awareness, challenge current norms and fight for social justice. Service-learning projects such as #NuKapav have the unique characteristic of transcending sole focus on discipline knowledge and employability skills to turn graduates into responsible professionals strongly driven by values of inclusion and social justice.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Prompted by the enlarging skills gap between the university graduate and the desired employee in Mauritius, the Charles Telfair Institute embarked its students on the #NuKapav project for an authentic work integrated learning (WIL) experience which endeavours to fight for the societal inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of this service-learning project on the students from professional, civic engagement and social justice perspectives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research used a focus group methodology, allowing the 23 students who participated on the #NuKapav project to share their experiences.\nFindings: This paper recommends that universities in Mauritius and other regional countries consider incorporating service-learning into their WIL programmes to reinforce graduate employability skills and encourage good citizenship through lasting allegiance to community causes.\nResearch limitations/implications: The higher education system in Mauritius operates within a broader context facing constant mutations influenced by socio-economic and political factors. As such, research on service-learning cannot be conducted in isolation but should instead include the perspective of various stakeholders on both the demand and supply side of community learning projects. The main limitation of this research relates to its focus on capturing student participants' perspective alone. Further research is, therefore, recommended to examine how other stakeholders, including employees, employers and community service project supervisors, value service-learning for a more comprehensive view.\nOriginality/value: The main contribution of this paper is the examination of how service-learning can help equip graduates with crucial career skills, while bringing an enduring mind-set shift in the future workforce for sustained commitment to social change and inclusion.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
A vocabulary test to assess information security awareness
|
[
"Data security",
"Semantics",
"Cognition",
"Language",
"Tests and testing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The aim of information security is to ensure business continuity and to minimize business damage by preventing and minimizing the impact of security incidents (von Solms, 1998). In general, information security refers to the following three important aspects (Pfleeger and Pfleeger, 2007):1. Confidentiality. Computer-related assets are accessed by authorised parties only.2. Integrity. Correctness of computer assets such as data; data cannot be modified by unauthorised parties.3. Availability. Computer-related assets are accessible to authorised parties at appropriate times.The protection of information assets usually relies on the success of information security plans and the implementation of various security controls as part of such a plan. Apart from the usual technical controls, there is also a huge dependence on human involvement, and this human factor in information security is directly related to human behavior and human knowledge. This means that humans involved in a security process need to possess the required knowledge about their security-related roles and thus need some form of education (van Niekerk, 2005).To address this need for educating people and making them aware of information security threats, organizations often make use of information security awareness programs. According to Dhillon (1999), the user education, or awareness program, is singled out because increasing awareness of security issues is the most cost-effective control that an organization can implement. This implies that a certain financial investment is required to design and implement an information security awareness program. Such an investment can become significant and a well-lanned strategy is necessary to support the goals of an awareness campaign and to target those areas where specific needs exist. By understanding the various information security issues that might exist, it becomes possible to identify appropriate approaches that could be adopted to overcome information security awareness obstacles.In this paper, a survey will be described which determines the feasibility of a vocabulary test to identify areas to focus on in an information security awareness program. The study is based on another study performed from an educational viewpoint where the mathematics vocabulary of school learners was evaluated in order to identify specific mathematics learning areas that may need special attention (van der Walt et al., 2008). This research is an example of interdisciplinary research where theories of human cognitive development and language are taken into account when a seemingly unrelated discipline, e.g. information and communication technology security, is studied.The approach to make use of techniques borrowed from other disciplines is not new and many researchers have already done this. For example, Maseti and Pottas (2006) investigated the applicability of a role-based information security awareness model in South African hospitals, while van Niekerk and von Solms (2004) examined the educational principles of outcomes-based education in an information security awareness program. With respect to information security culture, Schlienger and Teufel (2003) made use of social-cultural measures to define a model for analyzing information security culture in organizations.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, a brief theoretical background is given. The methodology followed is presented in Section 3 while Section 4 discusses the results of an empirical test. Section 5 concludes the paper with some final comments.\n2 Theoretical background: The assessment of information security awareness levels in this study is completely based on an educational study performed to test school learners' mathematics vocabulary in order to plan and evaluate interventions and to facilitate best practice in mathematics classrooms (van der Walt et al., 2008). In this educational study, a mathematics vocabulary questionnaire was developed to measure learners' language proficiency in mathematics. Based on the results, the researchers were not just able to predict future mathematics performance, but more importantly, they were also able to provide guidelines that can be used to identify specific focus areas to concentrate on in order to improve mathematics performance. This same approach and principles were applied to the information security awareness project described in this paper because the set of familiar words related to information security constitutes one's information security vocabulary. Such a vocabulary will evolve over time and enables a person to communicate and acquire new knowledge.To understand the complexities of language, vocabularies and associated processes of transforming inputs into beliefs and actions, it is necessary to briefly refer to a few aspects from the field of cognitive psychology.Cognitive psychology is concerned with internal mental processes and behavior (Robinson-Riegler and Robinson-Riegler, 2008). The metaphor of a computer is often used to describe the cognitive psychology idea of how people acquire, process and store information (Robinson-Riegler and Robinson-Riegler, 2008; Slater and Bremner, 2005). The human mind is viewed as an information processing system in order to solve problems (Russel and Norvig, 1995) and the mental state then comprises of at least three components:1. information is received (from the environment). This could be encoded in some form;2. internal processes take place (memory storage, application of problem-solving methods, etc.); and3. Cognitive structures of the individual are changed in reaction to the information.Over time, changes may occur. First, the capacity of processing units changes and second, the effectiveness and variety of strategies improve.One of the leading experts in the area of language studies, Noam Chomsky, explained the learning of language from a cognitive psychology angle and states that one is born with language abilities (Robinson-Riegler and Robinson-Riegler, 2008). This theory that language depends on rules that are within us and that it is not learnable is challenged by more recent theories that suggest that structural aspects of language are indeed learnable. This originates from a neural network approach to cognition which argues that learning takes place through associations in the neural network system throughout the human brain (Robinson-Riegler and Robinson-Riegler, 2008).Slater and Bremner (2005) argued that there is an interaction between language and cognitive development and that children may have formed concepts of the world even before they acquire words. Children's first words will probably be formed from early concepts because their communication is based on what they know, and as semantic systems develop, so will children's concepts change. Hearing new words will also result in searching for the meaning of the word and thereby results in the learning of new words. When gaps are faced in the semantic or cognitive system, two strategies can be used (Slater and Bremner, 2005):1. acquire a new word - search known concepts or construct a new one; and2. acquire a new concept - attach a known word to it or look for one.Language development (which is based on vocabularies) is complex and many theories tried to describe this phenomenon. A more detailed description of language development and vocabularies is beyond the scope of this paper and readers interested in this topic are referred to sources on developmental psychology and cognitive psychology such as those used in this paper.According to van der Walt (2008), there are a number of factors that will have an impact on a person's study and learning orientation. These factors include cognitive (acquiring and implementation of knowledge) and meta-cognitive (monitoring and evaluation of cognitive strategies) factors, affective factors (how learning experiences influence people's perceptions), conative factors (translation of knowledge and emotion into behavior) and cross-cultural factors (the effect of social and environmental influences on behavior).It is clear that all these factors will also play a role in how basic information security principles are learned and applied. In this study, however, the focus will only be on the cognitive aspect. This decision is based on the fact that the project is an exploratory study to assess the idea of applying a vocabulary test to information security awareness training. Once the use of cognitive principles has been established as being useful in the information security awareness arena, the investigation of the other factors would form part of a follow-up project to create a more comprehensive information security awareness assessment and training model.A basic definition of the term cognitive is given by van der Walt (2008) as the process to learn, know, understand, code, process and recall information. An international report issued by Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Mullis et al., 2005) states that there are three key cognitive skills necessary for a successful learning experience. They are:1. knowledge of facts, processes and concepts;2. the ability to apply the knowledge, concepts and processes; and3. the ability to reason.Table I contains an explanation of the three required cognitive skills as it pertains to information security awareness.With this very brief theoretical background in mind and in line with the mathematical proficiency study, it was decided to investigate the feasibility of using an information security vocabulary test in order to be able to draw conclusions about people's information security awareness levels. The motivation lies in the fact that if one does not have a basic comprehension of information security concepts or terms, then one is probably more susceptible to become a victim of security attacks. In addition to this, it may render certain security awareness material useless, e.g. a poster warning you against phishing will not have the desired effect if you do not know what the term phishing means. Having said this, it should be noted that a vocabulary test on its own may produce misleading results, e.g. in some cases, one does not really have to know what a specific term means to be cautious to certain requests, e.g. you may decide that giving out personal details is wrong without knowing what the term phishing means. This problem was addressed with scenario-type questions to test respondents' behavior. The questionnaire containing both vocabulary tests and the behavior tests will be discussed in the next section.\n3 Methodology: A questionnaire was developed to test and illustrate the feasibility of a vocabulary test. The questionnaire consists of two sections - a first section to perform a vocabulary test and a second one to evaluate respondents' behavior.The idea with the first section, the vocabulary test, was to include basic and \"generally known\" concepts and terms to establish whether respondents know the meaning of these concepts. Because this study is an exploratory study to test the feasibility of a vocabulary test, it was decided to start with only eight of the more general security aspects. For the same reason, it was also decided not to include \"less known\" concepts such as botnets, steganography, etc. To ensure that the final eight concepts used in the questionnaire were relevant, the selection of the concepts was based on information in the 2008 Information Security Breaches Survey conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2008) and a SANS (2005) Institute report on e-mail security threats. The questions were, consistent with the mathematics study, constructed as multiple choice questions with five options to choose from. As an example, Example 1 shows the vocabulary test for the term phishing - it is expected that someone with a good understanding of the term phishing would select option (d) as the correct or most appropriate answer.Example 1. Vocabulary test\n4 Results: 4.1 Demographic details\n5 Conclusions: If modern organizations want to survive and prosper, it is vital that their employees have both the necessary knowledge and the right attitude to fulfil their required roles and responsibilities in the overall information security efforts of a company (van Niekerk, 2005). One way of addressing this need is to design and implement suitable information security awareness programs.This paper described an exploratory study to test the feasibility of employing an information security vocabulary test to assist management in identifying specific areas or topics to be included in an information security awareness program. To test this concept, a questionnaire consisting of a vocabulary and a behavior test was developed and distributed to a small population of students. The results of the survey confirmed that an information security vocabulary test is useful and should be considered to assess information security awareness levels and to identify focus areas for intervention.The intention is to expand this research project to develop a statistical validated vocabulary test and then to repeat the exercise in the corporate and other relevant environments. In addition, further investigation of cognitive psychology and language aspects will be conducted in order to align the development of security awareness vocabulary tests with human cognitive developmental issues.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The dependence on human involvement and human behavior to protect information assets necessitates an information security awareness program to make people aware of their roles and responsibilities towards information security. The purpose of this paper is to examine the feasibility of an information security vocabulary test as an aid to assess awareness levels and to assist with the identification of suitable areas or topics to be included in an information security awareness program.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A questionnaire has been designed to test and illustrate the feasibility of a vocabulary test. The questionnaire consists of two sections - a first section to perform a vocabulary test and a second one to evaluate respondents' behavior. Two different class groups of students at a university were used as a sample.\nFindings: - The research findings confirmed that the use of a vocabulary test to assess security awareness levels will be beneficial. A significant relationship between knowledge of concepts (vocabulary) and behavior was observed.\nOriginality/value: - The paper introduces a new approach to evaluate people's information security awareness levels by employing an information security vocabulary test. This new approach can assist management to plan and evaluate interventions and to facilitate best practice in information security. Aspects of cognitive psychology and language were taken into account in this research project, indicating the interaction and influence between apparently different disciplines.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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From PLM 1.0 to PLM 2.0: the evolving role of product lifecycle management (PLM) in the textile and apparel industries
|
[
"Fashion industry",
"Literature review",
"Digital transformation",
"Retail management",
"Product lifecycle management",
"Apparel manufacturing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Across manufacturing, today's success is determined by the ability to be flexible and responsive (Christopher et al., 2004). Retail brands and manufacturers in the fashion and textiles sector are investing in product lifecycle management (PLM) to guide their strategic efforts in addressing the challenges and opportunities inherent in the modern industry (Just Style, n.d.). The discipline of PLM can drive operational excellence and support planned future business transformation (Suleski and Toncheva, 2016). In comparison to the traditional PLM investors in automotive, aerospace and electronic manufacturing, the fashion and textiles sector has been described as a late adopter (AMR Research Inc, 2007, 2008) but there is an increasing sense of urgency towards PLM adoption, driving growth in the retail and apparel PLM market (Transparency Market Research, 2015). The adoption and integration of core functions of PLM can provide organisations with access to best practices for process standardisation, reduction in time to market, quality improvement and cost reduction (Ameri and Dutta, 2005; Cantamessa et al., 2012; Stark, 2011). The reported benefits and improvements are shown in Figure 1 (Suleski and Toncheva, 2016). These core functions of PLM have been termed classical PLM or PLM 1.0 (Saaksvuori, 2011). 1.1 Origins of PLM\n2. Methodology: A systematic literature review of product lifecycle management (PLM) in the fashion and textiles sector (2000-2016) was undertaken to address these research questions and applies the three sets of features of the Corallo et al. (2013) definition of PLM as an analytical framework (Table 1). Mindful of the ongoing evolution of PLM, Corallo et al. (2013) make it clear that they do not perceive this definition to be static and this pre-empts the discussion on the future research direction discussion in section five.In the review process, the principles of the systematic review as recommended by Jesson et al. (2011) have been adopted, namely: Mapping the field through a scoping review using Google Scholar.Comprehensive search using search strings and bibliographic databases (Table 2).Quality assessment.Synthesis.Write up.The paper's aim was to determine the current status of research in product lifecycle management in the fashion and textiles sector. The inclusion criteria were: publications in the period 2000-2018 in peer-reviewed scholarly journals written in English. This resulted in an initial list of 66 publications. Conference proceedings were then excluded. Papers were also excluded where there was no explicit reference to PLM in the main body, i.e. only being in the reference list. The abstracts and main bodies were reviewed. Where research findings are disseminated in more than one journal, i.e. through journals that target different manufacturing sectors such as fashion and engineering, the journal paper that related to the industry was selected. This procedure yielded a final selection of 27 articles where only 11 of the papers have the term PLM in the title. The resulting descriptive analysis is reported in section three. The thematic analysis phase used Nvivo qualitative data analysis software. The first stage involved a word frequency query to establish the most frequently used words in the research material. These were consistent with the features of the definition and proposed framework of Corallo et al. (2013) which was then used to develop nodes (bins) allowing a thematic review of results, sub-patterns and subcategories. An author comparison matrix coding query was used to generate a sense of where authors were gravitating and also to identify highs and lows in emphasis. Papers are categorized by their primary understanding of PLM with the resulting thematic analysis reported in Tables 3-5 in section four. These categories are not distinct and comments from authors are included in the analysis where appropriate. The tables in section four collectively provide a classification list for the papers in the fashion and textiles sector, clarifying what is known about PLM in the sector and to which areas the body of knowledge is limited for industry practioners and researchers to access. References for this paper are given in two parts in order to distinguish between the papers contained in the literature review from those references not contained in the review. In order to make the classification of papers transparent, the categorisation according to research methodology and dimension is provided at the end of the references given. As an example, [case, managerial] summarises that the paper takes a predominantly managerial perspective of PLM and offers a case study or case example.\n3. Findings: descriptive analysis: 3.1 General overview of publications\n4. Findings: thematic analysis: The articles were first differentiated into the three features of the Corallo et al. (2013) definition (Table 1): managerial, technological and collaborative. In this study, an equal number of the articles (11) take a managerial or technological perspective with only five taking a collaborative perspective, whereas in engineering there is a much greater emphasis on technical papers with management being less generally represented (David and Rowe, 2015). This can be explained to be consistent with fashion and textiles being a late adopter and therefore having less involvement in the technical development of PLM systems and more in their industrial implementation and with the potential for collaborative technologies only just emerging. 4.1 The managerial perspective\n5. Discussion: The major contribution of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the 27 peer-reviewed journal publications on PLM in the fashion and textiles sector. The review revealed that in the sector, PLM is at the junction of PLM 1.0 becoming more main-stream and the transformational potential of connected PLM 2.0 becoming more apparent. Concurrently, within organisations there has been a shift to a more market-oriented approach where customer needs dominate (Goworek et al., 2016). In this new, increasingly digital era, businesses must develop their own \"next practices\" where SMAC (social, mobile, big data/analytics, and the cloud) technologies provide opportunities for doing business differently. Achieving this vision of PLM requires businesses to introduce a strategic initiative for business transformation that coordinates the structural, cross-functional and long-term cooperation between actors in and outside the firm. Three themes need to be emphasised in respect to the sector's ability to realise the full potential of PLM and to indicate where further research is needed. 5.1 Lack of holistic knowledge\n6. Conclusion: Product lifecycle management is providing fashion and textile organisations with the ability to achieve operational excellence through the creation of new work practices and business processes and additionally provides a strategic platform for future change enabling a more sustainable and consumer centric offer to be created. The shift towards the product service paradigm provides the additional opportunity to integrate consumers' views and transparently share product information thereby shaping retail policy and practice relating to social and environmental sustainability. However, current knowledge of PLM is limited with the sector characterised as a late adopter of this strategic tool of digital transformation. This review provides a classification of what is known about PLM in the sector and illustrates some of the opportunities that exist in this new era. It is argued there is much potential for organizations of all sizes to consider PLM methodologies to realise benefits and achieve greater flexibility and responsiveness. A more coordinated effort of industry and academia is required to deliver the transformational potential of PLM.There are a number of limitations to this research. This study employed the databases in the field of business management for the literature review and includes only peer-reviewed scholarly journals written in English in the period 2000-2018 using exact terminology; conference papers, theses, book chapters and grey literature were not included in this review and therefore some pertinent material may have been missed. There is an element of subjectivity in the classification of the papers; transparency in reporting the process attempts to mitigate any impact. This paper proposes some research directions, which are not exhaustive but represent further opportunities for the academic community to work in collaboration with industry and contribute to the body of scholarly knowledge and address real-world practices.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: Product lifecycle management (PLM) is an enterprise-wide strategy gaining prominence across manufacturing. The fashion industry is a late adopter of PLM, yet within global fashion and textile organisations PLM is now becoming a mainstream approach to optimize core processes. This literature review analyses the latest academic research to establish a broad basis of understanding of PLM in the sector and identify potential future research directions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the current state and main perspectives of research on PLM in the textiles and apparel sector. The paper adopts the three features (managerial, technological and collaborative) of the definition of PLM by Corallo et al. (2013) as the analytic framework for the 27 papers to illustrate how PLM is framed and conceptualised in the RFA sector.\nFindings: PLM is at an interesting phase as it evolves from classical PLM 1.0 to connected PLM 2.0. The evolution of PLM from its PDM origins as an IT tool to a critical component of the strategy for digital transformation is reported. The strategic role of suppliers is noted as a critical success factor. Key inhibitors relating to PLM adoption and optimization in the sector are identified as limited holistic and theoretical perspective of PLM coupled with a deficiency in relevant industry skills. It is argued that the transformational potential of PLM 2.0 may not be fully realised without a more coordinated development effort through industrial and academic collaboration.\nResearch limitations/implications: The limitations of this study are that it is a literature review of academic papers in the RFA sector papers within the timescale 2000-2018. PLM 1.0 has dominated in this time period however the potential trajectory of connected PLM 2.0 is beginning to emerge.\nPractical implications: The results from this paper indicate that there is a lack of research on PLM in the sector and concludes by suggesting promising future research possibilities: further empirical and case studies on organisations implementing a PLM strategy; studies reporting on the contribution of PLM to address the challenges of sustainability, traceability and transparency in the industry and inter-industry collaborations; studies with knowledge management theories specifically applied to the textile and apparel sector; and the opportunity for academic and industry collaboration on the development of PLM to meet these needs.\nOriginality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic has previously been published in academic journals. Given levels of investment in PLM platforms in the sector, both practitioners in companies and the academic community might find the review and agenda for future research useful.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Effect of off-farm income on multi-dimensional poverty among rural farm households in Nigeria
|
[
"Nigeria",
"Multi-dimensional Poverty Index",
"Off-farm income",
"Rural farm households"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Poverty in Sub-Sahara Africa has been an overarching challenge over the years. Nigeria, the largest country in Africa, is not left out as the level of poverty is still alarming. The poverty phenomenon has become more pertinent in Nigeria whose rural space is characterized by high dependence on agriculture: a sector that has experienced inefficiency due to income constraints, unstable weather, climate change, fragmented landholdings, fire, pests and disease incidence and fluctuating food prices in international markets (Dimova and Sen, 2010). Higher poverty levels have been reported among farm households who depend solely on agriculture (Idowu et al., 2011). The performance of the agricultural sector in Nigeria has not met up with expectation and the livelihood of farm households in the rural areas has been affected. In Nigeria, the contribution of agriculture to economic growth has improved, but has not met up with expectation (Oyakhilomen and Zibah, 2014) and the nation's agricultural productivity faces several constraints such as low credit access, poor agricultural extension services, poor market access (Phillip et al., 2009).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Definitions and measurement of poverty\n3. Data: This study uses data from the General Household Survey 2013. The survey data consist of information of households, farm and location characteristics. A nationally representative sample of 836 rural farm households are selected based on the interest of this study on rural farm households. Farm households in this paper are those who earn 50 percent of their income from crop and livestock production. We compute off-farm income as the sum of income from the non-farm sector which includes income from non-farm self-employment, non-farm wage, agricultural wage, transfers and other incomes in line with Senadza (2012), Babatunde and Qaim (2009) and Davis et al. (2017).\n4. Results and discussions: 4.1 Multi-dimensional poverty estimate in Nigeria\n5. Recommendation: In a multi-faceted environment where farmers engage their productive assets into different activities, it is important to identify where to explore resources for maximizing income levels and minimizing poverty multi-dimensionally. Most of the focus of the poverty has been on income dimension which limits the scope of horizon in understanding and conceptualizing poverty experienced by rural farm households. It is with this focus that this study examines how income from the off-farm sector could reduce multi-dimensional poverty.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of the different components of off-farm income on multi-dimensional poverty. Furthermore, the study aims to measure multi-dimensional poverty and also identify the determinants of multi-dimensional poverty in Nigeria. The paper reveals the different contributions of the dimensions of education, health and living standard.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study focuses on rural farm households in Nigeria. Data are obtained from the Nigeria General Household Survey, 2013. The survey covers both urban and rural areas of the 36 states of Nigeria. Owing to the interest of this study in the rural farm household's sub-sector, a nationally representative sample of 836 rural farm households are selected for the study after the data merging process. Rural farm households in this paper earn 50 percent of their total income from crop and livestock production. The paper employs the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to measure multi-dimensional poverty across the six different geographical zones of Nigeria. The probit regression model is used to estimate and analyze the effect of off-farm income components on multi-dimensional poverty and also to identify the determinants of multi-dimensional poverty.\nFindings: The results of the study show that among the off-farm income components, the non-farm wage income and non-farm self-employment income have negative association with multi-dimensional poverty. Findings show that multi-dimensional poverty is high in Nigeria with deprivations in health contributing the most. Northern Regions have a higher estimate. Results reveal that sex, age, number of adults, formal credit access, access to extension services and location characteristics are key determinants of multi-dimensional poverty. The MPI for Nigeria averaged 47 percent. Across regions, deprivation in the health dimension contributes about 44 percent to multi-dimensional poverty. Deprivation in living standards contributes 40.5 percent, while deprivation in education contributes 15.5 percent to multi-dimensional poverty.\nResearch limitations/implications: Due to the nature of the data used, the health indicators (nutrition and child mortality) are absent but proxies are used instead. Future research could introduce gender dimensions.\nPractical implications: Improving the involvement of rural farm households in non-farm self-employment sector could improve their livelihoods and prevent migration to urban centers, especially among the youths.\nSocial implications: Improving the quality of health, education and living standards will lead to lower poverty levels in Nigeria. Farmers can best reduce their multi-dimensional poverty by engaging in more off-farm jobs.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides information to policy makers on the effect of different components of income from the off-farm sector on multi-dimensional poverty alongside with the determinants of multi-dimensional poverty at a national level for the rural farm households. By using MPI, the contribution of the different dimensions used in computing the MPI across the six geographical regions within the country is revealed. This provides policy makers with more information for development purposes.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Factors that influence the facilities management construction sites in the Brazilian Amazon region
|
[
"Facilities management",
"Brazil",
"Facilities",
"Amazon",
"Influencing factors",
"Construction sites"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Facilities management (FM) proves to be necessary to organizations, for example, by implementing improvements that reduce operating costs, meet users' needs and create a favourable environment for the development of the company's core business (Atkin and Bildstein, 2017). The role and responsibility of the facilities department are defined by the company's core business, internal policies, available resources and other variables.\nFacilities management in Brazil: In Brazil, many people in academia, and professionals, consider FM a recent discipline. Some consider the early 1990s as the starting point of the application of FM practices in Brazil, although there is not an official starting point. Organizations with operations in Brazil perceived FM as an essential department for the management of assets, and therefore, incorporate FM practices in their activities.\nFacilities management in Brazilian construction sites: Construction sites are the locations where the organizations develop their productive activities. Some examples of the facilities found on construction site are offices, reception desks, kitchens, meeting rooms, warehouses, first aid posts, accommodation, restrooms, living and leisure area, parking lots and many others.\nThe construction industry in the Brazilian Amazon region: The Brazilian Amazon represents 59 per cent of the country's territory and is approximately 5,020,000 km2 wide (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics [IBGE], 2017). It corresponds to the sum of the areas of the northern Brazilian States (Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins), added to the whole area of the State of Mato Grosso and some towns in the State of Maranhao.\nInfluence dimensions to the facilities management on construction sites in the Brazilian Amazon: The identification of the influencing factors was based on the 14-year experience of one of the authors as an FM professional and 8-year experience and a facilities manager on construction sites in the Amazon region. The identification of factors also relied on visits to six large construction sites in the region. The location of the sites, the names of the companies and of their facilities managers are kept confidential in this work.\nMethodology: The present research was developed in two stages. In the first stage, unstructured observations were performed regarding facility management practices on construction sites in the Amazon region. In this stage, the possible influencing factors were identified. In the second stage, 104 FM professionals participated in a survey, which was intended to check whether the influencing factors previously identified in the observations were relevant.\nConclusions: A construction site is a temporary industrial complex comprised of structures and facilities that are essential to the execution of production activities of the construction industry. The FM departments work on the construction site by managing the administrative support services and organizing the workplaces.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence the facilities management (FM) in construction sites in the Brazilian Amazon.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study used structured questionnaires, with the participation of 136 facilities professionals in construction sites in the Brazilian Amazon. These sites were selected with help of 17 facilities managers. The survey achieved a total response rate of 76.5 per cent. The factorial analysis was performed after checking the adequacy of the sample to the technique. The results allowed the continuation of data processing and the use of exploratory factorial analysis to summarize the variables and identify the influencing factors.\nFindings: The results indicated five factors that influence the FM on construction sites in the Brazilian Amazon, namely: negotiation with local entities; weather; local suppliers; manpower; and logistical infrastructure. With the proper understanding of these factors, facilities professionals could plan actions to minimize negative impacts over the FM on construction sites.\nResearch limitations/implications: The influence of factors on FM was studied from the professionals' viewpoint. It is possible that there are other perspectives or other influencing factors. However, this work is limited to the analysis of the variables that make up the five dimensions presented.\nPractical implications: Organizations and FM professionals might be interested in the results of this research to enhance the FM performance on the construction sites existed and to plan the implementation of the FM on upcoming construction sites.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first large research about FM in construction sites conducted in the Brazilian Amazon and serve as a basis to other research works that promote the development of FM in Brazil.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Effect of board- and firm-level characteristics on the product responsibility ratings of firms from emerging markets
|
[
"Corporate governance",
"Sustainability",
"Board characteristics",
"Corporate social responsibility",
"Emerging nations",
"Product responsibility"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over the last few years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a concept and practice has been drawing the attention of scholars and practitioners alike (Aguinis and Glavas, 2012; Frynas and Stephens, 2015; Jamali and Karam, 2018; Hassan and Kodwani, 2019). Several reasons have been attributed to this change. For example, an increasing number of empirical studies have highlighted the strategic role of CSR for organizations (McWilliams et al., 2006; Falkenberg and Brunsael, 2011; Saeed and Arshad, 2012). Scholars conceptualizing CSR from a strategic perspective have examined its effect on critical business processes and performance indicators, such as financial performance (Cochran and Wood, 1984) talent retention (Randy Evans and Davis, 2011), brand values (Lai et al., 2010), and innovations (Zhang and Lee, 2018), among others. Another factor that has heightened the interest in implementing socially responsible practices stems from pressure groups in the form of different stakeholders, namely, employees, shareholders, clients, government, nongovernmental organizations, and the community from which the business draws its resources (Peng et al., 2014; Yang and Rivers, 2009). Globalization is also an essential contributor to this change, as it has increased business complexity by creating newer demands for enhanced transparency and corporate citizenship (Jamali and Mirshak, 2007). Further, globalization has led to the foundation of the concept of global corporate citizens, who are committed toward displaying social responsibility (Corporate Global Citizen World Corporate Citizen Forum, 2013). Therefore, studies on CSR have lain a stepping stone to bridge the gap between the current global socioenvironmental concerns and scholarly works that aim to suggest amicable solutions to address these concerns.As discussed earlier, stakeholders such as the consumers have increasingly become more concerned about the effect of business on society (Hassan and Pandey, 2019). They have become cautious on how the environmental degradation, wastage of critical resources, and safety concerns are addressed by the brands they are associated with. To attract consumers and to create a more stable and favorable brand image, firms have become more prone to adopting sustainability management practices today than before (Popoli, 2011). The most critical and effective indicator of firms' social cohesiveness is their willingness to promote and practice CSR initiatives (Frederick, 1994; Gorenak and Bobek, 2010). One such CSR practice is the product responsibility (PR) behavior.Although a significant number of studies (McWilliams and Siegel, 2000; Zhu et al., 2014; Saeidi et al., 2015) have highlighted the role of CSR in creating a positive brand image to improve firms' performance and attract talents, studies on PR as a dimension of CSR have not received much attention from scholars. Further, such studies have not been conducted in the context of emerging economies. Therefore, the present study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between PR ratings and various board- and firm-level characteristics.\nLiterature review: CSR and its indicators\nCorporate boards, financial performance, and product responsiveness: Board characteristics and PR\nMethodology: Data collection and sampling\nMeasures: We used the natural logarithmic value of total revenue and return on assets (ROA), which are widely accepted measures, as the indicators of financial performance. Board diversity was measured by the total number of female board members in t year (t = 0 FY). Board size was measured by the number of board members for the company during t year. Tenure was measured as number of years allowed as board member. PR was measured using the Thomson Reuters PR ratings that were collected for year t + 1. The Thomson Reuters ASSET four provides CSR ratings and the scores for the individual components of CSR such as PR. The ASSET four database is widely used by journals of finance, marketing, organizational behavior, and operational research and strategy (Dorfleitner et al., 2015; Attig et al., 2016; Gasser et al., 2017; Liang and Renneboog, 2017).The TRBC industry code of Thomson Reuters was used to control the industry effect. Each country was coded with a country code from 1 to 36. In this study, a country represents the nation where the headquarters of the firms are located.\nAnalysis: Hierarchical regression was conducted to test the hypotheses. First, the control variables were entered, followed by the independent variables. The data were checked for assumptions of regression analysis, and multicollinearity was assessed through the variance inflation factor (VIF) values, which were below the prescribed threshold of 10 (West and Aiken, 2014).\nResults: Table I presents the descriptive statistics and the bivariate correlation among the variables. Table II shows the result of the hierarchical regression analysis. The model consisting only of the control variable was not significant (R2 = 0.004; F = 1.49, n.s.), and the model including the control variables and independent variables was significant (R2 = 0.04; F = 3.54, p <= 0.05). The results of the analysis showed that board diversity is positive and has a significant effect on the PR score (b = 0.094, p < 0.01), thus supporting hypothesis 1. Board size was found to have a positive and significant effect on the PR score (b = 0.088, p < 0.01), thus supporting hypothesis 2. Board term duration (i.e. tenure) did not have a significant effect on the PR score (b = 0-0.048, ns). Thus, hypothesis 3 was not supported.The financial performance measured through the natural logarithm of total revenue was found to have a positive and significant effect on the PR score (b = 0.16, p < 0.05). The results were in accordance with the hypothesis. However, ROA, which was used to measure the financial performance of the firms, had no significant effect on the PR score (b = 0-0.035, ns).\nDiscussion: The findings of this study can be studied from two different aspects: the effect of financial variables on the PR score and the effects of board characteristics on the PR score.With regard to the financial variables, the results showed that total revenues have a positive effect on the PR score and that ROA does not affect the score. The sample selected cuts across different sectors that constitute various industries, which include different companies, and intra- and interindustry differences exist in the asset holding and utilization (Bettis, 1981; Waring, 1996). These differences are the possible reasons for the insignificant effect of ROA. As total revenue is a good indicator of the money made by a company, it has positive effect on product responsiveness and indicates that companies with larger revenues are more bound to invest in sustainability measures for fulfilling the sustainability demands (Schrettle et al., 2014). In the long run, these companies may become the flag bearers of sustainability, and therefore, the institutionalization of these practices is needed in their respective industries (Bansal, 2005; Etzion and Ferraro, 2010).In terms of the board characteristics, the results showed that board size and diversity due to the presence of women members in the board have a positive effect on the PR score and that board term duration does not affect the PR score. These findings provide important insights into board composition regarding the number and the type of members to be included for achieving the broader sustainability outcomes and specific product responsiveness scores. The greater board size reflects the greater number of views and the possible sustainability champions that dictate the company's efforts toward product responsiveness (Coffey and Wang, 1998). Women are invariably the best choice for firms when making strategic decision. Studies have suggested that the presence of women on the board can help in value creation for firms (Carter et al., 2003; Huse et al., 2009; Torchia et al., 2011). This value creation is not merely a result of the better image of the organization for having women in top positions, but women board members make strategic decisions by assuming such responsibilities. In his book entitled Building the Business Case for Women Corporate Directors, Bilimoria (2000) stated that women board members exert greater pressure on the management to improve the qualitative aspect of business decisions related to quality and operations.Similarly, Huse and Solberg (2006) criticized male board members for being more concerned about revenue generation and the firm's expansion than the firm's socially responsible behavior. Further, women board members are more likely to have a research background and other expertise outside business compared with their male colleagues (Hillman et al., 2002). Women board members are expected to take the initiative for promoting high-quality products and services. Therefore, that the presence of more women board members enhances firms' PR ratings is not surprising.The findings for board size and tenure and their relationship with PR need further examination. Previous empirical studies on board tenure and performance have shown some discrepancies due to their contradicting results. Thus, a positive relationship was observed between the two. The findings of this study can be easily equated with social capital theory and executive cognition theory (Hambrick et al., 1993). Board members are considered to bring value to their role through their expertise, knowledge, connections, and experience (Brown et al., 2017), which are mainly dependent on their length of service in the firm. In case the tenure is short, the possibility of their high involvement in making all decisions is bleak. Therefore, the short tenure may negatively affect critical monitoring and decision-making on the long-term strategies for firms such as socially responsible behavior.\nTheoretical implications: This study is an initial step toward defining the concept of PR. Although the concept has been studied widely in operations, marketing, and strategic management, attempts have not been made to provide a comprehensive definition for the term. The first part of the study focused on conceptualizing the concept. The second part of the study investigated the financial and board-level variables that could affect CSR-related indicators such as PR. The analysis of the results suggests that an improved PR can offer a substratum for the development of other CSR and sustainability practices in business.Theoretically, this study reaffirms the underlying idea of social capital theory (Hauberer, 2011). As a component of social responsibility of business, PR can be regarded as an outcome of the \"relational accumulating process\" through which firms develop their social capital (Russo and Perrini, 2010, p. 208). As evident in the results, board diversity and its size can facilitate the expression of a diverse view or the knowledge among the board members that may motivate them to take appropriate decisions. These decisions are important because they aim to benefit the firm both financially and socially.Another theoretical implication of this study is the understanding of business dynamics in an emerging economy setting. The firms in this study are newer, smaller, and limited in terms of resource accessibility. Studies on the behavior of these firms toward becoming a socially responsible business can help to reframe the existing theories on corporate governance and marketing. Emerging nations largely have a collectivist society, which is characterized by a high influence of religion on the business practice (Hassan and Sengupta, 2019). Therefore, the expected responses of a business in developed nations may not hold true for a business in emerging nations. The findings of this study clearly indicate the distinct difference between the two regions.\nPractical implications: The findings have implications for the design of policy measures for corporate governance in general and sustainability efforts in particular. Studies have shown that policy interventions for composition of representation in governance (Pandey, 2016) and employee development (Pandey, 2019; Jha et al., 2019) lead to psychological empowerment in addition to structural empowerment and job performance (Pandey, 2019). Policies that can encourage firms to form a more diverse corporate board, especially with women members, can have a significant effect on the sustainability trajectory of firms. Studies have shown that a firm perceived by the clients/consumers to be low in value and ethical practices incurs more losses than one that is high in value and ethical practices (Creyer, 1997; Maignan, 2001; Mohr et al., 2001). A major implication of this study is the explanation for the role of firm- and board-level characteristics in the delivery of quality products and services. This explanation is relevant to the current scenario because countries are struggling to curb pollution, resource degradation, and malicious practice in business (Duraiappah, 1998; Leonard, 2006; Dean and McMullen, 2007). Boards act as a self-regulatory mechanism to address these issues at the initial stages.The fact that ROA was found to be insignificant has some practical implications. The sample firms comprise mostly of manufacturing and service sector units. The service sector firms are expected to have a relatively lower ROA than firms in other domains. However, this issue can be addressed better by considering revenue as a measure of performance because it gives opportunity to even the firms with smaller assets to reflect a higher rate of performance, which is also evident in the current findings. Small firms have to put in more effort to demonstrate a socially responsible behavior in their business practices (Jenkins, 2006).Firms like Ben & Jerry have been successful in establishing their business globally through the integration of social values in each planning step, production, supply logistics, and marketing. This means that customers are able to associate themselves with these organizations more easily than with others (Schroeder, 2002). These firms are also known for their ethical sourcing of raw materials, having banking and finance partners who have a socially responsible image, and promoting the recycling of products, among others (Schroeder, 2002). These findings suggest that the PR ratings of firms can be an important indicator of brand image and reputation. Therefore, firms should aspire to have high PR ratings by incorporating socially responsible business practices.\nLimitations and directions for future research: This study has a few limitations. First, CSR is a broad concept, and this study explicitly focused on only one indicator of CSR, which is PR. Future studies can focus on other indicators such as anticompetitive behavior and compliance, among others (Wilburn and Wilburn, 2013). Second, this study is limited to the effect of a small subsection of the financial- and board-level variables on PR. Future studies can also include variables such as TMTs, chief CSR officers, and supplier diversity. Third, although this work focused only on emerging economies, a comparative study of emerging and developed countries can provide broad directions. Finally, this study grouped the emerging economies according to the Thomson Reuters classification. Conversely, studies that take an in-depth view of each country can offer interesting country-level insights.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: Consumers have increasingly become more concerned about environmental degradation, wastage of critical resources and safety. Therefore, firms are adopting sustainability management practices to attract these conscious consumers. Product responsibility (PR) is an important indicator of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability management. This study examines the relationship between the board- and firm-level characteristics and the PR ratings of firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A temporal design with a lag of one year for a sample of 403 firms from the global emerging economies is analyzed for this purpose.\nFindings: Hierarchical regression analysis shows that total revenue, board size, and board diversity have a positive effect on PR ratings.\nResearch limitations/implications: These findings have implications for policy-level decisions on the composition of boards for the sustainable future of firms.\nOriginality/value: The study is one of the few studies that have looked into the factors affecting the PR ratings, which are an important indicator of the sustainable practices of an organization.\n",
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Risks and benefits' consumption of birdbeak dogfish Deania calcea
|
[
"Proximate composition",
"Fatty acids",
"Contaminants",
"Minerals",
"Risk analysis",
"Deania calcea"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The consumption of seafood is essential in a balanced diet since it has an excellent amino acid composition, is a unique source of nutrients and lipids of high biological value, and has an easily digestible protein (Carvalho et al., 2005; Okland et al., 2005). These are the mainly nutritional benefits of fish products, but they have also been recognized as a good source of omega 3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), mostly eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) (Okland et al., 2005; Remme et al., 2006). These fatty acids are known to play a major role in several biochemical processes in vivo and in vitro (Okland et al., 2005).There are many studies dealing with the quality parameters of costal fish species (e.g. Teeny et al., 1984; McMeans et al., 2007; Endo et al., 2008), but very few studies characterize the proximate composition and the properties of the edible part from deep-water fish (Synnes et al., 2007). These species constitute a target of new fisheries that started to be explored during the early 1960s (Gordon, 2001), when the traditional fisheries on the continental shelf declined (Koslow et al., 2000). Many deep water species are usually long lived species and some are top predators that tend to accumulate high levels of contaminants (bioaccumulation), mainly mercury (Hg) via the food chain (Endo et al., 2008). Among these top predators, deep water sharks have recently been of great interest to Portuguese deep water fisheries.Some studies on deep water sharks have been published, namely on the reproductive strategy (Conrath and Musick, 2002; Figueiredo et al., 2008; Storrie et al., 2009), ageing techniques (Clarke et al., 2002; Machado and Figueiredo, 2002) and feeding ecology (Mauchline and Gordon, 1986; Patokina and Litvinov, 2004). Nevertheless the information on its chemical composition and nutritional value is scarce (Okland et al., 2005; Remme et al., 2005; McMeans et al., 2007, Synnes et al., 2007). Fewer studies have assessed the elemental concentrations in sharks, in contrast to near-shore organisms (McMeans et al., 2007; Pethybridge et al., 2009). Chemical elements occur naturally in the environment and can be classified as essential (when their biological role is necessary to an organism or life;, e.g. copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg)) or non-essential (which may be present in an organism, but their physiological functions have not been clearly demonstrated;, e.g. arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and Hg) (Lall, 1995; McMeans et al., 2007). The determination of heavy metal concentrations in cartilaginous species started in the 1980s and continues until the present (Walker, 1976; Turoczy et al., 2000; Endo et al., 2008; Storelli, 2008; Pethybridge et al., 2009).Deania calcea (Lowe, 1839) the birdbeak dogfish, appears either as target or by-catch of black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo) fishery being females larger and landed in higher quantities then males (Paiva, 2009). As other deepwater species it presents a high longevity with slow growth rate (Paiva, 2009) and it is likely to reach maturity at a much more advanced age than commercial species from continental shelf areas, which increase its vulnerability to fishing (Cronin et al., 1998). As a top predator, it is probable that has high heavy metal contamination levels (high bioaccumulation potential), which can be of great concern in terms of human health since the species was recently introduced (and accepted by the consumers) in the market as fresh or salt and dry fish, and exported to the Asian market (the fins).Regarding heavy metal contamination, WHO and FAO have established provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) values: 7 mg/kg (of body weight) for Cd (FAO/WHO, 2003), 5 mg/kg for Hg (FAO/WHO, 1972) and 25 mg/kg for Pb (FAO/WHO, 1999). For Cd, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) adopted a new opinion establishing a new tolerable weekly intake of 2.5 mg/kg (of body weight) (EFSA, 2009). However, in order to use similar criteria for all studied toxic metals, the WHO and FAO PTWI values were followed. Therefore, a quantitative assessment of the intake of heavy metals by populations eating considerable amounts of birdbeak dogfish should be carried out. Moreover, the calculation of the risk of exceeding the PTWI for the most problematic toxic metals, Cd, Hg, and Pb should be done for some plausible scenarios. This may be done through new statistical tools, such as the extreme value theory (EVT) (Tressou et al., 2004). EVT ensures a proper analysis of extremes values because it takes full account of the very high (or very low) observed values. The principle is to model the tail of an exposure distribution by a Pareto type distribution, characterized by a Pareto index, which can be interpreted as a risk index (Tressou et al., 2004).Therefore, the main goal of this study was to investigate the balance between health benefits and risks associated to the consumption of birdbeak dogfish consumption, with a special emphasis on the assessment of the risks of toxic metal intake.\n2. Materials and methods: 2.1 Sampling\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Proximate composition\n4. Conclusions: There are very few studies describing the proximate composition and the nutritional value of the meat from deep-sea fish species, especially sharks and this is the first study with such characteristics in the deep-water shark Deania calcea.Globally speaking and considering the recommended daily intake (Bandarra et al., 2009), the edible part of birdbeak dogfish has a low fat content and is a good source of several minerals namely K and Na, which have a mean value much higher than the one present in other species both teleost and elasmobranch. Moreover, PUFA prevail in the fatty acid composition of the birdbeak dogfish and the n-3/n-6 ratio found indicates that this species contains a balanced lipid composition which is very good for nutritional purposes, ranging from 0.1-0.7 g/100 g of edible part.The Hg females' values were always above the maximum limit allowed by European health Regulation ((EC) No. 629/2008) and therefore its consumption should be subject to some restrictions in terms of provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). The Hg levels in birdbeak dogfish represent a serious risk: a regular weekly (150 g/week) consumption and, for females, 2 x 150 g per month should be avoided.Paiva (2009) showed that females are landed in larger quantities than males. This may be due to a selective fishery by fishermen that take advantage of the bathymetric sexual segregation and of the female higher mean weight. This increasing fishing effort toward females will certainly contribute to a strong reduction of the female population in a near future. Therefore for management purposes it is strongly advisable that this fishing strategy should be changed towards a higher catch of males which will also contribute to the consumption of the specimens with the lowest Hg levels.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - There are very few studies that characterize the properties of the edible part from deep-water fish species which constitute a new target for developing fisheries. Therefore this paper aimed to examine the balance between health benefits and risks associated to the birdbeak dogfish consumption, with a special emphasis on the assessment of the risks of toxic metal intake.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Between September 2008 and May 2009, 82 individuals were analysed. The chemical composition (moisture, ash, protein and lipid content), essential elements (zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na)), toxic elements (mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb)) and fatty acid composition were determined using standard procedures.\nFindings: - The species is a lean fish (fat content <2.0 per cent) and for both females and males the mineral concentration in descending order was K>Na>Mg>Fe>Zn>Cu. The edible part of birdbeak dogfish is a good source of several minerals, namely K and Na, reaching respectively ca 18 and 36 per cent of the recommended daily intakes for a 150 g muscle portion. Polyunsaturated fatty acids prevail in the fatty acid composition of both sexes and significant differences between females and males were only found in palmitic acid, arachidonic acid and omega 6. Females attained larger length and higher Hg values. The risk assessment was established for three different consumption scenarios (one and two portions of 150 g per month and one portion of 150 g per week) and showed that only a regular consumption of one portion of a female dogfish per week posed a higher health risk (15 per cent).\nPractical implications: - This study presents the information about the quantity of shark muscle (in g) to be ingested in terms of the PTWI allowing each consumer to have access to the risks and benefits in eating this fish.\nOriginality/value: - No data existed for fatty acid profile and risk assessment yet and this is the first information on the essential and toxic elements for the European waters.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
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